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The Two Trees of Valinor, also known as the Trees of the Valar or simply the Two Trees, were Laurelin (the Gold Tree) and Telperion (the Silver Tree), which brought light into the land of the Valar in ancient times. They were destroyed by Melkor and the primal spider Ungoliant, but their last flower and fruit were made by the Valar into the Sun and the Moon.

History[]

Two-trees

"Days of the Bliss of Valinor" by Sepi Donne

Creation & destruction[]

The first sources of light for all of Arda were two enormous Lamps: Illuin, the silver one to the north, and Ormal, the golden one to the south. These were cast down and destroyed by Melkor. Afterward, the Valar went to Valinor and Yavanna sang into existence the Two Trees, silver Telperion and golden Laurelin. Telperion was considered male and Laurelin female. The Trees sat on the hill Ezellohar located outside Valmar. They grew in the presence of all of the Valar, watered by the tears of Nienna.[1]

Each tree was a source of light: Telperion's silver and Laurelin's gold. Telperion had dark leaves (silver on one side) and his silvery dew was collected as a source of water and of light. Laurelin had gold-trimmed leaves and her dew was likewise collected by Varda. One "day" lasted twelve hours. Each Tree, in turn, would give off light for seven hours (waxing to full brightness and then slowly waning again), so that at one hour each of "dawn" and "dusk" soft gold and silver light would be given off together.[1]

TwoTreesByGelekas

The Two Trees at night, by Spiros Gelekas

Jealous, Melkor enlisted the help of the giant spider-creature Ungoliant (the mother of Shelob) to destroy the Two Trees. Concealed in Unlight, Melkor struck each Tree with a spear and the insatiable Ungoliant devoured whatever life and light remained in them.[2]

Again Yavanna sang and Nienna wept, but they succeeded only in reviving Telperion's last flower (to become the Moon) and Laurelin's last fruit (to become the Sun). These were assigned to lesser spirits, male Tilion and female Arien,[3] after the 'genders' of the Trees themselves. This is why, in The Lord of the Rings, the Sun is usually referred to as "she" and the moon as "he".

However, the true light of the Trees, before their poisoning by Ungoliant, was said to afterwards reside only in the Silmarils.

Telperion's descendants[]

Because the Elves that first came to Valinor especially loved Telperion, Yavanna made a second tree like it to stand in the city of Tirion where the Vanyar and Ñoldor dwelt together at first. This tree, named Galathilion, was identical to Telperion except that it gave no light of its own. It had many seedlings, one of which was planted in the isle of Tol Eressëa (named Celeborn).

In the Second Age, a seedling of Celeborn was brought as a gift to the Númenóreans - this was Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor. It lasted through the majority of the realm's duration, but when Sauron corrupted the island he persuaded King Ar-Pharazôn to chop it down.

Telperion, R D

Telperion aglow, by Ralph Damiani

Fortunately Isildur managed to save a single fruit of that tree. Of this fruit later came the White Trees of Gondor.

Internal significance[]

The Two Trees of Valinor existed at a time when the only other source of light was the stars (which had been created for the Elves' benefit by Varda from the dews of the Two Trees). When three Elven ambassadors were brought to see Valinor for themselves in order that the Elves might be convinced to come to Valinor, it seems that the Two Trees affected them most significantly.

In particular, Thingol is said to have been motivated in the Great Journey by his desire to see the Light of Valinor again (until he finds contentment in the light he sees in Melian's face). Also in later times, the Elves would be divided between the Calaquendi who had seen the light of the Trees, and the Moriquendi who had not; with the former group having found enlightenment and near rapture in the light they beheld.

The Silmarillion repeatedly states that those Elves who saw the Two Trees were mighty, with the light of Aman in their faces. As vassals of the Valar, the Trees somehow bestowed otherworldly power and understanding on those exposed to them. Galadriel in particular had an affinity to Laurelin, as her hair was said to have captured the golden light of that tree. In turn this inspired Fëanor to make the jewels that could hold that same light; the Silmarils.

The last six centuries of the First Age is entirely affected by the desire of many different characters to possess the Silmarils, which contained the only remaining unsullied light of the Trees. Yet upon his flight from Valinor after destroying the light of the Two Trees, Melkor stole the Silmarils and sparked the Oath of Fëanor (who renamed Melkor Morgoth) and after many years the Valar embarked on the War of Wrath, which ended the First Age.

In the Second and Third Ages, the White Trees of Númenor and of Gondor, whose likeness descends from that of Telperion, have a mostly symbolic significance. They stand both as symbols of the kingdoms in question, and also as reminders of the ancestral alliance between the Dúnedain and the Elves. Even in this late age the two trees are remembered by some. Gandalf obviously remembers them with reverence, as he speaks of them to Pippin.

Etymology[]

Both Telperion and Laurelin are said to have been given many names among which are the following: Laurelin was also given the names of Malinalda and Culúrien, while Telperion was also named Silpion and Ninquelótë. Telperion's name in Valarin, the language of the Valar, is said to have been Ibrîniðilpathânezel; Laurelin's name is recorded as Tulukhedelgorûs.

In early writings of Tolkien, Telperion's names were Silpion[4], Bansil, and Belthil.

Quotations[]

RoP - Two Trees

The Two Trees as depicted in The Rings of Power

"Yet even as hope failed [...] Telperion bore at last upon a leafless bough one great flower of silver, and Laurelin a single fruit of gold." - The Silmarillion

"... and perceive the unimaginable hand and mind of Fëanor at their work, while both the White Tree and Golden were in flower!" Gandalf to Pippin, The Two Towers

External significance[]

Tolkien, as a Roman Catholic, would have been exposed to the significance of light in Catholic symbolism. Trees were of special importance to him - in his short story Leaf by Niggle, which in a sense was an elaborate allegory explaining his own creative process, the protagonist spends his life painting a single Tree.

The Two Trees represent the recurrent 'gold and silver' concept of the legendarium. They are created after the lamps Ormal and Illuin - and from the trees themselves, the Sun and Moon are later created.

Tolkien may have also gotten inspiration for the trees directly from the Sun, which rises in the day (as Laurelin, the golden tree), and the moon which rises in the night (Telperion, the silver tree).

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Afrikaans Twee bome van Valinor
Albanian Dy Pemë e Valinor
Amharic ቫሊኖር ሁለት ዛፎች
Arabic شجرتي ڢالينور
Armenian Երկու ծառեր Վալինոր
Assamese ভেলিন'ৰৰ দুটা গছ
Asturian Dos Árboles de Valinor
Azerbaijani Valinor iki ağac
Basque Valinorreko Bi Zuhaitzak
Belarusian Cyrillic Тўо Треес оф Валінор
Bengali ভ্যালিনোরের দুটি গাছ
Bosnian Dva stabla od Valinora
Bulgarian Cyrillic Двете дървета на Валинор
Catalan Dos Arbres de Vàlinor
Cebuano Duha ka Kahoy sa Valinor
Croatian Dva drveta Valinora
Czech Dva Valinorské stromy
Danish To Træer af Valinor
Dutch Twee Bomen van Valinor
Esperanto Du Arboj de Valinor
Estonian Kaks Puud Valinor
Filipino Dalawang puno ng Valinor
Finnish Kaksi Valinorin Puuta
Faroese Tvey træ av Valinor
French Deux Arbres de Valinor
Frisian Twa beammen fan Valinor (Western)
Friulian Doi arbui di Valinor
Galician Dúas Árbores de Valinor
Georgian ვალინორის ორი ხე
German Zwei Bäume von Valinor
Greek Δύο Δέντρα του Βάλινορ
Haitian Creole De kalite pyebwa ki bay Valinor
Hebrew שני עצי ואלינור
Hungarian Valinor két fája
Icelandic Tveir tré Valinor
Indonesian Dua pohon Valinor
Italian Alberi di Valinor
Irish Gaelic Dhá crainn de Valinor
Japanese ヴァリノールの二つの木
Kannada ವಾಲಿನೊರ್ ಎರಡು ಮರಗಳು
Kazakh Валинордың екі ағашы (Cyrillic) Valïnordıñ eki ağaşı (Latin)
Kurdish Du Darên ji Valinor (Kurmanji)
Latin Duae Arbores Valinoris
Latvian Divi koki Valinor
Lithuanian Du Valinoro medžiai
Macedonian Cyrillic Две дрва на Валинор
Marathi वलिनोर दोन झाडे
Malaysian Dua Pokok Valinor
Maltese Żewġ Siġar tal Valinor
Mongolian Cyrillic Валинорын хоёр мод
Norwegian To Trær av Valinor
Occitan Dos arbres de Valinor
Pashto د ویلینور دوه ونې
Persian دو درخت از والینور
Polish Dwa Drzewa Valinoru
Portuguese Duas Árvores de Valinor
Punjabi ਵਲਿਨੋਰ ਦੇ ਦੋ ਰੁੱਖ
Romanian Doi Copaci din Valinor
Russian Древа Валар
Sardinian Duos àrbores de Valinor
Scottish Gaelic Dà Craobhan de Valinor
Serbian Два стабла Валинора (Cyrillic) Dva stabla Valinora (Latin)
Shona Miti miviri yeValinor
Sicilian Du' arburi di Valinor
Sindhi والينور جا ٻه وڻ
Sinhalese වැලිනෝර් ගස් දෙකක්
Slovak Dva valinorské Stromy
Slovenian Dve drevesi Valinorja
Somali Laba Dhirta Valinor
Spanish Dos Árboles de Valinor
Swahili Miti miwili ya Valinor
Swedish Två Träd av Valinor
Tajik Cyrillic Ду дарахти Валинор
Tamil வலிநொர் இரண்டு மரங்கள்
Tatar Валинорның ике агачы
Telugu వాలినోర్ రెండు చెట్లు
Thai ทวิพฤกษาแห่งวาลินอร์
Turkish Valinor'un iki agacı
Turkmen Valinoryň iki agajy
Ukrainian Cyrillic Два дерева Валінора
Urdu والینور کے دو درخت
Uzbek Валинор икки Дарахтлар (Cyrillic) Valinor ikki Daraxtlar (Latin)
Vietnamese Hai cây của Valinor
Welsh Dau Goed o Valinor
Yiddish צוויי ביימער פון וואַלינאָר
Yoruba Meji igi ti Valinor
Places in the Undying Lands (Aman and Tol Eressëa)
Places and regions of the Valar ValinorEzelloharGardens of LòrienHalls of MandosHalls of NiennaHouse of TulkasIlmarinMáhanaxar
Pastures of YavannaWells of VardaWoods of OromëPlain of ValinorTwo Trees of Valinor
Other regions EldamarAlalvinórëAramanAvatharEnchanted IslesHaerastOiomúrëSindanóriëGalathilion
Mountains and passes PelóriTaniquetilHyarmentirTúnaCalaciryaCaves of the Forgotten
Bodies of water AfrosBay of EldamarGruirHíriLórellinShadowy SeasSirnúmen
Cities and strongholds Váli-màrAlqualondëAvallónëFormenosKôrtirionTavrobelTirionLumbi
Houses and towers Cottage of Lost PlayHouse of the Hundred ChimneysMindon EldaliévaTower of AvallónëTower of TavrobelTram Nybol


References[]

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