Music of the Ainur

2012-09-12T14:52:35Z

83.23.204.103:

{{Sources}}
{{events
| image=[[File:Jef Murray - Music of the Ainur.jpg|250px]]
| event=The Music of the Ainur
| othernames=[[Ainulindalë (song)|Ainulindalë]]
| date=before Time began
| location=The [[Timeless Halls]]
| result=The conception of [[Eä]]
| partof=[[Ilúvatar|Eru]]'s creation
| participants=Eru, the [[Ainur]]
| description=A great song described by Eru and played by the Ainur
| references=
}}
The '''Music of the Ainur''' was the great song of the [[Ainur]] that took place before Time began, from which [[Eä]], the material Universe, was created.

==Description==
[[Ilúvatar|Eru]] conceived the Ainur from his thought and taught each of them how to make music. At first the Ainur would only sing alone or in small groups while the others listened. The observance of their brethren singing taught each Ainu more about the others and the mind of [[Ilúvatar]]. Their "unity and harmony" thus increased, and eventually, Eru brought all the Ainur together and declared that they would play a song greater and more complex than they had ever sung before. He told them that they would be allowed to weave their own thoughts and ideas into this Music, since they had been kindled with the [[Flame Imperishable]] and thus had the power of creativity. The Ainur were so overwhelmed by Eru's description of this Music that they bowed before him in silence.

==The First Theme==
[[File:Ted Nasmith - Melkor Weaves Opposing Music.jpg|thumb|right|''Melkor Weaves Opposing Music'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]After Ilúvatar told them about the Music, the Ainur began to fashion it. Their voices, like the sound of harps and trumpets and choirs, passed "beyond hearing" into the depths and heights of sound. The great Music filled the [[Timeless Halls]] and passed beyond them even into the [[Void]], so that it "was not void". The Ainur's flawless Music satisfied even Ilúvatar during this early stage.

But soon, faults entered into the great Theme as a result of the discords of [[Morgoth|Melkor]], an Ainu whose thoughts had become strange and unlike those of his brethren due to his wanderings in the Void. Ilúvatar had given the Ainur permission to weave their own ideas into the Music, but Melkor's thoughts actually clashed against Eru's Themes, because Melkor wanted to "increase the power and glory of the part assigned to himself". Melkor's desire to bring into being creatures of his own with the Flame Imperishable and fill the emptiness of the Void put him at odds with Ilúvatar's vision. These discords of Melkor that became evident in his music dismayed those around him, and many faltered in their singing or else attuned their song to his.

The original harmony of the Music was thus consumed by a "sea of turbulent sound" until it became like a "raging storm". At that point, Eru responded by rising from his seat and raising his left hand. It seemed to the Ainur that he then smiled. After his reaction to the Music, a new Theme began amid the chaos.

==The Second Theme==
[[File:Felix Sotomayor - Melkor's Theme.jpg|thumb|left|''Melkor's Theme'' by Felix Sotomayer]]The Second Theme was "like and yet unlike" the First; it gathered new power and beauty. Soon, however, Melkor's discord rose up against it, and there was a "war of sound more violent than before". This time, Melkor's Theme triumphed over that of the others; many of the Ainur stopped singing entirely out of dismay. Ilúvatar then rose from his seat again, his expression stern this time. He raised his right hand, and yet another Theme unfolded.

==The Third Theme==
The next Theme had a sound unlike the others before it. It began quietly amid the confusion of the Second Theme, and sounded like the rippling of soft and sweet notes. It gained power and depth over time, until two completely different songs were being made. One was filled with "immeasurable sorrow", which gave it tremendous beauty, while the other was a loud, pompous theme playing in violent opposition to it. Nevertheless, this repetitive theme could not overcome the sorrowful one, and the latter merely took the former's greatest notes and "[wove them] into its own solemn pattern". The strife between the two themes caused the dwelling of Ilúvatar and even the Void beyond it to shake. At this point, Eru stood once more and raised both his arms, "and in one chord, deeper than the [[Abyss]], higher than the firmament... the Music ceased".

==Aftermath==
Ilúvatar then spoke to the Ainur about the Music and the consequences that would arise from any attempts to bring discord into it, as Melkor had done. To show them the result of their actions, he led them into the Void and spoke, "Behold your Music!" The Ainur saw a vision of what their song had created—"a [[Eä|World]] that was globed amid the Void... but was not of it". They saw the history of this World as it unfolded, and witnessed the part each had played in its making. Even the discords of Melkor contributed to the glory of this creation.

The Ainur were amazed when the [[Children of Ilúvatar]] came into this vision, for they were a part of Eru's plan that had not been revealed to them before the Music was played. The Children were sung into being by Ilúvatar during the Third Theme, and none of the Ainur had dared contribute to their making.

Ilúvatar suddenly took away the vision, and the Ainur did not get to see how it would end. Some say that they only saw the history of the Universe until the [[Dominion of Men]]. The abrupt ending of the vision caused restlessness among the Ainur, and Ilúvatar perceived that they wanted the vision to be given true being, so that—even despite the terrible flaws that had been introduced into it—the Universe would be as real as they themselves were.

Therefore Eru said, "''Eä!'' Let these things Be!" He sent the Flame Imperishable into the Universe, and far off in the Void a light appeared—the beginning of the achievement of the Music of the Ainur.

==Legacy==
The Universe still operates according to the design declared in the Music, and the flaws within it come from the discords of Melkor, which have been part of it since its beginning. Nevertheless, Ilúvatar insisted that these faults would but bring forth new and greater things in the Music's achievement.

Eru allowed those of the Ainur who wished it to enter Eä and continue their work in fashioning it. Those who eventually came to [[Arda]] were (save for Melkor) later known as the [[Valar]].

Perhaps the culmination of the good results of Melkor's discord will be the [[Second Music of the Ainur]], a song that will be even more profound than the first. In it, each singer will fully understand his part in the Music, and all the Themes of Ilúvatar will be played correctly. The Second Music will be given being as it is being sung, instead of only being made at the insistence of naive creatures.

The Ainur declared that [[Men]] would all take part in the Second Music, but the role the [[Elves]] will have in it, if any, is unknown.

===The ''Ainulindalë''===
When the [[Eldar]] lived in [[Aman]], the Valar told them the story of the Music. It was one of the first tales the Valar gave to the Elves after their arrival in Aman; the Elves' traditional belief is that [[Manwë]] himself told most of it to them. The Vala had to take upon himself the considerable task of translating the tale from [[Valarin|his own language]] to [[Quenya]] and, in addition, rendering it in a form the Children of Ilúvatar could understand—the image of the Ainur playing a great song, therefore, might be entirely metaphorical.

The sage [[Rúmil (elf of Tirion)|Rúmil]] committed the tale to writing, calling it the ''[[Ainulindalë (chapter)|Ainulindalë]]''. The [[Noldor]] took the story, or at least the memory of it, with them when they went to [[Middle-earth]], and passed it on to the [[Edain]]. It was preserved in [[Rivendell]] and probably [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]], and presumably became a part of [[Bilbo Baggins]]' work ''[[Translations from the Elvish]]'' at the end of the [[Third Age]].

==Etymology==
The Quenya word for this event, ''Ainulindalë'', comes from ''Ainu'' (the singular form of ''Ainur'', used for phonotactic reasons) and ''[[lindalë]]'', meaning 'music' (from the verb ''[[linda-]]'', 'to sing', and the nominalizing suffix ''[[-lë]]'').

==Other versions of the Legendarium==
The Music of the Ainur appears even in the very earliest stories of the [[Legendarium]], the ''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part One]]''. Despite the tremendous change that many of the tales of Arda underwent during [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]'s lifetime, the depiction of the Music remained much the same—even its Quenya name was not altered.

In earlier versions, however, the story of the vision of the Music does not appear, and Ilúvatar is a much less mysterious figure. In the ''Book of Lost Tales'' story, his motives are made clearer and he speaks more to the Ainur, especially about the ways in which Melkor's discords will be used for good. This version thus contains more theodicy than the final one printed in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', in which Eru offers only vague warnings to Melkor about his deeds and does little more than hint about how the good things arising from his discords will come to pass.

==See also==
* ''[[Ainulindalë (chapter)|Ainulindalë]]'', an account of this event found in ''[[The Silmarillion]]''
* [[Ilúvatar|Eru]] [[Ilúvatar]]
* [[Ainur]]
* [[Flame Imperishable]]
* [[Morgoth|Melkor]]
* [[Manwë]], one of the Ainur who, at Ilúvatar's wish, rose up most strongly against Melkor's discord
* [[:Category:Images of Music of the Ainur|Images of the Music of the Ainur]]

{{Ainur}}

[[Category:Events]]

Valinor

2012-09-12T13:01:26Z

83.23.204.103: Manwe represented Eru himself, hence theocracy

{{kingdom
| image = [[Image:Ted Nasmith - The Shores of Valinor.jpg|250px]]
| name = Valinor
| meaning = Land of the [[Valar]]
| type = Monarchy, Theocracy
| hidep=yes
| headofstate = [[Manwë]]
| executive =
| legislative =
| judicial = [[Máhanaxar]]
| capital = [[Valimar]]
| language = [[Valarin]], [[Quenya]] (including [[Telerin]])
| location = West of the [[Pelóri]]
| populace= Valar, [[Maiar]], and [[Vanyar]]
| currency =
| religious = Belief in [[Ilúvatar|Eru Ilúvatar]]
| holiday =
| anthem =
| formed = The departure of the Valar from [[Middle-earth]]
| established = c. [[Years of the Lamps 3450|Y.L. 3450]]
| reorganized =
| fragmented =
| dissolved =
| restored =
}}
'''Valinor''' ([[Exilic Quenya|EQ]], pron. {{IPA|[ˈvalinor]}}) or '''Valinórë''' ([[Quenya|Q]], pron. [[Noldorin|N]] {{IPA|[valiˈnoːre]}}, [[Vanyarin|V]] {{IPA|[βaliˈnoːre]}}) was the realm of the [[Valar]] in central [[Aman]]. Aman refers to the whole continent, while Valinor properly refers to the inhabited lands by Valar and the Elves.

Valinor was the place to which the Valar moved after being driven from [[Almaren]] by [[Morgoth|Melkor]].

==Description==
Valinor was encircled by the [[Pelóri]] mountains, which were raised by the Valar as a defense against Melkor.

Its major city was [[Valmar]], where the [[Vanyar]] and the [[Valar]] reside. Two other cities are [[Alqualondë]] and [[Tirion]], the respective homes of the [[Teleri]] and the [[Noldor]]. It also had an island, [[Tol Eressëa]], just off its east coast. The sea to the west of the island was called [[Ekkaia]], the encircling sea which surrounded both Valinor and [[Middle-earth]].

Each of the Valar had their own region of the land where they resided and altered things to their desire.
*[[Yavanna]], the Vala of nature, growth, and harvest, resided in the [[Pastures of Yavanna]] in the south of the island.
*[[Oromë]], the Vala of the hunt, lived in the [[Woods of Oromë]] to the north-east of the pastures. The forest was home to many creatures which Oromë could track and hunt.
*[[Nienna]], the lonely Vala of sorrow and endurance, lived cut off in the far west of the island in the [[Halls of Nienna]] where she spent her days crying, looking out to sea. Just south of the Halls of Nienna and to the north of the pastures there were the [[Halls of Mandos]].
*[[Mandos]], the brother of Nienna, was the Vala of the afterlife. All inhabitants of [[Arda]] went to the Halls of Mandos should they happen to die, mortals and immortals alike although it was said that in death as in life, they were separated. Also living in the Halls of Mandos was his spouse [[Vairë]] the weaver, who wove the threads of time.
*To the south were situated the [[Lórien (Valinor)|Gardens of Lórien]], where dwelt [[Irmo]], the Vala of dreams. And on an isle situated in the middle of the lake of [[Lórellin]] in Lórien, dwelt Irmo's wife [[Estë]].
*To the north of this were the Mansions of [[Aulë]] the smith Vala who was spouse to Yavanna.
*In the north-east lay the Mansions of [[Manwë]] and [[Varda]], the two most powerful Valar.

To the west of them stood the mound [[Ezellohar]] with the [[Two Trees of Valinor]], [[Telperion]] and [[Laurelin]].

After the destruction of [[Númenor]], the [[Undying Lands]] were removed from [[Arda]] so that [[Men]] could not reach them and only the Elves could go there by the [[Straight Road]] and in ships capable of passing out of the Spheres of the earth. By special permission of the Valar, the [[Hobbits]] [[Frodo Baggins]] and [[Bilbo Baggins]] were permitted to go to Valinor, being ring-bearers. They were followed by [[Samwise Gamgee]] and [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] who were perhaps also permitted.

==Etymology==
''Valinor'' (archaic ''Valinórë'') is [[Quenya]] meaning "Land of Valar". There is also the name ''Valandor'' of roughly the same meaning.

The terms ''Ever-eve'' or ''Evereven'' also referred to Valinor.
In [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] lore, the mythical West was known as ''[[Faery]]''.

== Inspiration ==
It has been suggested that the concept is mainly based on the legend of Faery of western mythology, as indicated by the hobbitish name.

Furthermore, it seems to have been based on ghost and heavenly islands of ancient and medieval legends: Avalon, Hy Brasil, the Blessed Isles, the Elysian Fields, were mythical lands envisioned by the ancient peoples to be far into the western ocean. The legend somehow survived the Middle-Ages with [[Saint Brendan]]'s Island.

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[[Category:Quenya locations]]

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Music of the Ainur

Valinor