Ilmarin
| Ilmarin | |
|---|---|
| Building | |
 | |
| Detail of "Taniquetil" by Ted Nasmith | |
| General Information | |
| Pronunciation | il-mar-in |
| Other names | Halls of Manwë and Varda |
| Location | atop Taniquetil |
| Type | Building |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Manwë and Varda |
| Events | High feast |
| Gallery | Images of Ilmarin |
Ilmarin referred to the mansions of Manwë and Varda.[1][2]
Description[edit]
The domed halls[3] situated on the summit of Taniquetil, the highest peak of the world, from where Manwë here set his throne, and spirits shaped like hawks and eagles constantly came with news of events in Arda. Manwë and Varda "could look out across the Earth even into the East".[4]
When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth.
—Valaquenta: Of the Valar
During the high feast before the Darkening of Valinor, the Maiar, Vanyar, and Noldor sang before Manwë and Varda in their halls.[5]
Etymology[edit]
Ilmarin is Quenya[6] for "mansion of the high airs".[2] Christopher Tolkien has noted that Ilmarin is related to such words as Ilmarë and Ilmen.[1]
In the poem Namárië, the dwelling of Manwë and Varda is given the Quenya name oromardi ("lofty halls").[7][8]
Other uses[edit]
In one poem, the name Ilmarin is used for Valinor,[7] and in the Song of Eärendil the name "Hill of Ilmarin" refers to Oiolossë.[2]
Inspiration[edit]
Ilmarin and the throne of Manwë could be inspired by Norse Mythology: the gods have a dwelling called Valaskjálf in Valhalla, in which Odin has his magic throne, Hlidskjálf:
Another great abode is there, which is named Valaskjálf; Odin possesses that dwelling; the gods made it and thatched it with sheer silver, and in this hall is the Hlidskjálf, the high-seat so called. Whenever Allfather sits in that seat, he surveys all lands.
—Gylfaginning, §17
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entry ilm-
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 217
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Notes and Translations", in The Road Goes Ever On (J.R.R. Tolkien, Donald Swann), p. 69
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Beginning of Days"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Darkening of Valinor"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 20
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Farewell to Lórien"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Elvish Poetry and Pre-Fëanorian Alphabets", in Parma Eldalamberon XVI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, Carl F. Hostetter and Bill Welden), p. 97
| Dwellings of the Valar | |
| Halls of Nienna · Halls of Mandos · House of Oromë · House of Tulkas · Ilmarin · Lórien · Mansions of Aulë · Ulmonan | |
