Alone of the Valar He Knew Fear

It is compelling! In fact, looking at the people Morgoth’s specifically said to fear, you end up with a very interesting list: Varda: “Melkor she knew from before the making of the Music and rejected him, and he hated her, and feared her more than all others whom Eru made.” Arien: “And Arien Morgoth feared…

Tolkien loved to give things lots of names. Any idea what person, place, or thing has the most names?

I haven’t really counted, but my guess is that it’s Varda, whose names include (but according to Tolkien were not limited to): Varda (Quenya, “sublime/lofty”) Elbereth (Sindarin, “star queen”) Elentari (Quenya, “star queen”) Avradi (Adunaic, adapted from Varda) Tintalle (Quenya, “star kindler”) Aire Tari (Quenya, “holy queen”) Gilthoniel (Sindarin, “star kindler”) Fanuilos (Sindarin, “ever-white”) Gimilnitir (Adunaic, “star kindler”) also it’s mentioned that in…

Seven Stars in Middle Earth

Seven stars is a symbol that shows up all the time in Middle Earth, and is important to all three of the major races. Gondor’s flag has seven stars above the White Tree, Durin saw seven stars form a crown over his reflection in the Mirrormere, and the most important constellation in elvish culture is…

It’s me again! Thanks so much for the poem recommendations. I’m currently working on Lament for the Rohirrim and Hymn to Elbereth, however I have a few lines I need some help with The one that I’m having the hardest time with goes ” 12

You’re very welcome! Hmmmm… well first off, for the folks at home, here’s the full stanza: Gilthoniel! O Elbereth!Clear are thy eyes and bright thy breath!Snow-white! Snow-white! We sing to theeIn a far land beyond the sea. Purity is a big trend with Varda, especially in this song (the first line, “Snow-white! Snow-white! O Lady…

Tolkien and the Virgin Mary

I automatically want to avoid the word “represents”, because it brings us into dangerous allegory territory (see this post about Tolkien and allegory.) But there are a few characters that I would definitely say are at least partly inspired by the Virgin Mary, and Elbereth/Varda is absolutely one of them. Part of Tolkien’s strong Catholic…