Aulë
Encyclopedia
Aulë is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien
's legendarium
, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion
, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon
of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity
, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship, who is also thematically associated with Earth
, stone, metal and the dwarves
. Because of his associations with smith
ing and skill, Aulë is similar in thematic role to the Greek god Hephaestus
, the Roman god Vulcan
and the Norse god Thor
.
and one of the Ainur. Aulë is given lordship over the matter that composes Arda
and is a master of all the crafts that shape it. He created the Dwarves
, who call him Mahal, the Maker. During the Music of the Ainur, Aulë's themes concerned the physical things of which Arda is made; when Ilúvatar
gave being to the themes of the Ainur, his music became the lands of Middle-earth
. Other of his works include Angainor (the chain of Melkor
), the Two Lamps and the vessels of the Sun and Moon. He is husband to Yavanna. His name translates from Quenya
as invention.
As Aulë is a smith, he is the Vala most similar in thought and powers to Melkor, in that they each gloried in the fashioning of artful and original things. Both also came to create beings of their own. But while Aulë strove to be true to the original intent of the Music of the Ainur, and submitted all that he did to the will of Ilúvatar, Melkor wished to control and subvert all things, and was jealous of the creations of others so that he would try to twist or destroy all that they made. There was long strife between Aulë and Melkor both before and after the creation of Arda. Aulë, however, traditionally opposed attempts to fight Melkor, for fear of the damage that would be wrought to Arda.
When the Elves
came to Valinor
, the Noldor
became the students of Aulë. Fëanor
was his greatest pupil, and from him learned to make gems through craftsmanship that is now forgotten. This would eventually lead to the Silmaril
s, the greatest creation of handiwork within Arda. On the Flight of the Noldor, the Noldor who returned to Valinor under Finarfin
named themselves the Aulendur, Followers of Aulë.
, Aulë created his own race of beings, the Dwarves
. However, he did not have a clear idea of what the Children of Ilúvatar would be like, and because of the presence of the chaos caused by Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong and unyielding, and not willing to endure the domination of others, as well as embodying some of his values and desires for Middle-earth. However Aulë did not have the power to give independent life to his creations. They could act only when his thought was on them.
When Aulë had completed his work he began to instruct the Dwarves in the language he had made for them, Khuzdul
. Then Ilúvatar spoke to him, asking why he would seek to exceed his power and authority by attempting to make new life. Aulë repented, answering that the drive to create was kindled in him by Ilúvatar, and that he only wished for other beings to love and teach, with whom to share in the beauty of the world. He admitted that his impatience had driven him to folly and submitted his creations to Ilúvatar. Assuming that they should be destroyed, he made to smite the seven Fathers of the Dwarves
with a great hammer, weeping as he did so. But as the Dwarves shrank from the blow, Ilúvatar stayed Aulë's hand and showed that he had already accepted his offer by gifting the Dwarves with spirits of their own, else they could not have been afraid.
Ilúvatar accepted them as his adopted children, however as it was ordained that the Elves were to be the firstborn race, he set the Dwarves to sleep until after the Awakening of the Elves. He told Aulë that while both were his children, their creation was outside the scope of the Music of the Ainur, and often strife would arise between the Dwarven race and the Elven race as the events of the world unfolded.
The Dwarves believe that after they die their spirits remove to halls Aulë has set aside for them, and their role will be to rebuild Arda after the Final Battle
that is yet to come.
were associated with Aulë: Sauron
, before being corrupted by Melkor; and Curumo
(Saruman), who later went to Middle-earth as an Istar
to combat Sauron. Sauron was among the mightiest, if not the mightiest of the Maiar who served Aulë and used his knowledge of the metaphysical structure of Arda to great effect as a servant of Morgoth
in the First Age
of Middle-earth and then was his own master in the Second
and Third Age
s. When Sauron sought to corrupt the Elves in the Second Age one of the names he assumed was Aulendil, meaning devotee of Aulë. It is interesting to note that two of the greatest Maiar sent to Middle-earth, that fell, were in the beginning both aligned with Aulë. The reason for this is probably that this is the order most associated with craft, skill, and by these means, power. Weaker-willed spirits often fall prey to craving for power in Tolkien's works, and these prove no exception.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's legendarium
Legendarium
Legendary may refer to:*A hagiography, or study of the lives of saints and other religious figures**The South English Legendary, a Middle English legendary*A legend-Entertainment:*Legendary, an album by Kaysha*Legendary...
, who is primarily discussed in The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
, but appears also in Tolkien's other works. In Tolkien's pantheon
Pantheon (gods)
A pantheon is a set of all the gods of a particular polytheistic religion or mythology.Max Weber's 1922 opus, Economy and Society discusses the link between a...
of Middle-earth, Aulë is a knowledge deity
Knowledge deity
A knowledge deity is a deity in mythology associated with knowledge, wisdom, or intelligence.-Australian Aboriginal mythology:* Jar'Edo Wens, deity associated with earthly knowledge and physical might-Celtic mythology:...
, sometimes worshipped as a god by men, representing skill and craftsmanship, who is also thematically associated with Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, stone, metal and the dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
. Because of his associations with smith
Smith
Smith may refer to:* Smith antigen* Smith Chart, a diagram used in engineering* Smith grind, a skateboarding trick* Smith machine, a piece of weight training equipment-Persons:* Smith ** List of people with surname Smith...
ing and skill, Aulë is similar in thematic role to the Greek god Hephaestus
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods - or else, according to some accounts, of Hera alone. He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes...
, the Roman god Vulcan
Vulcan (mythology)
Vulcan , aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire, including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. Vulcan is usually depicted with a thunderbolt. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology...
and the Norse god Thor
Thor
In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing, and fertility...
.
Fictional details
Aulë the Smith is a ValaVala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
and one of the Ainur. Aulë is given lordship over the matter that composes Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
and is a master of all the crafts that shape it. He created the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
, who call him Mahal, the Maker. During the Music of the Ainur, Aulë's themes concerned the physical things of which Arda is made; when Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar
Eru Ilúvatar is a fictional deity in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as the creator of all existence . In Tolkien's invented language of Elvish, Eru means "The One", or "He that is Alone" and Ilúvatar signifies "Father of All"...
gave being to the themes of the Ainur, his music became the lands of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. Other of his works include Angainor (the chain of Melkor
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
), the Two Lamps and the vessels of the Sun and Moon. He is husband to Yavanna. His name translates from Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
as invention.
As Aulë is a smith, he is the Vala most similar in thought and powers to Melkor, in that they each gloried in the fashioning of artful and original things. Both also came to create beings of their own. But while Aulë strove to be true to the original intent of the Music of the Ainur, and submitted all that he did to the will of Ilúvatar, Melkor wished to control and subvert all things, and was jealous of the creations of others so that he would try to twist or destroy all that they made. There was long strife between Aulë and Melkor both before and after the creation of Arda. Aulë, however, traditionally opposed attempts to fight Melkor, for fear of the damage that would be wrought to Arda.
When the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
came to Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
, the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
became the students of Aulë. Fëanor
Fëanor
Fëanor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium who plays an important part in The Silmarillion. He was the eldest son of Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and his first wife Míriel Serindë...
was his greatest pupil, and from him learned to make gems through craftsmanship that is now forgotten. This would eventually lead to the Silmaril
Silmaril
The Silmarils are three brilliant jewels which contained the unmarred light of the Two Trees in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. The Silmarils were made out of the crystalline substance silima by Fëanor, a Noldorin Elf, in Valinor during the Years of the Trees...
s, the greatest creation of handiwork within Arda. On the Flight of the Noldor, the Noldor who returned to Valinor under Finarfin
Finarfin
Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...
named themselves the Aulendur, Followers of Aulë.
Aulë and the Creation of the Dwarves
Desperate for pupils onto whom he could pass his knowledge and unwilling to wait for the emergence of the Children of IlúvatarChildren of Ilúvatar
The Children of Ilúvatar is the name given to the two races of Elves and Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium because they were created by Ilúvatar, the One God, without the help of the Ainur....
, Aulë created his own race of beings, the Dwarves
Dwarf (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Dwarves are a race inhabiting the world of Arda, a fictional prehistoric Earth which includes the continent Middle-earth....
. However, he did not have a clear idea of what the Children of Ilúvatar would be like, and because of the presence of the chaos caused by Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong and unyielding, and not willing to endure the domination of others, as well as embodying some of his values and desires for Middle-earth. However Aulë did not have the power to give independent life to his creations. They could act only when his thought was on them.
When Aulë had completed his work he began to instruct the Dwarves in the language he had made for them, Khuzdul
Khuzdul
Khuzdul is a constructed language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is one of the many fictional language set in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth...
. Then Ilúvatar spoke to him, asking why he would seek to exceed his power and authority by attempting to make new life. Aulë repented, answering that the drive to create was kindled in him by Ilúvatar, and that he only wished for other beings to love and teach, with whom to share in the beauty of the world. He admitted that his impatience had driven him to folly and submitted his creations to Ilúvatar. Assuming that they should be destroyed, he made to smite the seven Fathers of the Dwarves
Fathers of the Dwarves
In Norse Mythology and in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves were the first of their race....
with a great hammer, weeping as he did so. But as the Dwarves shrank from the blow, Ilúvatar stayed Aulë's hand and showed that he had already accepted his offer by gifting the Dwarves with spirits of their own, else they could not have been afraid.
Ilúvatar accepted them as his adopted children, however as it was ordained that the Elves were to be the firstborn race, he set the Dwarves to sleep until after the Awakening of the Elves. He told Aulë that while both were his children, their creation was outside the scope of the Music of the Ainur, and often strife would arise between the Dwarven race and the Elven race as the events of the world unfolded.
The Dwarves believe that after they die their spirits remove to halls Aulë has set aside for them, and their role will be to rebuild Arda after the Final Battle
Dagor Dagorath
The Dagor Dagorath is a fictional battle described in the legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. As Tolkien's works were conceived as a fictional "forgotten history" of the world, the Dagor Dagorath represents the coming End of the World, and is often referred to as simply "The End"...
that is yet to come.
Maiar Associated with Aulë
Several MaiarMaia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
were associated with Aulë: Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
, before being corrupted by Melkor; and Curumo
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
(Saruman), who later went to Middle-earth as an Istar
Wizard (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. They are also called the Istari by the Elves. The Sindarin word is Ithryn...
to combat Sauron. Sauron was among the mightiest, if not the mightiest of the Maiar who served Aulë and used his knowledge of the metaphysical structure of Arda to great effect as a servant of Morgoth
Morgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
in the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
of Middle-earth and then was his own master in the Second
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
and Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
s. When Sauron sought to corrupt the Elves in the Second Age one of the names he assumed was Aulendil, meaning devotee of Aulë. It is interesting to note that two of the greatest Maiar sent to Middle-earth, that fell, were in the beginning both aligned with Aulë. The reason for this is probably that this is the order most associated with craft, skill, and by these means, power. Weaker-willed spirits often fall prey to craving for power in Tolkien's works, and these prove no exception.
External links
- Aulë Prepares to Destroy His Children as illustrated by Ted NasmithTed NasmithTed Nasmith is a Canadian artist, illustrator and architectural renderer. He is best known as an illustrator of J. R. R. Tolkien's works — The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....