The Red Book: May 2017

Of Aulë and Yavanna: II (Eagles and Ents)

The Silmarillion, Chapter 2: Of Aulë and Yavanna

Aulë greatly desired the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar, and because of his impatience he made in secret the first of the dwarves. But Ilúvatar knew what was done, and was displeased, for the dwarves had not free will and were servants to Aulë's thought.

But Aulë was humble and desired no lordship, wishing only for children to love and teach. Seeing this, Ilúvatar gave the dwarves wills of their own. But he would not allow the dwarves to walk in Arda before his own children, so they were put to sleep to wait.

All this was secret from the other Vala, but Aulë finally told Yavanna (his spouse). He also told her that the Children, when they came, would have dominion over her works. Fearing for the things she had made, she went to speak with Manwë.

Eru then spoke to Manwë, explaining that great spirits would come to dwell among the things of Yavanna's making. Their anger would be feared, and they would help protect her work from wanton destruction and disrespect, though the Children of Ilúvatar would still have need of wood and meat.

Yavanna

Continued from AULË: All of this remained secret from the rest of the Valar, but Aulë at last told Yavanna who said "Eru is merciful. Now I see that thy heart rejoiceth, as indeed it may; for thou hast received not only forgiveness but bounty. Yet because thou hiddest this thought from me until its achievement, thy children will have little love for the things of my love [...] Many a tree shall feel the bite of their iron without pity."

"But Aulë answered: 'That shall also be true of the Children of Ilúvatar; for they will eat and they will build. And though the things of thy realm have worth in themselves, and would have worth if no Children were to come, yet Eru will give them dominion, and they shall use all that they find in Arda: though not, by the purpose of Eru, without respect or without gratitude.'"

But Yavanna knew that Melkor would twist some and was not content, "fearing what might be done upon Middle-earth in days to come." So she went to Manwë and learned from him that it was as Aulë had said. Manwë the asked what she love most in all her realm. "'All have their worth,' said Yavanna, 'and each contributes to the worth of the others. But the kelvar can flee or defend themselves, whereas the olvar that grow cannot. And among these I hold trees dear. Long in growing, swift shall they be in the felling, and unless they pay toll with fruit upon bough little mourned in their passing."

She then expressed her desire that the trees would speak and defend themselves and other living things.

"'This is a strange thought,' said Manwë. 'Yet it was in the Song,' said Yavanna. 'For while thou wert in the heavens and with Ulmo built the clouds and poured out the rains, I lifted up the branches of the great trees to receive them, and some sang to Ilúvatar amid the wind and the rain.'"

Manwë is then shown many things by Ilúvatar that he had not before know, and he went to Yavanna saying "'O Kementári, Eru hath spoken, saying: "....Behold! When the Children awake, then the thought of Yavanna will awake also, and it will summon spirits from afar, and they will go among the kelvar and the olvar, and some will dwell therein, and be held in reverence, and their just anger shall be feared."

Manwë then said "But dost thou not now remember, Kementári, that thy thought sang not always alone? Did not thy thought and mine meet also, so that we took wing together like great birds that soar above the clouds. That also shall come to be [and] there shall go forth with wings like the wind the Eagles of the Lords of the West.'"

Then Yavanna was glad and declared that the eagles should dwell in her trees, but Manwë said "only the trees of Aulë will be tall enough. In the mountains the Eagles shall house, and hear the voices of those who call upon us. But in the forests shall walk the Shepherds of the Trees.'"

Then Yavanna went to Aulë and said "'Now let thy children beware! For there shall walk a power in the forests whose wrath they will arouse at their peril.'" "'Nonetheless they will have need of wood,' said Aulë, and he went on to his smith work."

Notes:

We see here the origins of the Eagles and the Ents (shepherds of the trees).

Of all the Valar, I feel the worst about Yavanna. She delights in all beautiful things, but most of in living things, which are the most fragile. She is constantly watching that which she loves being destroyed and trampled upon. Constantly rebuilding and trying to heal the wounds. Even the good guys harm her domain. I believe that Tolkien felt the same way about her. He had a deep love of all living things (SAM!) and specifically of horses and trees. He hated the harm that was done to the natural world by EVERYTHING, good and bad. And he saw (even in his day) the inevitable destruction of nature.

It is interesting that the realms of Aulë and Yavanna can seem so different, and yet they are not so very far from each other. The mountains, stone, and earth (as in the dirt, not the planet) of the former are all, in their own way, living, and deeply connected to plants and animals of the latter. I have heard people say that they think the union between Aulë and Yavanna strange, but it makes perfect sense. As does that of Manwë and Varda.

Of Aulë and Yavanna: I (Origins of the Dwarves)

I was going to do this whole thing in one, but Aulë's part ended up being longer than I had anticipated, so I shall split them up. Refresher on Aulë:

"[Aulë's] lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. In the beginning he wrought much in fellowship with Manwë and Ulmo; and the fashioning of all lands was his labour." He is a master of crafts and loves 'works of skill.' He was a friend to the Noldor, and they learned more from him than any of the other Elves.

The Silmarillion, Chapter 2: Of Aulë and Yavanna

Aulë greatly desired the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar, and because of his impatience he made in secret the first of the dwarves. But Ilúvatar knew what was done, and was displeased, for the dwarves had not free will and were servants to Aulë's thought.

But Aulë was humble and desired no lordship, wishing only for children to love and teach. Seeing this, Ilúvatar gave the dwarves wills of their own. But he would not allow the dwarves to walk in Arda before his own children, so they were put to sleep to wait.

All this was secret from the other Vala, but Aulë finally told Yavanna (his spouse). He also told her that the Children, when they came, would have dominion over her works. Fearing for the things she had made, she went to speak with Manwë.
Eru then spoke to Manwë, explaining that great spirits would come to dwell among the things of Yavanna's making. Their anger would be feared, and they would help protect her work from wanton destruction and disrespect, though the Children of Ilúvatar would still have need of wood and meat.

Aulë

"...for so greatly did Aulë desire the coming of the Children, to have learners to whom he could teach his lore and his crafts" he created the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves and taught them a speech he had made for them. Ilúvater, of course, knew what he had done and said "Why dost thou attempt a thing which thou knowest is beyond thy power and thy authority? For thou hast from me as a gift thy own being only, and no more; and therefore the creatures of thy hand and mind can live only by that being, moving when thou thinkest to move them, and if thy thought be elsewhere, standing idle. Is that thy desire?"

Aulë responds that he desired nothing of the sort, only to have things other than himself to love and teach. He is humble and asks for forgiveness, repenting of his folly and taking up a hammer to destroy his beloved work. But Ilúvatar has pity on him, giving the dwarves wills of their own, and they cry out in fear and beg for mercy. Ilúvatar stops Aulë, saying, "Dost thou not see that these things have no a life of their own, and speak with their own voices? Else they would not have flinched from thy blow, nor from any command of thy will."

Ilúvatar is unwilling that Aulë should be rewarded for his impatience, or that the Dwarves should come before the Firstborn, and they are laid to rest to await the coming of the Children of Ilúvatar. "But when the time comes I will awaken them, and they shall be to thee as children; and often strife shall arise between thine and mine, the children of my adoption and the children of my will."

"Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong to endue. Therefore they are stone-hard, stubborn, fast in friendship and in enmity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples."

All of this remained secret from the rest of the Valar, but Aulë at last told Yavanna who said "Eru is merciful. Now I see that thy heart rejoiceth, as indeed it may; for thou hast received not only forgiveness but bounty. Yet because thou hiddest this thought from me until its achievement, thy children will have little love for the things of my love [...] Many a tree shall feel the bite of their iron without pity."

It was the belief of the Elves that when the dwarves died they 'returned to the earth and stone of which they were made'. But the Dwarves believe that their maker, Aulë (their name for him is Mahal) brings them to the Halls of Mandos; and that Aulë taught the first dwarves that they would eventually join the Children of Ilúvatar.

"They say also that the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves return to live again in their own kin and to bear once more their ancient names: of whom During was the most renowned in after ages, father of that kindred most friendly to the Elves, whose mansions were at Khazad-dûm."

Notes:

You could say that Aulë is lonely. One can create many things, and follow one's passions, but ultimately, what is the point of making things if there is no one to receive them? A proper love of something is accompanied by a desire to share it. I'm sure the other Valar are appreciative of his work, but they have no real interest in it beyond the finished product. Yavanna has her own realm to manage. Of course he yearns for "things other than I am, to love and to teach them, so that they too might perceive the beauty of Eä"*. Those who amass knowledge only for themselves and hoard it (ahem, Saruman) become isolated. Keeping secrets can be fun for a little while, but they become burdens that one longs to share. Passions are meant to be talked of with others, knowledge to be shared, and skills to be taught.

Aulë's willingness to destroy his 'children' cannot help but remind one of Abraham in the bible.

It is interesting that 'free will' is a gift that only Ilúvatar can give. The valar can create living, breathing creatures, but they cannot give them life, or 'being' as Ilúvatar called it. It made me think of the modern day fascination with Artificial Intelligence.

The disconnect between the dwarves and basically anything other than their mountains is explained here. At first glance, Yavanna can seem like she is being petty, but that is not at all true. If you think about the origins of the Children of Ilúvatar, though the Valar had no real part in their creation, the Children were still woven into a theme which included the Valar. An understanding/appreciation for the work of each Valar is part of them. The dwarves were created in secret and apart from all of this, they lack integration with the rest of Arda and it's inhabitants. Yavanna is merely stating an unfortunate fact.

I hold with the Dwarvish beliefs because A) the elves are rather proud and prejudiced; B) Aulë talked with Ilúvatar about the dwarves, and he probably knows their fate better than anyone. That the dwarves have, over time, completely twisted what he taught them is possible, but I'm not inclined to believe it; C) I reject any reality in which the entire Fellowship is not reunited at the end of time.

That last quote suggest some sort of weird reincarnation vibe?

*Eä: Basically, the created universe.

"Ilúvatar called to them, and said '[...] Therefore I say: Eä! Let these things Be! And I will send forth into the Void the Flame Imperishable, and it shall be at the heart of the World, and World shall Be; and those of you that will may go down into it.' And suddenly the Ainur saw afar off a light, as it were a cloud with a living heart of flame; and they knew that this was no vision only, but that Ilúvatar had made a new thing: Eä, the World that Is"

The Children of Ilúvatar: II

Eärendil the Mariner

This is not in keeping with my poorly carried out plan to be of some slight assistance to Silmarillion readers, I just wanted to talk about this section.

"[T]he Valar are to these kindreds [Men and Elves] rather their elders and their chieftains than their masters."

I find this quote to be important, in dispelling the idea that there are multiple Gods in Arda. There is Eru, who is the only one who could be considered an allegory for God. Tolkien does a beautiful job of weaving together the mythological idea of multiple deities, and the truth of one God, with many angelic servants (some ranking higher than others). CS Lewis takes a similar approach in his Space Trilogy, with each planet having it's own god-like ruler, who are all in submission to a higher entity (except for one, who rebels, as usual). The Valar, it should be remembered, do not always make the best decisions, and are not perfect.

"[I]f ever in their dealings with Elves and Men the Ainur have endeavoured to force them when they would not be guided, seldom has this turned to good, howsoever good the intent."

"The dealings of the Ainur have indeed been mostly with the Elves, for Ilúvatar made them more like in nature to the Ainur, though less in might and stature; whereas to Men he gave strange gifts."

Ilúvatar said that the Elves should have greater bliss in the world but to Men would be given a different gift.

"Therefore he willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest therein; but they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else".

This is a particularly interesting passage to me, as it speaks of free will. The elves, obviously, have the freedom to do as they please, but this quote would imply that even their freedom was held in the confines of that first music, whereas Men's was not. Elves are farseeing, and perhaps this is because they are, somehow, linked to that 'which is as fate'. But they are not always right, as many moments in Tolkien's work prove. It is interesting to think about. Elves are, quite frankly, a bit depressing, though I love them anyway.

"It is one with this gift of freedom that the children of Men dwell only a short space in the world alive, and are not bound to it, and depart soon whither the Elves know not. Whereas the Elves remain until the end of days, and their love of the Earth and all the world is more single and more poignant therefore, and as the years lengthen ever more sorrowful.[...]the Elves die not till the world dies, unless they are slain or waste in grief[...]and dying they are gathered to the halls of Mandos in Valinor".

This is ruining my dreams of Legolas and Aragorn meeting once more. And now that Arwen is mortal.... it is not so difficult to imagine the pain her father and brothers must have felt. How easily could they have hated Aragorn! It makes me sad to think about.

"But the sons of Men die indeed, and leave the world; wherefore they are called the Guests, or the Strangers. Death is their fate, the gift of Ilúvatar, which as Time wears even the Powers shall envy. But Melkor has cast his shadow upon it and confounded it with darkness, and brought forth evil out of good, and fear out of hope."

I have no idea why ANYONE would want to be immortal on this earth. I would certainly like to live to about 110, but no longer. It is interesting to think of Hobbit's place in all this. I think that they technically count as men and would probably share the same after-death destination. Though Tolkien does talk about their history a little bit, and there are theories (probably true) about their origins, I like that it isn't ever explained in any great detail. They just sort of happened. If you have spent much time digging up interesting facts about Tolkien, you will probably know that the hobbit began while he was grading something (which he apparently found very boring) and doodled "in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit' in the margin. Since that was the sentence he thought up, it is likely that he had had some previous thought of 'hobbits' but not much. Anyway. Moving on.

"Yet of old the Valar declared to the Elves in Valinor that Men shall join in the Second music of the Ainur; whereas Ilúvatar has not revealed what he purposes for the Elves after the World's end, and Melkor has not discovered it."

Sigh. I'm going with men (and hobbits) and elves eventually being reunited, because I refuse to believe that certain sets of people never see each other again. As for dwarves....I also persist in believing that they will get to join in as well, somehow, because the idea of Legolas and Gimli being separated for eternity is not one which I deign to entertain. I have also decided that the Maiar share the same fate as the elves, and therefore the entire Fellowship WILL be reunited after the end of the world.

Also of note is the "Melkor has not discovered it" bit. Melkor was actually the first to find the Firstborn, once they had woken in Cuiviénen, and is/was the greatest among the Ainur (alongside Manwë). He is terribly clever, and it would not be at all surprising to learn that he had somehow figured out Ilúvatar's plan.

I should probably figure out if there is a limit to the length of quote you can put in a post, without breaking some sort of copyright law. Because you're not supposed to reproduce the entire work as, say, a free pdf online, even with proper attribution; but you can quote it in your own work so long as you cite it. Somewhere in between, there has to be a line.

(Lest there should be any confusion or matter of rights and whatnot, all quotes in this post are from the works of JRR Tolkien, unless otherwise mentioned. There may be slight errors, misspellings, or alternate punctuation in the quotes, and if you notice such, please inform me so that I can speedily remedy them.
Header image by John Howe. End image compiled by Goldenrod Gardener)