Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we complete our look at the Valar of Tolkien’s world.
So far, we've covered the Queens of the Valar as well as the Dark Lord Melkor.
So today, we are going to talk about the Lords of the Valar.
Manwe Sulimo - The Elder King Manwe is the King of the Valar.
He is the husband of Varda and the brother of Melkor - the Dark Lord also known as Morgoth.
In addition to being the King of Arda, he is also known as the Lord of the Breath of Arda.
The winds, air, and birds of the world are his servants.
Manwe is the Vala who is closest in thought and mind to Eru Iluvatar.
Manwe and his wife Varda live atop the great mountain of Taniquetil - the highest peak
in all the world.
Since the very beginning, Ulmo has been his closest friend and ally - together, they are
most faithful to the vision of Eru for the world.
After the Noldor leave to dwell in Beleriand, Manwe sends the Great Eagles to live in Middle-earth
to be an ally and aid them against evil.
After Melkor is defeated in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age,
Manwe casts his brother into the void.
In the prophesied Final Battle, - the Dagor Dagorath - when Morgoth escapes the void,
it is said that the Elder King and his brother will battle on the Plains of Valinor, but
that they will not kill one another.
Ulmo, King of the Sea Ulmo is the Lord of Waters and King of the Sea.
He is unique among the valar in that he has no spouse.
Ulmo also sometimes wears a fana, which is an elvish word for the physical form that
the Ainur take when dealing with the peoples of Middle-earth.
He also doesn’t live in Valinor with the other valar, but in Ekkaia - the Encircling
Sea which surrounds all the lands of Arda.
Because of this, Ulmo rarely takes part in the meetings of the Valar, unless it is of great importance.
While most of the valar would ignore Middle-earth between the Years of Lamps and the Years of
the Trees, it is said that Ulmo keeps the earth alive during this time of darkness.
Ulmo is in the minority when it came to the elves of Middle-earth.
He believed they should be allowed to remain free in Middle-earth, while the majority wished
to bring them to Valinor.
Though he was overruled, Ulmo helps the elves make the journey by tearing a great piece
of land from the shores of Beleriand.
This island, named Tol Eressea, is used twice to ferry groups of elves from Beleriand to Valinor.
Ulmo, along with Tulkas, forever remained distrustful of Melkor, even when his time
to be given a second chance came.
After Melkor destroys the two trees, steals the silmarils, and flees to Middle-earth,
Ulmo would be arguably the most helpful of the valar toward the elves and men of Middle-earth.
It is he who leads Turgon to build the hidden city of Gondolin, and Galadriel’s brother
Finrod to build the realm of Nargothrond.
Aulë, the Smith of the Valar Aule is unique among the valar in that he
creates one of the races of the peoples of Middle-earth - the Dwarves.
As the Smith of the Valar, he delights in works and crafts - over all of which he is the master.
This trait he would pass along to his creation - who also loved the works of their hands.
Aule is the third most powerful of the Aratar - or High Ones of Arda - the greatest of the Valar.
His wife is Yavanna, the Queen of the Earth and giver of fruits.
As I mentioned, he is most known for his creation of the dwarves, which he does in secret.
When confronted by Iluvatar, Aule is about to destroy his creation when Iluvatar stops
him, having given them true life himself.
Without Iluvatar, the dwarves were merely vessels that could only move and act through the will of Aule.
Were he not around, they would remain inanimate objects.
With souls of their own, the dwarves are put to sleep until the elves would awake.
Among those who either served or learned under Aule are the maiar Mairon and Curumo - later
known as Sauron and Saruman, and his greatest pupil Feanor the elf.
Needless to say, he doesn’t have the greatest record with his students.
Among Aule’s greatest works are the chain Angainor, which is used to bound Melkor when
he is captured, the Two Lamps of Illuin and Ormal, and the vessels of light that would
become known as the Sun and the Moon.
Oromë, the Huntsman Orome is another vala who is pretty active
in Middle-earth even after the Valar move to Aman.
He has a great steed named Nahar, whose descendants would include the great horses Felarof and Shadowfax.
We are told Orome delights in hunting the monsters and evil creatures of Melkor and
that his wrath is terrible.
He is the brother of Nessa and the husband of Vana.
It is Orome who discovers the elves at Lake Cuivienen, gives them the name Eldar, and
invites them to live in Valinor.
It is believed that the Kine of Araw - a species of oxen that are found near the Sea of Rhun,
are descended from the cattle of Orome.
It was the horn of one of these most hardy and wild of oxen that is made into a great
Horn of Gondor, which would pass through the line of the Stewards of Gondor - all the way to Boromir.
Mandos, the Doomsman of the Valar Mandos is the vala who pronounces judgement
in matters of fate.
The Halls of Mandos are where souls go after men and elves die in Middle-earth.
For greek mythology fans, you can kind of think of him as a Hades-type figure in terms of his duties.
However, whereas Hades is a permanent destination, the Halls of Mandos are more of a waiting room.
The elves would eventually be re-embodied and, with a couple exceptions, go on to live in Aman.
The ultimate fate of Men, however, is a mystery, as their souls would go to an unknown place
after a short time in the Halls of Mandos.
In arguably his most dramatic moment, Mandos prophesied the Doom of the Noldor as the elves
of Feanor are sailing from Aman to Middle-earth, having just slain their own kin at Alqualonde.
This Curse of Mandos describes the tears unnumbered that shall be shed, the dreadful Oath that
will bring great evil to the elves, and the elves banishment from returning to the Undying
Lands while they yet lived.
Mandos is the brother of Irmo and Nienna and the husband of Vaire the weaver.
Lorien, master of visions and dreams Lorien is the more common name for Mandos’ brother Irmo.
Together with his brother, they are known as the Feanturi - masters of spirits.
Lorien and his brother have something else in common - the names they are most known
by are the same as their dwelling place, with his being Lorien - an area of gardens in Valinor.
His wife is Este and together they provide a peaceful refuge for the elves who live in
the Blessed Realm.
He would also guide the elves with their visions and dreams.
Tulkas, Champion of the Valar Last, but certainly not least, we have the
mighty Tulkas - the most warlike of all the Valar.
It was said he was so strong and so swift that he needed neither weapon nor steed.
Despite being incredibly strong and warlike, he wasn’t like Orome with his terrible wrath.
Instead, Tulkas delights in the battle, laughing loudly in both sport and war.
It is also said his anger dispelled both darkness and clouds.
In the earliest days of Arda, Tulkas is the last of the Ainur to descend to Middle-earth.
He does so upon hearing of the war with Melkor.
Upon Tulkas’ arrival, Melkor flees at the sound of his laughter and witnessing his wrath.
The wedding of Tulkas and Nessa is the only such event we are told of among the Valar.
It was only after Tulkas fell asleep after the celebration that Melkor chose to attack
and destroy the Two Lamps.
Later, after the elves awake in Middle-earth, the Valar decide to move against Melkor, making
war upon him in the Battle of the Powers.
At the conclusion of this conflict, Tulkas wrestles with Melkor, finally casting him
upon his face and chaining him in the chain crafted by Aule.
While he is slow to wrath, he is also slow to forgive, as we see he as well as Ulmo are
strongly against Melkor being given a second chance after his imprisonment.
When Tolkien wrote the Second Prophecy of Mandos - otherwise known as the Dagor Dagorath,
it was foretold that Tulkas would fight Melkor in battle once again on the plains of Valinor
and that he would play a large role in the dark lord’s ultimate downfall.
If you want to learn about the Queens of the Valar, check out my video from a while back
where I did a similar breakdown for these epic ladies of Aman.
Now that you’ve been introduced to all of Tolkien’s Valar - who is your favorite?
Who would you like to see get their own video taking a deep dive into their actions and personality?
Let me know in the comments!