Valaquenta



"Valaquenta" means something like "history of the Valar".

Of the Valar

There are seven Lords of the Valar.  They are all sort of important, so unfortunately they must all be listed here.  Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien and Tulkas.  There are also seven Queens, or Valier: Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Estë, Vairë, Vána and Nessa.  Melkor used to be a Vala, but he doesn't count any more.  He and Manwë are brothers.

Manwë is lord of the air, and is Eru's favourite.  He likes birds.  He's married to Varda, the lady of the stars.  She is the favourite of the Elves; in Sindarin they call her Elbereth and/or Gilthoniel, as found in Lord of the Rings.

Ulmo is the lord of water, and is not married.  He is scary but nice and is fond of Elves and men.  Ulmo is second in strength to Manwë.  Behind Ulmo in the strength contest is Aulë, who likes mining and forging and all that.  Aulë is married to Yavanna, who grows plants and looks after animals.

Then there are Námo and Irmo, the lords of spirits, who are usually just called (respectively) Mandos and Lórien after the places they live.  They are brothers.  Mandos is older and looks after the spirits of dead Elves in his halls.  Lórien does things with dreams and visions and all that.  Mandos is married to Vairë the weaver, who weaves the tapestries of history, and Lórien is with Estë, who is a healer.

Nienna, who is either the sister of Manwë and Melkor or Mandos and Lórien depending on which book you read, lives alone and is always sorrowful.  She grives for the marring of the world.  Also, she's responsible for dealing with the souls of departed Men.

Tulkas is physically strongest.  He's into wrestling, and came last to Arda to help fight Melkor.  His wife is Nessa, sister of Oromë, who likes deer and dancing.  Oromë is less strong than Tulkas, and also less jolly.  He likes hunting.  Oromë is married to Vána, younger sister of Yavanna.  Vána is good with flowers and birds.

Now, I know you're probably going to forget most of these names.  But the important ones to remember for now are Manwė, Varda, Mandos, Oromė, and Aulė.  Everyone else can just be referred to as "that one there".

The word "Valar" is plural- the singular is "Vala", or "Valië" for the females.

Of the Maiar

Among the Ainur were not only Valar but also Maiar.  Maiar are less powerful than the Valar- they are their servants and helpers.  There are a lot of Maiar, and nobody knows how many.  But the important ones for Silmarillion purposes are: Eönwë, Ossë, and Melian.  Eönwë is the Herald of Manwë and says important things sometimes.  Ossë lives in the sea with Ulmo and makes trouble sometimes, but is generally a pretty good guy.  And Melian married an Elf.  More on her later.

The word "Maiar" is plural- the singular is "Maia".

Of the Enemies

The bad guy is Melkor, also known as Morgoth.  Some of the Maiar joined up with him, the best-known of those being Sauron, who was once a Maia of Aulë.  Also there were a few others that Melkor corrupted and turned into Balrogs.  

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