TheAinulindalë (Quenya:[ˌai̯nuˈlindalɛ]; "Music of the Ainur") is thecreation account inJ. R. R. Tolkien'slegendarium, published posthumously as the first part ofThe Silmarillion in 1977. TheAinulindalë sets out a central part of thecosmology of Tolkien's legendarium, telling how theAinur, a class ofangelic beings, perform a greatmusic prefiguring the creation of the material universe,Eä, includingMiddle-Earth.The creatorEru Ilúvatar introduces the theme of thesentient races ofElves andMen, not anticipated by the Ainur, and gives physical being to the prefigured universe. Some of the Ainur decide to enter the physical world to prepare for their arrival, becoming theValar andMaiar.
Tolkien wrote the initial version of theAinulindalë between November 1919 and the spring of 1920 as "Music of the Ainur", and then completely rewrote it in 1930. He continued to make further revisions throughout his life. The early version was eventually published by his sonChristopher inThe Book of Lost Tales 1.
J. R. R. Tolkien was an English author andphilologist of ancientGermanic languages, specialising in Old English, and a devoutRoman Catholic; he spent much of his career as a professor at theUniversity of Oxford.[1] He is best known for his novels about his inventedMiddle-earth,The Hobbit andThe Lord of the Rings. He describedThe Lord of the Rings as "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work",rich in Christian symbolism.[T 1] He however spent much of his life working on hisMiddle-earth legendarium, which was unpublished when he died in 1973. That large body of stories was edited after his death by his sonChristopher, initially in 1977 as a single text,The Silmarillion, containing a version of theAinulindalë.[T 2] That was followed, between 1983 and 1996, by the twelve volumes ofThe History of Middle-earth, which revealed and annotated the many drafts of the overlapping stories of the legendarium, including other versions of theAinulindalë.[2]
| Age | Silmarillion section | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Creation | Ainulindalë | The music of creation.Melkor strikes a discordant note but is unable to preventEru and the singing of theValar from creatingArda. |
| ——— | Valaquenta | A description of thepantheon of theValar |
| Years of the Lamps | Quenta Silmarillion | Melkor destroys the Two Lamps;Aman andMiddle-earth are created; the Valar move to Aman. |
| Years of the Trees | Yavanna creates theTwo Trees of Valinor to restore light to the world; the Elves awaken; Melkor (Morgoth) steals theSilmarils, andUngoliant kills theTwo Trees of Valinor. | |
| First Age | Elves fight Morgoth inBeleriand;Eru intervenes, banishing Morgoth and destroying Beleriand. | |
| Second Age | Akallabêth | The people ofNúmenor become too proud; their island is drowned. |
| Second Age/ Third Age | Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age | A description of the forging of the Rings of Power and the destruction of the One Ring, as described inThe Lord of the Rings |
TheAinulindalë recounts the creation ofArda by the deityEru Ilúvatar. The story begins with a description of theAinur as "children of Ilúvatar's thought". They are taught the art ofmusic, which becomes the subject of their immortal lives. The Ainur sing alone or in small groups about themes given to each of them by Ilúvatar, who proposes a "great" plan for them all: a collaborative symphony between Melkor's discord and the other Ainur themes where they would sing together in harmony, resolving contradictions amongst them into unity, also uniting the Possible and the Impossible into one. Although the Ainur embody Ilúvatar's thoughts, they are expected to use their freedom to assist the development of the "great" plan.
The most powerful of the Ainur,Melkor, is introduced to the music. Although his "loud, and vain" music disrupts the harmony, Ilúvatar stands, smiles and raises his left hand to begin a new theme. When Melkor again spoils the second theme, Ilúvatar rises sternly and raises his right hand to begin a third. Melkor tries to corrupt this theme with the volume of his music, but it is powerful enough to prevent him from succeeding. Ilúvatar ends the music, chastises Melkor and leaves the Ainur to their thoughts.
The deity takes the Ainur to see how music, at the end of the Void, created Arda. When the third theme results in the arrival of the Children of Ilúvatar, theElves and theMen, many Ainur want to go into the world to visit them. Although Melkor was the first of the Ainur to be named,Ulmo was the first to take action in Arda. Despite Melkor's efforts, Ulmo's water cannot be ruined by heat or cold; he and Manwë are revealed as the primary agents of Ilúvatar's plans.
Some Ainur remain in the Timeless Halls with Ilúvatar, and others go into Arda as theValar andMaiar. The Ainur begin to prepare for the arrival of the Children of Ilúvatar; Melkor repeatedly thwarts their preparations, desiring to rule Arda. Manwë summons the Ainur to resist Melkor, who retreats. When the Valar later assume bodily form, the first war ofEä begins, but Manwë's efforts make the Earth habitable for Elves and Men.
Tolkien initially intended theAinulindalë ("The Music of the Ainur") to be part ofThe Book of Lost Tales, which he wrote in the 1910s and 1920s.[T 3] In a letter, Tolkien stated that he had written the first version of theAinulindalë between November 1918 and the spring of 1920, while he was working on theOxford English Dictionary.[T 4]
The first draft of the story, written in pencil, does not vary significantly from the published version; future changes involved the addition of Manwë and Aulë.[T 5] The narrator in the earlier version is the elf Rúmil of Tirion and the language differs from that of theSilmarillion version. "Melkor" is spelt "Melko", and Ilúvatar weeps before he creates the third theme. At the end is a section about the Valar, which was later moved to the "Valaquenta".[T 5]
Tolkien abandoned theAinulindalë for many years. Although it did not appear in the "Sketch of the Mythology", in which he summarised his legendarium in 1926,[T 6] the subject was briefly mentioned in "Annals of Valinor" and "Quenta Silmarillion". Tolkien rewrote "The Music of the Ainur" during the 1930s, leaving most of its storyline intact.[T 7]
In 1946, while he was draftingThe Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wrote a new version of theAinulindalë of which only half a torn page survives. His legendariumthen changed radically, so that Arda had always existed, the Sun existed when the world was formed, and the Moon was formed as a result of Melkor's destruction.[T 8] Tolkien's concept of the Lamps of the Valar was abandoned in favour of a more coherent creation myth, with scientific elements. The idea of a spherical world was abandoned after a reader said that she preferred a flat one.[T 9][T 10]
In 1948 Tolkien began a new version, eliminating mentions of the Sun and the Moon, and introducing the concept that Ilúvatar created the world after the visions of the Ainur died away. In this version, which added several new details,[T 11] thestory is framed by a fictional narrator, theelf Pengoloð.[T 12]
TheAinulindalë, written early in Tolkien's career, demonstrates the importance ofmusic in his legendarium.[3] According to John Gardner, "Music is the central symbol and the total myth ofThe Silmarillion, a symbol that becomes interchangeable withlight (music's projection)."[4] The scholarVerlyn Flieger, too, stresses the pervasive themes of music and light from the creation onwards.[5][6]
"The Music of the Ainur", as it appears inThe Book of Lost Tales, is based onNorse mythology. LikeHesiod'sTheogony or theGylfaginning in theProse Edda, it answers questions ofcosmogony,[7] and its style has been compared to that of old Norse texts. Although the wording differs substantially, the Valar and theÆsir are alike in influencing the world and being influenced by their actions; Manwë has been compared toOdin in this context.[8]
Despite the story'sNorse pagan elements, such as the Ainur performing the creative work of Ilúvatar, other aspects of theAinulindalë reflect Tolkien's Catholicism.[9] His pre-Christian story[9] has been called "Tolkien'sGenesis essay";[10] according to another source, "The Biblical parallels evinced by the creation account of theAinulindalë ... are inescapable."[11]
The Tolkien scholarMarjorie Burns, who studied the different versions of theAinulindalë, said that Tolkien increasingly Christianised the Valar and reduced the influence of Norse mythology in successive revisions.[12] In the story, Tolkien expresses a global view of Christianity, with good and evil parallelling the stories in theBook of Genesis.[13] As Tolkien hasElrond say in "The Council of Elrond" inThe Lord of the Rings, "For nothing is evil in the beginning. EvenSauron was not so."[T 13] In theAinulindalë, Ilúvatar creates everything good; evil intrudes later.[14] Though evil is brought about in the creation song by Melkor's pride, Ilúvatar incorporates it into the conclusion of his divine plan. The theme of evil being a perversion of good correlates to Christian theology regarding the existence of evil in a world made by a benevolent creator. Even Melkor's pride is Eru's will. As Eru himself declares "no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite".[15]
Although commentary onThe Silmarillion has primarily focused on the work as a whole, the reaction to theAinulindalë has been generally positive.Joseph Pearce, a Roman Catholic commentator, called it "the most important part ofThe Silmarillion" and said, "The myth of creation is perhaps the most significant and most beautiful of Tolkien's works."[16] The scholar of humanitiesBrian Rosebury considered theAinulindalë a success, with "appropriately 'scriptural'" prose.[17] SeveralJesuits have praised the story;James V. Schall said, "I have never read anything as beautiful as the first page ofThe Silmarillion" and Robert Murray said, "In all literature, from the formation of the sacred books of humanity, it is very difficult to find a comparable mythological story of creation by its beauty and imaginative power."[16]
According toFantasy Literature: A Core Collection and Reference Guide, "Every part of [The Silmarillion] benefits from the power and audacity of imaginative genius Tolkien and his brilliant style" and theAinulindalë has "organ tones".[18] AlthoughRalph C. Wood called it "one of the finest and most original of [Tolkien's] writings",[13] the stylistic differences between this story and the rest ofThe Silmarillion have been the subject of debate.[19]
The American opera singerAdam C. J. Klein composed anopera,Leithian, based onThe Silmarillion,[20] while the Americancontemporary classical composerFrank Felice wrote an orchestral version of theAinulindalë.[21] According to the Tolkien scholarColin Duriez, theAinulindalë may have inspiredC. S. Lewis to have his fictional world ofNarnia created from a song.[22]