Sunday, October 23, 2022

Tolkien - The Elves of Middle-earth and Valar of Vala








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Jeff LaSala provides a great write up on the Eldar Elves here:






Elves in Middle-earth

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In J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, Elves are the first fictional race to appear in Middle-earth. Unlike Men and Dwarves, Elves are immortal. They feature in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Their history is described in detail in The Silmarillion.

Tolkien derived his Elves from mentions in the ancient poetry and languages of Northern Europe, especially Old English. These suggested to him that elves were large, dangerous, beautiful, lived in wild natural places, and practised archery. He invented languages for the Elves, including Sindarin and Quenya.

Tolkien-style Elves have become a staple of fantasy literature. They have appeared, too, in film and role-playing game adaptations of Tolkien's works.


Origins

Further information: Elf

Germanic word

The modern English word elf derives from the Old English word ælf (which has cognates in all other Germanic languages).[1] Numerous types of elves appear in Germanic mythology; the West Germanic concept appears to have come to differ from the Scandinavian notion in the early Middle Ages, and the Anglo-Saxon concept diverged even further, possibly under Celtic influence.[2] Tolkien made it clear in a letter that his Elves differed from those "of the better known lore"[T 1] of Scandinavian mythology.[3]

Halfway beings

The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey notes that one Middle English source which he presumes Tolkien must have read, the South English Legendary from c. 1250, describes elves much as Tolkien does:[4]

South English Legendary
"St Michael" 253-258		Modern English
And ofte in fourme of wommane : In many derne weye
grete compaygnie mon i-seoth of heom : boþe hoppie and pleiƺe,
Þat Eluene beoth i-cleopede : and ofte heo comiez to toune,
And bi daye muche in wodes heo beoth : and bi niƺte ope heiƺe dounes.
Þat beoth þe wrechche gostes : Þat out of heuene weren i-nome,
And manie of heom a-domesday : Ʒeot schullen to reste come.[5]		And often shaped like women: On many secret paths
men see great numbers of them: dancing and sporting.
These are called Elves: and often they come to town
and by day they are much in the woods: by night up on the high downs.
Those are the wretched spirits: that were taken out of Heaven,
And at Doomsday many of them shall come to rest.

Some of Tolkien's Elves are in the "undying lands" of Valinor, home of the godlike Valar, while others are in Middle-earth. The Elf-queen Galadriel indeed has been expelled from Valinor, much like the fallen Melkor, though she is clearly good, and much like an angel. Similarly, some of the Legendary's Eluene are on Earth, others in the "Earthly Paradise". So, did they have souls, Shippey asks? Since they could not leave the world, the answer was no; but given that they didn't disappear completely on death, the answer had to have been yes. In Shippey's view, the Silmarillion resolved the Middle English puzzle, letting Elves go not to Heaven but to the halfway house of the Halls of Mandos on Valinor.[4]

Elf or fairy

Victorian era Fairy painting: Edwin Landseer, Scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream. Titania and Bottom, 1851

By the late 19th century, the term 'fairy' had been taken up as a utopian theme, and was used to critique social and religious values, a tradition which Tolkien and T. H. White continued.[6] One of the last of the Victorian Fairy-paintings, The Piper of Dreams by Estella Canziani, sold 250,000 copies and was well known within the trenches of World War I where Tolkien saw active service. Illustrated posters of Robert Louis Stevenson's poem Land of Nod had been sent out by a philanthropist to brighten servicemen's quarters, and Faery was used in other contexts as an image of "Old England" to inspire patriotism.[7] By 1915, when Tolkien was writing his first elven poems, the words elf, fairy and gnome had many divergent and contradictory associations. Tolkien had been gently warned against the term 'fairy', which John Garth supposes may have been due to its growing association with homosexuality, but Tolkien continued to use it.[8] According to Marjorie Burns, Tolkien eventually but hesitantly chose the term elf over fairy. In his 1939 essay On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien wrote that "English words such as elf have long been influenced by French (from which fay and faërie, fairy are derived); but in later times, through their use in translation, fairy and elf have acquired much of the atmosphere of German, Scandinavian, and Celtic tales, and many characteristics of the huldu-fólk, the daoine-sithe, and the tylwyth-teg."[9]

Reconciling multiple traditions

Further information: Elf § Proper names
Beowulf's eotenas [ond] ylfe [ond] orcneas, "ogres [and] elves [and] devil-corpses", inspiring Tolkien to create orcs, elves, and other races

Shippey notes that Tolkien, a philologist, knew of the many seemingly contradictory traditions about elves. The Old English Beowulf-poet spoke of the strange eotenas ond ylfe ond orcnéas, "ettens [giants] and elves and demon-corpses",[1] a grouping which Shippey calls "a very stern view of all non-human and un-Christian species".[4] The Middle English Sir Gawain meets a green axe-wielding giant, an aluisch mon ("elvish man", translated by Shippey as "uncanny creature").[1] Christian sources from Iceland knew and disapproved of the tradition of offering sacrifices to the elves, álfa-blót.[1]

Elf-shot, associated with "elf arrows", neolithic flint arrowheads sometimes used as amulets,[10] was one of the hints Tolkien used to create his Elves.[1]

Elves were directly dangerous, too: the medical condition "elf-shot", described in the spell Gif hors ofscoten sie, "if a horse is elf-shot", meaning some kind of internal injury,[11] was associated both with neolithic flint arrowheads and the temptations of the devil. Tolkien takes "elf-shot" as a hint to make his elves skilful in archery.[1] Another danger was wæterælfádl, "water-elf disease", perhaps meaning dropsy,[1] while a third condition was ælfsogoða, "elf-pain",[11] glossed by Shippey as "lunacy".[1] All the same, an Icelandic woman could be frið sem álfkona, "fair as an elf-woman", while the Anglo-Saxons might call a very fair woman ælfscýne, "elf-beautiful".[1] Some aspects can readily be reconciled, Shippey writes, since "Beauty is itself dangerous".[1] But there is more: Tolkien brought in the Old English usage of descriptions like wuduælfen "wood-elf, dryad", wæterælfen "water-elf", and sǣælfen "sea-elf, naiad", giving his elves strong links with wild nature.[1][12] Yet another strand of legend holds that Elfland, as in Elvehøj ("Elf Hill") and other traditional stories, is dangerous to mortals because time there is distorted, as in Tolkien's Lothlórien. Shippey comments that it is a strength of Tolkien's "re-creations", his imagined worlds, that they incorporate all the available evidence to create a many-layered impression of depth, making use of "both good and bad sides of popular story; the sense of inquiry, prejudice, hearsay and conflicting opinion".[1]

Shippey suggests that the "fusion or kindling-point" of Tolkien's thinking about elves came from the Middle English lay Sir Orfeo, which transposes the classical myth of Orpheus and Eurydice into a wild and wooded Elfland, and makes the quest successful. In Tolkien's translation the elves appear and disappear: "the king of Faerie with his rout / came hunting in the woods about / with blowing far and crying dim, and barking hounds that were with him; yet never a beast they took nor slew, and where they went he never knew". Shippey comments that Tolkien took many suggestions from this passage, including the horns and the hunt of the Elves in Mirkwood; the proud but honourable Elf-king; and the placing of his elves in wild nature. Tolkien might only have had broken fragments to work on, but, Shippey writes, the more one explores how Tolkien used the ancient texts, the more one sees "how easy it was for him to feel that a consistency and a sense lay beneath the chaotic ruin of the old poetry of the North".[1]

Shippey further explains that Tolkien's Sundering of the Elves allowed him to explain the existence of Norse mythology's Light Elves, who live in Alfheim ("Elfhome") and correspond to his Calaquendi, and Dark Elves, who live underground in Svartalfheim ("Black Elfhome") and whom he "rehabilitates" as his Moriquendi, the Elves who never went to see the light of the Two Trees of Valinor.[13]

Development

Tolkien developed his conception of elves over the years, from his earliest writings through to The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Lord of the Rings.[14]

Early writings

Traditional Victorian dancing fairies and elves appear in much of Tolkien's early poetry,[T 2] and have influence upon his later works[15] in part due to the influence of a production of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Birmingham in 1910[16] and his familiarity with the work of Catholic mystic poet, Francis Thompson[16] which Tolkien had acquired in 1914.[T 2]

O! I hear the tiny horns
Of enchanted leprechauns
And the padded feet of many gnomes a-coming!

— J.R.R. Tolkien, Goblin Feet

The Book of Lost Tales (c. 1917–1927)

In his The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien develops a theme that the diminutive fairy-like race of Elves had once been a great and mighty people, and that as Men took over the world, these Elves had "diminished"[T 2][T 3][17] themselves. This theme was influenced especially by the god-like and human-sized Ljósálfar of Norse mythology, and medieval works such as Sir Orfeo, the Welsh Mabinogion, Arthurian romances and the legends of the Tuatha Dé Danann.[T 4] Some of the stories Tolkien wrote as elven history have been seen to be directly influenced by Celtic mythology.[17] For example, "Flight of The Noldoli" is based on the Tuatha Dé Danann and Lebor Gabála Érenn, and their migratory nature comes from early Irish/Celtic history.[17] John Garth states that with the underground enslavement of the Noldoli to Melkor, Tolkien was essentially rewriting Irish myth regarding the Tuatha Dé Danann into a Christian eschatology.[18]

The name Inwe or Ingwë (in the first draft Ing), given by Tolkien to the eldest of the elves and his clan,[T 5] is similar to the name found in Norse mythology as that of the god Ingwi-Freyr, a god who is gifted the elf-world Álfheimr. Terry Gunnell finds the relationship between beautiful ships and the Elves reminiscent of the god Njörðr and the god Freyr's ship Skíðblaðnir.[19] He also retains the usage of the French derived term "fairy" for the same creatures.[20]

The larger Elves are inspired by Tolkien's personal Catholic theology, representing the state of Men in Eden who have not yet fallen, like humans but fairer and wiser, with greater spiritual powers, keener senses, and a closer empathy with nature. Tolkien wrote of them: "They are made by man in his own image and likeness; but freed from those limitations which he feels most to press upon him. They are immortal, and their will is directly effective for the achievement of imagination and desire."[16]

In The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien includes both more serious "medieval" elves such as Fëanor and Turgon alongside frivolous, Jacobean elves such as the Solosimpi and Tinúviel.[T 4] Alongside the idea of the greater Elves, Tolkien toyed with the idea of children visiting Valinor, the island-homeland of the Elves in their sleep. Elves would also visit children at night and comfort them if they had been chided or were upset. This was abandoned in Tolkien's later writing.[T 6]

The Hobbit (c. 1930–1937)

Douglas Anderson shows that in The Hobbit, Tolkien again includes both the more serious 'medieval' type of elves, such as Elrond and the wood-elf king, Thranduil, and frivolous elves, such as the elvish guards at Rivendell.[T 4]

The Quenta Silmarillion (c. 1937)

In 1937, having had his manuscript for The Silmarillion rejected by a publisher who disparaged all the "eye-splitting Celtic names" that Tolkien had given his Elves, Tolkien denied the names had a Celtic origin:[T 7]

Needless to say they are not Celtic! Neither are the tales. I do know Celtic things (many in their original languages Irish and Welsh), and feel for them a certain distaste: largely for their fundamental unreason. They have bright colour, but are like a broken stained glass window reassembled without design. They are in fact "mad" as your reader says – but I don't believe I am.[T 7]

Dimitra Fimi proposes that these comments are a product of his Anglophilia rather than a commentary on the texts themselves or their actual influence on his writing, and cites evidence to this effect in her essay "'Mad' Elves and 'elusive beauty': some Celtic strands of Tolkien's mythology".[17]

The Lord of the Rings (c. 1937–1949)

Further information: Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings

In The Lord of the Rings Tolkien pretends to be merely the translator of Bilbo and Frodo's memoirs, collectively known as the Red Book of Westmarch. He says that those names and terms that appear in English are meant to be his purported translations from the Common Speech.[T 8]

According to Tom Shippey, the theme of diminishment from semi-divine Elf to diminutive Fairy resurfaces in The Lord of the Rings in the dialogue of Galadriel.[21] "Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten."[T 9]

Writing in 1954, part way through proofreading The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien claimed that the Elvish language Sindarin had a character very like British-Welsh "because it seems to fit the rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers".[T 10] In the same letter, Tolkien goes on to say that the elves had very little in common with elves or fairies of Europe, and that they really represent men with greater artistic ability, beauty and a longer life span. In his writings, an Elven bloodline was the only real claim to 'nobility' that the Men of Middle-earth could have.[T 10] Tolkien wrote that the elves are primarily to blame for many of the ills of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings, having independently created the Three Rings to stop their domains in mortal-lands from 'fading' and attempting to prevent inevitable change and new growth.[22]

Fictional history

Main article: The Silmarillion

Awakening

Arda in the First Age, with the sundering of the Elves. The Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, on the Sea of Helcar (right) in Middle-earth, and many of them migrated westwards to Valinor in Aman, though some stopped in Beleriand (top), and others returned to Beleriand later.

The first Elves were awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen during the Years of the Trees (before the First Age). They awoke under the starlit sky, as the Sun and Moon had yet to be created. The first Elves to awaken were three pairs: Imin ("First") and his wife Iminyë, Tata ("Second") and Tatië, and Enel ("Third") and Enelyë. They walked through the forests, finding other pairs of Elves, who became their folk. They lived by the rivers, and invented poetry and music in Middle-earth. Journeying further, they came across tall and dark-haired elves, the fathers of most of the Noldor. They invented many new words. Continuing their journey, they found elves singing without language, the ancestors of most of the Teleri.[T 11] The elves were discovered by the Vala Oromë, who brought the news of their awakening to Valinor.[T 12]

Sundering

Main article: Sundering of the Elves

The Valar decided to summon the Elves to Valinor rather than leaving them where they were first awakened, near the Cuiviénen lake in the eastern extremity of Middle-earth. They sent Oromë, who took Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë as ambassadors to Valinor. Returning to Middle-earth, Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë convinced many of the Elves to take the Great Journey (also called the Great March) to Valinor. Those who did not accept the summons became known as the Avari, The Unwilling. The others were called Eldar, the People of the Stars by Oromë, and they took Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë as their leaders, and became respectively the Vanyar, Noldor and Teleri (who spoke Vanyarin Quenya, Noldorin Quenya, and Telerin, respectively). On their journey, some of the Teleri feared the Misty Mountains and dared not cross them. They turned back and stayed in the vales of the Anduin, and, led by Lenwë, became the Nandor, who spoke Nandorin. Oromë led the others over the Misty Mountains and Ered Lindon into Beleriand. There Elwë became lost, and the Teleri stayed behind looking for him. The Vanyar and the Noldor moved onto a floating island, Tol Eressëa, that was moved by Ulmo to Valinor. After years, Ulmo returned to Beleriand to seek out the remaining Teleri. Without Elwë, many of the Teleri took his brother Olwë as their leader and were ferried to Valinor. Some Teleri stayed behind though, still looking for Elwë, and others stayed on the shores, being called by Ossë. They took Círdan as their leader and became the Falathrim. The Teleri who stayed in Beleriand later became known as the Sindar.[23]

Matthew Dickerson, writing in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, notes the "very complicated changes, with shifting meanings assigned to the same names" as Tolkien worked on his conception of the elves and their divisions and migrations. He states that the sundering of the elves allowed Tolkien, a professional philologist, to develop two languages, distinct but related, Quenya for the Eldar and Sindarin for the Sindar, citing Tolkien's own statement that the stories were made to create a world for the languages, not the reverse. Dickerson cites the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey's suggestion that the "real root" of The Silmarillion lay in the linguistic relationship, complete with sound-changes and differences of semantics, between these two languages of the divided elves. Shippey writes, too, that the elves are separated not by colour, despite names like light and dark, but by history, including their migrations.[23][24][25]

Exile

In Valinor, Fëanor, son of Finwë, and the greatest of the Elves, created the Silmarils in which he stored a part of the light of the Two Trees that were lighting Valinor.[T 13] After three ages in the Halls of Mandos, Melkor was released, feigning reform. He however spread his evil and started to poison the minds of the Elves against the Valar. Eventually he killed Finwë and stole the Silmarils. Fëanor then named him Morgoth (Sindarin: The Black Enemy). Fëanor and his seven sons then swore to take the Silmarils back, and led a large army of the Noldor to Beleriand.[T 14]

Wars of Beleriand

In Beleriand, Elwë was eventually found, and married Melian the Maia. He became the overlord of Beleriand, naming himself Thingol (Sindarin: Grey-cloak). After the First Battle of Beleriand, during the first rising of the Moon, the Noldor arrived in Beleriand.[T 14] They laid a siege around Morgoth's fortress of Angband, but were eventually defeated.[T 15] The Elves never regained the upper hand, finally losing the hidden kingdoms Nargothrond, Doriath, and Gondolin near the culmination of the war.[T 16][T 17] When the Elves had been forced to the furthest southern reaches of Beleriand, Eärendil the Mariner, a half-elf from the House of Finwë, sailed to Valinor to ask the Valar for help. The Valar started the War of Wrath, finally defeating Morgoth.[T 18]

Second and Third Ages

After the War of Wrath, the Valar tried to summon the Elves back to Valinor. Many complied, but some stayed. During the Second Age they founded the Realms of Lindon (all that was left of Beleriand after the cataclysm), Eregion, and Rhovanion (Mirkwood). Sauron, Morgoth's former servant, made war upon them, but with the aid of the Númenóreans they defeated him, though both the king of the Noldorin Elves, Gil-galad, and Elendil, king of the Númenóreans, were killed. During the Second and Third Ages, they held some protected realms such as Lothlorien, ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn, Rivendell, ruled by Elrond and home to the Elf-Lord Glorfindel, and the Grey Havens, ruled by Círdan the shipwright, with the aid of the Three Rings of Power. Círdan and his Elves built the ships on which the Elves departed, when they chose, to Valinor.[T 19]

Fourth Age

After the destruction of the One Ring, the power of the Three Rings of the Elves ended and the Fourth Age, the Age of Men, began. Most Elves left for Valinor; those that remained in Middle-earth were doomed to a slow decline until, in the words of Galadriel, they faded and became a "rustic folk of dell and cave". The fading played out over thousands of years, until in the modern world, occasional glimpses of rustic Elves would fuel folktales and fantasies. Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond, did not accompany their father when the White Ship bearing the Ring-bearer and the chief Noldorin leaders sailed from the Grey Havens to Valinor; they remained in Lindon. Celeborn and other elves of the Grey Havens remained for a while before leaving for Valinor. Legolas founded an elf colony in Ithilien during King Elessar's reign; the elves there helped to rebuild Gondor, living mainly in southern Ithilien, along the shores of the Anduin. After Elessar's death, Legolas built a ship and sailed to Valinor and, eventually, all the elves in Ithilien followed him. Sam Gamgee sailed from the Havens decades after Elrond's departure.

In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" in Appendix A, most Elves have already left, barring some in Mirkwood and a few in Lindon; the garden of Elrond in Rivendell is empty. Arwen flees to an abandoned Lothlórien, where she dies.[T 20]

Characteristics

Further information: Elfland and Women in The Lord of the Rings

Elves, at least the Eldar, have a pregnancy that lasts about a year. By the age of 1, elves can speak, walk and dance. Puberty and full height are attained at around their fiftieth to one hundredth year, when they stop aging physically.[T 21] Elves marry freely, monogamously, only once, and for love early in life; adultery is unthinkable.[T 21] Betrothal, with the exchange of rings, lasts at least a year, and is revocable by the return of the rings, but is rarely broken.[T 21] Marriage is by words exchanged by the bride and groom (including the speaking of the name of Eru Ilúvatar) and consummation; it is celebrated with a feast. Wedding rings are worn on the index fingers. The bride's mother gives the groom a jewel to wear.[T 21] Elves view the sexual act as special and intimate, for it leads to the birth of children. Elves cannot be forced to have sex; before that they will lose the will to endure and go to Mandos.[T 21] Elves have few children,[a] and there are long intervals between each child. They are soon preoccupied with other pleasures; their libido wanes and they focus their interests elsewhere, like the arts.[T 21]

Elves, particularly the Noldor, spend their time on smithwork, sculpture, music and other arts, and on preparing food. Males and females are equal, but females often specialize in the arts of healing while the males go to war. This is because they believe that taking life interferes with the ability to preserve life. However, females can defend themselves at need as well as males, and many males such as Elrond are skilled healers.[T 21] Elves are skilful horse-riders, riding without saddle or bridle, though Tolkien was inconsistent on this point.[26]

Elves are immortal, and remain unwearied with age. They can recover from wounds which would be fatal to a Man, but can be killed in battle. Spirits of dead Elves go to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. After a certain period of time and rest that serves as "cleansing", their spirits are clothed in bodies identical to their old ones.[T 23] If they do not die in battle or accident, Elves eventually grow weary of Middle-earth and desire to go to Valinor;[T 24] they often sail from the Grey Havens, where Círdan the Shipwright dwells with his folk.[T 25][T 26] Eventually, their immortal spirits overwhelm and consume their bodies, rendering them "bodiless", whether they opt to go to Valinor or not. At the end of the world, all Elves will have become invisible to mortal eyes, except to those to whom they wish to manifest themselves.[T 21]

Elvish languages

Main article: Elvish languages (Middle-earth)

Tolkien created many languages for his Elves. His interest was primarily philological, and he said his stories grew out of his languages. Indeed, the languages were the first thing Tolkien ever created for his mythos, starting with what he originally called "Elfin" or "Qenya" [sic]. This was later spelled Quenya (High-elven) and, along with Sindarin (Grey-elven), is one of the two most complete of Tolkien's constructed languages. Elves are also credited with creating the Tengwar (by Fëanor) and Cirth (Daeron) scripts.[27]

Adaptations

Wood elves as portrayed in the 1977 Rankin-Bass version of The Hobbit

In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film series (2001–2003), Elves are shown as physically superior to Men in terms of eyesight, balance, and aim, but their superiority in other ways is "never really made clear".[28]

Jackson's Elves resemble those of the 19th-20th century Celtic Revival, as in John Duncan's 1911 painting The Riders of the Sidhe, rather than Tolkien's reconstruction of medieval Elves, according to Dimitra Fimi.[29]

The Tolkien scholar Dimitra Fimi compared Jackson's handling of Elves with Tolkien's. Tolkien's Elves are rooted as firmly as possible in Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Norse tradition, but influenced also by Celtic fairies in the Tuatha Dé Danann. Jackson's Elves are however "Celtic" in the romanticised sense of the Celtic Revival.[29][30] She compares Jackson's representation of Gildor Inglorion's party of Elves riding through the Shire "moving slowly and gracefully towards the West, accompanied by ethereal music" with John Duncan's 1911 painting The Riders of the Sidhe. She notes that Jackson's conceptual designer, the illustrator Alan Lee, had made use of the painting in the 1978 book Faeries.[29]

In popular culture

Tolkien-style Elves have influenced the depiction of elves in the fantasy genre from the 1960s and afterwards. Elves speaking an elvish language similar to those in Tolkien's novels became staple non-human characters in high fantasy works and in fantasy role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons, and often portrayed as being mentally sharp and lovers of nature, art, and song, wiser and more beautiful than humans. They usually fulfill the archetype of being skilled archers and gifted in magic.[31]

Notes

  1. ^ An exception was Fëanor, who had seven sons.[T 22]

References

Primary

This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.
  1. ^ Carpenter 1981, #25, to the editor of The Observer, printed 20 February 1938
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c Tolkien 1984
  3. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R. (1984b), Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales, vol. 2, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, ISBN 0-395-36614-3
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Tolkien 1937, p. 120
  5. ^ Tolkien 1987, p. 171, The Lhammas
  6. ^ Tolkien 1984, p. 31, The Cottage of Lost Play
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b Carpenter 1981, #26
  8. ^ Tolkien 1955, Appendix F
  9. ^ Tolkien 1954a book 2, ch. 7 "The Mirror of Galadriel"
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b Carpenter 1981, #144
  11. ^ Tolkien 1994, "Quendi and Eldar"
  12. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 3 "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
  13. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 7, "Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"
  14. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, ch. 9, "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
  15. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 13, "Of the Return of the Noldor"
  16. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 22, "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  17. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 23, "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
  18. ^ 'Tolkien 1977, ch. 24, "Of the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath"
  19. ^ Tolkien 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
  20. ^ Tolkien 1955, Appendix A, 1. v. "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen"
  21. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h Tolkien 1993, "Laws and Customs among the Eldar"
  22. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 5 "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
  23. ^ Tolkien 1993, The Converse of Manwë and Eru, pp. 361–364
  24. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 1 "Of the Beginning of Days"
  25. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 20 "Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad". "At the bidding of Turgon Círdan built seven swift ships, and they sailed out into the West"
  26. ^ Tolkien 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age". "at the Grey Havens of Lindon there abode also a remnant of the people of Gil-galad the Elvenking. ... for the most part they dwelt near the shores of the sea, building and tending the elven-ships wherein those of the Firstborn who grew weary of the world set sail into the uttermost West. Círdan the Shipwright was lord of the Havens and mighty among the Wise."

Secondary

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e f g h i j k l m Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Third ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 66–74. ISBN 978-0261102750.
  2. ^ Simek, Rudolf; Hall, Angela (trans.) (2007). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. D.S. Brewer. pp. 7–8, 73–74. ISBN 978-0-85991-513-7.
  3. ^ Solopova, Elizabeth (2009), Languages, Myths and History: An Introduction to the Linguistic and Literary Background of J. R. R. Tolkien's Fiction, New York City: North Landing Books, p. 26, ISBN 978-0-9816607-1-4
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b c Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Third ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 270–273. ISBN 978-0261102750.
  5. ^ Horstmann, C., ed. (1887). St Michael. The Early South English Legendary. lines 253-258: Trubner/Early English Text Society. p. 307. ISBN 9780527000844.
  6. ^ Zipes, Jack (1989). Victorian fairy tales : the revolt of the fairies and elves (Paperback ed.). Routledge. p. xxiv. ISBN 978-0-415-90140-6.
  7. ^ Garth, John (2003), Tolkien and the Great War, London: HarperCollins (published 2004), p. 78, ISBN 978-0-00-711953-0
  8. ^ Garth, John (2003), Tolkien and the Great War, London: HarperCollins (published 2004), p. 76, ISBN 978-0-00-711953-0
  9. ^ Burns, Marjorie (2005). Perilous realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth. University of Toronto Press. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-8020-3806-9.
  10. ^ Electric Scotland. "Scottish Charms and Amulets" Elf-Arrows
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b Hall, Alaric (2005). "Calling the shots: the Old English remedy gif hors ofscoten sie and Anglo-Saxon 'elf-shot'". Neuphilologische Mitteilungen: Bulletin of the Modern Language Society. 106 (2): 195–209. JSTOR 43344130.
  12. ^ Clark Hall, J. R. (2002) [1894]. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th ed.). University of Toronto Press. pp. 286, 395, 423.
  13. ^ Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Third ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 282–284. ISBN 978-0261102750.
  14. ^ Eden, Bradford Lee (2013) [2007]. "Elves". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 150–152. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
  15. ^ Fimi, Dimitra. "Come sing ye light fairy things tripping so gay: Victorian Fairies and the Early Work of J. R. R. Tolkien" Archived 31 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Working With English: Medieval and Modern Language, Literature and Drama. Retrieved 11/01/08
  16. ^ Jump up to:a b c Carpenter, Humphrey (1977), J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography, New York: Ballantine Books, ISBN 978-0-04-928037-3
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Fimi, Dimitra (August 2006). ""Mad" Elves and "elusive beauty": some Celtic strands of Tolkien's mythology". Folklore. 117 (2): 156–170. doi:10.1080/00155870600707847. S2CID 162292626.
  18. ^ Garth, John (2003), Tolkien and the Great War, London: HarperCollins (published 2004), p. 222, ISBN 978-0-00-711953-0
  19. ^ Gunnell, Terry (2011). "Tivar in a Timeless Land: Tolkien's Elves". University of Iceland.
  20. ^ Burns, Marjorie (2005). Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien's Middle-earth. University of Toronto Press. p. 23. ISBN 978-0-8020-3806-7.
  21. ^ Shippey, T. A. (2000). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. HarperCollins. p. 211.
  22. ^ Brin, David (2008). Through Stranger Eyes: Reviews, Introductions, Tributes & Iconoclastic Essays. Nimble Books. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-934840-39-9.
  23. ^ Jump up to:a b Dickerson, Matthew (2013) [2007]. "Elves: Kindreds and Migrations". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 152–154. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
  24. ^ Shippey, Tom (2001). J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. HarperCollins. pp. 228–231. ISBN 978-0261-10401-3.
  25. ^ Flieger, Verlyn (2002). Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World (revised ed.). Kent State University Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0873387446.
  26. ^ Drout, Michael D. C.; Hitotsubashi, Namiko; Scavera, Rachel (2014). "Tolkien's Creation of the Impression of Depth". Tolkien Studies. 11 (1): 167–211. doi:10.1353/tks.2014.0008. ISSN 1547-3163. S2CID 170851865.
  27. ^ Hostetter, Carl F. (2013) [2007]. "Languages Invented by Tolkien". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge. pp. 332–343. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
  28. ^ Ford, Judy Ann; Reid, Robin Anne (2011). Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Into the West: Far Green Country or Shadow on the Waters?. Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7.
  29. ^ Jump up to:a b c Fimi, Dimitra (2011). Bogstad, Janice M.; Kaveny, Philip E. (eds.). Filming Folklore: Adapting Fantasy for the Big Screen through Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings Film Trilogy. McFarland. pp. 84–101. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7.
  30. ^ Rosebury, Brian (2003) [1992]. Tolkien: A Cultural Phenomenon. Palgrave. pp. 204–220. ISBN 978-1403-91263-3.
  31. ^ Bergman, Jenni (2011). The Significant Other: A Literary History of Elves (PhD). University of Cardiff.

Sources




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Vala (Middle-earth)

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"Valar" redirects here. For other uses, see Valar (disambiguation).

The Valar (['valar]; singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "angelic powers" or "gods"[T 1] subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar). The Ainulindalë describes how those of the Ainur who chose to enter the World (Arda) to complete its material development after its form was determined by the Music of the Ainur are called the Valar, or "the Powers of the World". The Valaquenta indicates that the Elves generally reserved the term "Valar" for the mightiest of these, calling the others the Maiar. The Valar are mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings but were developed earlier in material published posthumously in The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth.

Scholars have noted that the Valar resemble angels in Christianity but that Tolkien presented them rather more like pagan gods. Their role in providing what the characters on Middle-earth experience as luck or providence is also discussed.

Origin and Acts

The creator Eru Ilúvatar first revealed to the Ainur his great vision of the World through musical themes, as described in Ainulindalë, "The Music of the Ainur".[T 2]

This World, fashioned from his ideas and expressed as the Music of Ilúvatar, was refined by thoughtful interpretations by the Ainur, who then created their own themes based on each unique comprehension. No one Ainu understood all the themes that sprang from Ilúvatar. Instead, each elaborated individual themes, singing of mountains and subterranean regions, say, from themes for metals and stones. The themes of Ilúvatar's music were elaborated, and each of the Ainur added harmonious creative touches. Melkor, however, added discordant themes: He strove against the Music; his themes became evil because they sprang from selfishness and vanity, not from the enlightenment of Ilúvatar.[T 2]

Once the Music was complete, including Melkor's interwoven themes of vanity, Ilúvatar gave the Ainur a choice—to dwell with him or to enter the world that they had mutually created. Those that chose to enter the world became known as the Valar, the 'Powers of Arda', though the Elves generally reserved that term for the more powerful of them, calling the lesser Valar the Maiar. Among the Valar were some of the most powerful and wise of the Ainur, including Manwë, the Lord of the Valar, and Melkor, his brother. The two are distinguished by the selfless love of Manwë for the Music of Ilúvatar and the selfish love that Melkor bore for himself and no other—least of all for the Children of Ilúvatar, as the Elves and Men became known.[T 2]

Melkor (later named Morgoth, "dark enemy") arrived in the World first, causing tumult wherever he went. As the others arrived, they saw how Melkor's presence would destroy the integrity of Ilúvatar's themes. Eventually, and with the aid of the Vala Tulkas, who entered Arda last, Melkor was temporarily overthrown, and the Valar began shaping the world and creating beauty to counter the darkness and ugliness of Melkor's discordant noise.[T 3]

The Valar dwelt originally on the Isle of Almaren in the middle of the world, but after its destruction and the loss of the world's symmetry, they moved to the western continent of Aman and founded Valinor. The war with Melkor continued: The Valar realized many wonderful subthemes of Ilúvatar's grand music, while Melkor poured all his energy into Arda and the corruption of creatures like Balrogs, dragons, and Orcs. Most terrible of the early deeds of Melkor was the destruction of the Two Lamps and with them, the original home of the Valar, the Isle of Almaren. Melkor was captured and chained for many ages in the fastness of Mandos, until he was pardoned by Manwë.[T 3][T 4]

With the arrival of the Elves in the world and later in Valinor, a new phase of the regency of the Valar began. Summoned by the Valar, many Elves abandoned Middle-earth and the eastern continent for the West, where the Valar concentrated their creativity. There they made the Two Trees, their greatest joy because it gave light to the beauty of Valinor and pleased the Elves.[T 4]

At Melkor's instigation, however, the evil giant spider Ungoliant destroyed the Trees. Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, had, with forethought and love, captured the light of the Two Trees in three Silmarils, the greatest jewels ever created. Melkor stole the Silmarils from Fëanor, killed his father, Finwë, chief of the Noldor in Aman, and fled to Middle-earth. Many of the Noldor, in defiance of the will of the Valar, swore revenge and set out in pursuit. This event, and the poisonous words of Melkor that fostered mistrust among the Elves, led to the exile of the greater part of the Noldor to Middle-earth: The Valar closed Valinor against them to prevent their return.[T 5]

For the remainder of the First Age, the Lord of Waters, Ulmo, alone of the Valar visited the world beyond Aman. Ulmo directly influenced the actions of Tuor, setting him on the path to find the hidden city of Gondolin.[T 6] At the end of the First Age, the Valar sent forth a great host of Maiar and Elves from Valinor to Middle-earth, fighting the War of Wrath, in which Melkor was defeated. The lands were changed, and the Elves were again called to Valinor.[T 7]

During the Second Age, the Valar's main deeds were the creation of Númenor as a refuge for the Edain, who were denied access to Aman but given dominion over the rest of the world. The Valar, now including even Ulmo, remained aloof from Middle-earth, allowing the rise of Morgoth's lieutenant, Sauron, to power as a new Dark Lord. Near the end of the Second Age, Sauron convinced the Númenóreans to attack Aman itself. This led Manwë to call upon Ilúvatar to restore the world to order; Ilúvatar destroyed Númenor, as described in the Akallabêth.[T 8] Aman was removed from Middle-earth (though not from the World, for Elvish ships could still reach it).[T 8] In the Third Age, the Valar sent the Istari (or wizards) to Middle-earth to aid in the battle against Sauron.[T 9]

In the Ainulindalë, all the Ainur who entered Arda (the World) to complete its development according to the form given it by the Music of the Ainur are called "Valar".[T 2] In the Valaquenta, Tolkien states that "The Great among these spirits the Elves name the Valar", and he names the Lords and Queens of the Valar.[T 10]

The chief Valar

The names and attributes of the chief Valar, as they were known to the Elves in Valinor, are listed below. In Middle-earth, they were known by their Sindarin names: Varda, for example, was called Elbereth. Men knew them by many other names, and sometimes worshipped them as gods. With the exception of Oromë, the names listed below are not actual names but rather titles: The true names of the Valar are nowhere recorded. The males are called "Lords of the Valar", and the females are called "Queens of the Valar," or Valier. Of the seven male and seven female Valar, there are six married pairs: Ulmo and Nienna are the only ones who dwell alone. This is evidently a form of spiritual union, as in Tolkien's later conception they do not reproduce in a manner reminiscent of the classical Greek gods.

The Aratar (Quenya: Exalted), or High Ones of Arda, are the eight greatest of the Valar: Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna, Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë. Lórien and Mandos are brothers and are referred to collectively as the Fëanturi, "Masters of Spirits".

Ilúvatar brought the Valar (and all the Ainur) into being by his thought and may therefore be considered their father. However, not all the Valar are siblings; where this is held to be so, it is because they are so "in the thought of Ilúvatar". It was the Valar who first practised marriage and later passed on their custom to the Elves; all the Valar had spouses, save Nienna, Ulmo, and Melkor. Only one such marriage among the Valar took place within the world, that of Tulkas and Nessa after the raising of the Two Lamps.[T 10]

Lords

Lords of the Valar[T 10]
Name(s)DutiesSpouseDwelling-placeDescription
ManwëKing of the Valar, King of Arda, Lord of air, wind, and cloudsVardaAtop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the domed halls of Ilmarin from where he could see right across Middle-earthNoblest and greatest in authority, but not in power, of the Ainur; greatest of the Aratar.
UlmoLord of Waters—No fixed dwelling place: he lived in deep waters of oceanCame to Valinor only in dire need. A chief architect of Arda. In authority, second to Manwë
AulëLord of matter, Master of all craftsYavannaValinorCreated the seven fathers of the Dwarves, who call him Mahal, the Maker. Eru the One was not pleased, as the stone people were not of the original theme, but when they cringed upon Aulë's hammer, Eru pardoned Aulë's disobedience but noted the repercussions, including the love of the Dwarves' iron for Yavanna's trees. During the Music of the Ainur, Aulë's themes concerned the physical things of which Arda is made; when Eru Ilúvatar gave being to the themes of the Ainur, his music became the lands of Middle-earth. He made Angainor (the chain of Melkor), the Two Lamps, and the vessels of the Sun and Moon.
Oromë [ˈorome], Araw in Sindarin, Aldaron "Lord of the Trees", Arum, Béma, Arāmē, the Great RiderHuntsman of the ValarVánaBrother of Nessa. Active in the struggle against Morgoth. Renowned for his anger, the most terrible of the Valar in his wrath. Had a mighty horn, Valaróma, and a steed called Nahar. During the Years of the Trees, after most of the Valar had hidden in Aman, Oromë still hunted the Enemy in the forests of Middle-earth with Huan, Hound of the Valar. There he found the Elves at Cuiviénen.[a]
Mandos [ˈmandos], Námo [ˈnaːmo]Judge of the Dead, Master of Doom, Chief advisor to Manwë, Keeper of the souls of elvesVairëHalls of MandosStern and dispassionate, never forgetting a thing.

Spoke the Prophecy of the North against the Noldor leaving Aman, counselling that they should not be allowed to return.[b]

The prophecies and judgments of Mandos, unlike Morgoth, are not cruel or vindictive by his own design. They are simply the will of Eru, and he will not speak them unless he is commanded to do so by Manwë. Only once has he been moved to pity, when Lúthien sang of the grief she and her lover Beren had experienced in Beleriand.

Lórien [ˈloːrien], Irmo [ˈirmo]Master of Visions and DreamsEstëLórienNamed Irmo, but referred to more commonly as Lórien, after his dwelling place. Lórien and Mandos are the Fëanturi: Masters of spirits. Lórien, the younger, is the master of visions and dreams. His gardens in the land of the Valar, where he dwells with his wife Estë, are the fairest place in the world and are filled with many spirits. All those who dwell in Valinor find rest and refreshment at the fountain of Irmo and Estë. Since he is the master of dreams, he and his servants are well aware of the hopes and dreams of the children of Eru. Olórin, or Gandalf, prior to his assignment by Manwë to a role as one of the Istari, was a Maia long taught in the gardens of Lórien.
Tulkas [ˈtulkas] the Strong, Astaldo "The Brave One"Champion of ValinorNessaNot initially one of the Valar, Tulkas the Strong was "greatest in strength and deeds of prowess ... [who] came last to Arda, to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor".[T 10] Having joined the Valar, Tulkas became the Last of the Valar to descend into Arda, helping tip the scales against Melkor after the destruction of the Two Lamps. Fleeter of foot than any other living thing, he eschews a steed in battle. A wrestler, physically the strongest of Valar, his fist is his only weapon. He laughs in sport and in war, and even laughed in the face of Melkor. Husband of Nessa; slow to anger, but slow to forget; opposes release of Melkor after his prison sentence.

Queens

The Valier, Queens of the Valar[T 10]
Name(s)SpouseDescription
Varda
Elentári in Quenya
Elbereth Gilthoniel in Sindarin
Lady of the Stars
the Kindler		ManwëKindled the first stars before the Ainur descended into the world; later brightened them with gold and silver dew from the Two Trees. Melkor feared and hated her the most, because she rejected him before Time. The Elvish hymn 'A Elbereth Gilthoniel' appears in three differing forms in The Lord of the Rings.[T 11][T 12][T 13]
Nienna
Lady of Mercy,
acquainted with grief		   ——Tutor of Olórin; weeps constantly, but not for herself; and those who hearken to her learn pity, and endurance in hope. She gives strength to those in the Hall of Mandos. Her tears are those of healing and compassion, not of sadness, and often have potency; she watered the Two Trees with her tears, and washed the filth of Ungoliant away from them once they were destroyed. She was in favour of releasing Melkor after his sentence, not being able to see his evil nature.
Estë [ˈeste]
The Gentle
"the healer of hurts and of weariness"		IrmoHer name means 'Rest'. "Grey is her raiment, and rest her gift." Lives with Irmo in his Gardens of Lórien in Valinor. She sleeps at day on the island in the Lake Lorellin.
Vairë [ˈvai̯re]
the Weaver		MandosShe weaves the story of the World in her tapestries, which are draped all over the halls of Mandos.
Yavanna [jaˈvanna]
Queen of the Earth
Giver of Fruits		AulëShe created the Two Trees, and is responsible for the kelvar (animals) and olvar (plants). It was she who requested the creation of the Ents, as she feared for the safety of the trees once her husband had created the Dwarves. The Two Lamps are created by Aulë at Yavanna's request, and their light germinates the seeds that she had planted. Following the destruction of the Two Lamps by Melkor and the withdrawal of the Valar to Aman, Yavanna sang into being the Two Trees of Valinor.
Vána [ˈvaːna]
Queen of Blossoming Flowers and the Ever-young		OromëYounger sister of Yavanna. "All flowers spring as she passes and open if she glances upon them; and all birds sing at her coming." She dwells in gardens filled with golden flowers and often comes to the forests of Oromë. Tolkien wrote that Vána was "the most perfectly 'beautiful' in form and feature (also 'holy' but not august or sublime), representing the natural unmarred perfection of form in living things".[T 14]
Nessa
The Dancer		TulkasSister of Oromë. Noted for her agility and speed, she is able to outrun the deer who follow her in the wild. Known for her love of dancing and celebration on the ever-green lawns of Valinor.

Melkor (Morgoth)

Main article: Morgoth

Melkor was the first Dark Lord. His name means "he who arises in might". He was the first of the Ainur to be created by Eru Ilúvatar and the one who created discord in the Music of the Ainur. The spiritual brother of Manwë, he was the most powerful of the Valar, as he was the only one who possessed all aspects of Eru's thought. He turned to evil, and was taken back to Valinor in the chain Angainor after the Awakening of the Elves in Cuiviénen. He remained on parole in Valinor for three Ages, but after the poisoning of the Two Trees and the theft of the Silmarils, he fled from Valinor.[T 15] He was no longer counted among the Valar, and Fëanor, one of the leaders of the Noldorin Elves, called him "Morgoth Bauglir", the Great Enemy, and he was known by that in Middle-earth ever after.[T 5] He was cast out of Arda at the end of the War of Wrath.[T 7]

Language[edit]

External history

Tolkien at first decided that Valarin, the tongue of the Valar as it is called in the Elvish language Quenya, would be the proto-language of the Elves, the tongue Oromë taught to the speechless Elves. He then developed the Valarin tongue and its grammar in the early 1930s.[T 16] Ten years later he decided to drop that idea, and the tongue he had developed became Primitive Quendian instead.[T 17] He then conceived an entirely new tongue for the Valar, still called Valarin in Quenya.[T 18]

Internal story

The Valar as spiritual immortal beings have the ability to communicate through thought and had no need for a spoken language, but it appears that Valarin developed because of their assumption of physical, humanlike (or elf-like) forms. Valarin is unrelated to the other languages constructed by J. R. R. Tolkien. Only a few words (mainly proper names) of Valarin have been recorded by the Elves.[1]

Valarin was alien to the ears of the Elves, sometimes to the point of genuine displeasure,[T 19] and very few of them ever learned the language, only adopting some of the Valarin words into their own Quenya. The Valar knew Quenya and used it to converse with the Elves, or with each other if Elves were present. Valarin contained sounds that the Elves found difficult to produce, and the words were mostly long;[T 19] for example, the Valarin word for Telperion, one of the Two Trees of Valinor, Ibrîniðilpathânezel, has eight syllables. The Vanyar adopted more words into their Vanyarin Tarquesta dialect from Valarin than the Noldor, as they lived closer to the Valar. Some of the Elven names of the Valar, such as Manwë, Ulmo, and Oromë, are adapted loanwords of their Valarin names.[1]

According to the earlier conception set forth in the Lhammas, the Valarin language family is subdivided into Oromëan, the Dwarves' Khuzdul (Aulëan), and Melkor's Black Speech. In this work, all Elvish languages are descended from the tongue of Oromë, while the Dwarves spoke the tongue devised by Aulë, and the Speech of the Orcs was invented for them by Melkor.[T 20]

Analysis

Norse Æsir

Some critics have noted the similarity of the Valar to the Æsir, the strong and combative Norse gods of Asgard.[2][3] Painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, 1817
Further information: J. R. R. Tolkien's influences § Norse

Critics such as John Garth have noted that the Valar resemble the Æsir, the gods of Asgard.[2] Thor, for example, physically the strongest of the gods, can be seen both in Oromë, who fights the monsters of Melkor, and in Tulkas, the strongest of the Valar. Manwë, the head of the Valar, has some similarities to Odin, the "Allfather",[3] while the wizard Gandalf, one of the Maiar, resembles Odin the wanderer.[4]

Godlike power

Tolkien compared King Théoden of Rohan, charging into the enemy at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, to a Vala of great power, and to "a god of old":[T 21]

Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came ... and the hosts of Mordor wailed ... and the hoofs of wrath rode over them.[T 21]

The Episcopal priest and author Fleming Rutledge comments that while Tolkien is not equating the events here with the Messiah's return, he was happy when readers picked up biblical echoes. In her view the language here is biblical, evoking Malachi's messianic prophecy "See, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble ... And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet".[5]

Pagan gods or angels

Other scholars have likened the Valar to Christian angels, intermediaries between the creator and the created world.[6][7] Painting by Lorenzo Lippi, c. 1645

The theologian Ralph C. Wood describes the Valar and Maiar as being what Christians "would call angels", intermediaries between the creator, named Eru Ilúvatar in The Silmarillion, and the created cosmos. Like angels, they have free will and can therefore rebel against him.[6]

Matthew Dickerson, writing in the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, calls the Valar the "Powers of Middle-earth", noting that they are not incarnated and quoting Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger's description of their original role as "to shape and light the world".[7] Dickerson writes that while Tolkien presents the Valar like pagan gods, he imagined them more like angels and notes that scholars have compared the devotion of Tolkien's Elves to Varda/Elbereth as resembling the Roman Catholic veneration of Mary the mother of Jesus. Dickerson states that the key point is that the Valar were "not to be worshipped".[7] He argues that as a result, the Valar's knowledge and power had to be limited, and they could make mistakes and moral errors. Their bringing of the Elves to Valinor meant that the Elves were "gathered at their knee", a moral error as it suggested something close to worship.[7]

Marjorie Burns notes that Tolkien wrote that to be acceptable to modern readers, mythology had to be brought up to "our grade of assessment". In her view, between his early Book of Lost Tales[c] and the published Silmarillion, the Valar had greatly changed, "civilized and modernized", and this had made the Valar "slowly and slightly" more Christian. For example, the Valar now had "spouses" rather than "wives", and their unions were spiritual, not physical. All the same, she writes, readers still perceive the Valar "as a pantheon", serving as gods.[8]

Luck or providence

The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey discusses the connection between the Valar and "luck" on Middle-earth, writing that as in real life, "People ... do in sober reality recognise a strongly patterning force in the world around them" but that while this may be due to "Providence or the Valar", the force "does not affect free will and cannot be distinguished from the ordinary operations of nature" nor reduce the necessity of "heroic endeavour".[9] He notes that this exactly matches the Old English view of luck and personal courage, as Beowulf's "Wyrd often spares the man who isn't doomed, as long as his courage holds."[9] The Tolkien critic Paul H. Kocher similarly discusses the role of providence, in the form of the intentions of the Valar or of the creator Eru Ilúvatar, in Bilbo's finding of the One Ring and Frodo's bearing of it; as Gandalf says, they were "meant" to have it, though it remained their choice to co-operate with this purpose.[10]

Rutledge writes that in The Lord of the Rings, and especially at moments like Gandalf's explanation to Frodo in "The Shadow of the Past", there are clear hints of a higher power at work in events in Middle-earth:[11]

There was more than one power at work, Frodo. The Ring was trying to get back to its master ... Behind that there was something else at work, beyond any design of the Ring-maker. I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker. In which case you also were meant to have it. [Tolkien's italics][T 23]

Rutledge notes that in this way, Tolkien repeatedly hints at a higher power "that controls even the Ring itself, even the maker of the Ring himself [her italics]", and asks who or what that power might be. Her reply is that at the surface level, it means the Valar, "a race of created beings (analogous to the late-biblical angels)"; at a deeper level, it means "the One", Eru Ilúvatar, or in Christian terms, divine Providence.[11]

Impact

The planetoids 385446 Manwë and 174567 Varda are named for Manwë[12] and Varda[13] respectively.

Notes

  1. ^ In The Return of the King, Théoden is compared to Oromë when he leads the charge of Rohirrim in The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young."
  2. ^ "Tears unnumbered ye shall shed; and the Valar will fence Valinor against you, and shut you out, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the House of Fëanor the wrath of the Valar lieth from the West unto the uttermost East, and upon all that will follow them it shall be laid also. Their Oath shall drive them, and yet betray them, and ever snatch away the very treasures that they have sworn to pursue. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well; and by treason of kin unto kin, and the fear of treason, shall this come to pass. The Dispossessed shall they be for ever." The Silmarillion
  3. ^ The Book of Lost Tales had two additional Valar, Makar and Meássë, omitted from Tolkien's later works, with roles similar to war gods of classical myth.[T 22]

References

Primary

This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.
  1. ^ Carpenter 1981, #154 to Naomi Mitchison, September 1954
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Tolkien 1977, "Ainulindalë"
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, ch. 1, "Of the Beginning of Days"
  4. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, ch. 3 "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
  5. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, ch. 9 "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
  6. ^ Tolkien 1977, Ch. 23, "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, ch. 24, "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1977, "Akallabêth"
  9. ^ Tolkien 1980, "The Istari"
  10. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e Tolkien 1977, ""Valaquenta"
  11. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 1, ch. 3 "Three is Company"
  12. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 2, ch. 1 "Many Meetings"
  13. ^ Tolkien 1954, book 4, ch. 10 "The Choices of Master Samwise"
  14. ^ Parma Eldalamberon #17, 2007, p. 150.
  15. ^ Tolkien 1977, ch. 6 "Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor"
  16. ^ Tolkien 1987, ch. 7 The Lhammas
  17. ^ Tolkien, J. R. R., "Tengwesta Qenderinwa", Parma Eldalamberon 18, p. 72
  18. ^ Tolkien 1994, pp. 397–407
  19. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1994 p. 398
  20. ^ Tolkien 1987 ch. 7 "The Lhammas"
  21. ^ Jump up to:a b Tolkien 1955, book 5, ch. 5, "The Ride of the Rohirrim"
  22. ^ Tolkien 1984, chs 3 "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", 4 "The Chaining of Melko", 5 "The Coming of the Elves and the Making of Kôr", and 6 "The Theft of Melko and the Darkening of Valinor"
  23. ^ Tolkien 1954a, book 1, ch. 2 "The Shadow of the Past"

Secondary

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b Fauskanger (acknowledged expert on Tolkien's languages), Helge Kåre. "Valarin - like the glitter of swords". Ardalambion: Of the Tongues of Arda, the invented world of J.R.R. Tolkien. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b Garth, John (2003). Tolkien and the Great War: The Threshold of Middle-earth. Houghton Mifflin. p. 86. ISBN 0-618-33129-8.
  3. ^ Jump up to:a b Chance, Jane (2004). Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. p. 169. ISBN 0-8131-2301-1.
  4. ^ Jøn, A. Asbjørn (1997). An investigation of the Teutonic god Óðinn; and a study of his relationship to J. R. R. Tolkien's character, Gandalf. University of New England.
  5. ^ Rutledge, Fleming (2004). The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 286–288, "The Image of the Sun-King". ISBN 978-0-80282-497-4. She cites Malachi Malachi 4:1–3
  6. ^ Jump up to:a b Wood, Ralph C. (2003). The Gospel According to Tolkien. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-664-23466-9.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Dickerson, Matthew (2013) [2007]. "Valar". In Drout, Michael D. C. (ed.). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge. pp. 689–690. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
  8. ^ Burns, Marjorie (2004). "Norse and Christian Gods: The Integrative Theology of J. R. R. Tolkien". In Chance, Jane (ed.). Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 163–178. ISBN 0-8131-2301-1.
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b Shippey, Tom (2005) [1982]. The Road to Middle-Earth (Third ed.). HarperCollins. pp. 173–174, 262. ISBN 978-0261102750.
  10. ^ Kocher, Paul (1974) [1972]. Master of Middle-earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien. Penguin Books. p. 37. ISBN 0140038779.
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b Rutledge, Fleming (2004). The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. pp. 62–63, "The Third Power Makes Itself Known", and throughout. ISBN 978-0-80282-497-4.
  12. ^ "385446 Manwe (2003 QW111)". Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  13. ^ "(174567) Varda = 2003 MW12". International Astronomical Union Minor Planet Center. Retrieved 28 September 2021.

Sources



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