Setting-wide: People and Races, Sauron The Silmarillion: Eru and the Ainur, Enemies, First-Generation Elven Royalty, the House of Fëanor, the House of Fingolfin The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Free Men, the Elves, the Forces of Sauron, Other Characters
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Eru and the Ainur
Eru Ilúvatar
Eru (the One), also called Ilúvatar (All-Father), is the monotheistic God of Tolkien's universe who created the Ainur (Holy Ones), powerful angelic spirits, and then with their help "sang" the universe, Eä, into existence. The Ainur are composed of the godlike Valar, and the lesser Maiar, who faithfully serve the Valar. He also created his Children, the Elves and Men, but not Dwarves, they were… not part of the plan originally.
- Above the Gods: The Valar are essentially gods who created the universe, but Eru created them and surpasses them in power.
- Art Initiates Life: Much like how God speaks creation into being in Genesis, Eru is said to have created the universe by singing and harmonizing with his Valar. The dark side of this form of creation is that when some of the Valar deliberately disharmonize, it introduces evil into the symphony of creation.
- Batman Gambit: Melkor's attempted destruction and ruination of Middle Earth and Arda actually leads to the fulfilment of Eru's plans all along (e.g. Snow, which Eru wanted to increase the beauty of Middle Earth, was created because Melkor tried to destroy rain by freezing it.)This applies to all evil in Middle Earth, as Melkor is responsible for every example of it from the start, yet that leads to the ultimate fulfillment of Eru's plan. Ergo, Eru pulls perhaps the greatest Batman Gambit of all time, because every single example of evil there ever was plays right into Eru's plan, despite the fact that the intention was to defeat Eru's plan.
- Berserk Button: Whether you are god or mortal: Don't screw around with his Gift of Men. You better not. He sunk Númenor, rearranged the planet/cosmos and kicked Sauron so hard the latter was unable to ever assume a fair or manipulative form ever again.
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: Inverted. Eru has a lot of similarities to the Abrahamic deity to the point that they can be interpreted as being one and the same (as to be expected from a devoutly Catholic author), but the way in which his creations worship him is very different from traditional Christian practice. There are very few ceremonies, only a few per year. And worship is never carried out in buildings; indeed, temples and churches are associated with evil by worshippers of Eru. In Númenórean worship, only the King could speak to Eru directly and make (bloodless) offerings, and most prayers or hymns seen in the mythology are addressed to one of the Valar. Tolkien himself wrote that, "The Lord of the Rings is of course fundamentally a Catholic work," and that it was actually for that very reason that he cut out all references to organized religion in his story, for he said the "religious element" was absorbed in the story itself.
- An unpublished essay ("The Marriage Customs of the Eldar") suggests that the Elves asked Eru to bless their marriages; they do not seem to bother Him for any other purpose. The Dúnedain have a custom that vaguely resembles grace before meals, but it is less a case of "Thanks unto Eru for this food" than "If I forget thee, oh Númenor, then let my right hand forget its cunning"; that, and Denethor's throwaway line about "the heathen kings of old" being cremated rather than buried (The Gondorians obsessively cling onto their Númenórean history, and the only holy place allowed was the mountain Meneltarma in Númenor. Now that Númenor is gone they don't have holy places anymore, but compensate for this by almost worshipping their past).
- "Elbereth Gilthoniel" is basically the Elvish "Hail Mary," which Tolkien probably was aware of. The Dwarves worshipped their creator Aulë whom they called "Mahal." The Rohirrim worshipped Oromë, one of the Valar, whom they called "Bema." This is All There in the Manual.
- Another unpublished essay mentions that Men have a prophecy hinting strongly at the coming of Christ ("the only way Eru could cure the world of Morgoth's poison is to enter it himself") but Tolkien dropped it because he was afraid it was turning into "a parody of Christianity". There is, however, the concept of the Dagor Dagorath, where Morgoth will break free from his prison and a massive war, the final war, will ensure to destroy him permanently before Eru remakes the universe as it once was, for all to dwell in (aka The Last Judgement
).
- Curbstomp Battle: When Eru was forced to intervene against Númenóreans and Sauron, he obliterated them and reshaped the cosmos to ensure it would never happen again. He hit Sauron so hard Sauron could never assume a fair shape again.
- Divine Delegation: Eru created one so they can participate in the creation of the universe.
- Divine Intervention: Eru prefers to observe the universe and let the Valar run things. However, while the Valar are fine with directly fighting against Morgoth (a being on the same spiritual level as themselves), they don't know what to do when Eru's own creatures attack them. When the Númenóreans attack Valinor, the Valar laid down their governance of the world and basically told Eru, "You created these guys. You solve this problem." And boy did he. Long before that, he granted independent souls to the Dwarves and the Ents, who were the creations of Aulë and Yavanna respectively. Hints are also occasionally dropped in The Lord of the Rings that Eru is giving his creation the occasional nudge: Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and Frodo was meant to bear it. Tolkien also implied in one of his letters (192) that when Frodo succumbed to the Ring's temptation, Eru directly intervened and caused Gollum to trip at the Cracks of Doom.
- Don't Fear the Reaper: His Gift of Men was explicitly devised for the good of men to ensure people can move beyond the themes of the "Great Music" thereby introducing transcendence. Númenoreans vowed to become immortal, and thus merely hastened their deaths. Eru had to introduce lifespans to mortals thereafter as Morgoth and Sauron had succeeded in trifling with his affairs, men were now paralyzed by fear of dying, and viewed themselves as 'defectively created and doomed to die' ever since.
- God: The author only explicitly identified Eru as the Christian God in some philosophical texts and letters, but the similarity is noticeable in the narratives as well.
- Greater-Scope Paragon: In Tolkien's Legendarium, it is Eru Ilúvatar who is the stand-in for capital "G" God, his name even meaning in Quenya "He that is Alone — Father of All". Eru is largely unseen in Middle-earth, the world being governed instead by his subordinates, the Ainur, which are Maiar and Valar (analogous to lesser gods and angels). However, it is implied in The Lord of the Rings, and confirmed in some of Tolkien's letters, that at rare but critical times Eru himself may intervene to change Middle-earth's fate, such as ensuring that Bilbo Baggins would find the One Ring and causing Gollum to fall in the Fires of Doom and destroy it.
- Humans Are Special: Very much loves his creations, and refers to Elves and Men as his children. Though with the latter, Melkor and Sauron have often deceived people into rebelling against their creator.
- The Maker: He's the one who created the universe, or Eä, using the Music of the Ainur. He also created the races of Elves and Men, both otherwise known as the Children of Ilúvatar.
- The Only Way They Will Learn: This tends to be his MO. He gives being to the Music of the Ainur (the "source code" for the universe, so to speak) so that the Ainur could "see what they had done." And when Men awake in the world, he tells them that he wants them to learn and become wise on their own. However, he does intervene at certain critical moments, as noted above.
- Power of Creation: This was Eru's greatest power held by Him alone, called the Secret Fire or the Flame Imperishable. The only way Melkor could create evil creatures was by taking what Eru already created and twisting them, which Tolkien refers to as a "mockery".
- Sacred Flames: Eru is strongly associated with fire symbology. His divine power and ability to create true, ensouled life is described as the Flame Imperishable, and in The Lord of the Rings Gandalf — a lesser Maia and thus a servant of Ilúvatar — identifies himself as "servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor" during the confrontation with Durin's Bane.
- World Sundering: The form his most spectacular Divine Intervention took: he removed Valinor from the world, sunk Númenor into the sea and turned the once flat world into a sphere.
Valar
In General
The Powers of the World. The most powerful of the angelic spirits created by Eru to effect and oversee his creation; they occupy a role somewhere between archangels and polytheistic little-g gods. Manwë is their leader; he is the King of Arda (the world), under Eru, and lord of the airs. There were originally fifteen Valar, but Melkor was cast from their number. They are served by an unspecified number of Maiar (roughly angels or minor gods). They dwell in Valinor (the Land of the Gods) in the utter west.
The Valar are:
The Valar are:
- Aulë, the Smith. Husband of Yavanna. The shaper of Earth's physical form. He created the Dwarves, and taught both them and the Elves the secrets of smithcraft. Both Sauron and Saruman used to be his servants. He is revered by the Dwarves, who name him Mahal, the Maker.
- Estë, the Gentle. Irmo's wife. The healer of hurts and weariness, during days she sleeps in the Gardens.
- Irmo, the Master of Visions and Dreams. Brother of Námo and Nienna, husband of Estë. The people of Valinor go to the Gardens of Lórien to find rest and refreshment. Gandalf is possibly of his household. Commonly known as "Lórien" after his place of dwelling.
- Manwë, the Elder King. Brother of Melkor and husband of Varda. The ruler of winds and airs, the King of the Valar, and the High King of Arda. The great Eagles are his emissaries.
- Melkor, He Who Arises in Might. Brother of Manwë. No longer counted among the Valar. See more of him under "Enemies."
- Námo, the Doomsman of the Valar. Brother of Irmo and Nienna, husband of Vairë. Keeps the souls of the dead in the Halls of Mandos, judging them and choosing when to reincarnate them. The exception to this are the souls of Men, who are released from the Music of the world upon death. The grimmest of the Valar, he pronounced the Doom of the North upon Fëanor and his sons. Commonly known as "Mandos" after his place of dwelling.
- Nessa, the Dancer. Tulkas' spouse. Able to outrun arrows, and the deer that follow her.
- Nienna, Lady of Mercy. The sister of Námo and Irmo. She weeps always in grief for the ills of the world, but teaches pity and endurance.
- Oromë, the Huntsman of the Valar. Vána's husband, and the most terrible of the Valar when angered. Used to go to Middle-earth to hunt Melkor's monsters, and during one of those hunts found the newly awakened Elves.
- Tulkas, the Valiant. Nessa's husband. The Valar's champion who fights with bare fists. Laughs even in battle.
- Ulmo, the Lord of Waters. Doesn't live in Valinor, but dwells alone in the Outer Sea. Stern and fearsome, but has endless compassion for the peoples of Middle-earth even when the rest of the Valar are angered by them.
- Vairë, the Weaver. Námo's wife. Weaves everything that happens in history into her tapestries.
- Varda, the Queen of the Stars, and their maker. Manwë's wife. The one Morgoth hates and fears above all. The Elves hold her in special esteem, and call her Elbereth Gilthoniel.
- Vána, the Ever-young. The younger sister of Yavanna and wife of Oromë. Wherever she goes birds sing and flowers bloom.
- Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits. Aulë's wife and Vána's sister. The creator of all plants and animals, including the Two Trees. Her argument with Aulë led to the creation of the Ents. Radagast was one of her servants. She is next to Varda in esteem among the Elves, who call her Kementári, Queen of the Earth.
Tropes that apply to the Valar are:
- Ape Shall Not Kill Ape: The Valar generally refrain from killing Elves, Men or Dwarves (all being creations hallowed and blessed by Eru). When the Men of Númenor openly waged war against the Valar, they still would not raise a hand against them, forcing Ilúvatar to directly intervene and defeat the Númenoreans.
- Complete Immortality: As pure souls, they're impossible to destroy through any means.
- Council of Angels: Although Eru Ilúvatar created the world, he has little direct interaction with it, and the Valar, based by Tolkien on Christian archangels, serve as its effective rulers.
- Divine Ranks: Eru > Valar > Maiar is just the start of it. The Valar are divided into greater (Aratar) and lesser Valar, and the Maiar are by no means all equal to each other, ranging from demigods like Sauron and Melian to minor fairy-like spirits.
- Fantasy Pantheon: Their place in the narrative is like the gods' in Classical and Norse Mythology, and they're often called gods, although, theologically, they are much closer to Christian angels.
- God Is Flawed: While the Valar are all good, they're not perfect, and from time to time have to regret their past mistakes.
- God's Hands Are Tied: Though often blamed by their mortal followers for not helping them out, they avoid confronting the supernatural forces of evil directly so as not to interfere with other beings' free will and, more importantly, avoid the massive destruction caused by a full-on fight, such as during the War of Wrath. If things get bad enough, though, they will act. (Ulmo often goes against the other Valar to directly aid people and manipulate events, most notably when he recruited Tuor as his messenger to Gondolin.) Also, the Valar are not omniscient nor omnipotent. Twice, after the Siege of Utumno and the War of Wrath, many of Melkor's servants and creatures escaped them and lived on, the Valar having suffered such horrible losses and/or lacking the knowledge that they could not logically pursue every last one of his minions to the depths of the Earth.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Displayed — and subverted — by some of the Valar in the tale of Melkor's release:
- Manwë unwisely pardons Melkor because, due to Manwë’s own Incorruptible Pure Pureness, he is literally unable to understand just how evil Melkor has become.
- Nienna, duped by Melkor’s fake Heel–Face Turn, helps him plead his case before Manwë.
- Ulmo is notably mentioned as not falling for Melkor's ruse. It's possible that Tulkas also sees through Melkor's pretense.
- Happily Married: Most of them are paired off in spiritual marriages to one another. The only ones not married are Ulmo and Nienna. Ulmo is a loner and Nienna is eternally sorrowful.
- I Have Many Names: All of them. Manwë Súlimo, Varda Elentári Tintallë, Námo Mandos, Irmo Lórien, Yavanna Kementári Palúrien, Aulë Mahal, Oromë Aldaron, Tulkas Astaldo… It is implied that every single one of them has tons of names given by various peoples of Men, but only some are known, such as Oromë's Rohirric name "Bema." And these are only the names assigned to them by the speaking peoples. Their own names for themselves, self-assigned in their Conlang Valarin, are only listed in The History of Middle-earth XI: The War of the Jewels.
- Never My Fault: The Valar were rather quick in forsaking the race of Men, bar the Edain, after most of them fought for Morgoth. However, considering that the Valar never appeared before them, plus the gifts that both they and Illuvatar gave to the Elves while giving (apparently) none to them, is it really that surprising that most would either be unaware of their existence, and therefore being more willing to serve Morgoth and Sauron, who, at the very least, have shown proof of walking among them, or resenting them for clearly favoring both the Elves and the Numenoreans over them?
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- As soon as the Valar discovered that the Elves had awoken, they immediately went to war with, defeated, and imprisoned Melkor. Because of this (Melkor did not forget that his first downfall was on behalf of the Elves, and hates them utterly as a result), and because the Valar took the time to educate the Elves, the number of the Firstborn who have truly fallen to evil can be counted on, at most, both hands (Fëanor, his seven sons, Eöl, and his son), and the number who have willfully served Morgoth or his servants can be counted on but a single finger (Maeglin). The Valar undertook no such war on behalf of Men when they awoke, nor did they educate them. As a result, hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions, of Men have fought on behalf of Morgoth (who noted the absence of the Valar and went amongst Men himself, corrupting many) and Sauron. This had the direct consequences of the Elves only ever really showing trust to the Edain and their descendants, the Númenoreans (and later, only the Faithful Númenoreans who didn't fall to evil and thus survived to establish Gondor and Arnor and fight in the Last Alliance). Because of this, Men fear death, and are prone to taking any way they think can work to prevent it, up to and including literally invading the realm of the gods (only to be smacked down by capital-G God).
- Their final battle with Morgoth was of such might that Beleriand sank underwater.
- Obstructive Code of Conduct: Subverted, at least at first. They decide to bring the Elves to their realm, Valinor, to guide and teach them. When that backfires horribly, they decide to interfere with Elves and Men much less.
- Our Angels Are Different: They are technically based on Abrahamic angels and archangels, being an order of divine beings created by and subservient to God and charged with overseeing His creation, but function in-story like traditional polytheistic gods.
- Parental Favoritism: While the Valar played no role in creating neither the Elves nor Men, they show favoritism towards the Elves.
- All of the Valar were eager to meet the Elves once they were to awake, and they gathered all of their strength to defeat Melkor the moment they found out that he had captured some and turned them into orcs. After the War of the Powers, they agreed to lead the Elves to Valinor so that they could protect and nurture them. Even after Feanor's rebellion and the Kinslayings, the Valar still cared for the Noldor, occasionally aiding them and later allowing them to return to Valinor.
- In contrast to the Elves' awakening, neither of the Valar came to aid Men after they awoke in Middle-earth, which made them easy prey to Morgoth's and Sauron's lies and corruption. Even Ulmo, who was the Valar who aided the People of Middle-earth the most during their fight against Morgoth, only presented himself once in front of a man, and that was only because he wanted Tuor to warn Turgon that Gondolin's downfall was approaching. After the War of Wrath, the Valar forsook most Men of Middle-earth since a majority of them fought under Morgoth's banner.
- Person of Mass Destruction: One of the reasons they don't intervene in the world often. They are powerful enough to literally reshape entire countries, so any time they take a direct approach is because the situation is dire enough to force their hand, but the destruction is so great that any victory is almost pyrrhic. The aptly named Battle of the Powers has up to three of them participating personally, and its devastation was so terrible not even Morgoth's wars against the elves came even close, and the battle is stated to have been very brief. Taken to a whole another level with The War of Wrath, which saw maybe even all of them coming in-person to Middle-earth as part of the Host of Valinor, raged for forty-two years and resulted in the almost complete annihilation of an entire continent.
- Physical God: Intermittently. They're incorporeal spirits by nature but can take on physical form at their pleasure in order to interact with the world while keeping their immense power.
- Psychic Powers: In a sense. They can affect the world without moving, such as during the creation of the Sun and Moon, and can hold council without speaking.
- Sexless Marriage: A curious case. Originally Tolkien intended the Valar to have children, but then later decided they didn't have children. As such, they don't have sexual desires in their finalized portrayal and their marriages are of platonic companionship rather than of union of bodies.
- Sibling Triangle: What perhaps happened between Melkor, Varda, and Manwë. Originally, Melkor was in awe of Varda and her light, but she recognized that he had started to fall into evil and rejected him. Later, Melkor hated Varda and still, she was the one of the Valar he feared the most.
- Spirit Advisor: They're not supposed to rule over the Elves and Men like kings and queens, but act as their advisors and guides.
- Time Abyss: Every Ainu is older than the entire universe and everything in it.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: They can appear in a wide variety of forms; Yavanna in particular is fond of appearing as a tree. They can also appear as nothing when they feel like going "unclad", making them invisible.
- War God: In early drafts of the stories there are two other Valar — Makar and his sister Meassë — who represent the bloody, angry side of the conflict. However, as the Valar developed to resemble archangels more than pagan gods, Tolkien decided they didn't fit the mythos and wrote them out.
Aulë
Aulë the Smith was the Valar most concerned with metal, stone, and works of craft. His desire to have someone with whom to share his love of creating beautiful things led him to fashion the first Dwarves, who know him as Mahal, the Maker. He is married to Yavanna.
- The Atoner: After Eru called him out for attempting to usurp the Creator's place by creating Dwarves. His repentance is immediate and sincere, so Eru takes pity and grants the Dwarves real souls, free will, and a place in Middle-earth.
- Foil: To Melkor, which is precisely why the two hate each other. Both have a strong, creative streak and desire to make things that are new and unthought of by others. However, Melkor envies others' works tries to tear them down, hoards his own knowledge, and despises Eru's design while Aulë appreciates it, offers his own council and submits to his maker's greater idea. This is why Aulë's dwarves earn a place in the world while Melkor is ultimately reduced to only creating mockeries.
- Mother Nature, Father Science: Aulë is the "Father Science", with his fondness for technology, to his wife Yavanna's "Mother Nature".
- Not So Similar: With Melkor. They had similar (good, but rebellious) intentions in their own schemes, and sought to insert their own creations into the world. The main difference between them, according to Tolkien, is that Aulë repented and Melkor only considered doing so. Also, when Aulë creates stuff (like the Dwarves), he does it in Eru's honor, not for his own power or glory, and he accepts the aid of others while sharing his own counsel freely. Melkor's creations are born out of selfishness and a desire to dominate everything and are corrupted versions of Eru's creations, and he selfishly hoards his knolwedge and would never consider accepting anyone else's insights into his own projects.
- The Maker: While Eru is the Maker of the whole universe, Aulë is the creator of the Dwarves. They even call him Mahal, "the Maker". Subverted when he learns that only Eru can give souls to living creatures, requiring him to beg Eru's pardon before the Dwarves can be re-created as actual people.
- Opposites Attract: He and Yavanna form an odd pair — crafted art and growing things, industry and nature, people who consume nature and people that protect it — but love and respect each other nonetheless.
- Ultimate Blacksmith: He's the craftsman of the Valar, and his knowledge of metalwork, stonework, and smithing is unmatched in Arda. He even crafted the chain Angainor, that which chained the Dark Lord Melkor for his capture.
Estë
Estë, the Gentle; grey is her raiment, and rest her gift. She is married to Irmo and lives with him in his Gardens of Lórien in Valinor.
- Birds of a Feather: Estë, the Valië of sleep married Irmo, the Vala of dreams.
- The Night Owl: She sleeps during the day on the island in the Lake Lórellin but is active during the night.
Irmo
Irmo, more commonly known as Lórien after his domain, is the master of visions and dreams. He is brother to Námo and Nienna, and married to Estë.
- Birds of a Feather: Irmo, the Vala of dreams married Estë, the Valië of sleep.
- Dream Weaver: He rules over dreams, and often uses them to send visions and warnings to the Elves.
Manwë Súlimo
Manwë is the greatest of the Valar, and the being closest to Eru's mind. He was appointed King of Arda and is the highest authority in the created world. He is married to Varda.
- Animal Motifs: As the lord of the skies and air, he's strongly associated with birds and especially with eagles.
- Big Good: He is the Elder King, the ruler of Arda under the authority of Eru, and thus the largest force for good acting from within the world. The other Valar and the Maiar act under his leadership.
- Blow You Away: He's the lord of the airs, ruling over the skies and winds of the world and the creatures dwelling there.
- Cain and Abel: He and Melkor were brothers "in the thought of Eru", whatever that means. As the vicegerent of Eru and Elder King of Arda, it's his job to oppose Melkor, especially after his attempt to reform him failed. The hate is all on Melkor's side, though.
- Foil: With and Ulmo. Manwë is proud, glorious, idealistic, and displays his power openly, while Ulmo is reserved, subtle, cynical, and works from behind the scenes. They are close friends who are both utterly devoted to the cause of good, but work in very different ways.
- Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: A major problem with Manwë is that his closeness to the mind of Eru Iluvatar means that he cannot truly grasp why anybody would be evil, instead seeing it as some kind of disciplinary problem. Hence the fact that the first time the Valar imprisoned Melkor, Manwë was willing to release him after a time because he pretended to be penitent. Melkor then went and recruited Ungoliant to destroy the two trees, steal the Silmarils, and fled back to his fortresses in Middle-earth to wage war on the Children of Iluvatar. That Melkor was driven by hatred, pettiness and spite was something Manwë just could not make sense of.
- The Good King: He's the Elder King and the highest authority in Arda. He doesn't care about his own glory, is very much aware of his place as a servant of Ilúvatar (to the point of consulting Ilúvatar for guidance on particularly thorny problems), and does his best to govern the world as he thinks Ilúvatar would.
- Top God: He's the leader of the Valar's pantheon, and the highest divine authority short of Eru Himself — in practice, he's essentially Zeus/Jupiter translated into an Abrahamic context and made advertiser-friendly.
- Weather Manipulation: A given considering his domain. One of his most notable displays in this regard were the storms he sent to warn the rebellious Nunemoreans prior to the downfall of Numenor.
Námo
Námo is the Doomsman of the Valar, who gives judgment in matters of fate and guards the spirits of deceased Elves. He is often named Mandos, after his domain in the Undying Lands. He is the "elder brother" of Irmo and Nienna, and the husband of Vairë.
- Beware the Quiet Ones: He doesn't normally like to speak on his knowledge of the future and make prophecies, but that slipped after the First Kinslaying. When Námo appeared before the Noldor, he was pissed and let them know exactly what misfortunes would befall them in Beleriand.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Mandos is the judge and "doomsman" of the Valar, who keeps the spirits of dead Elves in his Halls until they earn reincarnation (or until the end of time if they don't). He's stern and seems grim, and his judgments can seem harsh sometimes, but despite his association with death he's not at all evil and serves Eru as faithfully as Manwë does.
- God of the Dead: He's the grim keeper of fate and lord of the dead, in whose halls the shades of deceased Elves linger until the end of the world.
- The Quiet One: He rarely speaks, but when it does it's always a matter of great importance. It's said of him that he knows Illuvatar's plan for the world better than any single other Vala, and the knowledge weighs on him so heavily that he doesn't like to talk about it.
- The Stoic: Like death itself, he's notorious for never showing pity to anyone. He has only ever made one exception, for Lúthen.
Nessa
Nessa the Dancer is notable for her speed, as swift as arrows, and for her love of dance. She is sister to Oromë and wife to Tulkas.
- Super-Speed: She runs as fast as an arrow, outrunning the deer that race her in the wilds.
Nienna
Nienna, Lady of Mercy, grieves for all the ills that pass in the world. She is the sister of Námo and Irmo, and alone among the Valier she is unmarried.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: Nienna is basically the goddess of empathy and compassion. She's not seen much, and is usually depicted as being melancholy and weeping. And yet, she's one of the most powerful of all the Valar: Her tears give birth to the Sun and Moon, and her greatest servant, Gandalf, plays a key role in defeating Sauron. Which is a common theme in Tolkien's work: Sympathy, compassion, and love are often overlooked and derided, but they're really the most powerful forces in the universe.
- In the Hood: Her face is always obscured by a grey hood.
- Tender Tears: She's always weeping in response to the sorrow and evil experienced by other living things, and her name means "Gift of Tears."
Oromë Aldaron
Oromë, the Lord of Forests, is the huntsman of the Valar. He rode out during the First Age to hunt down Morgoth's monsters and servants and was the one to find the newly awakened Elves. In Sindarin, he is called Araw, and titled Tauron, the Lord of Forests; to the Northmen and the Rohirrim he is known as Béma, and regarded as having gifted their ancestors with the first horses. He is married to Vána.
- The Big Guy: He started out as this, being the most active of the Valar in hunting down Morgoth's monsters. Tulkas is stronger, but Oromë is described as being more terrifying when his wrath is provoked.
- Cool Horse: He rides Nahar, which strikes fire from under its hooves and is implied to be able to cross oceans.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Oromë is the only member of the Valar to be mentioned in Lord of the Rings.
- The Wild Hunt: He's a good version of this, as he hunts Morgoth's monsters with his Hounds.
Tulkas Astaldo
Tulkas is the mightiest and most warlike of the Valar, and was the last to enter Arda — he originally remained beyond creation but came to the physical world to battle Melkor during his rebellion. He is married to Nessa.
- The Big Guy: He is the strongest of the Valar, and when Melkor began to make war against the Valar and the beauty of Arda, he came in to wrestle with him till Melkor was subdued.
- Boisterous Bruiser: A bare-fisted fighter who "laughs ever, in sport or in war", Tulkas is not a good advisor, but he is a hardy friend. He's the only being capable of beating Melkor one-on-one, he's the last of the Valar to come to Arda, and he only does so because he heard that Melkor was causing trouble and there might be a good fight to be had. When Melkor learns that Tulkas is in town, he hightails it (and for good reason).
- The Dreaded: He's the only Valar that Melkor outright fears. Melkor in fact flees from him when he enters Arda and it's only during Tulkas' wedding night, when Melkor is confident Tulkas is asleep, that Melkor retaliates and destroys the two lamps.
- Hidden Depths: He's not the wisest of the Valar, but he was perceptive enough to realize that Melkor's repentance, after serving his sentence in Mandos after the War of the Powers, was not genuine. The only other Vala with similar suspicisions was Ulmo.
- Hot-Blooded: He's very aggressive, hot-tempered, and prone to solving his problems in very direct manners, preferably through battle or contests of strength, and is considered a poor counselor due to this.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's the strongest being in the world, and can outrun all that is on foot.
- Super-Speed: He can run faster than any other living thing.
- War God: He represents courage and glory in battle.
Ulmo
Ulmo, the Lord of Waters, is the mightiest of the Valar after Manwë and Varda. He loves the Children of Eru best out of all the Valar, and never abandoned them even when the other Valar turned their gazes from the world. Alone among the male Valar, Ulmo is unmarried.
- Foil: With Manwë. Manwë is proud, glorious, idealistic, and displays his power openly, while Ulmo is reserved, subtle, cynical, and works from behind the scenes. They are close friends who are both utterly devoted to the cause of good but work in very different ways.
- The Lancer: He's Manwë's closest friend and ally, and his main role is often to act as a sort of foil and second for the king of the Valar.
- Lord of the Ocean: Ulmo has control over the oceans and waters, dwelling in the ocean Vaiya that encircles the globe and watching all of Middle-earth through its waterways. His Maiar servants include Ossë, who watches over the coasts and tides after a brief Face–Heel Turn; and Ossë's wife Uinen, who tempers his more extreme impulses and protects coastal life.
Vairë
Vairë the Weaver weaves the story of the world upon her tapestries. She is married to Námo and resides with him in his halls.
- Discontinuity Nod: Originally, in The History of Middle-earth: The Book of Lost Tales, "Vairë" was the name of an Elf woman in Tol Eressëa who was a great storyteller. In The Silmarillion, the name was given to one of the Valar, a completely different character but still associated with storytelling.
- The Storyteller: Played with as she expresses the story of the world through the visual medium of her tapestries and not through an oral or written tradition. Her protege, Míriel is even the one who produces the "true story" of the events of the House of Finwë, which is essentially most of the Legendarium.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: Vairë is essentially the patron of this concept.
- Threads of Fate: She weaves tapestries containing the history of the World as it unfolds. These are then used to drape the halls of Mandos, where the spirits of deceased Elves linger.
Varda Elentári
Varda — Elbereth in Sindarin, Avradî in Adûnaic — is the Queen of the Valar and the mightiest of their number after her husband Manwë. She is the creator of the stars, and the most beloved of the Valar by the Elves.
- Answer to Prayers: She seems to respond quite directly to her name being invoked. When Samwise holds up the Phial of Galadriel and calls on the power of Elbereth (one of her names), the Phial glows so brightly that it blinds and terrifies the many-eyed spider-monster Shelob.
- The Dreaded: Morgoth hates and fears her more than any other Vala.
- The High Queen: Varda is styled as Queen of the Valar and the Elves revere her above all the others.
- The Sacred Darkness: She represents the purer form of night and darkness that existed before Morgoth made the nighttime thing of fear when it was simply a natural and beautiful part of the cycle of the world.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: A variation. When she chooses a physical form, she's said to look like the most beautiful woman in creation.
Vána
Vána, the Ever-young, is also known as the "Queen of Flowers". She dwells in gardens full of golden flowers and often comes to the forests of Oromë. She is also the "younger sister" of Yavanna and wife of Oromë.
- Caring Gardener: Vána, like her sister, has her province in the growing of things, and particularly loves her gardens. Also like her sister, she is a Friend to All Living Things.
- Fertile Feet: All flowers spring and as she passes and open if she glances upon them.
- The Power of the Sun: In The Book of Lost Tales, Vána is the primary caretaker of the tree Laurelin, whose fruit would ultimately be fashioned into the Sun — with the Sun sometimes being called the "Lamp of Vána". In addition, it seems that her power to grow plants comes in part from showering them with golden light or sunlight.
Yavanna Kementári
Yavanna is the Queen of the Earth and the ruler of living things. To the Elves, she is only second in esteem to Varda. She is the "elder sister" of Vána and married to Aulë, and responded to his creation of the Dwarves, who she worried would take a heavy toll on the natural world, by petitioning Eru for the creation of the Ents.
- Green Means Natural: Yavanna, the overseer and shaper of the plants and animals of Arda, has a prominent green color motif. She usually manifests as a tall woman in green robes, or else as a tree with emerald leaves.
- Mother Nature: She's not the earth itself, but is the shaper, creator, and protector of all living creatures.
- Mother Nature, Father Science: Yavanna is the "Mother Nature" to her husband Aulë's "Father Science".
- Opposites Attract: She and Aulë form an odd pair — growing things and crafted art, nature and industry, people who protect nature and people that consume it — but love and respect each other nonetheless.
- The World Tree: One of her favored physical forms is that of a great tree that rises to the sky, its leaves dripping with golden dew that makes the barren earth grow rich with corn.
The Maiar
In General
The servants of the Valar. The Maiar function as demigods or lesser angelic spirits, and range in power from Physical Gods to lesser spirits of the woods and fields. The Maiar are naturally incorporeal, but take physical form to interact with Elves and Men. Their bodies can be destroyed, which greatly weakens them, but their spirits are immortal and will exist for all time. A great many of the Maiar — most notably Sauron and the Balrogs — were corrupted by Melkor and became his servants. The Maiar are countless in number; the following loyal Maiar are named in The Silmarillion:
- Arien, a spirit of fire who tended the gardens of Vána. She steers the ship of the Sun.
- Eönwë, the herald of Manwë with Ilmarë, one of their chiefs.
- Ilmarë, the handmaid of Varda; with Eönwë one of the chiefs of the Maiar.
- The Istari or Wizards, five Maiar who in the Third Age were sent to Middle-earth in the form of old men to help oppose Sauron:
- Aiwendil (later called Radagast, sent by Yavanna)
- Alatar (one of the Blue Wizards who went into the East, sent by Oromë)
- Curumo (later called Saruman, sent by Aulë)
- Olórin (later called Gandalf, sent by Manwë and Varda)
- Pallando (one of the Blue Wizards, sent by Mandos and Nienna)
- See also The Lord of the Rings character sheet for Olórin/Gandalf, Curumo/Saruman, and Aiwendil/Radagast.
- Melian, a servant of Estë and Vána. Wife of Elu Thingol and Queen of Doriath. See her entry under "House of Thingol."
- Ossë, a servant of Ulmo who creates deadly storms. He is wild and violent, but not malicious. He befriended the Grey Elves of Beleriand.
- Salmar, a servant of Ulmo who crafted Ulmo's fabled horns. He is a maker of beautiful music.
- Tilion, a servant of Oromë. He is the steersman of the Moon.
- Uinen, a servant of Ulmo and wife of Ossë. She represents the peaceful side of the sea and is the only one who can calm Ossë's storms. The Men of Númenor held her in regard equal to the Valar.
- God of Light: Arien, the Maiar of the sun.
- God of the Moon: Tilion is the guardian and steersman of the Moon, and his reckless driving is used to explain the irregularity of the moon's motion and appearance.
- "Just So" Story: Tilion, the steersman of the Moon, is said to be a reckless driver who sometimes strays off-path. This is used to explain both why the moon sometimes appears by day instead of by night and why it has phases, with the latter being caused by its being scorched when Tilion wanders too close to the Sun. Tilion's "reckless driving" is also the source of solar eclipses, when he passes so close to Arien that his shadow "cuts off her brightness, and there is a darkness amidst the day."
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Eönwë. At the conclusion of the War of Wrath, Sauron surrendered to him. Eönwë told Sauron to return to Aman to face the judgement of the Valar. Apparently deciding to go with trust and an honor system, Eönwë left it up to Sauron to do this voluntarily, rather than dragging him back as a war criminal. Unsurprisingly, Sauron decided that he preferred to not face judgement and fled in the opposite direction, where he spent centuries subverting the Men of the East and developing his plans to replace Morgoth as the new Dark Lord of Middle-earth. Pretty much everything bad that happened in the Second and Third Ages resulted from this one bit of negligence.
