Vala (Middle-earth)

The Valar [ˈvalar] (singular Vala) are characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are "gods" or "angelic beings" subordinate to the one God (Eru Ilúvatar); they are the Ainur who chose to go into the World (Arda) and complete its material development after its form was determined by the Music of the Ainur (Ainulindalë). They are mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but were developed earlier in material published posthumously in The Silmarillion and The History of Middle-earth.

The term Valar is applied occasionally by Tolkien to include all of the Ainur who entered the world, but more frequently to refer specifically to the fourteen most powerful of them, the "Lords and Ladies of the Valar".

Eru Ilúvatar first revealed to the Ainur his great vision of The World through musical themes.

This World, fashioned from his ideas and expressed as the Music of Ilúvatar, was refined by thoughtful interpretations by the Ainur, who then created their own themes based on each unique comprehension. No one Ainu understood all of the themes that sprang from Ilúvatar. Instead, each elaborated individual themes, singing of mountains and subterranean regions, say, from themes for metals and stones. The themes of Ilúvatar's music were elaborated, and the Ainur added creative touches to blend with the themes of other Ainur. Melkor, however, added discordant themes: he strove against the Music; his themes became evil because they sprang from selfishness and vanity, not from the enlightenment of Ilúvatar.

Once the Music was complete, including Melkor's interwoven themes of vanity, Ilúvatar gave the Ainur a choice — to dwell with him, or to enter the world that they had mutually created. Those that chose to enter the world became known as the Valar, the 'Powers of Arda', though the Elves generally reserved that term for the more powerful of them. (The lesser Valar they called the Maiar.) Among the Valar were some of the most powerful and wise of the Ainur, including Manwë, the Lord of the Valar, and also Melkor, his brother. The two are distinguished by the selfless love of Manwë for the Music of Ilúvatar, and the selfish love that Melkor bore for himself and no other — least of all for the Children of Ilúvatar, as the Elves and Men became known.

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