The Origins of Middle
Earth:
I Inklings of the Truth
N.J. Lund, Ph.D.
August, 2003
J.R.R. Tolkien was an author (small “a”). He
believed that God is the real Author (capital “A”). Whenever he wrote stories of his own, Tolkien
thought that his work was just a small part of a much larger story which is being written
by God. Tolkien also loved mythology (the ancient stories which tell about
the gods and their dealings with humankind). He
believed that God, the Author of all things, uses these myths to serve His own purposes. In the same way that Shakespeare used literary
devices like alliteration and foreshadowing, so Tolkien believed that God can use things
like mythology to help communicate His story and our place within it.
Many Christians are suspicious of mythology, and for good reason. Mythology includes much that is false and
misleading. Mythology is certainly no
substitute for God’s truth as revealed in the Bible.
Without the light of Scripture to guide us, mythology could offer little
help in finding the truth. However, as with
everything else in the world, God can still use myths for good. He promises: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who
love Him, who are called according to His purpose” (Rom.
The Bible gives many examples of God’s willingness and ability to speak through
unlikely sources. For example, God spoke
through the mouth of Balaam’s donkey (Num.
In the book Peace Child, Don Richardson has written about his experiences as a
missionary to the Sawi tribe of cannibals in
Out of this experience
Tolkien didn’t like allegories, in which
every detail in a story is supposed to symbolize something else. However, he did believe in what
One reason why Tolkien and Lewis favored Norse mythology is that the line between good and
evil is drawn so clearly there. The struggle
between good and evil is presented as a cosmic battle.
The Norse myths include stories about a great tree (Yggdrasill) upon which
the life of the universe depends; and about a great, final battle (Ragnarok) which will
bring this world to an end, and lead to a new and better life. Tolkien took many of his ideas for the Lord of the
Rings from the Norse myths, including some ideas about elves and dwarves and even the
names “Gandalf” and “Middle-earth.”
In the mythology invented by Tolkien, God is called Eru, or Iluvatar
(‘all-father’) by the elves. Eru
dwells in the Timeless Halls and oversees the destiny of Men and their final End. Long before the creation of the world, Eru’s
first creation was the Ainur (‘holy
ones’). The Ainur were immortal,
invisible spirits of greater or lesser power: the Valar
(greater); and their servants, the Maiar
(lesser). Because they were the offspring of
Eru’s own thought, the Valar were themselves considered to be gods.
The Bible reveals that music was associated with God’s creation of the world. For example, when God answers Job out of the
whirlwind, He then asks him: “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
... when the morning stars sang together” (Job 38:4-7).
There are other hints as well (cf. Ps. 65:8; 147:4; 148:3; Is. 49:13). There is an echo of that music in the world of
Middle-earth. As recounted in the
Silmarillion, Eru created the visible world with assistance from the Ainur by means of a
great song, the Ainulindalë
(‘Ainu-song’). Eru created the first
music and taught much of it to the Ainur. Then
he invited them to participate in the song of creation.
The Ainulindalë, or creation song, was divided up into three parts, or themes. In the first theme Eru presented His basic vision
for the world and then brought it into existence in an unfinished form as Eä. Eä
was the entire physical world, comprised of Arda
(an early form of the earth) and Ilmen (the
heavens of Eä, where the stars were).
Of the Valar who chose to assist their Maker in the creation, the first and noblest was Manwë. He
was considered the chief of the Valar, and under Eru the primary architect and King of
Arda. His brother Melkor, who will be mentioned later, became a
Satan-like figure, the greatest sower of discord and agent of evil in Arda. Manwë’s wife was called Varda (‘the exalted’), or Elbereth (‘star-queen’) by the Elves. She worked closely with Manwë to resist the evil
of Melkor and to keep light in the world.
Second greatest of the Aratar (‘the exalted’), or Valar chiefs, was Ulmo, the Lord of Waters and King of the Sea. He learned more of Eru’s music than any other,
and served as a music instructor for many Elves. Next
in power and significance were Aulë and his
spouse, Yavanna.
Aulë was the master craftsman of Arda.
Yavanna’s song created the two great Trees of Valinor which brought
light to the world. When Melkor destroyed the
Trees of Light, Aulë fashioned vessels which became the Sun and the Moon. The one carried the final flower, and the other the
final fruit, of the dying trees.
The remaining Valar were these: Mandos, the
Guardian of the Dead, and his wife Vairë, the
Weaver; Lórien, the master of dreams and rest,
and his wife, Estë, the healer of wounds and
sorrows; Tulkas, the Valiant, bravest of all
the Valar, and his wife Nessa, the Dancer; Oromë, the Hunter and Lord of the Woods and his
wife Vana, the Ever-Young, caretaker of
flowers and birds; and Nienna, sister of Mandos
and Lórien, a spirit pity, comfort and hope
for the creatures of Eru.
Of the other Ainur created by Eru the most noteworthy was Melkor. Like
the other Valar, Melkor was created to be good. In
fact he was favored with gifts of knowledge, power, and wisdom above his peers. But, like Lucifer (Satan) in the Bible, Melkor was
not satisfied with what he had been given. He
wanted more. He wanted to be equal with Eru,
his Maker. He desired to possess the Flame
Imperishable, the creating spirit of Eru, possessed by Eru alone. Melkor was also jealous of the other Valar and
their gifts, and he sought to dominate all things in Arda.
He built fortresses against the other Valar: first the stronghold of Utumno;
then that of Angband.
The evil caused by Melkor seemed at times to be unstoppable.
He forged evil weapons and bred ferocious monsters. Out of captured Elves he created Orcs. He used deceit and distortion with great skill,
seeking always to extend his own dominion. When
Feanor, the Elvish son of Finwë, created the Silmaril jewels (from the light of the Trees of
Valinor), Melkor was jealous. Making league
with Ungoliant, the spirit of darkness,
Melkor poisoned the Two Trees and stole the Silmarils,
and fled to his fortress at Angband. Much is
told in the Silmarillion of Melkor’s treachery and the wars against him, until at
last the Valar interceded and cast Melkor into the Void.
However, even then the evil influence of Melkor persisted, through Sauron, his chief servant. Sauron was to become the forger of the Rings of
Power, by which he hoped to enslave the last of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.
The remaining Ainur in this story were the Maiar. They were the spirits of lesser power, created by
Eru to assist the Valar in the care of Arda. Some
Maiar, like Sauron and the Balrogs, were seduced into rebellion against Eru
by Melkor. Others seemed to choose an
independent, evil existence. These included Dragluin, the werewolf, and Ungoliant, the spirit of darkness which took the
form of a spider. Two other evil Maiar were Thuringwethil, the vampire, who served as a
messenger of Sauron; and Saruman, who started
out on the side of good, but then coveted the One Ring, was trapped by Sauron, and became
his slave.
Fortunately, most of the Maiar remained loyal to their Maker, Eru. These included: Olórin (also known as Gandalf); Iarwain
Ben-Adar (Tom Bombadil) and his wife Goldberry, the River-daughter; Arien, the Sun-guide; Tilion, the Moon-pilot; Ilmarë, handmaid of Varda; Eönwë, herald of Manwë; Ossë and his wife, Uinen, master and mistress of the inland waves
and seas of Arda; and Melian, who tended the
trees of Lórien in Valinor (the land of the Valar) and taught the nightingales to sing. Melian took mortal form to marry Elwë, greatest of
the Elven-lords, and to help him found the great
Although the powers of evil in his story were great and seemed to be overwhelming, Tolkien
planted seeds of hope in the very beginning. When
Melkor first attempted to interrupt and break the creation song, Eru demonstrated His
sovereignty and providence. He drew
Melkor’s discord into a second theme and defeated it in a fuller, richer harmony. Then Eru added a third and final theme to the song
in which the Ainur were not allowed to participate. In
this theme Eru introduced the creation of Men and Elves, and kept the destiny of Men and
their End to Himself.
Together the two races of Men and of Elves were called the Children of Iluvatar (the Elvish name for Eru). The Elves were called the
“First-born,” and Men the “Followers.”
The Elves were as tall as Men, and often taller. Of all living creatures in
Middle-earth, they were the ones described as the most beautiful and gifted. Although they were immortal, they could be slain in
battle. In the beginning all of them dwelt in Middle-earth, but the Valar invited the
Elves to settle with them on their protected
The Elves who were willing to follow their leaders to Valinor were called Eldar (‘people of the stars’). They were divided up into three major groups. The first to reach Valinor, following their leader
Ingwë, were called Vanyar. The second group to reach Valinor was called Noldor. Their
leader was Finwë. It was his son Feanor who
created the famous Silmarils, the three precious jewels which
captured the light of the trees of Valinor. Finarfin,
another son of Finwë, was considered the fairest and wises of the Noldor Elves. He was the father of Finrod (‘the
faithful’; ‘friend of men’) and Galadriel (keeper of the Nenya, the Ring of
Water, in Lothlórien). The final and largest
group of Elves was led by Elwë (also known as Thingol) and his brother Olwë. They were called the Teleri. It
was Elwë for whom Melian (a Maia) took human form to marry.
The Teleri who remained in Beleriand and never completed the journey were
called the Sindar. Those who refused the invitation to live with the
Valar were called the Avari (‘the
unwilling’).
The first marriage between Elves and Men took place when Lüthien, the Elvish daughter of
Elwë and Melian, married Beren, son of Barahir, from the race of Men. The story of Beren and Lúthien is important to the
Lord of the Rings, for their descendents were to include such great figures of Middle-earth as Elrond, master of Imladris
(Rivendell), and Aragorn, the Heir of Isildur and the One Ring. It is also the most beautiful and popular story in
the Silmarillion. When Beren requested
Lúthien’s hand in marriage, Elwë at first refused.
He gave Beren a seemingly impossible task.
The bride-price for his daughter was to capture one of the stolen Silmarils
from the very crown of Morgoth (the Elven name for Melkor) in Angband. Against all hope, Beren succeeded in this quest. After facing many dangers, with the assistance and
support of Lúthien, his beloved, Beren accomplished “the greatest deed that has been
dared by Elves or Men.” He entered the
very court of Morgoth and removed a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown with the renowned
blade of Angrist. However, the sound awakened
Morgoth and his demonic sentinel, Carcharoth, the dread wolf with a devouring spirit. Carcharoth bit off Beren’s hand at the wrist,
and with it the precious Silmaril, as he attempted to escape. Only much later, when Carcharoth was finally
killed, was Beren (as he himself was dying) able to retrieve the jewel and present it to
Elwë, thus bringing the Quest for the Silmaril to completion.
After being stolen by the Dwarves the Silmaril was again retrieved by Beren when he was
brought back from the dead by the sacrifice of Lúthien, his beloved. After Beren’s second death possession of the
Silmaril passed first to his son Dior; then to Dior’s daughter, Elwing; who married
Eärendil. Eärendil was also of mixed race,
the son of Tuor and Idril (the second marriage of Elf and
After ages of peace and prosperity Númenor was destroyed when the last and greatest king,
Al Pharazôn, lifted himself up in pride against his protectors, the Valar. One of the few to escape was Elendil, father of
Isildur and founder of the kingdom which later became Gondor and Arnor. Under Elendil a Last Alliance of Elves and Men was
raised against Sauron in Mordor. It was by his
father Elendil’s sword that Isildur was able to lay hold of Sauron’s One Ring,
the Ring of Power, as described in the Lord of the Rings.
As mentioned earlier, Elves and Men, the “Children of Ilúvatar,” were the
creation of Eru, alone. The Elves He called
forth first, when Varda rekindled the stars and ended the Ages of Darkness (caused by
Melkor) some 20,000 human years after the creation of Arda.
The Elves thus awoke to their existence with magical starlight in their
eyes. Men were not to appear for anther 10,000
years. Ilúvatar called them forth to witness
the birth of the sun. Twice Melkor has
destroyed the Valar sources of light: the great lamps of Aulë (Illuin and Ormal); and the
Two Trees of Valinor (Laurelin the Golden and Telperion the White), created by the song of
Yavanna and the tears of Nienna. But the Valar
would not give up.
From the dying trees Yavanna saved a single, silver flower (Isil, the Sheen), and a
single, golden fruit (Anor, the Fire-golden). To
hold these treasures and to display their light Aulë forged the sacred vessels of the Sun
and the Moon. In this way the Valar succeeded
in overcoming Melkor’s assaults, and in bringing light to all of Arda. And Ilúvatar blessed their work and honored it
with the awakening of Men to the light of the dawn and the beginning of a new age. The First Age of the Sun lasted for 600 human
years. During this time five major battles
were waged by the Free Peoples against Morgoth (Melkor).
Three Houses of Men (the Edain) made alliance with the Elves, learned much
wisdom from them, and fought valiantly by their sides.
Two marriages of Elf and Men resulted: Beren and Lúthien; Tuor and Idril. The First Age witnessed the destruction of
Beleriand, the great Elven kingdom founded by Elwë (Thingol) and Melian, under the
onslaught of Morgoth and his evil hordes. It
ended with the casting of Morgoth by the Valar forever into the Void in response to the
appeal of Eärendil.
It was during the Second Age that Sauron forged
the Rings of Power (Nine Rings for Men; Seven
Rings for the Dwarves; Three Rings for the Elves; and the One Ring to rule them all) and
completed the Dark Tower of Barad-dûr, When
the Noldorian Elves learned what he had done
they attacked Morgoth, but they were defeated. Only
a small number of these Elves survived. Led by
Elrond they escaped into the
For the next one thousand years Sauron appeared to be held at bay, but secretly he was at
work: distributing the Nine Rings of Power to entrap the kings of Men; and creating the
Nazgûl, his chief slaves (called Ringwraiths by Men).
At the same time Sauron succeeded in one of his greatest deceptions. When the Númenóreans
grew to a power greater than his own, he surrendered himself to them, accepting
imprisonment in their strongest dungeon without resistance.
Then, when they feared him no more, he used his guile to corrupt them,
tempting them to think that they were invincible.
So successful was Sauron in this temptation that he prompted the Númenóreans to attack
even the Valar themselves, though they were the representatives of Ilúvatar and devoted
to the welfare of Men. Sauron first convinced
the Númenóreans that Melkor was the true God and the Giver of Freedom. Later he convinced them that he himself, Sauron,
was also a god, and worthy of worship and sacrifice. Sauron
burned the White Tree, the symbol of allegiance
between the Valar and the Númenóreans, on an altar in a temple dedicated to himself. Fortunately Isildur, Aragorn’s ancestor, was
able to save a piece of fruit and create a seedling before the tree was destroyed.
Under Sauron’s influence the Númenóreans decided to invade the Blessed Realm,
seeking immortality. The brazenness of this
deed was so great as to bring about the wrath and intervention of Ilúvatar Himself. A cataclysm of judgment ensued. The entire kingdom of Númenor (Tolkien’s
version of Atlantis) disappeared under the sea; the Undying Lands of the Elves were set
forever beyond the reach of mortal Men; and the flat world of Arda became the circular
earth which we know today.
Out of the judgment against the Númenóreans came a remnant who called themselves
‘Faithful to the Valar,’ the Dúnedain,
led by Elendil the Tall. The Dúnedain, who
descended from the Edain of old, formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to attack Sauron
when he escaped the cataclysm of Númenor. Even
as Sauron plotted against them, the Last Alliance came against him and defeated him in
Mordor. Although several High Kings among the
Elves were killed, the Dúnedain King Isildur at last succeeded in cutting the One Ring
from Sauron’s hand, thus bringing the Second Age to an end. Aragorn II,
called Strider, was the Heir of Isildur, a Dúnedain descended from the House of Elros,
son Eärendil.
In addition to the races of Elves and Men, other creatures were found to inhabit
Middle-earth. Eru allowed the Valar to create
other races and creatures. Aulë created the
Dwarves; Manwë created Eagles; Yavanna created the Ents and other creatures of field and
stream.