68-751: Great Sea may refer to: Belegaer , a fictional sea in Lord of the Rings Great Sea , a fictional setting in The Legend of Zelda video game series Mediterranean Sea , called the Great Sea in the Bible Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Great Sea . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
136-416: A Ring of Power are destined to "fade" more rapidly, as the rings unnaturally preserve their life-span turning them into wraiths . Invisibility is a side-effect of this, as the wearer is temporarily pulled into the spirit-world. Men live only in the world (Arda), are able to die from it, have souls, and may ultimately go to a kind of Heaven, though this is left vague in the legendarium . The case of Elves
204-458: A class of angelic beings , perform a great music prefiguring the creation of the material universe, Eä , including Middle-Earth . The creator Eru Ilúvatar introduces the theme of the sentient races of Elves and Men , not anticipated by the Ainur, and gives physical being to the prefigured universe. Some of the Ainur decide to enter the physical world to prepare for their arrival, becoming
272-476: A desire to create and control things of his own. Melkor creates Orcs in mockery of Elves, or by corrupting Elves he had captured in his northern Middle-earth fortress of Udûn. Shippey writes that Tolkien's Middle-earth writings embody the ancient Christian debate on the nature of evil . Shippey notes Elrond 's Boethian statement that "nothing is evil in the beginning. Even [the Dark Lord] Sauron
340-648: A devout Roman Catholic ; he spent much of his career as a professor at the University of Oxford . He is best known for his novels about his invented Middle-earth , The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . He described The Lord of the Rings as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work", rich in Christian symbolism . He however spent much of his life working on his Middle-earth legendarium , which remained unpublished in his lifetime. That large body of stories
408-620: A group of godlike or angelic beings, the Ainur , consisting of the powerful Valar and their assistants, the Maiar . These assisted in the creation of the universe through a holy music and chanting called the Ainulindalë or "Music of the Ainur". "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to
476-474: A list of names and meanings called the Qenya Lexicon . Christopher Tolkien included extracts from this in an appendix to The Book of Lost Tales , with mentions of specific stars, planets, and constellations. The Sun was called Anor or Ur. The Moon was called Ithil or Silmo. Eärendil's Star denotes the light of a Silmaril, set on Eärendil 's ship Vingilot as it flew across the sky, identified as
544-483: A moral sense (though they are unable to keep to it), they cannot be described as wholly evil or lacking sentience . All of this implies, as various scholars have commented, a hierarchy of races comparable with the Medieval great chain of being . Several scholars have likened the implied cosmology of Tolkien's legendarium to that of his religion, Roman Catholicism , and that of Medieval poetry. Tolkien used
612-402: A perversion of good correlates to Christian theology regarding the existence of evil in a world made by a benevolent creator. Even Melkor's pride is Eru's will. As Eru himself declares "no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite". Although commentary on The Silmarillion has primarily focused on the work as a whole, the reaction to
680-733: A sketch of the idea of historical continuity connecting the Elvish mythology of the First Age with the classical Atlantis myth, the Germanic migrations , Anglo-Saxon England and the modern period, presenting the Atlantis legend in Plato and other deluge myths as a "confused" account of the story of Númenor. The cataclysmic re-shaping of the world would have left its imprint on the cultural memory and collective unconscious of humanity, and even on
748-630: A third. Melkor tries to corrupt this theme with the volume of his music, but it is powerful enough to prevent him from succeeding. Ilúvatar ends the music, chastises Melkor and leaves the Ainur to their thoughts. The deity takes the Ainur to see how music, at the end of the Void, created Arda. When the third theme results in the arrival of the Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves and the Men , many Ainur want to go into
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#1732765400791816-576: Is Company" in The Fellowship of the Ring that Borgil is a red star which appears between Remmirath (the Pleiades) and before Menelvagor (Orion). Larsen and others write that Aldebaran is the only major red star to fit the description. Helluin (also Gil, Nielluin and Nierninwa) is the dog star, Sirius , while Morwinyon is Arcturus . As with the planets, a few major constellations are named in
884-833: Is different. They may inhabit the "undying lands" of Valinor, home of the Valar, effectively, according to the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey , an " Earthly Paradise " as envisaged for Elves in the Middle English South English Legendary . Other Elves are in Middle-earth; the Elf-queen Galadriel indeed is expelled from Valinor, much like the fallen Melkor, though she is clearly good, and much like an angel. Shippey considers whether Elves have souls. He reasons that since they can not leave
952-411: Is no suggestion of this in the text. Ainulindal%C3%AB The Ainulindalë ( Quenya : [ˌai̯nuˈlindalɛ] ; "Music of the Ainur") is the creation account in J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium , published posthumously as the first part of The Silmarillion in 1977. The Ainulindalë sets out a central part of the cosmology of Tolkien's legendarium , telling how the Ainur ,
1020-552: Is not taken away, they could refuse the summons. If allowed by Mandos, the fëa may be re-embodied into a new body identical to the previous hröa . The situation of Men is different: a Mannish fëa is only a visitor to Arda, and when the hröa dies, the fëa , after a brief stay in Mandos, leaves Arda completely. In The Lord of the Rings , Tolkien justifies the nature of the Ring by explaining that Elves and other immortal beings dwell in "both worlds" at once (the physical and
1088-545: Is reshaped as a round world. Scholars have compared the implied cosmology with that of Tolkien's religion, Catholicism , and of medieval poetry such as Pearl or Dante 's Paradiso , where there are three parts, Earth, Purgatory or the Earthly Paradise , and Heaven or the Celestial Paradise . Scholars have debated the nature of evil in Middle-earth , arguing whether it is the absence of good –
1156-599: Is the elf Rúmil of Tirion and the language differs from that of the Silmarillion version. "Melkor" is spelt "Melko", and Ilúvatar weeps before he creates the third theme. At the end is a section about the Valar, which was later moved to the " Valaquenta ". Tolkien abandoned the Ainulindalë for many years. Although it did not appear in the "Sketch of the Mythology", in which he summarised his legendarium in 1926,
1224-513: Is the material universe as a realisation of the vision of the Ainur. The Quenya word is from the existential to be in its aorist form. Eä was the word spoken by Eru Ilúvatar to bring the universe into actuality. The Void ( Kúma , the Outer Dark) is the nothingness outside Arda. From Arda, it is accessible through the Doors of Night. The Valar exiled Melkor to the Void after his defeat in
1292-418: The Ainulindalë has been generally positive. Joseph Pearce , a Roman Catholic commentator, called it "the most important part of The Silmarillion " and said, "The myth of creation is perhaps the most significant and most beautiful of Tolkien's works." The scholar of humanities Brian Rosebury considered the Ainulindalë a success, with "appropriately 'scriptural'" prose. Several Jesuits have praised
1360-596: The Boethian position, or equally as powerful as good – the Manichaean view. Eru is introduced in The Silmarillion as the supreme being of the universe, creator of all existence, including the world, Arda, and its central continent, Middle-earth . In Tolkien's invented Elvish language Quenya , Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies " Allfather ". Eru first created
1428-519: The Book of Genesis . As Tolkien has Elrond say in " The Council of Elrond " in The Lord of the Rings , "For nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so." In the Ainulindalë , Ilúvatar creates everything good; evil intrudes later. Though evil is brought about in the creation song by Melkor's pride, Ilúvatar incorporates it into the conclusion of his divine plan. The theme of evil being
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#17327654007911496-621: The First Age , Eru alone created Elves and Men , the "Children of Ilúvatar". The race of the Dwarves was created by Aulë , and given sapience by Eru. Animals and plants were fashioned by Yavanna during the Music of the Ainur after the themes set out by Eru. Arda ends in the apocalyptic battle of Dagor Dagorath , which Tolkien stated owed something to the Norse myth of Ragnarök . In
1564-697: The Second Age , Eru buried King Ar-Pharazôn of Númenor and his army when they invaded Aman , trying to reach the Undying Lands , which they wrongly supposed would give them immortality . He caused the Earth to take a spherical shape, drowned Númenor, and caused the Undying Lands to be taken "outside the spheres of the earth". When Gandalf died in the fight with the Balrog in The Fellowship of
1632-1017: The Two Trees of Valinor . These gave rise to the Ages of the Lamps and the Years of the Trees , however the Ages of the Stars did not conclude until the creation of the Sun. During the Years of the Trees, shortly before the Awakening of the Elves , Varda created the Great Stars: "new stars and brighter" and constellations. Ilúvatar created Arda according to a flat Earth cosmology. This disc-like Arda has continents and
1700-647: The Valar and Maiar . Tolkien wrote the initial version of the Ainulindalë between November 1919 and the spring of 1920 as "Music of the Ainur", and then completely rewrote it in 1930. He continued to make further revisions throughout his life. The early version was eventually published by his son Christopher in The Book of Lost Tales 1 . J. R. R. Tolkien was an English author and philologist of ancient Germanic languages , specialising in Old English, and
1768-534: The Valar ", is Ursa Major (the Plough or Big Dipper) which Varda set in the Northern sky as a warning to Melkor. Wilwarin, meaning "Butterfly", is taken to be Cassiopeia . In his 2020 book Tolkien's Cosmology , the scholar of English literature Sam McBride suggests a new category, "monotheistic polytheism", for the theological basis of Tolkien's cosmology, insofar as it combines a polytheistic pantheon with
1836-584: The War of Wrath . Legend foretells that Melkor will return to Arda just before the apocalyptic battle of Dagor Dagorath. The void is not to be confused with the state of non-being that preceded the creation of Eä. When Arda (the Earth) was created, "innumerable stars " were already in existence. To provide greater light, the Valar later created the Two Lamps in Middle-earth, and when these were destroyed they created
1904-667: The flat Earth paradigm, along with the modern spherical Earth view of the Solar System . The created world, Eä , includes the planet Arda, corresponding to the Earth . It is created flat, with the dwelling of the godlike Valar at its centre. When this is marred by the evil Vala Melkor , the world is reshaped, losing its perfect symmetry, and the Valar move to Valinor , but the Elves can still sail there from Middle-earth . When Men try to go there, hoping for immortality, Valinor and its continent of Aman are removed from Arda, which
1972-526: The genetic memory of individuals. The "Atlantis" part of the legendarium explores the theme of the memory of a 'straight road' into the West, which now only exists in memory or myth, because the physical world has been changed. The Akallabêth says that the Númenóreans who survived the catastrophe sailed as far west as they could in search of their ancient home, but their travels only brought them around
2040-494: The 1910s and 1920s. In a letter, Tolkien stated that he had written the first version of the Ainulindalë between November 1918 and the spring of 1920, while he was working on the Oxford English Dictionary . The first draft of the story, written in pencil, does not vary significantly from the published version; future changes involved the addition of Manwë and Aulë. The narrator in the earlier version
2108-425: The Ainur embody Ilúvatar's thoughts, they are expected to use their freedom to assist the development of the "great" plan. The most powerful of the Ainur, Melkor , is introduced to the music. Although his "loud, and vain" music disrupts the harmony, Ilúvatar stands, smiles and raises his left hand to begin a new theme. When Melkor again spoils the second theme, Ilúvatar rises sternly and raises his right hand to begin
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2176-473: The Chasm of Ilmen on its return. Tolkien's legendarium addresses the spherical Earth paradigm by depicting a catastrophic transition from a flat to a spherical world, in which Aman, the continent where Valinor lay, was removed "from the circles of the world". The only remaining way to reach Aman was the so called Old Straight Road , a hidden route leaving Middle-earth's curvature through sky and space which
2244-463: The Elven Rings out of a desire to preserve the physical world unchanged; as if it were in the Undying Lands of Valinor, home of the Valar. Without the rings they are destined to eventually "fade", eventually becoming shadows in the physical world, prefiguring the concept of Elves as dwelling in a separate and often-underground (or overseas ) plane in historical European mythology. Mortals who wear
2312-785: The Legendarium, and can be equated with real constellations seen in the Northern hemisphere. Eksiqilta (also Ekta) is Orion's Belt . Menelvagor (also Daimord, Menelmacar, Mordo, Swordsman of the Sky, Taimavar, Taimondo, Telimbektar, Telimektar, Telumehtar) is Orion the hunter and was meant to represent Túrin Turambar . Remmirath (also Itselokte or Sithaloth), "the Netted Stars", is the Pleiades or Seven Sisters. Valacirca, "the Sickle of
2380-460: The Moon, and introducing the concept that Ilúvatar created the world after the visions of the Ainur died away. In this version, which added several new details, the story is framed by a fictional narrator, the elf Pengoloð. The Ainulindalë , written early in Tolkien's career, demonstrates the importance of music in his legendarium . According to John Gardner, "Music is the central symbol and
2448-627: The Ring , it was beyond the power of the Valar to resurrect him; Eru himself intervened to send Gandalf back. Discussing Frodo's failure to destroy the Ring in The Return of the King , Tolkien indicates in a letter that "the One" does intervene actively in the world, pointing to Gandalf's remark to Frodo that " Bilbo was meant to find the Ring , and not by its maker", and to the eventual destruction of
2516-550: The Ring despite Frodo's failure to complete the task. Fëa and hröa are the " soul " and "body" of Elves and Men. Their hröa is made out of the matter of Arda ; for this reason hröar are marred or as Tolkien wrote, contain a " Melkor ingredient". When an Elf dies, the fëa leaves the hröa , which then dies. The fëa is summoned to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor, where it is judged; however as with death their free-will
2584-404: The Sun existed when the world was formed, and the Moon was formed as a result of Melkor's destruction. Tolkien's concept of the Lamps of the Valar was abandoned in favour of a more coherent creation myth, with scientific elements. The idea of a spherical world was abandoned after a reader said that she preferred a flat one. In 1948 Tolkien began a new version, eliminating mentions of the Sun and
2652-471: The Valar, Maiar, and beings such as Tom Bombadil , alongside an evidently monotheistic cosmos created by one god, Eru Ilúvatar. In his view, the Valar "cannot be reduced either to spirit-beings or earth-forces; they encompass both simultaneously". McBride shows how Eru's actions can be seen in the creation of the world (Eä) and the Valar through which he acts, and more ambiguously in the Third Age where
2720-437: The arrival of the Children of Ilúvatar; Melkor repeatedly thwarts their preparations, desiring to rule Arda. Manwë summons the Ainur to resist Melkor, who retreats. When the Valar later assume bodily form, the first war of Eä begins, but Manwë's efforts make the Earth habitable for Elves and Men. Tolkien initially intended the Ainulindalë ("The Music of the Ainur") to be part of The Book of Lost Tales , which he wrote in
2788-676: The background: the hobbits know even less of the Valar than Men do, and Eru is not mentioned at all. Scholars have noted that Tolkien seems in later life to have hesitated and drawn back from the flat earth cosmology of Arda in favour of a round world version , but that it was so deeply embedded in the entire Legendarium that recasting it in what Deirdre Dawson, writing in Tolkien Studies , calls "a more rational, scientifically plausible, global shape", proved unworkable. The Tolkien scholar Janet Brennan Croft states in Mythlore that
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2856-539: The boats of Ulmo. The ships of the Númenóreans that tried to sail on it sank, drowning the sailors. The Sun passes through Ekkaia on its way around the world, warming it as it passes. Ilmen is a region of clean air pervaded by light, before the cataclysm at the end of the Second Age. The stars and other celestial bodies are in this region. The Moon passes through Ilmen on its way around the world, plunging down
2924-554: The columns, where the light of the lamps mingled, the Valar dwelt on the island of Almaren in the midst of a Great Lake. When Melkor destroyed the lamps, two vast inland seas (Helcar and Ringil) and two major seas (Belegaer and the Eastern Sea) were formed, but Almaren and its lake were destroyed. The Valar left Middle-earth, and went to the newly formed continent of Aman in the west, where they created their home called Valinor . To discourage Melkor from assailing Aman, they thrust
2992-411: The continent of Middle-earth to the east, thus widening Belegaer at its middle, and raising five major mountain ranges in Middle-earth: the Blue, Red, Grey, and Yellow Mountains, plus the Mountains of the Wind. This act disrupted the symmetrical shapes of the continents and seas. Ekkaia, also called the Enfolding Ocean and the Encircling Sea, is a dark sea that surrounds the world before the cataclysm at
3060-408: The creation account of the Ainulindalë ... are inescapable." The Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns , who studied the different versions of the Ainulindalë , said that Tolkien increasingly Christianised the Valar and reduced the influence of Norse mythology in successive revisions. In the story, Tolkien expresses a global view of Christianity, with good and evil parallelling the stories in
3128-433: The creation of Arda by the deity Eru Ilúvatar . The story begins with a description of the Ainur as "children of Ilúvatar's thought". They are taught the art of music, which becomes the subject of their immortal lives. The Ainur sing alone or in small groups about themes given to each of them by Ilúvatar, who proposes a "great" plan for them all: a collaborative symphony where they would sing together in harmony. Although
3196-428: The divine will is at most hinted at. The theologian Catherine Madsen writes that Tolkien found it impossible to make his many drafts and revisions of The Silmarillion consistent with The Lord of the Rings , leaving it unpublished at his death. Its cosmology is glimpsed: she notes that the tale of Earendil is recited, and it serves as background to Frodo and Sam's use of the Phial of Galadriel , which contains some of
3264-432: The end of the Second Age. During this flat-Earth period, Ekkaia flows completely around Arda, which floats on it like a ship on a sea. Above Ekkaia is a layer of atmosphere. Ulmo the Lord of Waters dwells in Ekkaia, underneath Arda. Ekkaia is extremely cold; where its waters meet the waters of the ocean Belegaer on the northwest of Middle-earth, a chasm of ice is formed: the Helcaraxë . Ekkaia cannot support any ships except
3332-480: The first part of The Silmarillion , the Ainulindalë or creation account, to describe his thoughts on the origin of evil in his fictional world, which he took pains to comport with his own beliefs on the subject, as accounted in his Letters . In the Ainulindalë , evil represents a rebellion against the creative process set in motion by Eru. Evil is defined by its original actor, Melkor, a Luciferian figure who falls from grace in active rebellion against Eru, out of
3400-404: The light of Earendil's star. In contrast, the creation myth of the Ainulindalë is not even mentioned in The Lord of the Rings , though she notes that it could have been: Beowulf offered a suitable model familiar to Tolkien, in the minstrel's telling of a creation story. By having The Lord of the Rings told from the hobbits' point of view, Madsen writes, cosmology is pushed still further into
3468-513: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Great_Sea&oldid=671814449 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Belegaer The cosmology of J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium combines aspects of Christian theology and metaphysics with pre-modern cosmological concepts in
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#17327654007913536-474: The other planets in the solar system, as recorded in Morgoth's Ring , but these were not used elsewhere. The names were Silindo for Jupiter , Carnil for Mars , Elemmire for Mercury , Luinil for Uranus , Lumbar for Saturn , and Nenar for Neptune . The Book of Lost Tales lists Morwen as a name for Jupiter. A few individual stars have been identified as names of real stars, whether by Tolkien, his son Christopher, or by scholars. Tolkien indicates in "Three
3604-418: The planet Venus . The English use of the word "earendel" in the Old English poem Christ I was found by 19th century philologists to be some sort of bright star, and from 1914 Tolkien took this to mean the morning-star ; he still thought so late in his life, in 1967. The line éala éarendel engla beorhtast "Hail, Earendel, brightest of angels" was Tolkien's inspiration. Tolkien created Sindarin names for
3672-451: The power and audacity of imaginative genius Tolkien and his brilliant style" and the Ainulindalë has "organ tones". Although Ralph C. Wood called it "one of the finest and most original of [Tolkien's] writings", the stylistic differences between this story and the rest of The Silmarillion have been the subject of debate. The American opera singer Adam C. J. Klein composed an opera , Leithian , based on The Silmarillion , while
3740-456: The races of Middle-earth, Hobbits, Men, Elves, and Dwarves, all believe that there is "a literal cosmological battle between Good and Evil", all expecting a "final cataclysmic battle". Readers may, she writes, consider interpreting the Ainulindalë metaphorically, so that Melkor's attempts to destroy Arda, "raising the valleys, throwing down the mountains, spilling the seas—could be read as a symbolic representation of geological forces", but there
3808-422: The seas, and the moon and the stars revolve around it. Arda was created to be the "Habitation" ( Ambar ) for Elves and Men. This world was lit by two lamps created by the Valar: Illuin ('Sky-blue') and Ormal ('High-gold'). To support the lamps, Aulë forged two enormous pillars of rock: Helcar in the north of the continent Middle-earth, and Ringil in the south. Illuin was set upon Helcar and Ormal upon Ringil. Between
3876-434: The shadow! You cannot pass." – Gandalf , speaking to the Balrog Tolkien stated that the "Flame Imperishable" or "Secret Fire" represents the Holy Spirit in Christian theology, the creative activity of Eru, inseparable both from him and from his creation. In the interpretation of Christopher Tolkien , it represents "the mystery of authorship ", the author both standing outside of his work and indwelling in it. In
3944-420: The spiritual, or Unseen world) and have great power in both, especially those who have dwelt in the light of the Two Trees before the Sun and Moon; and that the powers associated with "magic" were spiritual in nature. The Elves who stayed in Middle-earth where Melkor once was dominant, being in bodies and surrounded by things that are themselves marred and subject to decay by the influence of Melkor, created
4012-450: The story; James V. Schall said, "I have never read anything as beautiful as the first page of The Silmarillion " and Robert Murray said, "In all literature, from the formation of the sacred books of humanity, it is very difficult to find a comparable mythological story of creation by its beauty and imaginative power." According to Fantasy Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide , "Every part of [ The Silmarillion ] benefits from
4080-413: The subject was briefly mentioned in " Annals of Valinor " and " Quenta Silmarillion ". Tolkien rewrote "The Music of the Ainur" during the 1930s, leaving most of its storyline intact. In 1946, while he was drafting The Lord of the Rings , Tolkien wrote a new version of the Ainulindalë of which only half a torn page survives. His legendarium then changed radically , so that Arda had always existed,
4148-512: The total myth of The Silmarillion , a symbol that becomes interchangeable with light (music's projection) ." The scholar Verlyn Flieger , too, stresses the pervasive themes of music and light from the creation onwards. "The Music of the Ainur", as it appears in The Book of Lost Tales , is based on Norse mythology . Like Hesiod 's Theogony or the Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda , it answers questions of cosmogony , and its style has been compared to that of old Norse texts. Although
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#17327654007914216-496: The wording differs substantially, the Valar and the Æsir are alike in influencing the world and being influenced by their actions; Manwë has been compared to Odin in this context. Despite the story's Norse pagan elements , such as the Ainur performing the creative work of Ilúvatar, other aspects of the Ainulindalë reflect Tolkien's Catholicism. His pre-Christian story has been called "Tolkien's Genesis essay"; according to another source, "The Biblical parallels evinced by
4284-399: The world back to their starting points. A few years after publishing The Lord of the Rings , in a note associated with the story " Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth ", Tolkien equated Arda with the Solar System; because Arda by this point consisted of more than one heavenly body, with Valinor on another planet, while the Sun and Moon were celestial objects in their own right. Tolkien developed
4352-407: The world to visit them. Although Melkor was the first of the Ainur to be named, Ulmo was the first to take action in Arda. Despite Melkor's efforts, Ulmo's water cannot be ruined by heat or cold; he and Manwë are revealed as the primary agents of Ilúvatar's plans. Some Ainur remain in the Timeless Halls with Ilúvatar, and others go into Arda as the Valar and Maiar . The Ainur begin to prepare for
4420-482: The world, the answer would have to be no; but given that they do not disappear completely on death, the answer must be yes. In Shippey's view, the Silmarillion resolves the puzzle, letting Elves go not to Heaven but to the halfway house of the Halls of Mandos on Valinor. The problem arises again with apparently wholly evil beings such as Orcs . Since evil cannot make, only mock, Orcs cannot have an equal and opposite morality to that of Men; but since they speak and have
4488-433: Was edited after his death by his son Christopher , initially in 1977 as a single text, The Silmarillion , containing a version of the Ainulindalë . That was followed, between 1983 and 1996, by the twelve volumes of The History of Middle-earth , which revealed and annotated the many drafts of the overlapping stories of the legendarium, including other versions of the Ainulindalë . The Ainulindalë recounts
4556-445: Was exclusively known and open to the Elves, who were able to navigate it with their ships. This transition from a flat to a spherical Earth is at the centre of Tolkien's " Atlantis " legend. The Númenóreans, growing arrogant, tried to reach Valinor, thinking that being there would confer immortality; but Eru destroyed their island and reshaped the world to prevent Men from ever reaching it. Tolkien's unfinished The Lost Road suggests
4624-525: Was not so", in other words all things were created good; but this is set alongside the Manichean view that good and evil are equally powerful, and battle it out in the world. Tolkien's personal war experience was Manichean: evil seemed at least as powerful as good, and could easily have been victorious, a strand which Shippey notes can also be seen in Middle-earth. Brian Rosebury , a humanities scholar, interprets Elrond's statement as implying an Augustinian universe, created good. Eä , "that which is",
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