Three jewels of surpassing beauty crafted by Feanor, greatest of the Noldor, from silima - a crystalline substance that captured the sacred light of the Two Trees of Valinor. After Morgoth stole the Silmarils and destroyed the Trees, Feanor swore a terrible oath to recover them at any cost, leading the Noldor back to Middle-earth and setting in motion the devastating wars of the First Age. One Silmaril was recovered by Beren and Luthien, another was lost in the depths of the sea, and the third cast into a fiery chasm. Their fate is the central tragedy of The Silmarillion.