Ready, everyone?
Okay, first of all - I am no Tolkien scholar. My approach to reading The Silmarillion is: I am just a reader, this is just a book. It’s an unusual book, of course. It’s a lot more like reading scripture or mythology than a novel. The language is “high†and it has that cryptic density one finds in mythology. I hope it will not offend anyone if I’m sometimes flippant or irreverent.
Ainulindalë and Valaquenta (summaries)
Ainulindalë (The Music of the Ainur)
I’m not drawn by creation myths – when I’m reading mythology I tend to want to skip over the creation part and get right to the stories of the heroes. To me they all have a certain sameness: there was nothing, then there was something. Even in the Bible, for me Genesis doesn’t really get going until Adam and Eve show up. But I guess you have to begin at the beginning.
I do find it charming that Ilúvatar (luminous father?) creates the world by first thinking up the Ainur (angels?), teaching them to sing, and having them sing the world into being. Does anyone know - are there other creation myths that involve singing up the world?
But there’s trouble in paradise, starting right in paragraph five. Melkor, like many talented children, does not play well with others. He doesn’t want to sing Ilúvatar’s melodies; he wants to make up his own. During the “clash of the musics†part I was imagining the good Ainur producing something like the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony, while Melkor and those who joined him sounded like – oh, Eminem maybe.
It’s interesting the Ainur were unaware that their music was creating the world. Can anyone shed light on this business of the Children of Ilúvatar being conceived by him alone, in the “third theme� I mean, weren’t the Ainur singing the third theme too? Even though there were two third themes (Beethoven’s Seventh and Eminem)? I think it’s nice that the Ainur loved us when they saw us though.
I sometimes think I can hear the music of the Ainur in water sounds. It’s a lovely thought, isn’t it?
We are introduced to some Ainur. Ulmo is associated with water and music; Manwë with air and wind and nobility; Aulë with the Earth, skills, and making. Melkor, however, who already seems to have gone to the bad, is associated with dominance and extremes of temperature.
But… turns out the world is actually just a vision at this point. It doesn’t actually come into being until Ilúvatar says the magic word Eä. Then the Ainur are split into those who dwell with Ilúvatar outside the world, and the Valar who dwell within the world. I’m curious about this, about how the choice was made about who would dwell where, but it’s passed over quickly.
Upon descending into the world, the Valar find out that the vision they had seen was really just a blueprint or something – the world had been conceived and created but not yet given form. So Manwë and Aulë and Ulmo set to the work of creation, hindered ever by that creep Melkor. Manwë decides he needs allies and “called unto himself many spirits both greater and lessâ€â€¦ I gather these are other Ainur he is calling from the side of Ilúvatar?
I’m curious about where Melkor withdrew to after the strife with the other Valar.
The Valar resemble the gods of Greek or Nordic mythology in a lot of ways – powerful creative spirits each with special areas of interest, who can take human form. Unlike the Greek gods, though, all the Valar save Melkor seem to be “goodâ€. There’s only one bad one, but he’s the most powerful one, and Arda is born in strife. Melkor is described as a kind of big baby, knocking down mountains as fast as the others can build them.
Valaquenta (Account of the Valar and Maiar according to the lore of the Eldar)
Of the Valar
Thought I’d list a quick summary of names and their associations for easy reference. I bolded the ones who are “of chief power and reverence.â€
Manwë is mightiest, associated with the sky, language, song, and the color blue
Varda is his queen, associated with stars and beauty
Ulmo is the lord of waters; he’s a loner
Aulë is lord of the lands, associated with skill, craftsmanship and building
Yavanna is his queen, associated with green growing things
Mandos is the place where Námo dwells; he keeps the Dead
Vairë is his queen, the weaver (like the Greek fates?)
Lórien is the place where Irmo dwells, master of visions and dreams
Estë is his queen, healer of hurts
Nienna sorrows for the world, alone
Tulkas is a warrior and “of no avail as a counselorâ€
Nessa is his queen, and she’s all about running and dancing
Oromë is the hunter and lord of the forests
Vána is his queen, associated with spring
Ahem. Does anyone notice anything missing here? There is no avatar for love! How like Tolkien to have created a mythology that omitted any such figure.
Of the Maiar
These are “of the same order as the Valar but of less degree.†There seem to be a lot of them, but most are unknown to the Eldar. We are briefly introduced to several.
Of the Enemies
Hellooooo, Melkor! Apparently that name means “he who arises in might†so the Elves call him Morgoth “the dark enemy of the worldâ€.
He is evil because he is arrogant. He has contempt for all but himself. Some of the Maiar are drawn to him. We only hear about the Balrogs, though, and Gorthaur the Cruel, later known as Sauron.
*******************
I have to say that, for me, the first few chapters of the Sil are the hardest to read. I guess I just relate better to Elves than to Ainur/Valar. I look forward to the comments of the more creation mythology inclined, however.