Friday, January 18, 2008
Elbereth
I was thinking about the discussion about Gods in Lord of the Rings in class on Wednesday and came across the passage about Elbereth or Gilthoniel when Frodo encounters the high elves. If anyone out there has read The Silmarillion also by Tolkien, there is a mentioning that the world was created, more or less, by Gods, and that Elbereth is the star queen, or God. Just thought I would try to shed some light on the issue. I don't know if you would really consider them Gods though or if they would be more like demi-Gods...
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The name Elbereth is what the Elves use for Vadra, one of the Queen spirits, or demi-gods if you will, known as the Valar. The Valar were created by the main god Illuvatar to watch over Middle Earth. It is quite complicated.
It seems to be extremely complicated! I made the comment about Religion vs Gods. So even if they are recognizing a "demi-god," is there any reference to what religion they are upholding? That was my question...
With regards to religion in Middle Earth, the Elves seem to have the only close connection to the gods. But that is due to the fact that they were the first race created and were given "divine" attributes. In that sense it seems as if the Elves are the keepers of the religion intended for Middle Earth. This is partly why I think they are so revered and sought after for wisdom. There is no reference however as to what religion they practice and what it entails. The other races dont have any practicing religions. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, so the fact that there was a creation of Middle Earth and a hierarchy of beings reflects upon Christian cosmology.
In chapter 2 of FotR, the name Lor is mentioned twice. Close to the end of the chapter, Sam says "Lor bless me."
Is this Lor something like a hobbit god, or am I missing something?
'Lor' is from Tolkien's own language he created for the elves: it means 'golden colored' (As Lorien is the 'golden wood') Yet gold things in LOTR often take their own personalities- but here I suppose Sam is saying something like 'golden blessings'
Mike, actually the dwarfs were the first race to be created. But the creator of the dwarfs got in trouble for creating the dwarven fathers because the elves were suppose to come first. Part of the comprimise that was made was that the dwarfs would have to wait in sleep for the elves to be made before the dwarfs could be resurected.
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