- "Therefore Ilúvatar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World; and it was called Eä."
- —The Silmarillion, "Valaquenta"
Airefëa, also known as the Secret Fire, Flame Imperishable or the Imperishable Flame, refers to a mysterious heavenly power in Eä.
History[]
Airefëa seems to refer to Eru Ilúvatar's Power of Creation. This power was with Ilúvatar alone from the very beginning and was an aspect of his being, so when Melkor sought for it, his efforts were in vain. Later, Ilúvatar set Airefëa at the heart of Eä.[1]
Airefëa was also described as being part of all Fëa, the soul of a living being or the spirit: it was that Gift which makes sentient beings capable of independent thought and will, for though other beings within Arda can create to a greater or lesser extent, even the Valar cannot bring new life into being that is independent from Eru's own design (beings can, for instance, procreate, but they cannot give life to their thought as Eru can).[2] This lack of ability to bring into being ideas of his own was what initially led Melkor down the path of Darkness, for he wished above all else to order the universe in accordance with his own desires, and not be subservient to the will of Eru.
In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf the Grey referred to both Airefëa and the flame of Anor at the Bridge of Khazad-dum when confronting the Balrog:[3]
- "'You cannot pass,' he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass."
- —The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, ch. V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
Anor was a name for the Sun in the mythology, as well as a name for the True West (i.e. Valinor). Further, some have speculated that Gandalf said "flame of Anor" in reference to the fact that he wielded one of the Three Rings of Power, Narya. Thus, it is uncertain if the flame of Anor was identical to the Airefëa, but both it and Airefëa identified Gandalf as a servant of the Valar.
Etymology[]
Airefëa is a name in Quenya meaning "Holy Spirit", being a compound of airë ("holy; sanctity, holiness")[4] and fëa ("soul, indwelling spirit of an incarnate being")[5].[6]
In other versions[]
In the Qenya Lexicon, the Qenya term Sâ was glossed as "Fire, especially in temples, etc. A mystic name identified with Holy Ghost".[7] Sâ was later emended to fairë aista.[6]
Inspiration[]
In a discussion with Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien talked to him "at some length about the use of the word 'holy' in The Silmarillion" and revealed to him "that the 'Secret Fire sent to burn at the heart of the World' in the beginning was the Holy Spirit", the third person of the Holy Trinity.[8]
See also[]
External links[]
- "Tolkien, Servant of the Secret Fire" by Jonathan McIntosh
Translations[]
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Afrikaans | Geheime vuur |
Albanian | Zjarri i fshehtë |
Amharic | ምስጢር እሳት |
Arabic | النار السرية |
Armenian | Գաղտնի կրակ |
Azerbaijani | Sirli yanğın |
Basque | Sute sekretua |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Цакрэтны агонь |
Bengali | গোপন আগুন |
Bosnian | Tajna Požara |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Тайния огън |
Cambodian | អគ្គីភ័យជាការសម្ងាត់ |
Catalan | Foc Secreta |
Cebuano | Sekreto nga kalayo |
Chinese | 秘密的火 |
Cornish | Tan Kel ? |
Croatian | Tajna vatra |
Czech | Tajný oheň |
Danish | Hemmelig ild |
Dutch | Geheim vuur |
Esperanto | Sekreta fajro |
Estonian | Salajane tulekahju |
Fijian | Vuni na bukawaqa |
Filipino | Lihim na apoy |
Finnish | Salainen tuli |
French | Feu Secret |
Frisian | Geheime Fjoer |
Georgian | საიდუმლო ცეცხლი |
German | Geheimes Feuer |
Greek | Μυστική Φωτιά |
Gujarati | સિક્રેટ ફાયર |
Haitian Creole | Sekrè Dife |
Hausa | Asirin Wuta |
Hebrew | האש הסודית |
Hindi | गुप्त आग |
Hungarian | Titkos tűz
Olthatatlan Lángot |
Icelandic | Hinn launhelgi logi |
Indonesian | Api Rahasia |
Irish Gaelic | Rúnda tine |
Italian | Fuoco segreto (Secret Fire)
Fiamma Imperitura (Flame imperishable) |
Japanese | 神秘の火/不滅の炎 |
Javanese | Rahasia Geni |
Kannada | ರಹಸ್ಯ ಬೆಂಕಿ |
Kazakh | Құпия өрт (Cyrillic) Qupïya ört (Latin) |
Korean | 비밀 화재 |
Kurdish | Agir Dizî (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | жашыруун өрт |
Latin | Secretum Ignis |
Latvian | Slepenā uguns |
Lithuanian | Slaptas gaisro |
Luxembourgish | Geheime Feier |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Таен оган |
Malaysian | Api Rahsia |
Malayalam | രഹസ്യ തീ |
Maltese | Sigriet nar |
Manx | Aile Follit ? |
Marathi | गुप्त आग |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Нууц гал |
Nepalese | गुप्त आगो |
Norwegian | Hemmelig brann |
Northern Sami | Suollemas Dolla |
Pashto | پټ اور |
Persian | (Secret Fire) آتش راز
(Flame Imperishable) شعله زوالناپذیر |
Polish | Tajemny Ogień (Secret Fire)
Niezniszczalny Płomień (Flame Imperishable) |
Portuguese | Segredo do Fogo (Secret Fire)
Chama Imperecível (Flame Imperishable) |
Punjabi | ਗੁਪਤ ਅੱਗ |
Querétaro Otomi | Ar tsibi secreto |
Romanian | Focul Secret |
Romansh | Fieu Adascus |
Russian | Негасимое пламя |
Samoan | Lilo Afi |
Scottish Gaelic | Teine dìomhair |
Serbian | Тајна ватра (Cyrillic) Tajna vatra (Latin) |
Sesotho | Sephiri Mollo |
Sinhalese | රහස ගිනි |
Sindhi | راز کي باهه |
Slovak | Tajné požiaru |
Slovenian | Skrivni ogenj |
Somalian | Dabka Qarsoon |
Spanish | Fuego Secreto |
Swahili | Siri Moto |
Swedish | Hemlig eld |
Tajik Cyrillic | Сирри оташ |
Tamil | இரகசிய தீ |
Telugu | రహస్య అగ్ని |
Thai | ไฟไหม้ลับ |
Turkish | Gizli ateş |
Turkmen | Syr Ot ? |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Секретні вогню |
Urdu | خفیہ آگ |
Uzbek | Сирли олов (Cyrillic) Sirli olov (Latin) |
Vietnamese | Bí mật lửa |
Welsh | Tân dirgel |
Yiddish | סוד פייַער |
Yucatec Maya | Secreto K'áak' |
Zulu | Umlilo Imfihlo |
References[]
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë (The Music of the Ainur)
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion: Of Aulë and Yavanna"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Vol. I: The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, ch. V: "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", pgs. 67, 149
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. X: Morgoth's Ring, "Appendix to the Index: Elvish words and terms", pg. 470
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Vinyar Tengwar, Number 43, "'Words of Joy': Five Catholic Prayers in Quenya — Part One", pgs. 36-8
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon XII, "Qenyaqetsa: The Qenya Phonology and Lexicon", pg. 81 (entry "SAHA")
- ↑ Clyde S. Kilby, Tolkien and The Silmarillion, "Tolkien as Christian Writer", pg. 59