Valinor
Encyclopedia
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, while blessed, did not cause mortals to live forever. Amongst the exceptions to this were the surviving bearers of the One Ring
— Bilbo
and Frodo Baggins
and also Samwise Gamgee
, who bore the One Ring for some time during their perilous journey to Mt. Doom — and Gimli
son of Glóin who, it is said, accompanied his friend Legolas
to Valinor. Amandil
of Númenor
is also believed to possibly have reached Valinor, to plead for mercy for the faithful Númenóreans.
of Middle-earth
. Other residents of Valinor include the related but less powerful spirits, the Maiar
, and most of the Eldar
. Valinor lies in Aman, west of which is Ekkaia, or the encircling sea; it surrounds both Aman and Middle-earth.
Valinor is located in the middle of Aman, in the tropical and subtropical latitudes. The land has a warm climate overall but experiences snow
on the peaks of the Pelóri. Every animal and plant found elsewhere in Middle Earth exists in Valinor along with species endemic to Valinor.
While Valinor proper is the part of Aman inside the Pelóri, the "shore of Valinor" where the Elves live is considered a part of Valinor as well.
Each of the Valar has their own region of the land where they reside and alter things as they please. The Mansions of Manwë
and Varda
, two of the most powerful spirits, resided upon the highest mountain of the Pelóri, Taniquetil. Yavanna, the Vala of Nature, Growth, and Harvest, resided in the Pastures of Yavanna in the south of the land west of the Pelóri. Nearby were the Mansions of Aulë
, the Smith who created the Dwarves, and who was the spouse of Yavanna. Oromë, the Vala of the Hunt, lived in the Woods of Oromë to the north-east of the pastures. Nienna
, the lonely Vala of Sorrow and Endurance, lived in the far west of the island where she spent her days crying about all the Evil of the World, looking out to sea. Just south of Nienna's home and to the north of the pastures, there were the Halls of Mandos. Mandos was the Vala of the Afterlife. Also living in the Halls of Mandos was his spouse Vairë
the weaver, who weaves the threads of Time. To the east of the Halls of Mandos is the Isle of Estë
, which is situated in the middle of the lake of Lórellin which is in turn to the north of the Gardens of Lórien (not to be confused with Lothlórien in Middle-earth). Estë and Lórien were married.
In east-central Valinor at the Girdle of Arda (the term for Middle-earth's Equator
) is Valmar, the capital of Valinor, otherwise known as the City of Bells and as Valimar, where the Valar gather, and the Maiar spirits and the Vanyar
Elves live. It is the residence of the Valar
and the Vanyar
in the realm of Valinor. The mound of Ezellohar, on which stood the Two Trees
, and Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom, are outside Valmar. Further east is the Calacirya, the only easy pass through the Pelóri, a huge mountain range fencing Valinor on three sides, created to keep out Morgoth
. In the pass is the city Tirion
, built on a hill, the city of the Noldor
Elves. By the shore of the sea, north-east of Tirion, is the Teleri
Elves' port Alqualondë, which is described as being fairly close to Tirion but may be as much as several hundred miles to the north.
Directly east of the shore of Valinor is the isle of Tol Eressëa
, where the Elves later built the city of Avallónë and where the Teleri
lived for centuries before moving to Valinor itself.
In the northern inner foothills of the Pelóri, hundreds of miles north of Valmar was Fëanor's exile city of Formenos.
In the extreme northeast, beyond the Pelóri, was the Helcaraxë, a vast ice sheet that, in the beginning before Valinor was risen after the fall of Númenor
into the sky to prevent people from travelling there, joined the two continents of Aman
and Middle-earth. Also, for a time before the ruin of Númenor, a long chain of small island
s called the Enchanted Isles ran the full length of the east coast to the continent. These were erected to prevent anyone, mortal or immortal, from reaching the land by sea.
After the destruction of Númenor
, the Undying Lands were removed from Arda
so that Men
could not reach them and only the Elves
could go there by the Straight Road and in ships capable of passing out of the Spheres of the earth. By special permission of the Valar, the Hobbit
s Frodo Baggins
and Bilbo Baggins
were also permitted to go to Valinor. Samwise Gamgee
and Gimli
the Dwarf
were also permitted to go there.
The physical size of Valinor is never specified, and Tolkien created no detailed maps of Aman, but the maps of Karen Wynn Fonstad
, based on a rough sketch Tolkien did of Arda's landmasses and seas, show Valinor as being about 800 miles wide west to east (from the Great Sea to the Outer Sea) and about 3000 miles long north to south - similar in size to the United States
. The entire continent
of Aman runs from the Arctic latitudes of the Helcaraxë to the subarctic far south of Middle-earth; about 7000 miles.
(a Vala later named Morgoth, "the black foe", by the Elves) destroyed their original home on the island Almaren. To defend their new home from attack, they raised the Pelóri Mountains. They also established Valimar, the radiantly bioluminescent Two Trees, and their abiding places. Valinor was said to have surpassed Almaren in beauty.
Later, the Valar heard of the awakening of the Elves in Middle-earth, where Melkor was unopposed. They proposed to bring the Elves to the safety of Valinor. However, to get Elves to Valinor, they needed to get Melkor out of the way. A war was fought, and Melkor's stronghold Utumno was destroyed. Then, many Elves came to Valinor, and established their cities Tirion
and Alqualonde, beginning Valinor's age of glory.
There was a problem, however. Melkor had come back to Valinor as a prisoner, and after three Ages
, was released on the mistaken theory that the evil had been forced out of him. After being released, he started planting seeds of dissent in the minds of the Elves (particularly, the Noldor - the Vanyar
would not hear him and Melkor considered the Teleri weak) in Valinor, saying that the Valar had brought them here so that they would control them and claim their lands in Middle-earth as their own and that they were prisoner of the Valar. He also spread dissent between Fëanor
and his brothers Fingolfin
and Finarfin
.
The Valar learned of this and saw what Melkor had done, but it was too late to stop Melkor. Melkor himself, knowing that he was discovered, had gone to the home of the Noldorin elves' High King Finwë
and stolen the Noldorin elves' prized jewels, the Silmaril
s, killing the king in the process. Melkor destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor
with the help of Ungoliant
(bringing an endless night to Valinor), and fled back to Middle-earth, to his other stronghold, Angband.
The Two Trees, from which all light both in Valinor and in Middle-earth
came, were dead. The last flowers of the Trees were given to two Maiar
each in their own ship to sail around the world forever at different times of the day so that neither Valinor nor Middle-earth would forever be in darkness. One was called the Sun, and it shone a bright yellow. The other was called the Moon and it shone with a pale white light.
As a result of the killing of king Finwë
, the majority of the Noldor
, led by Fëanor
son of Finwë, the maker of the Silmarils, declared their rebellion and decided to pursue Melkor, ever after known as Morgoth, to Middle-earth to win back their jewels and avenge their king. The Noldor would not listen to Manwë
, the lord of the Valar, telling them that they had themselves come to Valinor of their own free will and that the Valar had no desire to rule or control any of them. But Manwë's messenger said also that if they choose to leave and to fight Melkor on their own, the Valar would not help them and that they would suffer great pain and grief on their journey.
Valinor took no part in the struggle between the Noldor and Morgoth, but when the Noldor were in total defeat, the mariner Eärendil
convinced the Valar to make a last blow to Morgoth. A mighty host of Maiar, Vanyar and the remaining Noldor in Valinor destroyed Morgoth's gigantic army, destroyed Angband and cast Morgoth into the void.
During the Second Age
, Valinor performed a single action: the building of the island Andor
as a reward to the Edain
(who had fought with the Noldor), where they established Númenor
. Soon, the kingdom of Númenor grew powerful, and even invaded Valinor. Then Eru Ilúvatar
was called upon by the Valar and the island was destroyed, and Aman was lifted into the sky as the rest of the world was made round.
During the Third Age
, recognizing that an outright confrontation with Sauron
(Melkor's beloved Maia) would be disastrous, the Valar sent the Istari to Middle-earth with the intent of giving counsel to Men
in their resistance to the growing power of the Dark Lord.
for one day in every seven years, as well as other paradise islands like Avalon
, St. Brendan's Island
etc.
Dungeons & Dragons
campaign setting
the word "Valinor" also refers to celestial servants of the Gods. Their names often are in the style of the god, such as the Mercy of Neroth
or the Judgement of Nier
.
In the 2003 pinball game
(by Stern Pinball), Valinor is the game's final "Wizard Mode".
The Townes van Zandt
song, "The Silver Ships of Andilar", makes mention of a land called Valinor, although it is unclear if it is meant to be the same location, since van Zandt describes it as a lifeless plain.
The song could be telling the story of Númenóreans sailing the Encircling Sea to reach Valinor. Aldarion was not only a mariner, but a Númenórean king as well. Van Zandt also describes a "lifeless plain" as only immortal beings are allowed to live in Valinor.
Fictional location
Fictional locations are places that exist only in fiction and not in reality. Writers may create and describe such places to serve as backdrop for their fictional works. Fictional locations are also created for use as settings in Role-playing games such as Dungeons and Dragons...
in J. R. R. Tolkien
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...
, the realm of the Valar
Vala (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...
in Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa
Tol Eressëa
In early versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium , Tol Eressëa was an island visited by the Anglo-Saxon traveller Ælfwine which provided a framework for the tales that later became The Silmarillion. The name is the Elvish for "Lonely Island"...
and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer
Misnomer
A misnomer is a term which suggests an interpretation that is known to be untrue. Such incorrect terms sometimes derive their names because of the form, action, or origin of the subject becoming named popularly or widely referenced—long before their true natures were known.- Sources of misnomers...
; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself, while blessed, did not cause mortals to live forever. Amongst the exceptions to this were the surviving bearers of the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
— Bilbo
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
and Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
and also Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, who bore the One Ring for some time during their perilous journey to Mt. Doom — and Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
son of Glóin who, it is said, accompanied his friend Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
to Valinor. Amandil
Amandil
Amandil is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Amandil was a Lord of Andúnië, succeeding his father Númendil upon his death. Amandil is most noted for being the father of Elendil, founder of the Númenórean Realms in Exile....
of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
is also believed to possibly have reached Valinor, to plead for mercy for the faithful Númenóreans.
Geography and residents
In Tolkien's works Valinor is the home of the Valar (singular Vala), spirits that often take humanoid form, sometimes called "gods" by the MenMan (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
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 residents of Valinor include the related but less powerful spirits, the Maiar
Maia (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...
, and most of the Eldar
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...
. Valinor lies in Aman, west of which is Ekkaia, or the encircling sea; it surrounds both Aman and Middle-earth.
Valinor is located in the middle of Aman, in the tropical and subtropical latitudes. The land has a warm climate overall but experiences snow
Snow
Snow is a form of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by...
on the peaks of the Pelóri. Every animal and plant found elsewhere in Middle Earth exists in Valinor along with species endemic to Valinor.
While Valinor proper is the part of Aman inside the Pelóri, the "shore of Valinor" where the Elves live is considered a part of Valinor as well.
Each of the Valar has their own region of the land where they reside and alter things as they please. The Mansions of Manwë
Manwë
Manwë is a god or Vala of the Elven pantheon imagined by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is described in The Silmarillion.Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, brother of the Dark Lord Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the...
and Varda
Varda
Varda Elentári is a deity in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium to whom the hymn A Elbereth Gilthoniel is directed..-Character overview:Varda is one of the Valar, a group of semi-divine beings similar to archangels. Also known as "Queen of the stars", she is said to be too beautiful for words; within...
, two of the most powerful spirits, resided upon the highest mountain of the Pelóri, Taniquetil. Yavanna, the Vala of Nature, Growth, and Harvest, resided in the Pastures of Yavanna in the south of the land west of the Pelóri. Nearby were the Mansions of Aulë
Aulë
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,...
, the Smith who created the Dwarves, and who was the spouse of Yavanna. Oromë, the Vala of the Hunt, lived in the Woods of Oromë to the north-east of the pastures. Nienna
Nienna
Nienna is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. She is introduced in The Silmarillion as an Ainu, one of the Queens of the Valar and one of the Aratar.She was the sister of Mandos and Irmo. Her name meant She who weeps...
, the lonely Vala of Sorrow and Endurance, lived in the far west of the island where she spent her days crying about all the Evil of the World, looking out to sea. Just south of Nienna's home and to the north of the pastures, there were the Halls of Mandos. Mandos was the Vala of the Afterlife. Also living in the Halls of Mandos was his spouse Vairë
Vaire
Vaire is a Jat gotra, mainly found in the state of Haryana and Bulandshahr district of western Uttar Pradesh in India. There are several villages of Vaire Jats in Bulandshahr such as Jagdishpur, Naurangabad, Kanaini, Asroli ka Nagla and other surrounding villages...
the weaver, who weaves the threads of Time. To the east of the Halls of Mandos is the Isle of Estë
Este
The House of Este is a European princely dynasty. It is split into two branches; the elder is known as the House of Welf-Este or House of Welf historically rendered in English, Guelf or Guelph...
, which is situated in the middle of the lake of Lórellin which is in turn to the north of the Gardens of Lórien (not to be confused with Lothlórien in Middle-earth). Estë and Lórien were married.
In east-central Valinor at the Girdle of Arda (the term for Middle-earth's Equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
) is Valmar, the capital of Valinor, otherwise known as the City of Bells and as Valimar, where the Valar gather, and the Maiar spirits and the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
Elves live. It is the residence of the Valar
Vala (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 the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
in the realm of Valinor. The mound of Ezellohar, on which stood the Two Trees
Two Trees of Valinor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the Valar in ancient times...
, and Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom, are outside Valmar. Further east is the Calacirya, the only easy pass through the Pelóri, a huge mountain range fencing Valinor on three sides, created to keep out 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 pass is the city Tirion
Tirion
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Tirion upon Túna was the city of the Noldor in Valinor...
, built on a hill, the city of 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...
Elves. By the shore of the sea, north-east of Tirion, is the Teleri
Teleri
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Teleri, Those who come last in Quenya were the third of the Elf clans who came to Aman...
Elves' port Alqualondë, which is described as being fairly close to Tirion but may be as much as several hundred miles to the north.
Directly east of the shore of Valinor is the isle of Tol Eressëa
Tol Eressëa
In early versions of J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium , Tol Eressëa was an island visited by the Anglo-Saxon traveller Ælfwine which provided a framework for the tales that later became The Silmarillion. The name is the Elvish for "Lonely Island"...
, where the Elves later built the city of Avallónë and where the Teleri
Teleri
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Teleri, Those who come last in Quenya were the third of the Elf clans who came to Aman...
lived for centuries before moving to Valinor itself.
In the northern inner foothills of the Pelóri, hundreds of miles north of Valmar was Fëanor's exile city of Formenos.
In the extreme northeast, beyond the Pelóri, was the Helcaraxë, a vast ice sheet that, in the beginning before Valinor was risen after the fall of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
into the sky to prevent people from travelling there, joined the two continents of Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
and Middle-earth. Also, for a time before the ruin of Númenor, a long chain of small island
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
s called the Enchanted Isles ran the full length of the east coast to the continent. These were erected to prevent anyone, mortal or immortal, from reaching the land by sea.
After the destruction of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
, the Undying Lands were removed from 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...
so that Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
could not reach them and only 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...
could go there by the Straight Road and in ships capable of passing out of the Spheres of the earth. By special permission of the Valar, the Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
and Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist and titular character of The Hobbit and a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, two of the most well-known of J. R. R...
were also permitted to go to Valinor. Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
and Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
the Dwarf
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....
were also permitted to go there.
The physical size of Valinor is never specified, and Tolkien created no detailed maps of Aman, but the maps of Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Wynn Fonstad, née Wynn was the author of several atlases of fictional worlds.Born Karen Lea Wynn in Oklahoma City to parents James and Estis Wynn, she graduated from Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, and then earned a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy and an M.A...
, based on a rough sketch Tolkien did of Arda's landmasses and seas, show Valinor as being about 800 miles wide west to east (from the Great Sea to the Outer Sea) and about 3000 miles long north to south - similar in size to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The entire continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
of Aman runs from the Arctic latitudes of the Helcaraxë to the subarctic far south of Middle-earth; about 7000 miles.
History
Valinor was established on the western continent Aman when MelkorMorgoth
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...
(a Vala later named Morgoth, "the black foe", by the Elves) destroyed their original home on the island Almaren. To defend their new home from attack, they raised the Pelóri Mountains. They also established Valimar, the radiantly bioluminescent Two Trees, and their abiding places. Valinor was said to have surpassed Almaren in beauty.
Later, the Valar heard of the awakening of the Elves in Middle-earth, where Melkor was unopposed. They proposed to bring the Elves to the safety of Valinor. However, to get Elves to Valinor, they needed to get Melkor out of the way. A war was fought, and Melkor's stronghold Utumno was destroyed. Then, many Elves came to Valinor, and established their cities Tirion
Tirion
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Tirion upon Túna was the city of the Noldor in Valinor...
and Alqualonde, beginning Valinor's age of glory.
There was a problem, however. Melkor had come back to Valinor as a prisoner, and after three Ages
Ages of Middle-earth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the time is typically rendered in Ages. Ages are one epoch of the Valar. Before the arising of the Sun they were approximately one thousand Valian Years in length In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the time is...
, was released on the mistaken theory that the evil had been forced out of him. After being released, he started planting seeds of dissent in the minds of the Elves (particularly, the Noldor - the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
would not hear him and Melkor considered the Teleri weak) in Valinor, saying that the Valar had brought them here so that they would control them and claim their lands in Middle-earth as their own and that they were prisoner of the Valar. He also spread dissent between 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...
and his brothers Fingolfin
Fingolfin
Fingolfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, appearing in The Silmarillion.-Internal history:He was a High King of the Noldor in Beleriand, second eldest son of Finwë, full brother of Finarfin, and half-brother of Fëanor, who was the eldest of Finwë's sons. His mother was...
and 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...
.
The Valar learned of this and saw what Melkor had done, but it was too late to stop Melkor. Melkor himself, knowing that he was discovered, had gone to the home of the Noldorin elves' High King Finwë
Finwë
Finwë, sometimes surnamed Noldóran, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was the first High King of the Elven Noldor to lead his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath...
and stolen the Noldorin elves' prized jewels, 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, killing the king in the process. Melkor destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor
Two Trees of Valinor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the Valar in ancient times...
with the help of Ungoliant
Ungoliant
Ungoliant is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, described as an evil spirit in the form of a spider. She is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings, and plays a supporting role in The Silmarillion. Her origins are unclear, as Tolkien's writings don't explicitly...
(bringing an endless night to Valinor), and fled back to Middle-earth, to his other stronghold, Angband.
The Two Trees, from which all light both in Valinor and in 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....
came, were dead. The last flowers of the Trees were given to two Maiar
Maia (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...
each in their own ship to sail around the world forever at different times of the day so that neither Valinor nor Middle-earth would forever be in darkness. One was called the Sun, and it shone a bright yellow. The other was called the Moon and it shone with a pale white light.
As a result of the killing of king Finwë
Finwë
Finwë, sometimes surnamed Noldóran, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was the first High King of the Elven Noldor to lead his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath...
, the majority of 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...
, led by 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...
son of Finwë, the maker of the Silmarils, declared their rebellion and decided to pursue Melkor, ever after known as Morgoth, to Middle-earth to win back their jewels and avenge their king. The Noldor would not listen to Manwë
Manwë
Manwë is a god or Vala of the Elven pantheon imagined by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is described in The Silmarillion.Manwë was the King of the Valar, husband of Varda Elentári, brother of the Dark Lord Melkor, and King of Arda. He lived atop Mount Taniquetil, the highest mountain of the world, in the...
, the lord of the Valar, telling them that they had themselves come to Valinor of their own free will and that the Valar had no desire to rule or control any of them. But Manwë's messenger said also that if they choose to leave and to fight Melkor on their own, the Valar would not help them and that they would suffer great pain and grief on their journey.
Valinor took no part in the struggle between the Noldor and Morgoth, but when the Noldor were in total defeat, the mariner Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
convinced the Valar to make a last blow to Morgoth. A mighty host of Maiar, Vanyar and the remaining Noldor in Valinor destroyed Morgoth's gigantic army, destroyed Angband and cast Morgoth into the void.
During the Second Age
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....
, Valinor performed a single action: the building of the island Andor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
as a reward to the Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
(who had fought with the Noldor), where they established Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
. Soon, the kingdom of Númenor grew powerful, and even invaded Valinor. Then Eru 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"...
was called upon by the Valar and the island was destroyed, and Aman was lifted into the sky as the rest of the world was made round.
During the 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....
, recognizing that an outright confrontation with 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...
(Melkor's beloved Maia) would be disastrous, the Valar sent the Istari to Middle-earth with the intent of giving counsel to Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
in their resistance to the growing power of the Dark Lord.
Precursors
It has been suggested that the concept may be based on Hy Brasil, a mythical land that can reputedly be seen off the coast of IrelandIreland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for one day in every seven years, as well as other paradise islands like Avalon
Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
, St. Brendan's Island
St. Brendan's Island
Situated somewhere west of Northern Africa, St. Brendan’s Isle is a phantom island often regarded as myth, since, unless it is the so-called "Eighth Canary Island" known since time immemorial to the Spanish and Portuguese authorities as San Borondón, only a few have claimed to have seen it.In the...
etc.
Other fantasy uses of the word
In the ArcanisArcanis
Arcanis was originally a campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons game, created and supported by Paradigm Concepts. It is also the name of the fictional world where the setting takes place...
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
campaign setting
Campaign setting
A campaign setting is usually a fictional world which serves as a setting for a role-playing game or wargame campaign. A campaign is a series of individual adventures, and a campaign setting is the world in which such adventures and campaigns take place...
the word "Valinor" also refers to celestial servants of the Gods. Their names often are in the style of the god, such as the Mercy of Neroth
Neroth
Neroth is an Ortsgemeinde – a municipality belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde, a kind of collective municipality – in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany...
or the Judgement of Nier
Nier
NIER or Nier can refer to:* National Institute Economic Review, a British economics journal* National Institute of Environmental Research, a national research center in Korea.* Alfred O. C. Nier , American physicist...
.
In the 2003 pinball game
The Lord of the Rings (pinball)
The Lord of the Rings is a 2003 pinball game designed by George Gomez and distributed by Stern Pinball. It is based on the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, which was first released in 2001...
(by Stern Pinball), Valinor is the game's final "Wizard Mode".
The Townes van Zandt
Townes Van Zandt
John Townes Van Zandt , best known as Townes Van Zandt, was an American Texas Country-folk music singer-songwriter, performer, and poet...
song, "The Silver Ships of Andilar", makes mention of a land called Valinor, although it is unclear if it is meant to be the same location, since van Zandt describes it as a lifeless plain.
The song could be telling the story of Númenóreans sailing the Encircling Sea to reach Valinor. Aldarion was not only a mariner, but a Númenórean king as well. Van Zandt also describes a "lifeless plain" as only immortal beings are allowed to live in Valinor.