Who is Sauron? - The History of the Dark Lord from LotR in Tolkien's Lore (Spoilers)

Who is Sauron? What's his story? Today we have a look at the antagonist of Lord of the Rings and his history in middle-earth. This ancient evil entity is in fact the Lord of the Rings and has troubled elves, men and dwarves for over 6500 years.
He is the servant of Morgoth (Melkor) in Tolkien's Universe. In the Hobbit or the Lord of the Rings, you don't learn too much about him, but in the Appendices and the Silmarillion we find a lot of small background story about the Dark Lord and learn about his lore from the LotR books and the Silmarillion, which explains why he gave Aragorn, Gandalf, Fordo, Sam, Gimli and the others so much trouble with his One Ring.
Notes:
- I pronounce names as Tolkien described it (so a rolled R)
- This video contains spoilers
- The main books (The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings & the Silmarillion) are my main source
- There are some mistakes in the video
Mistakes:
- Fréaláf Hildeson was Helm's nephew, not his son.
- Morgoth is Sindarin (which is strange) and means "Dark Enemy". He was also called Morgoth Bauglir (Bauglir as some kind of title) and Bauglir means "constrainer" or "tyrant". The name Morgoth and its translation also went through some iterations, which probably results in Morgoth being a Sindarin name instead of a Quenya. AfaIk Tolkien never finally decided on this.
- Arrow placement and text mistake: Ungoliant tries to kill Morgoth near Angband (in Lammoth to be precise) not Ûdun.
- When I say the First Age is short, I mean the First Age during the Years of the Sun. The term First Age is imo very confusing for the Years of the Trees when you use it to express an actual date. As a result (for simplicity) First Age in my videos always mean First Age of the Years of the Sun and for the time prior I simply use the term Years of the Trees (where Valian Years are used, which makes using First Age for this time actually confusing). This is consistent throughout my videos and is also corresponding with e.g. how TolkienGateway.net uses dates.
- Eärendil as son of Tuor (of the Edain) was also a hero for the Dúnedain (and for Men in general) too, though he decided to be an Elf and was not a Dúnedain himself. I worded this a bit wrong in the video though. It must be noted that Eärendil (as halfelven) decided to be counted as Elf for his wife's sake.
- The term "Years of the Lamps" was never used by Tolkien in his books, it's more an "internet term", which I like to use, due to it explaining what it means by itself. So it's very efficient. Tolkien called the time the (first) "Spring of Arda". The "Years of the Sun" are also called "Second Spring of Arda" in the Silamrillion.
I recommend my following videos:
- The long Story of Aragorn, Minas Ithil and Númenor
• The long Story of Arag...
- The History of Rohan
• History of Rohan - Hel...
Cirdan and the History of the Elves:
• Círdan - History and L...
Who is Haleth and the Haladin?
• Who is Haleth? - Edain...
####### Sources and Links ######
Books:
Main Sources:
Lord of The Rings (1954-1955) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Silmarillion (1977) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Hobbit (1937) by J. R. R. Tolkien
Unfinished Tales (1980) by J. R. R. Tolkien
The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981) by Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien
Secondary Sources:
Morgoth's Ring (1993) by J. R. R. Tolkien; Editor: Christopher Tolkien
The Peoples of Middle-earth (1996) by J. R. R. Tolkien; Editor: Christopher Tolkien
Parma Eldalamberon XVII
Sites:
lotrproject.com
tolkiengateway.net
Pictures from:
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013)
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)
► Playlists:
If you are interested in Tolkien's legendary #fantasy Epic The Lord of the Rings and his related works, here some recommendations:
➥Book/Film Differences Series - • LotR Prologue Explaine...
➥Recommended Lore Videos - • Who are Tolkien's Wiza...
The Philosopher's Games / TPhGames / TPhLore
► Social Media:
➥Twitter (@PhilosophGames): / philosophgames
➥Twitch Channel - / thephilosophersgames
➥Discord Server - / discord
I usually make analytical gaming and Tolkien & LotR lore content. Feel free to check my channel (ThePhilosophersGames) for more:
/ thephilosophersgames
► Hashtags:
➥ Sauron #Lore #Tolkien #TPhLore #TPhGames

[@sarikatimmi]

someone commented on the silmarillion audiobook: “no matter how goth you are, melkor will always be morgoth”. hahah

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha yes that's a great one ^^

[@matthewwithum8372]

That's so good.

[@Woudo010]

Big facts.

[@arandomguardsmen]

Honestly for me the silmarillion was me banging my head against a brick wall

[@seekerlemm875]

Lmao

[@notslavaboo]

Tolkien...It took over an hour to explain one historical character. This is amazing.

[@MichaelJohnson-kl7rf]

Tolkien's universe is the most complex and intricately beautiful literature I have ever seen

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes I agree. It's beautiful and so rich. I make videos (about Tolkien's universe) for 2 years now and I still discover and learn new things about it :) PS: sorry for the late answer =/

[@voicelikemanywaters1017]

@Jan-Ola Ellingsen the whole middle earth stuff with creator, maiar, valar etc is basic christianity. look up theology stuff for divine council etc (Michael S. Heiser and others...). It is just very cleverly disguised christianity. even the metaphors tolkien is using here (the creator is singing the earth into creation, together with his maiar) are found in the old testament.

[@hvaladovienja5159]

not by a long shot. he copied myths from different cultures and countries (and wasn't even particularly good at it). the languages were admittedly a bit interesting.

[@mirzaghalib8659]

@@voicelikemanywaters1017 I dunno about that...there are aspects of Christianity like there are aspects of pre christian paganism....

[@mirzaghalib8659]

@@hvaladovienja5159 what books have you written? What entire worlds have you created? You sound like a true asshole and total fool... hopefully your like 15 years old cos if yr a grown person talking this way you should just forget it... you've lost the plot.....

[@Darrylizer1]

In my youth I was such a Tolkien nerd, reading LOTR and the Silmarillion over and over again. But I haven't read them in decades. Thanks for reminding me of the richness of Tolkien's world. I think I'll start reading them again.

[@OOO_BARRACUDAAA]

It's a wonderful place to go to escape.

[@ishmaelforester9825]

My experience is they got better with age. I read Tolkien as a kid and loved it, again many years later and it rose in my estimation. One of the great authors. Lord of the Rings gets better every reading, which is the sign of truly great story. It's the ultimate fairy tale

[@Darrylizer1]

@@ishmaelforester9825 I agree. I've since read it again and am now listening to the audiobook on the Internet Archive. It's great while working.

[@Ronirvan]

How I wished that old man Tolkien lived enough to fully complete his story.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, we would have a lot more answers, to some long discussed topics.

[@MrRuner45]

We can only hope that his son will add to the story!

[@FinnorXTube]

I disagree. The beauty of all that unfinished lore is that anyone can imagine and decide what you like the most. When I was younger a dreamed about the first age. Its so crazy when you think about it, so much lore and you can imagine even more. He created a land of dreams.

[@jonathonfrazier6622]

Ronivan Fontanez he would live forever then cuz he did it his whole life and only quit cuz he died. it was a game or lifelong passion. he knew he would never truly finish. it was never the point.

[@plummet3860]

why does he need to complete the story? its all bullshit anyway

[@Ksueme]

Me about to sleep at around 3:00 am. WHO IS SAURON? Me: "Well, well, well. Let's find out..."

[@XCVII]

LoonaHaseul fuck... I felt that

[@jacksonestacado7409]

Yep, this dude is good. Very detailed

[@loganraj2000]

Fastest 1 hour in my life😂

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you ^^

[@robertmarkwell4215]

2.18 doing exactly the same

[@ECiriachi]

It's insane how the events of the Lord of the Rings are such a small part of this story, almost an epilogue. What an incredibly rich lore Tolkien created!

[@similaritiesendhere]

Tolkien's fantasy history is more complete than actual human history. Tolkien is a beast.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha sometimes :D

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Interesting :D but I have trouble to fully understand it; it seems partially old english :P you speak this (language) or you say this; I always (much?) then I don't get it, maybe something about elvish lore? It's either good or that I have no clue what I'm talking about :D Sauron is the Lord of the Rings, like? he is the one creator?

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Ah thanks :D A bit, but not really (if I understand this correctly). I'm from Germany and I like etymology, which helps a bit. Also while doing research I learned a bit about Old English. It's very interesting.

[@Enrico_Palazzo_opera_singer]

that is why it is called fantasy!

[@Jeroen3052]

you should visit a library once in life

[@GeekZoneMT]

Hey man, I'm a fellow LOTR youtuber, and I admire your work greatly, you have true passion for the works of Tolkien and it's evident from the effort you put into your videos (this video's lengths and details speak for itself). This type of passion is something I respect immensely, and I wanted to ask you if it would be cool if sometime I promote you on my channel? I just thought I should ask you in advance, instead of a random video just popping up! Keep up the good work mate!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you ^^ I have seen some of your videos too and I only can give the compliment back. Your videos are very in-depth and well made, a reflection of your passion for Tolkien's works. I feel honored, that you want to promote my channel and if you want it, feel free to do so. Thank you, I'll try to return the favor :)

[@KillerBeastHeadshotman]

GeekZone ohoho you are here too😉

[@lambielikesit]

My two faves!!

[@Mrs.Tincher]

You guys are both bad ass! You both have awesome accents too. Team up for a video? Men of the West is an awesome channel too. Thank you guys so much. It's great to escape to Middle Earth and get away from the real world for awhile.

[@Mrs.Tincher]

You're videos are so great. Thank you so much.

[@aaronslater470]

I think of Sauron as an extension to the old proverb about Greeks "Beware those who give gifts".

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

I really like this thought. Esp. considering that Tolkien loved Old Greek. maybe that's the inspiration.

[@Sylinnilys]

@@ThePhilosophersGames Anatar "*Sauron*" is basically a genderbent Pandora. (pandoras box) *Laughs in mythology*

[@user-sn3sf1oh2o]

Φοβου τους Δαναους Και δωρα φεροντας.

[@codieomeallain6635]

@@Sylinnilys Pandora’s Box was actually a large jar called a pithos not a box. That tidbit isn’t really relevant at all but I like to mention it as much as possible because I enjoy knowing obscure things with no practical application.

[@Sylinnilys]

@@codieomeallain6635 That is true, for us though box is more relevant as a means of understanding the mythos. Hence, Pandoras [Box;Cube, etc] +1 for trivia facts.

[@dfailsthemost]

I love the tricks Sauron plays. It'd be like ted bundy convincing the FBI that he was the President. "What's up! I'm the Lord of Gifts! I work for those angels off up over there. Anyway, where your weaknesses at?" It's part of what I love about this lore. One has to imagine a world where news travels slow and anything could be happening in other parts of the world. That, and the long stretches of time during which plans are put into action.

[@Vanalovan]

Morgoth? *puts on eyeliner" MORE-GOTH!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha I did not think about that pun and I think a lot about puns :D Should he ever visit Sauron, he would have to go through a lot of Doors :P

[@thinking-ape6483]

Warum nicht auf Deutsch?

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Because I like to produce my content in English. Good practice. Also I do more niche content and that would drastically reduce the chance of anybody seeing it.

[@billuminaticatcipher7554]

Gothmog must've been pretty goth too

[@andrewna7362]

Vanalovan/-

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

"Melkor" sounds like some kind of dutch milk chocolate

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha now I'm hungry ^^

[@whynottalklikeapirat]

@@ThePhilosophersGames Maybe that's why he turned out such a paranoid control freak. Still it did not stop him from ending up as chocolate of the void.

[@dragonchr15]

"I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Arnor...." That line sent shivers up my spine when I first heard that as I had no idea what it meant....it was pure fan service for the LoTR dorks that knew the lore...lol

[@sarikatimmi]

SD so i’ve just learned that it is apparently “flame of anor” bc i always thought it was arnor. but i guess both could fit. trying to see the subtitles

[@SantomPh]

@@sarikatimmi Flame of Anor, or Flame of the Sun aka the very flame of life in Arda. The Gondor province of Anorien and the city of Minas Anor (now Tirith) are also of a similar source as is Isildur's brother Anarion.

[@sick_bartender]

@@SantomPh Also Gandalf/Mithrandir is wielder of the ring of flame so it fits 🙂

[@johndododoe1411]

And a direct quote from the book.

[@JeanBaptisteEmanuelZorg]

Sauron is basically Gandalf (or any other Wizard from Istari/Maiar race) who joined the Dark Side. That's it. Now you know why Gandalf was so afraid of Frodo giving him the Ring, afraid of temptation and the consequences that would follow. Read _Silmarillion_ .

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, basically :P

[@Loukgob]

With the massive difference that the Istari followed the orders given by the Valar to not use their full powers in middle earth, while saurons master is basically an ex-Valar, or "fallen angel"/"Devil", and thus had no concerns for those laws and therefore seems so much more powerful.

[@pierreperegrindemaricourt8379]

I thought he was Orthennar, Melkor's Maya...

[@snoozeyoulose7542]

But why was Saruman so weak then... or better said not as powerful as Sauron?

[@zekemcfry2348]

JOIN ME AND TOGHETER WE WILL RULE THE GALAXY AS FATHER AND SON

[@Scrungge]

I love that lotr stays relevant and that people keep digging in the lore

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes it's very nice to see how many people are still interested in the lore. Thank you for commenting :)

[@plummet3860]

relevant compared to what? its just fiction

[@well3034]

Plummet Relevant to this day, Because some Books and Movies got suddenly popular, but become irrelevant in just few years, months or even weeks.

[@Theri4444]

+Plummet it doesn't matter if its fiction or not, Lord of the Rings be it movies and novels etc and the interest in it still make Tolkien's work relevant. With people digging through the lore and coming up with theories, plus its just not Lord of the Rings that is relevant. There are other series out there where people discuss theories and dig into the lore, its just not lotr

[@anshul9462]

Nazgûl you must have stayed dead....you witch king of Angmaar

[@LordTelperion]

49:10I wouldn't say the Valar didn't care about humanity...it was that they cared too much and knew too little about the Children of Iluvatar. The Valar knew that when gods go to war whole continents blow up and, since Man was weaker than the Firstborn, they didn't want to make a move against Morgoth when humans were born. Later, they became almost paranoid about taking direct action, since whenever they did it seemed to make things worse, and thus removed themselves from the world. Of course Sauron came to power in the Third Age and the Valar even under their self-imposed exile couldn't do nothing, so they sent the Wizards to help indirectly. This is one of the most moving aspects of Tolkien's works, that we initially think the divine have abandoned the world and mankind, but it turns out they haven't and are indeed subtlety active.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

I agree it's a strong motive. They later sent help in form of the Istari, but if i think about how long men from the east ans south were under the influence of Morgoth and his servants, I would still stick to my comment. They ofc didn't understand men that well (in contrast to the Eldar), but they understood Melkor/Morgoth. But I definitely see your point. Thanks for watching and listening for so long ^^

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes he became the 2nd Dark Lord in the Second Age, but was Morgoth's highest Commander with Gothmog during the First Age and before (Years of the Trees).

[@barreloffun10]

I agree but I think an additional reason for their caution and reluctance to take direct action is to avoid being corrupted themselves. Taking charge of things means wielding control. The Valar didn't want to replace Morgoth with themselves in the process of throwing him down. That's why the maiar who were the Istari came in the form of old men, hale but wizened. Their job was to give wise council and inspire the races of Middle-Earth to take action, not to rule.

[@blueboy1430]

Look it's not real ffs you know more about this shit than the message of faith sent to humanity

[@je3720]

@@blueboy1430 Ok Boomer 🙄

[@redheadchickens]

It’s always “Who is Sauron?”, not “How is Sauron?”...

[@Kotal_Reminiscence]

I’ll do you one better, why is Sauron!

[@lordbertos8124]

I enjoyed this comment 😂

[@danielfleming5449]

"is Sauron?"

[@crypt7234]

Sauron?

[@mikepaulus4766]

Sau ron?

[@Anonymous02498]

8:51 Now things become complicated... bro I’m here at 3AM and I’m too drunk for this degree of brainfuck

[@baconlover7747]

Its not much better sober😂 i got 3 replays ahead before i get the first half

[@wesleybean5873]

Dude, I think you used up all the rolling "RRRR's" in the human language.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha probably, but I use them ever since and it seems there is still enough ^^

[@mrrodriguez2947]

👏👏🤣🤣🤣

[@raifandreev]

@@ThePhilosophersGames Really appreciate this but all those rolling "RRRR's" dude! It was pain! My name begins with R and I also roll them but it just takes away from the awsomeness of this.

[@Falany]

@Isaiah Tufor He literally starts pretty much all his videos with a little disclaimer about the amount of rolled R's, because that's how Tolkien described they should be pronounced. So yes, he is trying to sound all 'middle earth'. Because it's a video about the lore of middle earth. Seems appropriate to me

[@jacksonestacado7409]

@mattajas I'm maori, we have them too. A = ah, e =eh, I = ee, o =or(without the rolling r like English) u= ew like, ew that's disgusting without the ee sound) Then h, K, m, n, t, w, ng=gn same as Italian, and wh = which is an f unless the other tribe doesn't have an h which revert to a w, or a w which reverts to an h.

[@MrGeragon]

Have to sleep, exams in 3 days, completely devastated.... oh, "Who is Sauron?", 1:15:30.... YOU BETCHA !!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha sorry. But good luck/a lot of success on your exams :)

[@smokeyliver5736]

Yeah how did kt go?

[@smokeyliver5736]

Darth Vader 😂😂😂

[@VegetoStevieD]

"YOU BETCHA !!" That sounds like Minnesota Viking language, don't'cha'know.

[@meepo4212]

How did the exams go?

[@celairgilfaenmirion]

It's interesting to me that Sauron actually delights in beautiful things but is willing to stoop to any means to rule the world.

[@supershenron9162]

The backstory of the wizards and who they really are is one of the more fascinating aspects in the lore imo 👌 its all amazing but they have especially Gandalf the most influence upon the story we are all so familiar with

[@masterranger167]

What a marvelous accomplishment for you! Very long and very well edited; I loved every minute!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you as always :D Happy you liked it. Yes indeed my longest video so far and also my most successful. I still think the Years of the Trees and First Age part is too confusing. I had a lot of problems condensing them and finding a good structure. Could still have done it a bit better. But the First Age is very confusing :D Still very happy and also surprised by all the positive feedback, so iI don't complain :P

[@Anacronian]

The last time the Valar moved openly against the evil of the world the battle caused much destruction and death (hell a part of the world were completely destroyed) and that persuaded the Valar to move more gentle - The Wizards (where 2 of them did go to the east) and the ever present eagles where some of the methods used. Also, The Valar simply didn't understand mankind, Eru kept much knowledge about men for himself (like what happens to humans when they die) - the Valar are very much the Elven Gods. That said Sauron/Melkor does seem like they only two who actually make plans in Middle earth and honestly they should have won like 7 times over but are always foiled by what seem to be coincidences - many attributes these "coincidences" as the machinations of the Valar.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, that is a very good point (that they don't know that much about men either and that they are more the elven gods - really like this wording). I would still argue, that the Valar still had at least some "responsibility" for Melkor and they neglected watching over him, which led to much corruption, esp. of men. Even though they are probably not that "close" to men, they should be at least look what their kin is doing. Ofc it must also be noted, that e.g Tulkas was not happy with Manwë's decision to pardon his brother Melkor, which in the end caused much trouble. Oh and from a writing perspective (of a "mythology") this makes totally sense. I just wanted to point out, that this is probably the reason, why so many men followed Morgoth and later Sauron. I think this Valar conflict and maybe bad decision gives the story some color. Another point I agree with you and I really like about the Lord of the Rings story, are the Istari. As you said the last time they went into battle a big part of a continent got destroyed. Now they chose a far more subtile, but still effective approach. One could only argue, that it was a little late, but it turned out well and I think made an amazing story. Thanks for commenting :)

[@Anacronian]

Just to show how little the Valar understood men - when the Numenorians landed on Aman, Manwë had to call upon Eru to handle the situation, As the Valar were forbidden to take direct action against Men but also I think the Valar had no idea on how to handle the situation.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, you can read it like that. They also debated how to handle the situation with Eärendil and Elwing, which resulted in this half-elf ruling, that they must decide for one - being Men or Elf.

[@ishmaelforester9825]

The 'coincidences' are also lessons. Like the Hobbits Frodo and Sam confounding Sauron the Great. He doesn't simply lose, he gets a spanking by the most humble people. It's not just a defeat, it's a lesson to Sauron about the music. They were meant to find the ring, as Gandalf says. The suggestion is that was Eru Illuvatars plan.

[@fighter77weon]

@@Anacronian The Valar weren't aware of how far could the ambition and greed of men reach, that to point of wanted to take the sacred continent all by them selfs, that is how little the Valar understood the men

[@joneriksen9257]

Loved the video. I've been on a Tolkien binge these last few weeks, and have been looking for a video to put things in order, I felt like this really did it. Amazing work.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, happy you liked it :) Yes it's a lot of information and getting this into an order and structure can help a lot ^^

[@trevstauf1771]

I'll do you one better, WHY is sauron

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

:P

[@mrhalfwit972]

I'll do YOU better. WHEN is sauron

[@paulmanson253]

Trev Stauf Well, I have one answer. Tolkien was an observant Catholic,and after the death of each of his parents,certain priests mentored him. He clearly felt oathbound due to that. So,there are limited but very deep parallels between Christian doctrine and Tolkein's attempt to write the 'history' of the AngloSaxon culture. So evil exists. Sartre says "Hell is other people". Tolkien being a WW1 not a WW2 soldier saw evil in terms of traditional Catholic doctrine. As such,he HAD to shape Sauron in terms of the son of the morning star. Lucifer. The amazing thing to me is there is so little Christianity in LOTR,rather than just some.

[@rexrowan6411]

HOW is Sauron?

[@paulmanson253]

@@rexrowan6411 Well now the one-ring was destroyed,Tolkien states he just becomes another minor spirit,endlessly gnawing at itself. So that is how is Sauron.

[@thanksfernuthin]

It would be awesome and hilarious if he completely made ALL of this up!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha yeah that would be funny. But also impressive ^^

[@Teoga2]

thanksfernuthin yea "very funny" oh wait its not

[@thanksfernuthin]

Ouch! Teo! I thought, "Oh, he thinks it's funny." and then you hit me with the zinger! Sarcasm!

[@Teoga2]

thanksfernuthin :)

[@supremeleadersmeagol6345]

That would be impressive... most impressive. But not true, I've read the Silmarillion ^^

[@MrRuner45]

"Melkor, your little pet caused a massive flood... please make him behave!" "His name is SAURON! AND MY NAME IS MORGOTH!! DAD!!" And thus, the war of hissy teen melkor began...

[@pierreperegrindemaricourt8379]

Almosr perfect. But... "Alkar, your little pet caused a massive flood... please make him behave!" "His name is Orthennar! AND MY NAME IS MELKOR!!! DAD!" Perfect))

[@mrhalfwit972]

kill me now

[@hunglikeahorse120]

Dude I laughed so hard my family is up now haha. Happy New Years man haha

[@d.n5287]

Since he's more goth he should be more "You just don't get me dad!"

[@juanpablogonzalez8528]

"MOREGOTH" hehe

[@montanathornton9252]

Tolkien was a mad man... So much information.. I almost couldnt keep up.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, it's just so much and I already let out some information. He worked big parts of his life on all of this. Quite impressive.

[@montanathornton9252]

Great video by they way good sir.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :)

[@mikegagne3263]

There was so much information that Tolkien couldn't always keep up, hence his continuing to work on the whole masterpiece for his entire life.

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

This is like a seminar on the LOTR for an hour.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

yes the video got a pretty long in the end. When I started writing it, I thought would be like 20-30 minutes xD I hope you liked it :)

[@kirbymarchbarcena]

@@ThePhilosophersGames It turned out quite well, actually.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :)

[@ciarhdap]

Great lore video. Sauron has such a deep and interesting history.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Yes I knew he did a lot, but I was surprised as well while doing research for the video. Never expected the video to bis this long.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

After weeks of reading, writing, re-writing, voice recording and editing my Sauron Lore video is finally done. This is my longest video so far. I hope you like it :D I think the First Age and Years of the Trees part is a bit confusing and I feel the point I try to make later is a little bit lost, but I tried. There are probably some mistakes in it too. Eg: Fréaláf Hildeson was Helm's nephew, not his son. Or Morgoth is Sindarin (which is strange) and means "Dark Enemy" (see description). Also there is a arrow placement and text mistake: Ungoliant tries to kill Morgoth near Angband not Ûdun.

[@GrayGeist]

You did great sir, keep it up!

[@sriramgarg]

This was amazing..great job man!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you. Happy you liked it :)

[@jj-tw6eu]

Morgoth being a Sindarin name doesn't make any sense. Feanor is the guy who gave Melkor that name. Which was before the Noldor came over from Valinor to Beleriand and had first contact with the Sindarin Elves.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Exactly, this is one of the instances, where you can see, that Tolkien at some point had a different idea with it, but couldn't finish it before his death and Christopher had to go with it for the Silmarillion, since Morgoth is also mentioned in Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien experimented with some Quenya names (according to Tolkien Gateway): Moringotto, Moriñgotho or Morikotto.

[@matthew6732]

Big thanks for pronouncing names correctly (i.e. the way Tolkien would have)! Got really sick of videos made by Americans, all getting it totally wrong.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha no problem ^^ Over the years i got better at it. This early video has for sure some pronunciations errors by my side too, but a lot of research went into this, so much appreciated! It's kind of interesting though. When you try to say the names correctly, some people appreciate it and others dislike it, because e.g. they can't stand the trilled R sound or are used the film pronunciation. If you anglicise all names (like some other channels do it), some people will point out, that this is not how Tolkien intended the pronunciation. I guess you can't make it right. I got a decent sized channel with the correct pronunciation, so I will stick with it, but I'm asking myself often what would have happened if I decided to anglicise the names instead. So I definitely have some understanding for the approach of other channels.

[@suciojay1604]

You’re not the only one. As an American son of an immigrant, it is infuriating how lazily most Americans anglicized historically ethnic sounding names and terms. Some of it is shameless and an obvious attempt to remove the original culture’s association.

[@thegreatwanderer2023]

Great video. Very well done. There are only two issues: Sauron did not continue Morgoth's work (destroying and marring Arda), but instead worked to corrupt its inhabitants and rule over the World (hence the titles of Lord of the Earth/Lord of the World and King of Kings); the temples în Middle-earth were devoted to worshipping Sauron ("Sauron desired to be a God-King, and was held to be this by his servants; if he had been victorious he would have demanded divine honour from all rational creatures and absolute temporal power over the whole world"), whereas the one in Númenor was to Morgoth ("Sauron, apparently a defeated rival for world-power, now a mere hostage, can hardly propound himself; but as the former servant and disciple of Melkor, the worship of Melkor will raise him from hostage to high priest"). Sauron never was loyal to Aulë or Morgoth, but was smart enough to see such service as a means for his own ends as well, similar to his double-faced servant Saruman ("Sauron had, in fact, been very like Saruman, and so still understood him quickly and could guess what he would be likely to think and do, even without the aid of palantiri or of spies"). He used the names of Morgoth and the Aratar when it suited his needs: by presenting himself as the representative of both parties he corrupted many Númenoréans and convinced the Elven smith to trust him. (Nowhere does J.R.R. say he awaited Morgoth's return, as it is obvious he was acting on his own). Thw only other issue is saying he had no control whatsosever over Balrogs and Dragons. I am not saying all of them served him, but some of them seem to have based on this: "And he gathered again under his government all the evil things of the days of Morgoth that remained on earth or beneath it." (All implies that from every Melkoric race there were some who followed Sauron). Another argument is Gandalf's fear of Smaug on Sauron's side: "The Dragon Sauron might use with terrible effect." (If Sauron hadn't already commanded a Dragon, why would someone as wise as Gandalf even think of Smaug as an ally/minion of Sauron?). The rest of the video is perfect. Apreciate the work you put into and hope I cleared up a bit!

[@KarribuCG]

Yeah I'm not going to lie, i was lost after 10 minutes. Great video though. Wonder how long it took Tolkien to make this universe, it's surprising how i thought lotr was the main chunk of the world but its really not. I bought the silmarilion ages back. Ill have to try and find it and give it another shot..

[@PalmDesertRock]

You'll be lost after a hundred pages. It's all "..and he was the son of .. who was the son of ... , son of bla bla bla" for pages and pages on end. And then everything has fantasy names from the sun to the earth to the sky, etc., meaning after some time, you won't even remember who or what he's talking about without going back to the glossary. Tolkien more or less wrote the Silmarillion for himself, and it shows.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

There is so much about this universe, but a lot of it is more like in a "history" book. The Silmarillion e.g. can be a tough read, but some chapters are great, like the Downfall of Númenor or the story of Beren and Lúthien. Thank you :) Yes I'm not happy with the First Age part. I think it's very confusing. It gets better after 28 minutes, when the 2nd Age starts. I wrote someone here a summary of the first Age: Morgoth/Melkor influences Elves (when they awake, first appear on Middle-earth) Valar try to help the elves Elves go to Beleriand to travel to the other continent Aman Some elves stay in Beleriand and found a kingdom (Doriath) Elf Fëanor crafts extremely powerful artifacts Melkor/Morgoth steals artifacts Fëanor goes insane with his sons and they swore an oath They kill other elves to steal their ships and sail back to Middle-earth Then 20 different things happen and a lot of elves die Human Beren and Elf/Maia Lúthian retrieve one artifact on a crazy quest, which is the condition for Beren to marry Lúthien And years later Feanor's sons again kill their own people to get this Artifact back because of their Oath, but still fail Other elves are not happy with Fëanor's sons The other Kingdom called Gondolin gets destroyed too and then a giant war (War of Wrath) with Valar and Dragons breaks out which Morgoth/Melkor loses at the end In between all of this Sauron is active and tons of other things happen.

[@SuperAzrael87]

about 20 years. read the silmarillion

[@lars-ye6ou]

I was lost after like five.

[@orclover2353]

Well apparently in the end Turin fights and destroys Morgoth in the FINAL battle, Turin, even in death, still carries the power of Morgoth's curse, which allows him to kill morgoth. So that is also a happy ending.

[@traviswreynolds]

Me listening while working on nursery Wife walks in "And he allowed her to ride him" Wife walks out

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha :D

[@The_Notorious_N.O.E.]

Only four minutes into this video and I'm already having to repeatedly rewind and watch again just to follow all the names, ranks, and getting the stories straight. Totally worth the trouble though. I love Tolkien books

[@GuardianKyle]

Growing up, I wasn't the biggest LOTR fan. But listening to your voice on Sauron's History was inspiring!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, happy you enjoyed this video :) Yes I have some friends, who e.g. struggle with the pacing of LotR, but still find the world and deep lore fascinating.

[@norrislaitinen5011]

Wow, I am impressed at what you've put together, this is exceptional work & even more exceptional effort put into it. If even 10% of KZbinrs put this type of effort into their creations wed be in the golden age of youtube.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, much appreciated :) Oh yes, it was a ton of work, but in terms of KZbin content it's quite inefficient, but I like it and the feedback is very positive, so I will continue. Maybe a bit shorter in the future, at least the next lore video will be shorter ^^

[@erichicks8698]

I'm glad you didn't split this up into 2 videos. I was so into your commentary. You helped me to understand this story line a lot better. Thank you.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you! I guess YT- or business-wise it would have been smarter to split it, but I like having everything in one place (if possible), so much appreciated :) Happy you liked it ^^

[@cristianr.s.5537]

What makes me respect fantasy writers is that they have to build a complex world like the one we live in, rather than just using the one provided.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

agreed!

[@noalontheeternalwitch]

I was playing this in background and at the end I was like: About who am I watching the video? This was a whole history lesson. Great video I enjoyed it.

[@iamnitrox]

This is my 199377th time watching this. Its like a whole movie for me. I ought to donate just because of this single video!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Sorry for the late answer. Thank you, happy you enjoy watching it so much! So far I have no e.g. Patreon account set up or anything else for direct financial support (outside of watching the ads in the video for 30 seconds). For now I want to stay completely free (outside of YT ads), even though I appreciate the generosity. Commenting, liking or even recommending my channel further to friends is a good way to support me :)

[@reichfuhrer1942]

Sauron is one of my top villains of all time and he looks bad ass in that armor too and also in his eye flame silhouette form in The Hobbit.

[@DZ-1987]

I believe it was present in LOTR too, just not brought to our attention.

[@notthedroidsyourelookingfo4026]

If you get lost in the beginning (~10 min), don't worry. Things are less complicated later on. Thanks for the great video

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Yes totally agree. The beginning is (sadly) a bit confusing. I usually suggest skipping to ~ 28:00 mins (Second Age part) and then copy/paste a summary of the First Age events. Glad it seems to work. In case anybody is interested, here the summary again :D - Morgoth/Melkor influences Elves (when they awake, first appear on Middle-earth) - Valar try to help the elves - Elves go to Beleriand to travel to the other continent Aman - Some elves stay in Beleriand and found a kingdom (Doriath) - Elf Fëanor crafts extremely powerful artifacts - Melkor/Morgoth steals artifacts - Fëanor goes insane with his sons and they swore an oath - They kill other elves to steal their ships and sail back to Middle-earth (First Kinslaying) - Then 20 different things happen and a lot of elves die - Human Beren and Elf/Maia Lúthian retrieve one artifact on a crazy quest, which is the condition for Beren to marry Lúthien - And years later Fëanor's sons again kill their own people to get the Artifact back because of their Oath, but still fail (2nd and 3rd Kinslaying) - Other elves (mainly Teleri elves) are not happy with Fëanor's sons (over the time, starting with Beren's and Lúthien's Quest) - The other Kingdom called Gondolin gets destroyed too and then a giant war (War of Wrath) with Valar and Dragons breaks out which Morgoth/Melkor loses at the end - In between all of this Sauron is active and tons of other things happen.

[@kuniphertze7112]

haha I had to pause every few minutes and google the names and backstories xD

[@AdamAvakian24]

It's very difficult to keep up with this. And I dont think I could blame you. This tree has a lot of branches. Maybe if you made this into a series. It would be slower paced and much easier to comprehend. But seriously though, great great effort on your part. I would've lost my mind trying to map all this information for viewers.

[@regularstan6212]

Finally a video that's not 10 minutes long on Sauron

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha yes I tend to make long videos ^^ It's an old video though. I originally planed to cover both Dark Lords in it, but that did not work out 😅 If I would make it today it would be like twice as long I think, because I would dive more into History of Middle-earth material.

[@thoreau283]

True Tolkien lovers are keeping the secret fire alive in the face of evil. Thank you brother!

[@hunted_man4035]

I love the way you pronounce the names like Sauron! Such a great video!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thanks :) I use Tolkien's pronunciation rules, but sometimes I still mess up ^^ It's quite interesting, that some people love it while others find it very annoying. But I still assume the majority likes it, so I will continue with it.

[@dougmphilly]

I love how you include the appendix from return of the king. It was this section of the books that was so impressive. Tolkien’s fantasy world read like 13th century history. It made the impossible seem probable. Well done.

[@TheInstinctWithinV2]

"They battled with powerful songs" So basically they had a rap battle :D

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha yes basically ^^

[@humansaredumfuckthemtodeat9461]

More like a drum contest

[@humansaredumfuckthemtodeat9461]

With magic

[@Darrylizer1]

Except they were songs, not rapping.

[@danyael777]

He said "SONGS", so no. No rap battle.

[@PrinceDrLord]

my brain exploded

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Sorry =/ The First Age and before stuff is really complex and I could have done a better job in explaining it less confusing. It gets better at 28:00 mins (the Second Age stuff)

[@3austin16]

PrinceDrLord my brain hurts XD

[@Mrs.Tincher]

@@ThePhilosophersGames You did great, it's just a really complex story and hard to follow no matter what.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

@@Mrs.Tincher Thank you :) Yes it really is. My videos have usually a very high information density and this is basically over an hour of pure information.

[@onesec8005]

LOTR Matrix. I know Kung Fu lol

[@mikeblizzle]

This was a ton of work. Great job!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you! Yes, that was a ton of work, but I'm very happy about how much positive feedback I'm getting :)

[@QoQabai658]

Lord Melkor/Morgoth is the 'true' Dark Lord. The first to defy the authority of the Creator Illuvitar. The Defiler of the Music. The creator of orcs and dragons and the corruptor of men. All hail the Black Enemy! Slayer of the Two Trees and 'master' of Sauron.

[@MK-fz6il]

I know the Shadow of Mordor games aren't canon, but there is an ancient orc on there who served Morgoth and thought of Sauron as nothing but a pretender and a userper.

[@airixxxx]

I also think that Melkor's part in the music of creation it's necessary, there's need to be dissonance, he is also a part of Eru, he cannot be erased.

[@danielhamilton351]

Yes Sauron was a pretender and a usurper; I mean he was only 2nd in command to Morgoth along with Gothmog and was one of his more powerful Maiar spirits and also given command of Angband while Morgoth was away but yes, Sauron was a total fraud. The hate Sauron crowd gets further and further away from what is actually established Tolkien lore into their own invented head canon with each passing day.

[@nobodie9996]

@aaronsdavis so basically, everyone has to suffer so he can enjoy his lucky charms

[@ainuannatar1632]

@@danielhamilton351 yet sauron succeeded where morgoth failed, yet sauron is still around while morgoth was banished into the void while begging for mercy. Morgoth was deeply wounded by and afraid to face fingolfin, an elf not even a powerful maia spirit. He even had to call his servants to scare ungoliant away as alone he was to weak to do so on his own.

[@GatorMH]

Never read the books, but saw the movies. Now I'm 3 videos deep of your lore and this is fascinating. Appreciate it!

[@lindabanks8769]

Man, major props to you for replying to damn near all of these comments...for real

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) I have to admit this month I'm really behind. So many new comments. Also there are some comments, I simply can not see (esp. answers to existing comments are really hard to see). But I enjoy a bit of interaction with the people here and it helps the channel grow ^^

[@sarikatimmi]

Linda Banks yo seriously. i’m never as excited as i get whenever he responds

[@GrayGeist]

Very well done video! I highly appreciate the extreme detail you go into, so well done!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it. A lot of work went into it, so much appreciated :)

[@telosgrupo8308]

Melkor during the song of creation plays a rock anime music instead of his fellow valars who sang opera.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

lol

[@therealtwiggyleaf]

This is one of the best synopses of Middle Earth (admittedly, but not wholly concerned with Sauron) that I have ever watched. Thank you for the time you have taken to bring this to us Tolkien fans/scholars.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, much appreciated :) Happy you found it useful ^^

[@Justice9310c]

This was so amazingly done finally someone who did a history of sauron, every detail, information, and timeline about this so excellently done. I know you did so much research of sauron that took so much of your time and effort and wow so that how sauron became evil and created Mordor love it, I learn a lot of sauron now.

[@republikadugave420]

Flat earthers got an aneurysm at 40:31

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

:D

[@pogotheclown6088]

There are movies this long. I am excited and frightened by this excitement.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Have fun ^^ I hope you like it. The beginning of this video can be quite confusing. I personally think my Elvish lore video is a bit easier to follow (but even longer than my Sauron video): kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJjGn4mpgqahg9E Both cover many similar things.

[@vaygo.forlorn]

Just found this channel. This will probably be the first channel I gladly sat through a double advertisement to get to the video without skipping.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you that is really much appreciated :) I know the ads can be really annoying - esp. after YT started introducing the double ads. I can also somewhat recommend KZbin Prime for people who watch a ton of KZbin and want to support creators. It might be surprising but the Prime revenue for creators is really good (much better than ad revenue), though it seems a bit pricy. Also: my policy on ads is just one ad break at the beginning and one at the end. And if the video is longer than ~40 minutes one in the middle - if it is different than that let me know, than there's a mistake (I also can only define where in the video ads are playing, not what is shown or what type, etc). But never feel forced to watch ads. PS: welcome, happy you found your way to my channel ^^

[@vaygo.forlorn]

@@ThePhilosophersGames I in no way feel forced, i just see how much work and love you put in and that just makes me really happy. I have recently considered getting KZbin premium (or whatever its called) but havent had the opportunity just yet. I look forward to seeing more content from you and I'm also excited to binge watch more videos :)

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha I wish you a lot of fun do8ing this ^^ Sadly I can't produce videos as fast as people watch them 😂

[@mattyb9991]

New subscriber and WOW! I just wanted to thank you for making these videos. I always found the lore of the Silmarillion to be too daunting from word of mouth and raw info on the wiki but you break down these very complex, intertwined, and sometimes conflicting chains of events and stories in such an easily digestible manner, without making me feel like I don't have reason to read them anymore. You've convinced me to dive into it headfirst and see what else Tolkien has to offer. Also, I love the long-form content and appreciate what an immense amount of work and research must go into these! (And don't mind the almost-certainly american crybabies in your comments. The effort you put into pronouncing Tolkien's works as accurately as possible to the source material is just another sign of the sheer amount of passion behind these videos, especially considering english is a second language for you.)

[@midgerm]

me: hey sauron....what do you even want to dominate middle earth for? why do you want to rule it? sauron: because i wish to rule all me: yeas but why.....what do you get out of ruling the whole world, whats your end goal after defeating everyone and you rule over an army of in-fighting orcs? sauron: i'll-well me: to bring peace to the world? sauron: yea lets go with that

[@ethanlim6773]

I came here just to hear him say 'Valar.'

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

:D

[@mattn561]

After several of these I just went and bought the silmarillion

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Nice to hear, I hope you enjoy it. It can be a tough read though. Always happy to hear, when people start reading the books after watching my videos ^^

[@Exar_Kun]

Gentleman makes incredible lore videos and is clearly passionate about Tolkien, yet gets shit for their voice and length of their videos……… Sauron is definitely on the KZbin board…. Love your videos my friend! Please keep ‘em coming!!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you much appreciated :) PS: Didn't Exar Kun invent the double-bladed lightsaber?

[@Exar_Kun]

@@ThePhilosophersGames yes I totally did!!! Darth Maul is in the middle of getting his non existent ass sued!!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

😂

[@troymckenna6570]

Everyone always wants to know “Who is Sauron?’……but nobody ever asks “HOW is Sauron?”

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

😄

[@fighter77weon]

Poor little Sauron, so misunderstood 🥲

[@rowdysgirlalways]

This was merely brilliant! You did an incredibly good job of untangling Tolkien's monumental work. I have read the appendices and the Silmarilian, as well as The Unfinished Tales, but now I feel I have a better understanding of the whole thing. Excellent work!

[@Vexarax]

This was awesome thank you! It's hard to find long videos discussing all the events in Sauron's history. The Witch King is my favourite and you discussed him as well so I'm super happy, I'll watch this a few more times I'm sure. Thanks again! :)

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Happy you liked it. Yes in general I would say my videos are longer. Feel free to check my other longe videos too :P kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJjGn4mpgqahg9E kzbin.info/www/bejne/oounin2KibyepLM kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z2qln36Jrp2LntU Also currently working on a 4 hour video about Elrond (will come in two parts or something) ^^'

[@dr.demontale3250]

Why do I picture this meme? "Who actually is Sauron?" "I'm glad you asked" 3 hour voicemail Nah, but on a serious note, thank you so much for this VERY specific and extraordinarily well done video. It was a joy to listen to, especially since my last read of the Silmarillion was about 10 years ago. Thanks so much, again.

[@joseSanchez-ej2oh]

Dominate for the purpose of creating order, his order of course As pointed out by others, it's likely his end goal was relatively banal to what we imagine Ex: orcs could in the end be largely useless, too prone to disorder and violence But men, though initially rebellious could be taught and molded into loyal and orderly servants, likely his preferred servants for and until the ending of the world He did not want to be the lord of war and ash

[@DaRollinThunder]

I thoroughly appreciate your work. Keep it up! More KZbinrs need to adopt the quality over quantity policy. BTW thanks for making a video I requested whether or not you made it for me lol :D

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you. Well, you definitely influenced my decision to make this video :D I (sadly) forgot your username, but I knew someone in the comments suggested it and it was a really good idea. So thanks for your comments =)

[@Discotechque]

When there's a long hall, Mordor When the swat is knocking, Gondor

[@almVancouver]

You made this very interesting and easy (as easy as it can be) to follow along with. Thanks for the heck of a lot of work you put into it.

[@JoeShmoe102]

So THAT'S where Amon Amarth got its name! (Referring to the Swedish Melodic Death Metal band)

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes, which is quite funny. I knew the band name for quite some time, but didn't noticed until I started making videos and the name popped up again ^^

[@loveirisb1221]

I laughed so hard when I saw that, Brian Posehn named his Ogre in D&D (Nerd Poker Podcast) Amon Amarth; good, good stuff.

[@reneedailey1696]

Also, Gorgoroth!

[@tstreb66]

I got lost about two minutes into the video, but it just goes to show how deep the lore goes on ONE character. This is like the biblical history version of LOTR.

[@snigdhaphatak6191]

Thanks so much for creating these videos. I just started LOTR again. Your pronunciations have helped me read the book as Tolkien intended. I have to say, it's a lot more fun this way.

[@MehIgotnothing]

I love this video, I appreciate anyone who knows Tolkien's universe and can properly pronounce the names as well. Excellent, excellent work!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :)

[@justthereed5593]

I was enjoying this thinking of when to go to bed pressed pause, realized it was an hour. And kept watching. Gg dude. I love the way you pronounce the names with the r’s. Take my subscription.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

haha happy you enjoyed it so much, even though it kept you awake. Thank you :)

[@boris8515]

Three rings for the elven kings under the sky, Seven for the dwarf lords in their halls of stone, Nine for mortal men, doomed to die, One for the dark lord on his dark throne, In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie. One ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all, And in the darkness bind them. *Ash nazg durbatulûk.* *Ash nazg gimbatul.* *Ash nazg trakatuluk.* *Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul!* *Agh daghburz-ishi makha gulshu darulu!*

[@2midgetsinatrenchcoat599]

I just wanted to say thank you for correctly pronouncing all of those difficult names and titles. So few people take the time to learn and accurately enunciate. So, thank you :)

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Much appreciated. I guess that some people might struggle, but for me it's relatively "easy" (it's often somewhat close to my native tongue). But originally it was a problem I had when I made my first lore video. How do I say the names? Anglicising would be inconsistent for me anyway, because it's not my first language. And so I researched the pronunciations that Tolkien wrote down in Appendix E. over the years I expanded my knowledge a bit and even looked into the phonology of e.g. Old English, Old Norse, Gothic etc. So a ton of research went into this, happy you enjoy that aspect :) Thank you too!

[@2midgetsinatrenchcoat599]

@@ThePhilosophersGames what is your native language, if I may ask?

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

I'm from Germany, so German. Ofc e.g. Quenya is much closer to Finnish (Sindarin is close to Welsh), but close enough ^^

[@2midgetsinatrenchcoat599]

@@ThePhilosophersGames my family is German as well :)

[@liquidsquid101]

I'm beyond impressed! As one who has tried to educate myself in the ancient Indian scriptures(and failed due to shear complexity) I've have got the deepest respect of what you do. IN CRE DIB LE!!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you much appreciated!

[@makotomunangandu6744]

My forever best writer... He makes me feel I can write a book as well... My inspiration Sir Tolkien

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes I can totally relate to this. His work is really inspiring. Interestingly the films and esp. the music of it also work well for me.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

"I see you, there is no life in the void only death, build me an army worthy of my name." Seems pretty clear Sauron had a goal in mind and did not have time to tolerate others

[@viviennewilliams9518]

Wow! What a lot of effort went into making this action-packed story.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Yes Tolkien worked his whole life time on it, it's pretty impressive. (video was also a ton of work to make 😅 though I think it would look a bit better if I made it today)

[@samthomson6087]

Dude, thanks for making these stories a bit more digestible. There are so many names that all sound similar, that the book was difficult for me to trudge through. Reading it and then listening to your impeccably well conceived video presentations, I’d like taking a tums to help digest a dense meal. You are doing Iluvatar’s work, good sir. The stories are really fascinating, it’s just a lot of effort to grapple with everything that is going on and keep it straight in your head while you read. Your channel is amazing, it’s my go to when I am angling to learn some Tolkien lore. Love long and prosper, and may the light of the valar guide you.

[@samthomson6087]

*it’s

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you, much appreciated :) Yes esp. the Silmarillion can be really tough. (PS: I will also slowly return to making book lore videos again when the show is done; so there are ore videos to come).

[@borkers3788]

They always ask who is Sauron, but they never ask "How is Sauron?"

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

:D

[@demonetizeme2826]

Why is Sauron?

[@FunckyFresh23]

Where is Sauron?

[@mfs-3kiryu592]

When is Sauron

[@_semih_]

What is Sauron?

[@custodianguard749]

I'm only about 30 minutes in and so far this could be a entire new movie series itself and I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't go see it because the first age seems mighty epic.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Agreed, the First Age and before were epic times described in the Silmarillion. The company that made the films and has teh film rights (Middle-earth Enterprises) does only have the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings film and some merchandising rights, so they can't use the Silmarillion and friends. But Amazon makes a new series about the LotR appendices and they work together with the Tolkien Estate (Tolkien family; they have ofc every right except for the films rights of LotR and Hobbit, which J. R. R. Tolkien sold in the 60s) so they could make in theory parts of this into a series at some point, if the Tolkien Estate agrees.

[@custodianguard749]

@@ThePhilosophersGames yeah they could do something like that. Maybe put it on as like an HBO series of sorts something like that. I mean so long as it was done I'd be happy but it have to be done right

[@dttra566]

OMG!!! Tolkien is a genius who can develop such complicated storylines with so many characters, so many ideas, philosophies...My head is about to explode just watching this video. I do not think I will be attempting to read his books...

[@scottytoohotty8510]

Very good job! This is basically a cliff notes for the entire legendaruim going back to the time of the trees before the sun and moon.....SOMEHOW you managed to keep it relatively short , but at the same time you went into the perfect amount of detail when required. This is a perfect video to watch, for those who want to know the back story for a lot of things, but never read the silmarillion..... This will also benefit those who, as I just mentioned, HAVENT read the silmarillion, but who have watched the EXTENDED edition lord of the rings trilogy.....because if you have seen them, you will notice that pretty much EVERYTHING they cut from the original movies? That they include in the extended editions, EXCLUSIVELY refer to events from previous ages.... which is why I believe they cut that material in the first place, because everytime they refer to the first age and so on.... MOST people wouldn’t have any idea what peter Jackson was referring to, considering MOST people that have seen the movies, have not read the silmarillion, which is kinda disappointing.... but it’s cool for those of us who have....for example, when Galadriel gives merry and pippin the daggers at lothlorien, when she refers to them “having already seen service in war” that’s all the explanation you get.....and it doesn’t make any sense why that dagger wounds the witch king as badly as it does at the battle of pelenor....whereas in the extended edition? It does in fact give you the real explanation...being that those daggers are quite possibly from Valinor, or at least Gondolin, and were crafted by the noldorin in the first age....which explains the enchanted nature of the weapons, and why it actually wounds the witch king, allowing eowyn to finish him off.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Much appreciated. Writing and structuring this was quite difficult (as all my long videos). I think it took me like 3-4 weeks. Imo I could have done a better job at places and I think this one kzbin.info/www/bejne/gJjGn4mpgqahg9E covers a lot of it's first Age part too, but does a better job here and there. Ofc I made it much later and have learnt from my mistakes and improved ^^ But thank you again, also for your comments!

[@DannisTheManace]

Excellent video, man! Very helpful. Keep posting!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you. I'll try :)

[@oli36999]

Sees one hour vid from philosophers games.... *straps in* this gon be gud

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

I hope you like it. The First Age is confusing

[@ryangratton229]

I'm a very casual LoTR fan.. own the books, never read them, watched all the film's and enjoyed them. I'm impressed with the amount of R's you had to roll in this video.. Lost about most of what you present but you did a great job! Gave me something to listen to at work today.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thanks :D Yes voice recording was quite exhausting. I'm not used to roll the "r" in my native language, but in the older germanic languages and friends, which were the inspiration for some of Tolkien's languages, the "r" was always rolled. So that's about how it is intended to be pronounced. This video is very in-detail and explains quite a lot. I would even say parts of it are confusing, like the First Age part and before part. Could have done a better job here and there. I think if someone knows the books a bit, it's easier to understand. Else you are confronted with like hundreds of events, names and characters, which are later somehow referenced again to fulfill a certain fate. It's really complex.

[@ryangratton229]

ThePhilosophersGames you really did a great job. Your presentation or what you discussed was not an issue what so ever. Just a large vast amount of information you have to cover. It does encourage me to get around to reading the books some day!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thanks ^^ That is great to hear. I really love the books, but be warned, the Silmarillion can be quite a difficult read for some people. It's like a history book. Originally I sued it as some kind of Compendium for Lord of the Rings, to learn more about some characters and back stories, which helped a lot. But ofc. some parts in it are a good read, like the Downfall of Númenor, the story of Lúthien and Beren or the story of Húrin and his children.

[@barreloffun10]

You put a lot of effort into this. Well done!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Yes, the 1 hour+ videos are really a ton of work

[@shaov.vreacts1339]

Tolkien was insanely brilliant. This is extraordinary! What a mark to leave on literature and storytelling.... You will never here another story ever like this. Very great video!! Thank you so much for this!! Where did you get all this information? Is there a book of all this stuff?? I must own it!!! I subscribed and I love this videos!!

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

There are multiple sources. ofc Lord of the Rings and its Appendices are the main source (+ Hobbit), but when it comes to the First Age and before and all teh lore and background story, you find it in the Silmarillion (I made a video about canon explaining some details to the other books regarding how canon they are). Then we have Tolkien's Letters (and some poems). Now with books where canon is debatable: (the 3 Great Tales), a book called "Unfinished Tales" and 12(!) History of Middle-earth books (notes and drafts Tolkien never published or were still work in progress). I usually have to research a lot in some of those books to get some of the more unknown details, like Sauron's original name (Mairon).

[@shaov.vreacts1339]

@@ThePhilosophersGames Thanks for all the insite. I been getting hooked into this world like crazy... Will you ever do a video about who Shelob is?! The spider woman I heard thats who she is and im sure there is a lot more to her.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Btw. I also have information on all the books in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/onbaooqka8unj7M Maybe, I think I have some content about her already in some videos about the game Middle-earth: Shadow of War (if you don't mind spoilers of the game). kzbin.info/www/bejne/j17Kp4VtntR9oKM (the Shelob section starts 10:04 min and there is another one at the end at 48:35 min). Also in the older Shadow of War trailer analysis videos could be some information about her. But yes maybe should make a video dedicated to her and her mother Ungoliant.

[@shaov.vreacts1339]

@@ThePhilosophersGames woah!!! You kick ass thank you so much for the feedback and I will definitely watch both videos recommended. 🔺🙏

[@____REDACTED____]

Sauron laughing in the temple caused Eru to use admin privileges lmao

[@speedyspy88]

i bought the audio version of the The Silmarillion (1977) and listen to more than half of it. Is incredible how much information is there, and how hard it is to keep up with all the layers. Knowing this i can really apreciate all the hard work that you had to put in to make this video. Very well explained. You have a subscriber in me.

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

Thank you :) Yes the Silmarillion is a very complex book. It's so packed full with information (high information density), that you are easily lost and confused. Still it gives Tolkien's work so much depth, it's mind blowing.

[@speedyspy88]

agreed. For me i found it hard to keep up with all the names of the elfs. Maybe a bit too much in depth when it comes to families and kids :) . Anyway i apreciate your hard work and i can't even imagine how much u had to go over that information, to put it correctly in a video. Cheers.

[@PanSaltzCaballeratosMusic]

The word "Sauron" in Greek means "lizard being" (Σαύρα + Ών ).

[@ThePhilosophersGames]

That is very interesting. He could also take the form of a snake (it's written that he did that once) and he also deceitful (sneaky), which some would associate with a snake. Oh I would put a snake close to the "lizard beings" ^^ Even though I don't know how correct that is

[@PanSaltzCaballeratosMusic]

There are real ancient legends all around the world about lizard-snake demons in human form . Maybe Tolkien did this on purpose? To address the legends about the draconians? The reptilian single eye seems to confirm it too . Tolkien is a mastermind when it comes to codes and symbolisms .

[@indeed7289]

fuck off with your "lizard people" conspiracy bullshit

[@PanSaltzCaballeratosMusic]

Thank you for your awesome reply . Not only that but look how respectful this "sane" person was to a stranger .

[@justinwashburn496]

Panagiotis Kavalieratos but I'm not a lizard