Salmar

The horns of Ulmo

Salmar is named once in the Valaquenta, among the Maiar who came into the World with Ulmo, and he is remembered for a single work: the Ulumúri, the great horns of white shell on which Ulmo plays. Ulmo does not dwell in Valinor but in the deep waters, and he rarely takes bodily form; yet at times he rises in the Outer Sea or in the rivers of Middle-earth and sounds these horns, and the Elves hold that anyone who has once heard their music carries the longing for the Sea in their heart for ever afterward. That longing is a recurring motif in the histories, felt by the Teleri on the shores of Beleriand, by Tuor when Ulmo appeared to him at Vinyamar, and by Legolas when he heard the gulls at Pelargir. Salmar, the craftsman of the instrument, stands quietly behind all of it.

What is not known

Nothing else about Salmar survives in the published works: no deed, no dwelling, no part in the wars against Melkor. He should be understood as one of the many spirits of Ulmo's following whose names the Elves preserved because their works were felt in Middle-earth even when they themselves were never seen. His fellows in that service include Ossë and Uinen, who are far more fully described.

Salmar remains in the service of Ulmo.