Changes: Eru Ilúvatar

Revision as of 04:27, 21 November 2014

Eru is the supreme deity of Arda and Middle-earth. He is the single creator, above the Valar, but has delegated most direct action within Eä to the Ainur, including the shaping of the Earth (Arda) itself.

Eru is transcendent, and completely outside of and beyond the world. He first created a group of angelic beings, called in Elvish the "Ainur," and these holy spirits were co-actors in the creation of Arda through a holy music and chanting called the "Music of the Ainur."

Eru is an important part of the stories of The Silmarillion but is not mentioned by name in Tolkien's most famous works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (he is alluded to as "the One" in the part of Lotr's Appendix A that speaks of the downfall of Númenor).

As Tolkien's stories were intended to be a fictional history of the real world, Eru is almost certainly a portrayal of the deity Yahweh whom Tolkien, a devout Catholic, believed to exist.

Eru Is

Eru alone can create independent life or reality by giving it the Flame.

Elves and Men were created by Eru directly, without delegation to the Ainur, and they are therefore called "Children of Ilúvatar" (Eruhini). The Dwarves were created by Aulë with the belated approval of Ilúvatar, though they would be second to the Children of Ilúvatar. Ents were also created by Eru under the request of Yavanna who reasoned that Dwarves would want to fell trees. Melkor instilled some semblance of free will into his mockeries of Eru Ilúvatar's creations (Orcs and Trolls).

The first things that Ilúvatar created were the Ainur (from his thoughts). He then bade the Ainur to sing to him; this was called the Ainulindalë, or the music of the Ainur. Melkor created a discord to the music, and Iluvatar added three themes to the Ainulindale, which talked about the fate of Arda.

The next thing he made was Eä, the "World and All That Is", and Eä was in the Void (Melkor was drawn to the Void, and so at the beginning of Arda, he lay in the Void, or the Outside as it was sometimes called). He then gave the Ainur the option to go into Eä and fashion it as they will. The most powerful Ainur who chose to do so were called the Valar, and they controlled the shaping of the Arda. They could not make life, however, as Aulë proves, who was able to give only shape to the dwarves, while consciousness was given to them by Eru. The Valar were accompanied by the Maiar, the lesser Ainur. The elves and men, however, came directly from Ilúvatar's thoughts, and are referred to in The Silmarillion as The First Children of Ilúvatar and the Second Children of Ilúvatar, respectively, while the dwarves would be the Adopted Children.

Interventions

ERU LLUVATAR — Eru Iluvatar's illustration.

In the First Age, Eru created and awoke Elves as well as Men.
In the Second Age Eru, called by the Valar, buried King Ar-Pharazôn and his Army when they landed at Aman in S.A. 3319. He caused the Earth to take a round 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 the Ring, it was beyond the power of the Valar to resurrect him; Ilúvatar himself intervened to send Gandalf back.
In a letter written by Tolkien, he stated that Eru again intervened, this time in the Third Age, causing Gollum to trip and fall into the fires of Mount Doom while still holding the One Ring, thus destroying it.

Etymology

Eru meant "The One" or "Alone", and the epithet Ilúvatar meant "Father of All" in the Quenya tongue.

External link

Ilúvatar at Tolkien Gateway

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox Person
-| image = Iluvatar.jpg
+| image = Tn-melkor_weaves_opposing_music.jpg
 | caption =
-| name = Eru Ilúvatar
+| name = Eru llúvatar
-| othernames = Eru, The One, Ilúvatar, The All High, The Father of All
+| othernames = The One, The All High, The Father of All, Alone
-| title = God of Arda, Creator of Arda, Deity of Middle-earth
+| title = God of Arda, Creator, Deity of Middle-earth
 | birth =
 | rule =
 | death =
-| realms = All of the world, [[Timeless Halls]]
+| realms = All of creation, [[Timeless Halls]]
 | spouse =
-| weapon =
+| weapon = Omnipotence
-| race =
+| race = [[God]]
 | culture =
 | gender = Male
 | height =
-| hair = Varies
+| hair = Varies. White
-| eyes = Varies
+| eyes = Varies. Luminous
 | actor =
 | voice =
-| character =
+| character =}}
-}}
-'''Eru''' ([[Quenya]]; [[IPA charts|IPA]]: {{IPA|[ˈeru]}}; ''the One''), (also called '''Ilúvatar'''; [[IPA charts|IPA]]: {{IPA|[iˈluːvatar]}}; ''the All High'' or ''the Father of All'' as defined in the index of name elements in ''[[The Silmarillion]]''), is the supreme [[God|deity]] of [[Arda]] and [[Middle-earth]]. He is the single creator, above the [[Valar]], but has delegated most direct action within [[Eä]] to the [[Ainur]], including the shaping of the Earth ([[Arda]]) itself.
+'''Eru''' is the supreme [[God|deity]] of [[Arda]] and [[Middle-earth]]. He is the single creator, above the [[Valar]], but has delegated most direct action within [[Eä]] to the [[Ainur]], including the shaping of the Earth ([[Arda]]) itself.
-Eru is transcendent, and completely outside of and beyond the world. He first created a group of angelic beings, called in [[Elvish]] the [[Ainur]], and these holy spirits were co-actors in the creation of [[Arda]] through a holy music and chanting called the "[[Music of the Ainur]]".
+Eru is transcendent, and completely outside of and beyond the world. He first created a group of angelic beings, called in [[Elvish]] the "[[Ainur]]," and these holy spirits were co-actors in the creation of [[Arda]] through a holy music and chanting called the "[[Music of the Ainur]]."
-Eru is an important part of the stories of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' but is not mentioned by name in Tolkien's most famous works, ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (he is alluded to as "the One" in the part of LotR's [[Appendix A]] that speaks of the downfall of [[Númenor]]).
+Eru is an important part of the stories of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' but is not mentioned by name in Tolkien's most famous works, ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (he is alluded to as "the One" in the part of Lotr's [[Appendix A]] that speaks of the downfall of [[Númenor]]).
+As Tolkien's stories were intended to be a fictional history of the real world, Eru is almost certainly a portrayal of the deity Yahweh whom Tolkien, a devout Catholic, believed to exist.
-==Eru as the Creator God==
-Eru alone can create independent life or reality by giving it the Flame Imperishable. All beings not created directly by Eru, (e.g. [[Dwarves]], [[Ents]], [[Eagles]]), still need to be accepted by Eru to become more than mere puppets of their creator.
+==Eru Is==
-[[Elves]] and [[Men]] were created by Eru directly, without delegation to the Ainur, and they are therefore called "[[Children of Ilúvatar]]" (''Eruhini''). The [[Dwarves]] were created by [[Aulë]] with the belated approval of Ilúvatar, though they would be second to the [[Children of Ilúvatar]]. [[Ents]] were also created by Eru under the demand of [[Yavanna]] learning that Dwarves would want to fell trees. [[Melkor]] instilled some semblance of free will into his mockeries of Eru Ilúvatar's creations ([[Orcs]] and [[Trolls]]).
+Eru alone can create independent life or reality by giving it the Flame.
+[[Elves]] and [[Men]] were created by Eru directly, without delegation to the Ainur, and they are therefore called "[[Children of Ilúvatar]]" ('''Eruhini'''). The Dwarves were created by [[Aulë]] with the belated approval of Ilúvatar, though they would be second to the Children of Ilúvatar. Ents were also created by Eru under the request of [[Yavanna]] who reasoned that Dwarves would want to fell trees. [[Melkor]] instilled some semblance of free will into his mockeries of Eru Ilúvatar's creations ([[Orcs]] and [[Trolls]]).
 The first things that Ilúvatar created were the [[Ainur]] (from his thoughts). He then bade the Ainur to sing to him; this was called the [[Ainulindalë]], or the music of the Ainur. [[Melkor]] created a discord to the music, and Iluvatar added three themes to the Ainulindale, which talked about the fate of Arda.
-The next thing he made was Eä, the "World and All That Is", and Eä was in the Void (Melkor was drawn to the Void, and so at the beginning of Arda, he lay in the Void, or the Outside as it was sometimes called). He then gave the Ainur the option to go into Ea and fashion as they will. The most powerful Ainur who chose to do so were called the [[Valar]], and they controlled the shaping of the [[Arda]]. They could not make life, however, as [[Aulë]] proves, who was able to give only shape to the dwarves, while consciousness was given to them by Eru. The Valar were accompanied by the [[Maiar]]. The elves and men, however, came directly from Ilúvatar's thoughts, and are referred to in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' as The First Children of Ilúvatar and the Second Children of Ilúvatar, respectively, while the dwarves would be the Adopted Children.
+The next thing he made was Eä, the "World and All That Is", and Eä was in the Void (Melkor was drawn to the Void, and so at the beginning of Arda, he lay in the Void, or the Outside as it was sometimes called). He then gave the Ainur the option to go into Eä and fashion it as they will. The most powerful Ainur who chose to do so were called the [[Valar]], and they controlled the shaping of the [[Arda]]. They could not make life, however, as [[Aulë]] proves, who was able to give only shape to the dwarves, while consciousness was given to them by Eru. The Valar were accompanied by the [[Maiar]], the lesser Ainur. The elves and men, however, came directly from Ilúvatar's thoughts, and are referred to in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' as The First Children of Ilúvatar and the Second Children of Ilúvatar, respectively, while the dwarves would be the Adopted Children.
-==Intervention==
+==Interventions==
+[[File:ERU_LLUVATAR.jpg|thumb|left|Eru Iluvatar's illustration.]]
-One of the only times that Eru ever intervened in the world after creating it was in the downfall of Númenor when the [[File:ERU_LLUVATAR.jpg|frame|left|Eru Iluvatar's illustration.]]Valar called for his aid. In a letter written by Tolkien, he stated that Eru again intervened, this time in the Third Age, causing Gollum to trip and fall into the fires of Mount Doom while still holding the [[One Ring]], thus destroying it.
+* In the First Age, Eru created and awoke [[Elves]] as well as [[Men]].
+* In the [[Second Age]] Eru, called by the Valar, buried King [[Ar-Pharazôn]] and his Army when they landed at [[Aman]] in S.A. 3319. He caused the Earth to take a round 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 [[Durin's Bane|Balrog]] in [[The Fellowship of the Ring]], it was beyond the power of the Valar to resurrect him; Ilúvatar himself intervened to send [[Gandalf]] back.
+* In a letter written by Tolkien, he stated that Eru again intervened, this time in the [[Third Age]], causing [[Gollum]] to trip and fall into the fires of [[Mount Doom]] while still holding the [[One Ring]], thus destroying it.
-==Etymology==
-"Eru" meant "The One" or "Alone", and the epithet ''Ilúvatar'' meant "Father of All" in the [[Quenya]] tongue.
+==Etymology==
-==Behind the scenes==
+'''Eru''' meant "The One" or "Alone", and the epithet '''Ilúvatar''' meant "Father of All" in the [[Quenya]] tongue.
-While Tolkien had said he didn't like 'allegory' Eru was an allegorical portrayal of the Christian God, and many of the stories Tolkien wrote about him tied him into the Christianity. Tolkien himself worried it was becoming a 'parody of Christianity' in his own writings.
 ==External link==
@@ Line 63: / Line 66: @@
 ==References==
-<references/>
+<references />
 [[Category:Quenya words]]
 [[Category:Sindarin words]]