The Great Tales as introduction

[Mithadan]

Boromir's post just jogged a rather old memory. And, to an extent, this is relevant to the subject of this thread.

The first time that I read The Hobbit, I recall being struck by a single paragraph. In the chapter entitled A Short Rest, Elrond is shown the swords found in the Troll cave and identifies them as Glamdring and Orcrist. He goes on to briefly describe their history, that they are from Gondolin during the Goblin-wars and that the city was destroyed and plundered by dragons and Goblins "ages ago." The swords' heritage comes up again later in Goblin Town. Again, I was drawn to the idea that events "ages" before could have been so significant that swords from that time could be recognized and revered. Gondolin was mentioned in LoTR only a handful of times, with hints that it was significant enough to be remembered ages after its fall.

If there was a single thing that drove me to trudge through the Silmarillion the first time that I read it, it was the desire to find out what happened to Gondolin. Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin was a treat to me, giving me a glimpse of what JRRT intended at least parts of the Silmarillion to be. Bittersweet because it was unfinished. But without that single paragraph from the Hobbit that haunted me over the years, I wonder if I would have finished the Silmarillion at that time, let alone reread it.