Almaren
Also calledThe Isle of Almaren, The First Dwelling of the Valar
Almaren was the island in the Great Lake at the centre of Middle-earth where the Valar first dwelt in the Years of the Lamps, in the mingled light of Illuin and Ormal. Melkor's overthrow of the Lamps broke the lake and the island, and the Valar withdrew to Aman.
Description
The Spring of Arda
In the beginning the Valar shaped Middle-earth as a single land in the midst of the seas, and to light it Aulë made two great lamps on pillars, Illuin in the north and Ormal in the south, which Varda filled and Manwë hallowed. Where the light of the two Lamps met and mingled, in the middle of the world, lay the Great Lake, and on an island in that lake the Valar built their first dwelling, Almaren. This was the Spring of Arda: seeds sown by Yavanna came up as the first forests and grasses, beasts came into the plains, and the Valar rested from their labours. On Almaren they held a feast at which Tulkas, the last of the Valar to enter the world, was wedded to Nessa, and at that feast Manwë and the others believed Arda was finished and secure.
The fall of the Lamps
Melkor had been driven out of Arda by the coming of Tulkas, but he had watched from the darkness beyond the world, and while the Valar feasted he came back in secret with spirits who had followed him and delved Utumno in the far north. From it he assailed the Lamps and threw down both their pillars. Their light spilled out as fire, the seas rose and the lands were torn, the Great Lake was broken, and Almaren was destroyed with everything on it. The Valar could not stop the ruin and hold Melkor at the same time, and because the Elves had not yet come, they chose to save what they could of the world's shape rather than pursue him. They left Middle-earth, made Aman in the West and walled it with the Pelóri, and there Yavanna made the Two Trees in place of the lost Lamps. Almaren was never rebuilt. Where the Great Lake had been, the inland Sea of Helcar was later formed at the site of the fallen Illuin, and on its shores the Elves awoke at Cuiviénen.
Geography
Almaren lay in the Great Lake in the exact centre of the original Middle-earth, midway between the northern Lamp Illuin and the southern Lamp Ormal. After the breaking of the world nothing of the island remained, and later maps show only the inland seas where the Lamps had fallen.
Associated figures
Dwelt in
King of the Valar
Manwë
ValarManwë is the King of the Valar and the Elder King of Arda, lord of the winds and the airs, who of all the Ainur understands the mind of Eru most deeply. Brother in thought to Melkor, he is the appointed ruler of the World, dwelling with Varda on Taniquetil and served by the Eagles.
Valinor; seat on TaniquetilQueen of the Valar
Varda
ValarVarda, called Elbereth by the Elves of Middle-earth, is the Queen of the Valar and the maker of the stars. Spouse of Manwë, she kindled the constellations under which the Elves awoke, hallowed the Silmarils, and is the Vala whom the Elves love and invoke above all others.
Valinor; seat on TaniquetilLord of the Earth
Aulë
ValarAulë is the smith of the Valar, master of all crafts and lord of the substances of the earth, who shaped the mountains and made the vessels of the Sun and Moon. Impatient for the Children of Ilúvatar, he made the Dwarves in secret, and his people, including Sauron and Saruman, were the most gifted and the most prone to fall.
ValinorChampion of the Valar
Tulkas
ValarTulkas is the strongest of the Valar and the last to come into Arda, arriving from the Timeless Halls when the others were hard pressed by Melkor. Laughing in battle and tireless, he drove Melkor from the World in the first war, wrestled him down in the Battle of the Powers, and alone of the Valar never trusted him.
ValinorQueen of the Earth
Yavanna
ValarYavanna is the Vala of all growing things, from the great trees to the moss on stones, and the spouse of Aulë. She sang the Two Trees of Valinor into being, obtained the Ents as guardians of the forests, and coaxed from the dying Trees the fruit and flower that became the Sun and Moon.
Valinor; the pastures and orchards of AmanQueen of the Valar
Nessa
ValarNessa is the sister of Oromë and the spouse of Tulkas, a Vala of swiftness and dance who loves the deer and can outrun them, and who dances on the lawns of Valmar. Her wedding feast on Almaren was the occasion of Melkor's secret return.
Valinor
Peoples
Timeline
- Years of the Lamps
The Lamps raised and Almaren built
Aulë makes Illuin and Ormal; the Valar settle on the island where their light mingles.
- Years of the Lamps
The Spring of Arda
The first growth of forests and beasts; Tulkas is wedded to Nessa at the feast on Almaren.
- Years of the Lamps
Melkor returns and builds Utumno
Melkor comes back in secret while the Valar rest and delves his fortress in the north.
- Years of the Lamps
The fall of the Lamps
Melkor casts down Illuin and Ormal; the Great Lake and Almaren are destroyed and the Valar leave for Aman.
Sources
- The SilmarillionQuenta Silmarillion, chapter 1
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