The Valar : Angels of Middle Earth

Who are the Valar? What is their role in the affairs of Middle Earth? In J. R. R. Tolkein’s writings, Ilúvatar, the Father of All, creates first the holy ones who are called the Valar, before conceiving the Children of Ilúvatar, Elves and Men. The Valar are pure spirits who are able to assume material form. In Christian tradition they are called Angels. Among the Valar is Melkor who envies Ilúvator’s power to create and through competitive pride seeks to possess the earth that has been created by Ilúvatar. Melkor, whose other name is Morgoth is the Dark Enemy of the World. Melkor is also a pure spirit but when he assumes material form it is dark and terrible. Chief among his servants is Sauron, one of the Valar whom he has corrupted, and the maker of the one ring to rule them all.

A band of Valar including Gandalf the Grey and Saruman the White come to the aid of the Children of Ilúvatar. Students of Old English literature will recognize Middle Earth as the place where we dwell. A 9^th Century poem, Elene, probably written by Cynewulf, declares,

“The turning cycle of the years had spun / Through the world’s winters, in the way men count, / Two hundred and three times, and then / Still thirty more, since Almighty God, / The King of Glory, had been born on this middle- / Earth of ours, light for the faithful in human form” (Trans. Burton Raffel).

Sauron has created a Ring of Power, and into it he has poured his own power. Through a series of events the ring of Sauron comes to Frodo Baggins with the terrible challenge of carrying it to the Crack of Doom, whose fires alone can destroy the ring.

One of the reasons I like the Hobbit Frodo Baggins is that he responds to the challenge even though he feels “very small.” As he began to make his decision, “Frodo gazed fixedly at the red embers on the hearth, until they filled all his vision, and he seemed to be looking down into profound wells of fire He was thinking of the fable Cracks of Doom and the terror of the Fiery Mountain. Then he says to Gandalf, “But this would mean exile, a flight from danger into danger, drawing it after me. And I suppose I must go alone, if I am to do that and save the Shire. But I feel very small, and very uprooted, and well—desperate. The Enemy is so strong and terrible.”

Frodo exemplifies the self-awareness that is a fundamental character trait requisite to receiving the power necessary for heroic action. Even the very small, can do great things with the help of the Valar, the Angels, and with the help of their friends both Elves and Men.

[The above information is taken from the Silmarillion and the Lord of the Rings.]