The Silmarils were the three Jewels created by Fëanor. Their beauty was so great that none could look upon them and be unmoved. No person with evil in him could touch them without being burned. So terrible was their effect that, because of the Jewels, grief, dissent and rebellion came to Valinor, and untold suffering came to Middle-earth, before the Jewels were lost forever.

The Jewels were made of a crystal substance that trapped the light of the Two Trees of Valinor within its depths. Their glory stirred Melkor, so he stole them from the Noldor and fled with them to Middle-earth. This act enraged the Noldor, and they went back to Middle-earth, led by Fëanor.

After many hundreds of years of war against Morgoth, Beren and Lúthien managed to recapture one of the Silmarils. This Jewel was sent to Valinor with Eärendil the Mariner who went there to ask for aid from the Valar.

The other two Silmarils were finally taken by force from Morgoth by the Valar. They were then stolen by the two surviving sons of Fëanor - Maedhros and Maglor, who were both burned by the Jewels. Maedhros leapt into a chasm of fire with his Silmaril, while Maglor threw his into the sea.

Only one Silmaril remained visible in the World, bound to Eärendil's brow as he later sailed the heavens; the Morning and Evening Star.