In the Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, one term comes up more and more often: Valar. Not only the people of Númenor, but also the Elf Elrond (Robert Aramayo) mention these supernatural beings in the 4th episode recently released on Prime Video *. Their “tears” finally convince even the stubborn Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to support Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). But who are these Valar anyway?
The Valar are arguably the most powerful entity in the world of Middle-earth. Having played no real role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, they become all the more important in the series. We have for you the most important information about the Valar and their assistantsthe Maiar, so you don’t have to study Tolkien to understand the series.
The most important information about the Valar
The Valar are basically them Deities on Arda, i.e. the earth on which Middle-earth is also located. Above them is only All Creator Eru Iluvatar, who created the universe Eä. To simplify the very complex lore of Tolkien: Eru Ilúvatar created the so-called ainur.
These powerful beings are divided into different sub-levels which we will briefly explain in more detail below.
The Valar were 15 Ainurwho came to earth to form the world there on behalf of Eru Ilúvatar (for example, they created the moon and sun). They live on the west of Middle-earth continent of Aman (also known as the Undying Lands), which is also home to the land of Valinor.
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A member of the Valar was Melkor (known as Morgoth in the series), who fell into evil. Eventually he was cast out and no longer counted among the Valar. The deeds of the Valar after the war against Morgoth play a major role in The Rings of Power.
For example, they gave the humans this as thanks for their help in the fight against Morgoth Insular Kingdom of Númenor. We also found out in episode 4 that too Elrond’s father Earendil received a special gift for his war service. the valar”raised him above the limits of this world“. From then on day after day he carried the evening star across the sky.
The Maiar: They include Sauron, Gandalf, and even the Balrog
The Maiar have not yet been mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but they still play an essential role in the future of Middle-earth. Like the Valar, these beings belong to the Ainur genus. Basically they are the minions of the Valar. If we were to describe the Valar as deities, then we might describe the Maiar as Angel describe.
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Sauron is a corrupt Maiar
We already saw a prominent member of the Maiar at the beginning of the series: Sauron. When Morgoth unleashed his terror on the world, he also corrupted numerous Maiar, drawing them to the side of evil. This includes the one known from the Lord of the Rings trilogy Balrogwho is also a Maiar.
But we know other Maiar, the so-called Istari. They are a group of 5 Maiar who are sent to Middle-earth by the Valar in the Third Age to help in the fight against Sauron. However, most fans know the Istari by a different name: sorcerers. They also belong Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast.
That’s how important the Valar and the Maiar are going to be
The Valar not only determine the beliefs of the numerous characters in the world of Middle-earth and Númenor. she intervene actively in world affairs, by sending the commissioners to Middle-earth. While we may never see her in The Rings of Power, her presence is felt much more strongly than in previous Tolkien films.
It is precisely the Maiar who reports to them that comes in the Amazon series a supporting role to. After all, there are already some indications that the mysterious stranger also belongs to the Maiar and could even be an Istari. We’ll even see the Maiar behemoth, the Balrog, soon, as a trailer has already revealed.
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Warning, spoilers: Even more important is of course the Maiar Sauron, who later disguises himself as an envoy of the Valar and distributes the rings of power as “gifts” under the name Annatar. Likewise, the Ar-Pharazon manipulates into going to war against the Valar – with devastating consequences for Númenor. spoiler end.
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