Tolkien's Valar: An (Almost) Complete Guide

Citations are available upon request!

[TheEternalElir]

The transitions to the different Valar were so cool. When Nienna's part came up it actually scared me. This is the best video on the Valar by far

[indigohalf]

I've always found Nienna to be a particularly compelling and unique figure. I don't think enough has been said about the fact that Tolkien, a war veteran and Marian devotee, made space for a weeping goddess in his pantheon. Gandalf's teacher, the source of his wisdom, stands for the importance of the ability to open oneself up to pain and sorrow and the act of grieving for what has been lost and what will be lost. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like Nienna.

[benjohnabad]

Hades has actually shown three cases of clemency: the first, more rooted in religion, is about Orpheus of whom Luthien's singing is based off of; the second, is more literary and involves Psyche. The third case more folk cultural and is when Heracles asks for Cerberus and he says, "sure bruh, just wrestle my dog."

[princekrazie]

I have heard of a hypothesis that Nienna cries because she lost her mate. She was supposed to have been Morgoths wife! She is the only unpaired Vala among them other than Ulmo. She also interceded for Melkor.

[mon_moi]

I heard about Tolkien's fascination with the Kalevala, the Finnish national mythical epic. Some of the Valar do slightly correspond to Finnish gods: Iluvatar with Ilmatar (goddess of air and one of the creators of the world in Finnish myths), Ulmo with Vellamo (god of seas), and Aulë with Ilmarinen (god of blacksmithing and possibly a former sky god). The Maia Ilmarë's name is also an obvious loan from 'ilma' which has connotations of heaven in Finnic languages

[esalehtismaki]

I think the main inspiration behind Aulë was Ilmarinen from Finnish mythology. He too is a blacksmith god, who forged the Sun and the Moon and even the dome of sky. But he also forged himself a wife, after the real one died, and soon realized it was a mistake.

[chadnine]

Tulkas has a special place in my heart. He's so different from the other Valar. He's a great contrasting character.

[carsonianthegreat]

I’m really glad you mentioned Tolkien’s Catholicism. It is so often overlooked by the fan-base

[magpieMOB]

Your pronunciation of the Welsh names was actually really good for a non-Welsh speaker - the "LL" sound (like in Pwyll) is one of the harder to pull off, aside from that you were pretty much spot on - Blodeuwedd, Arawn, I guess Gronw has a more flat "O" sound like "stOp" or "bOdy", but seriously, I don't often hear non-natives do so well

[Kreitton]

Expert in Christian Theology here, your comparison between Manwe and the Holy Spirit is insightful. The obvious but less clear analogue that most people would reach for would be Manwe=Jesus, but I think the Holy Spirit is a better parallel now that you pointed it out. Well done.

[StuartistStudio]

I love the fact that Tulkas goes into battle laughing.

[luisostasuc]

Your description of Aule wanting to create more creators reminded me of a quote from "Thus Spake Zarathustra" by Nietzsche:

"Companions the Creator seeks, not corpses, not herds and believers.
Fellow creators the Creator seeks -- those who write new values on new tablets.
Companions the Creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest."

[argent]

I loved and appreciated the costumes! So much thought and attention went into them that they subtly affected my impression of the dialogue.

[wvhoipolloi]

When Jess compared Varda to Mary, i knew, this lady truly understands Tolken. Looking forward to exploring your videos.

[LukeTunkel]

Melkor was like that one dude in the drum circle who just can't help but try and take it over

[allisongliot]

Drawing a comparison between Varda and Mary actually works really well because Mary is also called the Spouse of the Holy Spirit and your analogy refers to Manwë, her spouse, as a parallel to the Holy Spirit! (Geeking out a little here).

Obviously Tolkien didn’t intend his mythology to be read as a one-to-one equation of Catholicism, so I’m glad you nuance this as possible sources of inspiration for him rather than direct doctrines.

[kevinsullivan]

I based the creation of my most detailed RPG setting on the creation of Arda. JRR was one of the best examples of world building, encompassing the personalities of the Valar into the world in ways no other world builder has, although the Dragon Lance setting is pretty detailed in relationship to the Gods and World creation.

Your take on the Valar is outstading and the way you tied everything ti JRR's Catholic faith is very astute and you are the only person I've come into contact with who used Angels and saints as a corollary.

[neodigremo]

I am reminded, whenever I hear the tale of Beren and Luthien, just how much I love Tolkien's mythological writing. I love tales of Gods, Monsters and the like presented as a heroic tale and not as a story. IT reminds me of Beowulf in style, or even sometimes like the Bible.

Tolkien's Valar work I think because he wrote them not like he was writing story, but like he was writing a mythology. It feels like he is writing down what the Elves or Men would have written as the stories of the Valar.

[mcstotti]

Mandos when Luthien comes to him to get Beren back: I am not crying you are crying. Its just the hobbits over there stealthily cutting onions.

[erichertenstein]

First video I've seen that does comparative theology about the Valar, and very well done at that. The Yavanna bit was particularly good.