In Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series, the Valar play a more important role than before. We explain the most powerful beings of Middle-earth and how the Valar relate to the Maiar
In the Amazon series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, one term comes up more and more often: Valar. Not only the people of Númenor, but also the Elf Elrond (Robert Aramayo) mention these supernatural beings in the 4th episode recently released on Prime Video *. Their “tears” eventually convince even the stubborn Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to support Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). But who are these Valar anyway?
The Valar are arguably the most powerful entity in the world of Middle Earth. After not really playing a role in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films, they become all the more important in the series. We have summarised the most important information about the Valar and their helpers, the Maiar, so that you don’t have to study Tolkien to understand the series.
The most important info about the Valar
The Valar are basically the deities on Arda, i.e. the earth on which Middle Earth is also located. Above them stands only the All-Creator Eru Ilúvatar, who created the universe Eä. To simplify Tolkien’s very complex lore: Eru Ilúvatar created the so-called Ainur.
These powerful beings are divided into different sublevels, which we will explain in more detail below.
- 1st level: Eru Ilúvatar – the All-Creator
- 2nd level: Valar
- 3rd level: Maiar
- Part of 3rd stage: Istari
The Valar were 15 Ainur who came to Earth to shape the world on behalf of Eru Ilúvatar (for example, they created the Moon and Sun). They live on the continent of Aman (also known as the Immortal Lands) to the west of Middle Earth, which is also home to the land of Valinor.
Watch the trailer for the Lord of the Rings series here:
One member of the Valar was Melkor (known as Morgoth in the series), who fell to evil. He was eventually cast out and as a result is no longer counted among the Valar. The deeds of the Valar after the war against Morgoth play a major role in The Rings of Power.
For example, they gave the island kingdom of Númenor to the humans in gratitude for their help in the fight against Morgoth. Likewise, in episode 4 we have now learned that Elrond’s father Earendil also received a special gift for his warrior services. The Valar “raised him above the bounds of this world”. Day after day from now on he carries the Evening Star across the sky.
The Maiar: they include Sauron, Gandalf and even the Balrog
Not yet mentioned in The Lord of the Rings are the Maiar, but they still play an essential role in the future of Middle-earth. Like the Valar, these beings also belong to the genus of the Ainur. In principle, they are the assistants of the Valar. If we were to describe the Valar as deities, then we could describe the Maiar as angels.
Sauron is a corrupted Maiar
We have already seen one prominent member of the Maiar at the beginning of the series: Sauron. As Morgoth brought his terror to the world, he also corrupted numerous Maiar and drew them to the side of evil. This includes the Balrog, known from the Lord of the Rings trilogy, who is also a Maiar.
But we know of other Maiar and they are called Istari. They are a group of 5 Maiar who are sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age by the Valar to help in the fight against Sauron. However, most fans know the Istari by another name: Wizards. They also include Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast.
This is how important the Valar and the Maiar still become
The Valar not only determine the beliefs of the numerous characters in the world of Middle-earth and Númenor. They also actively intervene in world affairs on several occasions by sending the commissioners to Middle-earth. Even though we will probably never get to see them in The Rings of Power, their presence is felt much more strongly than in previous Tolkien adaptations.
Especially the Maiar, who are subordinate to them, have a leading role to play in the Amazon series. After all, there are already some hints that the mysterious stranger also belongs to the Maiar and could even be an Istari. We will even get to see the Maiar monster, the Balrog, soon, as a trailer has already revealed.
More articles on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:
- Ranking the best characters in the Lord of the Rings series.
- Mysterious Lord of the Rings villain: this is Adar
- Lord of the Rings & Hobbit star hides in The Rings of Power
Caution, spoilers: Even more important, of course, is the Maiar Sauron, who later disguises himself as an envoy of the Valar and distributes the Rings of Power as “gifts” under the name Annatar. Likewise, the Ar-Pharazon manipulates Númenor into going to war against the Valar – with disastrous consequences for Númenor. Spoiler End.
