Eru Ilúvatar was the supreme being of Eä. He was the single creator of existence, ranking above the Valar, but delegated almost all decision-making within Eä to the Ainur, including the shaping of the world.
Eru was central to parts of The Silmarillion, but was not mentioned by name in Tolkien's most famous works, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, although he was alluded to as "the One" in a part of Appendix A speaking of the downfall of Númenor, and in "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan" in Unfinished Tales as "the One who is above all thrones for ever".
Biography
Eru is transcendent, existing beyond the world. He first created a group of angelic beings, called in Elvish the "Ainur," who were co-actors in the creation of Arda through a holy music and chanting called the Music of the Ainur. He was also known as "the All-Powerful", and he alone could create independent life, or reality, using the Flame Imperishable.[1]
He created the bounds of Eä, the "World and All That Is", which lay amid the Void (or "the Outside" as it was sometimes called). He then gave the Ainur the option to go into Eä and fashion it as they would. The greatest Ainur who chose to do so were called the Valar, and they controlled the shaping of Arda. They could not make original life, however, as Aulë proved, who was able to give only shape to the Dwarves, while consciousness was given to them by Eru. The Valar were accompanied by the Maiar, the lesser Ainur. Elves and mankind, however, came directly from Ilúvatar's thoughts, and were referred to in The Silmarillion as the "First" and "Second" Children of Ilúvatar (or Eruhini), respectively.[1]
Involvement
- The creation of the Elves who awoke in the Years of the Trees in Cuiviénen.
- Eru created Men, who awoke with the first rising of the Sun in Hildórien.
- In the Second Age Eru, called upon by the Valar, buried King Ar-Pharazôn and his Army when they landed at Aman in SA 3319, defying the Ban of the Valar. He caused the Earth to take a round shape, after drowning Númenor into a great chasm, and caused the Undying Lands to be taken "outside the spheres of the Earth".[2]
- Eru sent Gandalf back to Middle-Earth as "Gandalf the White" following the wizard's death in battle.
- J.R.R. Tolkien stated in a letter that Eru intervened a second time at the end of the Third Age, causing Gollum to trip and fall into the fires of Mount Doom while holding the One Ring, thus destroying it.[3]
Manwë also took counsel from Eru on several important matters, including the fate of deceased Elven Fëa, the Half-elven and the extension of the lifespans of the Númenóreans.[4]
Etymology
Eru meant "The One" or "Alone", and the epithet Ilúvatar meant "Father of All" in the Quenya tongue. Sometimes, the name Ilúvatar is given alone.
Translations
Foreign Language | Translated name |
Amharic | ኢሩ ኢልቫታር |
Arabic | ىرو ىلوڢاتار |
Armenian | Երու Իլուվատար |
Belarusian Cyrillic | Эру Ілуватар |
Bengali | ইরু ইলুভাটার |
Bulgarian Cyrillic | Еру Илуватар |
Chinese | 一如稱伊露維塔 |
Georgian | ერუ ილუვატარი |
Greek | Έρου Ιλούβαταρ |
Gujarati | ઇરુ ઇલુવતાર |
Hebrew | ארו אילובאטאר |
Hindi | एरु ईलुवतर |
Japanese | エル・イルーヴァタール |
Kannada | ಇರು ಇಲುವಾಟರ್ |
Kazakh | Ерұ Ылұватар (Cyrillic) Eru Iluvatar (Latin) |
Korean | 에루 일루바타르 |
Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Эру Илуватар |
Macedonian Cyrillic | Еру Илуватар |
Marathi | इरु इलुवतार |
Mongolian Cyrillic | Еру Илуватар |
Nepalese | एरु ईलुवतर |
Pashto | اییو الیوټار ? |
Persian | ارو ایلوواتار |
Punjabi | ਏਰੂ ਇੱਲਵੱਟਰ |
Russian | Эру Илуватар |
Sanskrit | एरु ईलुवतर् |
Serbian | Еру Илуватар (Cyrillic) Eru Iluvatar (Latin) |
Sinhalese | ඊරු ඉලුවාපත්ර් |
Tajik Cyrillic | Еру Илуватар |
Tamil | இரு எலுவாத்தர் |
Telugu | ఏరు ఇరువిలాటర్ |
Thai | เอรู อิลูวาทาร์ |
Ukrainian Cyrillic | Еру Ілуватар |
Urdu | ایرو الوواتر |
Yiddish | ערו ילווואַטאַר |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The Silmarillion, Ainulindalë
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Akallabêth
- ↑ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 192
- ↑ The Nature of Middle-earth, Chapter XI: "Lives of the Númenoreans"