Summary
Manwë. Brother of Melkor, lord of the air, lord of the Valar, King of Arda. Not as strong as his brother, but “dearest to Ilúvatar and understands most clearly his purposes.”
Varda. Spouse of Manwë, queen of the valar, lady of light. Created the stars. Most beloved of the Valar, and the Elves also call her Elbereth.
Ulmo. Lord of the waters. Doesn’t dwell in Valinor, and only comes there when there’s important business being debated. Pays the most attention to the mortal lands, because all the streams and rivers bring him news. Never forsook Middle-earth, even when the rest of the Valar did.
Aulë. Lord of earth and stone. The craftsman of the Valar, he did the greatest share of the work in the shaping of Arda. Delights in crafts of all sorts, and in teaching them to the Children of Ilúvatar. His gifts are the most similar to Melkor’s.
Yavanna. Giver of fruits, ruler of all growing things. Spouse of Aulë. Next to Varda in power among the ladies of the Valar.
Námo, better known as Mandos. Lord of the spirits of the dead. Keeps the Halls of Mandos in Valinor, where the spirits of slain Elves reside until they are re-embodied. Has foresight: “he knows all things that shall be, save only those that lie still in the freedom of Ilúvatar.” Only speaks of the future when Manwë commands him.
Vairë, the Weaver. Spouse of Mandos. Takes all things that happen and weaves them into her tapestries, which adorn the halls of Mandos.
Irmo, better known as Lórien. Lord of dreams and visions, brother of Mandos. Dwells in the gardens of Lórien, fairest place in Valinor.
Estë the Gentle, healer of hurts. Spouse of Lórien. Even the Valar themselves come to the gardens of Lórien to receive her care, when they are weary.
Nienna, sister of Estë. Grief is her province: even before the Song of the Ainur was finished she was mourning its marring, and thanks to her voice there is grief woven into Eä from the beginning. She brings strength and wisdom to those who feel grief for others.
Tulkas. Last of the Valar to descend to Arda, and delights in contests and strength of arms. He’s no use whatsoever as a counselor, but a very faithful friend and ally.
Nessa. Delights in dancing, and is a swift runner. Spouse of Tulkas.
Oromë the hunter. Loves Middle-earth, and even when it was under Melkor’s dominion he would frequently ride there with his hounds to hunt fell creatures. His horse is named Nahar.
Vána. Spouse of Oromë, sister of Yavanna. Disney princess.
Ilmarë. Maia of Varda, her handmaiden.
Eönwë. Maia of Manwë, “whose might in arms is surpassed by none in Arda.” Herald and banner-bearer of the Valar.
Ossë. Maia of Ulmo, delights in storms. Melkor attempted to recruit him early on, and almost succeeded. Sailors don’t trust him, with good reason.
Uinen. Maia of Ulmo, Lady of the Seas, spouse of Ossë. Can restrain him, at times. Particularly revered by the Númenóreans.
Meilan, Maia of both Vána and Estë.
Olórin. Dwelt in Lórien, pupil of Neinna. Wisest of the Maiar, friend to all the Children of Ilúvatar.
Melkor, later called Morgoth. The greatest of the Ainur, he fell from splendor into evil thanks to his desire first to rule everything, and then to destroy what he could not rule.
Valaraukar, also known as Balrogs. Maiar drawn to Melkor in his early splendor, who stuck with him through his fall into darkness. Beings of fire and destruction.
Sauron, also known as Gorthaur the Cruel. Originally a Maia of Aulë, and he remained a great craftsman even after he joined Melkor. In later years, after the exile of Melkor, he essentially became a lesser (though still very great) version of Melkor.
Commentary
Lots of people find this boring, and for many people who struggled already with the archaic language of the Ainulindalë the Valaquenta was the point where they threw in the towel. I get it. I find it super interesting, personally, but I get it. This is a huge part of why I ask people how they felt about the LotR Appendices when they ask if they should read the Sil.
So who here do you need to know, really? Manwë, Varda, Ulmo, Aulë, Yavanna, Mandos, Tulkas, and Oromë. Maaaaaaaybe Nienna. Among the Valar, that’s about it. Ossë, Uinen, and Meilan among the Maiar. Maaaaaaaybe Eönwë. Plus the baddies: Melkor, the Balrogs, Sauron. The rest you can not worry about - they’ll only come up occasionally, if at all.
Varda is all over LotR, though she’s only referred to by that name during Galadriel’s song of farewell. A Elbereth Gilthoniel! (“Oh Elbereth, Star-kindler!”) is cried a number of times, most notably by Frodo on Weathertop and when they’re cornered by Shelob.
Théoden gets compared to Oromë at the beginning of his charge at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields:
Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young.
And lastly, though Olórin doesn’t really come up much in the Sil (I didn’t list him as one to remember), he does get mentioned in LotR, courtesy of Faramir in “The Window on the West”:
‘The Grey Pilgrim?’ said Frodo. ‘Had he a name?’ ‘Mithrandir we called him in elf-fashion,’ said Faramir, ‘and he was content. Many are my names in many countries, he said. Mithrandir among the Elves, Tharkûn to the Dwarves; Olórin I was in my youth in the West that is forgotten, in the South Incánus, in the North Gandalf; to the East I go not.’
Wisest of the Maiar and friend to the Children of Ilúvatar indeed.
Finally, the keyboard code for lowercase-e-with-umlaut, ë, is Alt 0235. In case anyone was wondering.
Next up, we start Quenta Silmarillion proper with “Of the Beginning of Days.”
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