The First Age of the Sun

The first point worth knowing about J R R Tolkien is that he created the universe in which Middle Earth (midden-erd, ancient English for the "oikoumene", the abiding place of Men) is set because England (The British Isles) had no comparative folklore history similar to that of the Greeks, Romans, Finnish, Celtic, Norse etc. "I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story....which I could dedicate simply: to England, to my country."

Eru the One lived in the vast emptiness of the great void and was the source of all creation. The Elves would later name him Iluvatar, and his thoughts went on to become a race of Gods called the Ainur (the Holy Ones) to whom Iluvatar gave eternal life.

Iluvatar created the Timeless Halls as a dwelling place for the Ainur, whom he taught to sing as his heavenly choir. Through their singing they went on to create Arda, the flat planet on which Middle Earth is set. There was, of course, a rogue – Melkor, but he also helped in the creation of the planet. The Ainur are divided into two factions, the Valar and the Maiar – the Gods and the demi-Gods. It is only when the Ainur come into being that time begins. Each Valarian year is worth ten of our years, each Valarian Age contains one hundred Valarian years, equalling 1000 of our years. Elapsed time from the creation of Arda to the end of the Third Age of the Sun is 37 Ages, or 37063 years.

After destroying the Lamps of Light, Melkor dug the Pits of Utumno beneath the Iron Mountains, building subterranean palaces with domed halls, tunnels and dungeons from the black stone, ice and fire. These were the Ages of Darkness in Middle Earth, when Melkior gathered together all the evil powers in his world, including serpents, vampires and werewolves, and the Maiar spirits called Balrogs, with whips and maces. The greatest and most notorious Balrog was Gothmog.

But Melkior's greatest and most powerful disciple was proclaimed as Sauron the Sorceror, Master of Angband. Melkior held his power over the whole of Middle Earth for 10,000 years. After many Ages of Darkness, Varda, the Lady of the Heavens, intervened by relighting the stars that shone on Middle Earth. Melkior's creatures, unused to the light, fled in terror and hid away. It was at this point that the Elves awakened, corresponding with the time of awakening of the Dwarves and the Ents.

Learning of the great wrong done to the Elves by Melkior, the Valar and the Maiar came to Middle Earth prepared to do battle with Melkior in a War of Wrath, during which they slew Melkior's minions and totally destroyed his kingdom, Utumno. Melkior was chained and held prisoner in Valinor, his dominion over Middle Earth ended.

To be continued.

Hobbiton and Rivendell are on the same latitude as Oxford, with Minas Tirith 600 miles south, roughly corresponding to Florence, in Italy, with the Mouth of Anduin at the latitude of Ancient Troy. Arda was originally a flat world. 30,000 years into its creation and we find Men. A further 3,900 years pass before the cataclysmic destruction of Atlantis and the transformation of Arda into the globed world we know today. Arda is Earth, in a time before the time we know now. The events which take place during the 4,000 years of Tolkien’s narratives (The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings), predate the modern era of Man in which we now live.

Tolkien’s great passion and focused ambition was to create an entire mythological system for the English people. No one can possibly doubt that he achieved that ambition. In next month's issue......"Of Aragorn and Balrogs"....to learn more about the Valar, click on the left button below; for a comprehensive (but unfinished) encyclopedic reference to Tolkien, click on the ARDA button the right.