A breakdown of Tolkien’s ‘Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor’, Chapter 3 in The Silmarillion. As usual I share a mini summary with my thoughts, 10 tidbits and 5 quotes!

A Mini Summary and Some Personal Thoughts

I’ve been saying it a lot in this series, but it’s true yet again. Tolkien gives us another packed chapter of important milestones here in Chapter 3: ‘Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor’ (I’ll abbreviate the title for the rest of the blog post, cause it’s so long). I like how out of everything that happens in this chapter, the emphasis is clearly on ‘the coming of the elves’. Well, The Silmarillion is told from the perspective of the elves, so I suppose it makes sense [insert winking emoji here].

I also have to say, can we just take a second and appreciate how the chapter title tells us exactly what to expect? I guess we can look out for the coming of elves and Melkor getting captured, huh?

In this chapter, along with the coming of elves and Melkor getting captured, we also get the making of the stars (can you guess by who?), the discovery of the elves, what Melkor’s up to before he gets captures (spoiler: it’s not good), a war that changes the shape of Middle-earth (talk about earth-shattering) and the sundering of the elves. Are you ready for it?

Let’s get into the tidbits!

Ten Tidbits About ‘Of the Coming of the Elves’

1. Waiting for the Coming of the Elves

We get a somewhat sleepy start to the chapter as everyone (well almost everyone, see the next tidbit) is waiting for – you guessed it – the coming of the Elves! In fact, the Valar have pretty much left Middle-Earth to its own devices, with only Oromë and Yavanna occasionally popping over for visits.

2. Melkor’s Keeping Busy: Balrogs and Sauron

The opening tone might be sleepy, but Melkor is anything but. Instead has been keeping himself busy, building up his strength and working on evil creations.

After learning a few origin stories in Chapter 2, we get the origins of a couple more familiar beings from LOTR in this chapter. However, these are not so pleasant. The first of them is the balrogs:

And in Utumno he gathered his demons about him, those spirits who first adhered to him in the days of his splendour, and became most like him in his corruption: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame. Balrogs they were named in Middle-earth in later days. And in that dark time Melkor bred many other monsters of diverse shapes.

We also learn a bit more about Sauron, the big evil in LOTR. Here he is just starting out on his career serving as Melkor’s lieutenant and heading up another stronghold of Melkor’s, Angband.

3. The Valar Hold Council

Long before the Council of Elrond, the Valar were holding their own councils. The order of business for this one? Yavanna and Oromë’s concerning news from the Outer Lands. Yavanna points out that the Children of Ilúvatar will be arriving soon, and that Melkor has basically taken over Middle-Earth. Tulkas calls for war, raring for a fight, and Mandos shows his foresight (not for the last time).

4. Varda Makes the Stars

Varda makes new stars from the light of Telperion, the older of the Two Trees of Valinor who shed silver light. Can you imagine anything so beautiful?

Then Varda went forth from the council, and she looked out from the height of Taniquetil, and beheld the darkness of Middle-earth beneath the innumerable stars, faint and far. Then she began a great labour, greatest of all the works of the Valar since they’re coming into Arda. She took the silver dews from the vats of Telperion, and therewith she made new stars and brighter against the coming of the Firstborn.

Bonus tidbit! A number of the stars listed here in this chapter actually correspond to ones in our own solar system. That just about blew my mind. You can check out Kitt Otter’s The Stars That Varda Made to learn more about it.

5. The Coming of the Elves – Birth and Discovery

The elves are born and their first sight is of the beautiful stars that Varda wrought. As a result, the Elves love the stars and Varda above all else. We can see that play out in The Hobbit and LOTR too. The introduction of elves in both books always seems to correspond with stars.

While the elves were dwelling in their first home, Oromë was the first of the Valar to come across them, discovering them ‘by chance’. I love his reaction:

And Oromë looking upon the Elves was filled with wonder, as though they were beings sudden and marvellous and unforeseen; for so it shall ever be with the Valar.

6. Melkor Wreaking Havoc: Rumours and Orcs

Apparently Melkor was aware of the awaking of the elves, and he sent shadows and evil spirits to spy on them and waylay them. If any Elves stayed away from the group, whether alone or in a group of a few, they would vanish. And so the Quendi actually grew afraid of Oromë, because whispers of a Hunter catching them started to go around. When he would come around, some would hide, and some who fled were lost. And what happened to some of those elves is absolutely horrible.

This is the second origin explanation I alluded to earlier, and it’s not a happy one. If you remember the story we get from Saruman in the Fellowship of the Rings movie about how orcs came into being, this will sound familiar:

Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressëa, that all those of the Quendi who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes … This it may be was the vilest deed of Melkor, and the most hateful to Ilúvatar.

7. War Between the Valar and Melkor, and Middle-Earth Changing Shape

To deal with Melkor, Manwë sought the counsel of Ilúvatar and then summoned the Valar to inform them of the decision to save the Elves from the shadow of Melkor ‘at whatever cost’. I like how Tulkas was ‘glad’ at this news – he’s always ready for a fight. But Aulë was ‘grieved’, thinking of the scars that would come from their conflict.

The Valar and Melkor go to war, and ‘never did Melkor forget that this war was made for the sake of the Elves, and that they were the cause of his downfall.’ It sounds like an epic battle. It caused the Earth to shake and groan and the waters to move, leading to the shape of Middle-Earth changing.

8. Victory! Melkor’s Capture and Sentence

The Valar came out on top, defeating Melkor and bringing him to Valinor bound and blindfolded. Notably, he was brought to the ‘Ring of Doom’ – I just thought this was an interesting name. Do you who ended up being the champion of the Valar?

Then Tulkas stood forth as champion of the Valar and wrestled with him, and cast him upon his face; and he was bound with the chain Angainor that Aulë had wrought, and led captive; and the world had peace for a long age.

9. Summoning of the Elves to Valinor

At this point, the Valar hold another council about the Elves. Some wanted them to be left free to walk in Middle-Earth and heal the land and their own hurts. But others ‘were filled moreover with the love of the beauty of the Elves and desired their fellowship’ – which sounds so nice to me. So the Valar summoned the Elves (also called the Quendi) to Valinor.

The far-sighted Mandos declares, ‘So it is doomed’ (always so cheerful, that Mandos). But actually a lot of sorrow and woe befalls the elf after this summons, as the rest of The Silmarillion tells.

The Elves were at first unwilling to go because they were afraid of the Valar. Which I think is fair enough. All they had seen from the Valar so far had been them in war, literally shaking up Middle-Earth.

But Oromë goes in person to them, and chooses three ambassadors to go to Valinor and speak for their people (these guys eventually become Kings of their peoples):

• Ingwë
• Finwë
• Elwë

10. The First Sundering of the Elves

Finally the chapter ends with the first sundering of the Elves. The Elvish ambassadors go back to their people, urging them to take the Valar up on their offer and go to Valinor.

But not everyone was keen to go, and so the Elves split:

• The Eldar – those willing to depart and follow Oromë
• The Avari – the unwilling

Of the elves who did go, the Eldar went in three hosts:

• Vanyar, the Fair Elves and beloved of Manwë and Varda – led by Ingwë – smallest and first to set forth first
• Nordor, the Deep Elves and friends of Aulë – led by Finwë – who are renowned in song
• Teleri, the Sea-elves – led by Elwë and Olwë cause they were the largest – the elves who tarried

Also useful to note is the split between the Elves of Light and the Elves of Darkness – which may not be what you think.

• The Calaquendi, Elves of the Light, were called so because they saw the light of the two trees of Valinor
• Moriquenri, Elves of Darkness, are those who never beheld the light of the trees (not automatically evil elves)

5 Fav Quotes from ‘Of the Coming of the Elves’

Through long ages the Valar dwelt in bliss in the light of the Trees beyond the Mountains of Aman, but all Middle-earth lay in a twilight under the stars.

The more I read The Silmarillion, the more I recognise that Tolkien is pretty good at first sentences. This sets the scene for this chapter so perfectly. Middle-Earth feelings like it’s waiting in eager anticipation to see what happens next. Except, well, we know what’s coming next (thanks chapter title). But you know what I mean.

It is told that even as Varda ended her labours, and they were long, when first Menelmacar strode up the sky and the blue fire of Helluin flickered in the mists above the borders of the world, in that hour the Children of the Earth awoke, the Firstborn of Ilúvatar. By the starlit mere of Cuiviénen, Water of Awakening, they rose from the sleep of Ilúvatar; and while they dwelt yet silent by Cuiviénen their eyes beheld first of all things the stars of heaven. Therefore they have ever loved the starlight, and have revered Varda Elentári above all the Valar.

I love how detailed Tolkien is – boy can he give a thorough description. This whole passage about the making of the stars is just so beautiful, and I love the imagery of the first star striding up the sky and the blue fire of another flickering in the night sky. And that’s the sight the Elves woke up under. What a sight that must have been.

Long they dwelt in their first home by the water under stars, and they walked the Earth in wonder; and they began to make speech and to give names to all things that they perceived. Themselves they named the Quendi, signifying those that speak with voices; for as yet they had met no other living things that spoke or sang.

Isn’t this such a lovely picture of the Elves and their first discoveries of the world around them?

Then Manwë said to the Valar: ‘This is the counsel of Ilúvatar in my heart: that we should take up again the mastery of Arda, at whatsoever cost, and deliver the Quendi from the shadow of Melkor.’

I just love Manwë’s earnestness and sincerity here.

And coming they were filled with awe by the glory and majesty of the Valar, and desired greatly the light and splendour of the Trees.

I feel like this pretty much sums up what I imagine my reaction to Valinor would be.

Further Study

I love listening to podcasts to gain more insights and thoughts on Tolkien’s works. Here a couple I listened to about this chapter:

• The Prancing Pony Podcast Episode 011 – Elves and All! Hooray!
• The Tolkien Professor’s Silmarillion Seminars

The Silmarillion Second Breakfast Book Club

That’s Chapter 3, ‘Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor’! If you’ve missed any previous posts on The Silmarillion in our Second Breakfast Book Club, then check out the Reading Schedule. You can find updates on future chapters there as well. Next up, Chapter 4!