Void
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- "Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness,
Where gates stand forever shut, till the World is mended" - ― Tom Bombadil, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs"
The Outer Void, or the Timeless Void, was a term used in various ways.
History
Cosmologically, the Void is the uninhabited space outside Time and Creation, the absence of the Flame Imperishable. It is told that Melkor used to wander in the Void to look in vain for the Flame Imperishable.[1]
The Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar are apart from the Void; Eä is created amidst the Void but is not a part of it.[1]
After his defeat in the War of Wrath, Morgoth was cast out into the Timeless Void "through the Door of Night beyond the Walls of the World",[2] but legends predict that he will return to the World and cause its End. The Void thus in that context refers to the vast distant empty spaces of Eä. This was often confused by Elves and Men with the Void that existed before the creation of Eä.[3]
Following his apparent utter defeat in the War of the Ring, Sauron's weakened spirit was left bound to the confines of the world, having stepped on the same path to powerlessness as Morgoth had in his banishment to the Void .[4]
It is also possible Gandalf's spirit entered the Void after his battle with the Balrog in Moria, as he "passed out of thought and time."[5]
Other names
The Void was also known as the Outer Dark (or the Outer Darkness), the Everlasting Dark, the Ancient Darkness. Qenya names were Avakúma, Oiakúma[6], and Kúma.[7][8]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Ainulindalë: The Music of the Ainur"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Five. Myths Transformed", "[Text] VII"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta: Of the Enemies"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The White Rider"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 46, July 2004, p. 8
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The History of Middle-earth Index, p. 31
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", p. 379
| Middle-earth Cosmology | |
| Constellations | Anarríma · Durin's Crown · Menelmacar · Remmirath · Soronúmë · Telumendil · Valacirca · Wilwarin |
|---|---|
| Stars | Alcarinquë · Borgil · Carnil · Elemmírë · Helluin · Luinil · Lumbar · Morwinyon · Nénar · Star of Eärendil · Til |
| The Airs | Aiwenórë · Fanyamar · Ilmen · Menel · Vaiya · Veil of Arda · Vista |
| Narsilion | Arien · Moon (Isil, Ithil, Rána) · Sun (Anar, Anor, Vása) · Tilion |
| See also | Abyss · Arda · Circles of the World · Eä · Timeless Halls · Two Lamps · Two Trees · Void |
