The Valar and their place in Middle-earth
Did the Valar abandon Middle-earth? Anyone who has read The Silmarillion will know of the Powers of the West, the Valar. We learn of their struggle against Melkor and the position of authority they hold under Eru. Why then are they absent from The Lord of the Rings? Was Sauron correct in thinking that the Valar had abandoned Middle-earth? Could more have been done than just sending the Istari? I hope to show that the lack of direct intervention on the part of the Valar was actually for the good of Middle-earth.
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Many of us find it easy to read the events of Middle-earth and ask why those with authority and power do not put a stop to the evils of that world? Why doesn’t Eru just will Morgoth out of existence? Why don’t the Valar sweep into Middle-earth in the Third Age and drag Sauron back to Valinor? We view these beings as Gods or angels and see a lack of direct action as the Children of Ilúvatar suffer thousands of years of torment from Dark Lords. Tolkien spoke of the folly of applying mortal judgement to one such as Manwë, essentially saying that the Elder King would perceive things with greater clarity than we could perceive dimly. We are not able to find fault in his action or perceived inaction…
‘If we dare to attempt to enter the mind of the Elder King, assigning motives and finding faults, there are things to remember before we deliver a judgement. Manwë was the spirit of greatest wisdom and prudence in Arda. He is represented as having had the greatest knowledge of the Music, as a whole, possessed by any one finite mind; and he alone of all persons or minds in that time is represented as having the power of direct recourse to and communication with Eru. He must have grasped with great clarity what even we may perceive dimly: that it was the essential mode of the process of ‘history’ in Arda that evil should constantly arise, and that out of it new good should constantly come.’
The History of Middle-Earth X — Morgoth’s Ring — Part 5 — Myths Transformed — Chapter VII — Notes on Motives in The Silmarillion
When I try to rationalize the morality of Tolkien, I have to take into account that he was a devout Catholic who wrote what would be known as his Legendarium decades ago. There is a problem with this when people attempt to modernise this world and the beings within it. The passage above explains that the Elder King is the spirit of greatest wisdom and prudence. He can communicate with Eru and perceives things that we simply cannot. From the evil that sprouted in Arda, good would come from it. With thousands of years of suffering, good would be the result in the end. Could the Valar have come to Middle-earth and wiped out all evil creatures? Yes, but we must think beyond that. Would evil arise again? Would the World be left in ruin with such action? Would good come from it? Would the Free Folk of Middle-earth become dependent on the Valar in the future? These are questions that must be asked before expecting all problems to be solved in this way.
The Valar, over time, restricted their actions as there had to be a divide between the Children and those who came first from Eru Himself. Originally, the Valar shaped the world; raised mountains, created rivers, etc. Once the World had its shape and was being disrupted by Melkor, they fought back against him. Continents would shift, nature itself would change, the World was no longer a picture of what the Valar imagined, but still, they fought to save it. That is until the awakening of the Elves.
With their arrival, the focus was not so much on the shaping of the already shaped world, but the protection of the One’s children who were now set to inhabit it. The duty of the Valar was to protect them from the corrupting influence of Melkor who wasted no time in tormenting them. Melkor suffers a defeat yet returns to his old ways with greater wrath and hatred. By this time, the Elves have matured greatly, making their own mark on the World that was started by the Valar. It is now the home of the Elves, with Kingdoms and treasures within it. Already the Valar find it difficult to intervene on their behalf again. Elves want to fight for what they have made, and intervention from the Valar may undo all the Elves have wrought. Good will come from all this strife, but if the Valar directly attack Melkor then the World may be left in tatters.
It is often said that the Valar favoured the Elves and helped them, abandoning Men in the process. The untold destruction of the early wars with Melkor would possibly lead to devastation if another were to take place, but the Valar’s lack of understanding of Men was not the same thing as abandonment. Even the Sun and Moon were placed for the benefit of the second born…
‘It is said indeed that, even as the Valar made war upon Melkor for the sake of the Quendi, so now for that time they forbore for the sake of the Hildor, the Aftercomers, the younger Children of Ilúvatar. For so grievous had been the hurts of Middle-earth in the war upon Utumno that the Valar feared lest even worse should now befall; whereas the Hildor should be mortal, and weaker than the Quendi to withstand fear and tumult. Moreover it was not revealed to Manwë where the beginning of Men should be, north, south, or east. Therefore the Valar sent forth light…’
The Silmarillion — Quenta Silmarillion — Chapter 11 — Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor
The Valar hadn’t abandoned anything. Their actions were all to protect the World and they grieved at the fact that further intervention could make things even worse. It is somewhat difficult for us to justify as we know Morgoth is a being of power far beyond the strength of mortals to stop. Those powers that can match him are perhaps morally obligated to help. The point here is that they did help, but in a way that would not make it a pointless exercise through the ruin of the World.
Tolkien saw the passage of time and the growth of the Children as the moment for less direct intervention on the part of the Valar. When the first Dark Lord was defeated, Beleriand was pretty much destroyed, and future action would have to be different. The Valar did not respond to the rise of the second Dark Lord in the same way but sent peers of Sauron. The Istari were sent with cloaked wisdom, with divine purpose, and in forms that would not daunt the people of Middle-earth. Power had been sent, but they were not to match Sauron’s with their own because of past destruction.
What good comes from this? The will of Ilúvatar is fulfilled. Men will inherit the earth and they will be the ones that would earn this position of authority. The race of Men will grow spiritually through their wars with Sauron. It is hard for us to justify the loss of countless lives and we judge whether it was worth it, but we can’t claim the Valar did not care as Men most certainly would have suffered utter defeat had Gandalf not enhanced the plan of the Valar and sent Gandalf back to Middle-earth with greater authority and power. This speaks of the Valar’s wish not to interfere with the plans of Eru in a way that would undermine them, the same reason they gave up their authority over Valinor when Men assaulted it in the Second Age. Their lack of action at that moment speaks volumes of just how much they did care and how they felt they weren’t justified in action against Eru’s creations.
The Valar are not exempt from free will and are not puppets or extensions of Eru in the way that the Ringwraiths are slaves to the will of Sauron. The Valar cursed the Noldor after they required punishment for their rebellion and the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. Though they had to also allow anyone who sided with the Noldor to suffer their fate too as they couldn’t interfere so directly in matters of free will. This explains why Doriath eventually falls, as they were not directly involved in the wars with Morgoth until Thingol sought a Silmaril. It can then be argued the Elves destroyed Doriath despite Morgoth being the weapon that carried out the deed.
The Valar still cared for Middle-earth and to think they didn’t would be to agree with Sauron. Interfering as they did in the past was no longer a viable option. We are talking about the Problem of Evil, free will, and allowing Men (and in some way Elves) the power to set their own course. Men have the gift bestowed by Eru to follow their own path and are not tied to the World. It is not the course of the Valar to shape it for them. This separates them from the fallen Vala Melkor who actively does attempt to force his will on the race of Men and others. This is seen as one of the greatest acts of evil that is possible within Tolkien’s Legendarium. Abuse of power, daunting other people’s independence through your own great will.
The arrival of the Children changed the Valar’s approach to Middle-earth as their future was tied to Eru and this was a future that none of the Valar knew in their hearts. It limited what the Valar were willing to do. The wisdom of the Valar and their foresight was beyond the understanding of those below them. We can view the death and destruction brought on by Sauron in the Second and Third Ages as cruel and harsh, but Sauron was still defeated. It is hard for me to justify, as I am not a Christian, so unlike Tolkien, I do not need to attempt to explain such a vast problem as the Problem of Evil when there is a divine being capable of eliminating it with a thought. I do think that in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, free will is a sacred gift that must be protected and that Eru’s plan for the World will ultimately bring good from suffering. As Sauron falls, the race of Men inherits the World and acknowledge what countless others fought and died for, possibly enhancing the spirit of mankind and causing them to view the World as something to protect due to what they had to give up to save it. The Valar did not abandon Middle-earth, but helped with subtlety, allowing them to step even further back as Elves leave Middle-earth and the Age of Man dawns.
Originally published at https://www.legendarium.co.uk on August 3, 2020.
