The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Came to Valinor in the Years of the Trees; though many of the Noldor later returned to Middle-earth, many others remained
Location
Origins
Those of the earliest Elves who followed the summons of the Valar and completed the Great Journey into the West
Race
Divisions
Settlements
Pronunciation
Valinor is pronounced 'va'linorr' (where 'rr' indicates that the final 'r' sound should be pronounced)
Meaning
Valinor means 'land of the Valar'
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 25 December 2011
  • This entry is complete
Eldar
Vanyar
Noldor
Teleri
Falmari
Sindar
Nandor

Though all the Eldar (by definition) set out on the Great Journey, many of them fell away from it and remained in Middle-earth. Names shown in bold in this chart represent those peoples who crossed the Great Sea and became Elves of Valinor.

The Elves of the Three Kindreds who completed the Great Journey and came at last to Aman in the West. The Vanyar and the Noldor were the first to arrive, carried across the Great Sea on the island of Tol Eressëa. They settled in the city of Tirion in the pass of the Calacirya, bathed in the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor. Of the Teleri, many fell away from the journey and remained in Middle-earth, but at last a group of them travelled across the Great Sea on the Lonely Isle. There they remained in the Bay of Eldamar for many years, but at last they built ships and sailed to the shores of Aman.

For the most part, the Elves of Valinor spoke Quenya (the Teleri of Aman had their own language, Telerin, though closely related to Quenya). When many of the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, circumstances forced them to abandon Quenya in favour of Sindarin, but the old tongue of the Elves of Valinor remained a language of lore and wisdom, and was still in use for formal matters at the end of the Third Age.


Notes

1

Many of the Teleri also completed the journey into the West, but they did not dwell in Valinor. At first they remained on Tol Eressëa, and later they settled on the shores of Eldamar, separated from Valinor itself by the mountains of the Pelóri.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 25 December 2011
  • This entry is complete

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