BIBLICAL PARALLELS TO MIDDLE-EARTH XI. EARENDIL'S VOYAGE
(SPOILER ALERT! This blog summarizes the chapter "Of the Voyage of Earendil and the War of Wrath" from The Silmarillion.)
The Story
After Tuor and Idril had sailed off, their son, Earendil, wed Elwing, Beren and Luthien's granddaughter. She bore twin sons, Elros and Elrond. Earendil could not rest at home. In the incomparable ship Vingilot he sailed the seas west of Middle-Earth in hope of finding his parents and bringing the Valar a plea for help from Elves and Men. At length, though he had finished neither mission, longing to see Elwing again led him homewards.
While Earendil was asea, Feanor's remaining sons learned that Elwing had the Silmaril that Beren had cut from Morgoth's crown. Bound by their father's oath to recover his handiwork, they sent her an embassy demanding that she return them the jewel. When she refused to, Feanor's sons led their forces against her followers in the third and most evil of the Kinslayings of Elf by Elf. In the battle all of Feanor's sons but Maedhros and Maglor died. They captured Elros and Elrond, but Elwing, bearing the Silmaril, flung herself into the sea.
Ulmo, the sea's Power, pitied her. He gave her the gift to transform herself into a bird. In this form, bearing the Silmaril, she reached her husband's ship and fell upon its deck. When he tended her, she turned back into his wife. When he learned of his sons' capture, he feared for their death at the hands of Feanor's sons. Maglor, though, felt guilt over the Kinslaying, and spared the boys.
Earendil, seeing no hope left in Middle-Earth, turned his ship again in quest of Valinor, which none of the Noldor had reached since their exile from it. Wearing the Silmaril on his brow, he passed the Enchanted Isles and the Shadowy Seas to the Sea Elves' havens, where the first Kinslaying had occurred.
Earendil and Elwing went ashore. Earendil sought the Valar till Eonwe, Manwe's herald, led him to them. Earendil, telling them of the suffering of Middle-Earth's Free Peoples, begged the Valar's pardon for the Noldor, and pity on the Dark Elves and Men, oppressed by Morgoth.
The Valar dealt first with whether Earendil, Elwing, and their sons were Elves or Men. The Valar gave each member of the family the right to choose to which people he or she belonged. Elwing chose to be an Elf; Earendil, to be with his wife. Neither, though, could return to the lands of Elves and Men. The Valar raised Vingilot to the heavens and set Earendil, wearing the Silmaril, at its prow. In the heavens he shines before dawn or after dusk as a sign of hope. Elwing stayed in a tower by the sea, but when her husband neared the earth she could fly to him as a bird.
The star filled Middle-Earth's Elves with hope, and Morgoth with doubt, as an army of Valar, Maiar, and Elves sailed from Valinor to Middle-Earth in answer to Earendil's prayer. The War of Wrath between the Valar and Morgoth was terrible, sinking into the sea most of the ancient Elven lands west of the Blue Mountains. In the end, when all of Morgoth's Balrogs and Orcs had fled or been killed, he loosed his last defense, winged dragons. Against these the Valar themselves fell back. Only the timely arrival of Earendil, fighting from Vingilot's deck, and the Eagles of Manwe saved the day.
Just a few of Morgoth's minions survived, fleeing into the east. The Valar pursued Morgoth into Angband's deepest pits. There they bound him with a chain and cut the two remaining Silmarils from his crown. These they gave into Eonwe's safekeeping. Feanor's sons, fearing that the Silmarils were about to be lost to them forever, bade Eonwe return them the jewels. Eonwe, though, said that Feanor's sons' evil deeds had voided their claim to the jewels. In desperation Maedhros and Maglor stole them.
These, recognizing Feanor's sons as evil, burned their hands. In despair Maedhros hurled himself and his Silmaril into a fiery chasm. Maglor flung his jewel into the sea and has ever after wandered Middle-Earth's shores and sung laments.
Most of the Elves of Middle-Earth chose to return to the West. Cirdan the Shipwright, though, stayed at the Gray Havens. Galadriel went with her husband Celeborn into the east. Elros chose to be human, but his brother, Elrond, chose to be an Elf and served in Middle-Earth as the herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Elves who stayed there. Elros and Elrond were parted, but their descendents, Aragorn and Arwen, would reunite their lineages two ages of the world later.
Morgoth, the Valar cast into the Timeless Void beyond the Walls of the World. There, Earendil keeps watch on him. Morgoth's lies, though, still bear fruit among Elves and Men.
The Parallels
Tolkien's tale of Earendil has a Christian origin in an Old-English poem, "Crist." In this appear the lines, "Eala Earendel engla beorhtast/ ofer middangeard monnum sended." These may be translated into Modern English as, "Hail, Earendel, the brightest angel sent to the world of men!" The word for world in this line, middangeard, literally means Middle-Earth. From this one line Tolkien developed, not only his tale of the angelic messenger Earendil, but also the whole rich mythology of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.
Earendil fills the Biblical role of an intercessor, one who "goes between" fallen humans and a righteous God to plead for their forgiveness. The concept of an intercessor first appears in the Book of Job, where the suffering innocent wants someone to plead his case with God (Job 9:32-35). In the Jewish Scriptures, the most dramatic example of an intercessor was the High Priest, who on the Day of Atonement carried a sacrificial animal's blood into the Holy of Holies of the temple to cover Israel's sins (Leviticus 16:1-34). The New Testament sees Jesus, who died for the sins of all of humanity, as the fulfillment of the high priestly role of intercessor (Hebrews 4:14-5:10).
Earendil, bearing Beren's Silmaril into the heavens, becomes the morning star, foreshadowing the deliverance of Elves and Men from Morgoth. In the role of Morning Star, Earendil is a Christ-figure, for Christ is called the "bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). He is also the day-star that rises in our hearts (II Peter 1:16-20). In both roles He appears as the promise of our final deliverance from darkness. Those who overcome temptation and keep doing righteous deeds to the end will receive the morning star's fulfillment (Revelation 2:26-28). A star was associated with Jesus' birth (Matthew 2:2-13). Many early Christian writers saw Jesus as the fulfillment of a promised "Star out of Jacob" (Numbers 24:15-17).
The answer to Earendil's prayer for Elves and Men is an apocalyptic war in which the archangelic Valar overthrow the Satan-figure, Morgoth. From this war Sauron, a Balrog, and the Dragon Smaug escape to bedevil Elves and Men in the world's Second and Third Ages. Morgoth himself is chained again, but will break his chains at time's end to begin the Final War. After his defeat in this, Elves and Men (and possibly Dwarves and Ents) will join the Valar and the Maiar in the Second Great Music, the creation of a world untouched by Morgoth's evil.
The parallels of the War of Wrath and the Final War to the Book of Revelation have already been discussed. The drowning of much of Beleriand has parallels to the flood of Noah, the Cataclysm. This will appear much more clearly, though, in Tolkien's tale of his Atlantis, Numenor, the Fallen Land to which Elros went and from which Aragorn's ancestors came.
The Story
After Tuor and Idril had sailed off, their son, Earendil, wed Elwing, Beren and Luthien's granddaughter. She bore twin sons, Elros and Elrond. Earendil could not rest at home. In the incomparable ship Vingilot he sailed the seas west of Middle-Earth in hope of finding his parents and bringing the Valar a plea for help from Elves and Men. At length, though he had finished neither mission, longing to see Elwing again led him homewards.
While Earendil was asea, Feanor's remaining sons learned that Elwing had the Silmaril that Beren had cut from Morgoth's crown. Bound by their father's oath to recover his handiwork, they sent her an embassy demanding that she return them the jewel. When she refused to, Feanor's sons led their forces against her followers in the third and most evil of the Kinslayings of Elf by Elf. In the battle all of Feanor's sons but Maedhros and Maglor died. They captured Elros and Elrond, but Elwing, bearing the Silmaril, flung herself into the sea.
Ulmo, the sea's Power, pitied her. He gave her the gift to transform herself into a bird. In this form, bearing the Silmaril, she reached her husband's ship and fell upon its deck. When he tended her, she turned back into his wife. When he learned of his sons' capture, he feared for their death at the hands of Feanor's sons. Maglor, though, felt guilt over the Kinslaying, and spared the boys.
Earendil, seeing no hope left in Middle-Earth, turned his ship again in quest of Valinor, which none of the Noldor had reached since their exile from it. Wearing the Silmaril on his brow, he passed the Enchanted Isles and the Shadowy Seas to the Sea Elves' havens, where the first Kinslaying had occurred.
Earendil and Elwing went ashore. Earendil sought the Valar till Eonwe, Manwe's herald, led him to them. Earendil, telling them of the suffering of Middle-Earth's Free Peoples, begged the Valar's pardon for the Noldor, and pity on the Dark Elves and Men, oppressed by Morgoth.
The Valar dealt first with whether Earendil, Elwing, and their sons were Elves or Men. The Valar gave each member of the family the right to choose to which people he or she belonged. Elwing chose to be an Elf; Earendil, to be with his wife. Neither, though, could return to the lands of Elves and Men. The Valar raised Vingilot to the heavens and set Earendil, wearing the Silmaril, at its prow. In the heavens he shines before dawn or after dusk as a sign of hope. Elwing stayed in a tower by the sea, but when her husband neared the earth she could fly to him as a bird.
The star filled Middle-Earth's Elves with hope, and Morgoth with doubt, as an army of Valar, Maiar, and Elves sailed from Valinor to Middle-Earth in answer to Earendil's prayer. The War of Wrath between the Valar and Morgoth was terrible, sinking into the sea most of the ancient Elven lands west of the Blue Mountains. In the end, when all of Morgoth's Balrogs and Orcs had fled or been killed, he loosed his last defense, winged dragons. Against these the Valar themselves fell back. Only the timely arrival of Earendil, fighting from Vingilot's deck, and the Eagles of Manwe saved the day.
Just a few of Morgoth's minions survived, fleeing into the east. The Valar pursued Morgoth into Angband's deepest pits. There they bound him with a chain and cut the two remaining Silmarils from his crown. These they gave into Eonwe's safekeeping. Feanor's sons, fearing that the Silmarils were about to be lost to them forever, bade Eonwe return them the jewels. Eonwe, though, said that Feanor's sons' evil deeds had voided their claim to the jewels. In desperation Maedhros and Maglor stole them.
These, recognizing Feanor's sons as evil, burned their hands. In despair Maedhros hurled himself and his Silmaril into a fiery chasm. Maglor flung his jewel into the sea and has ever after wandered Middle-Earth's shores and sung laments.
Most of the Elves of Middle-Earth chose to return to the West. Cirdan the Shipwright, though, stayed at the Gray Havens. Galadriel went with her husband Celeborn into the east. Elros chose to be human, but his brother, Elrond, chose to be an Elf and served in Middle-Earth as the herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Elves who stayed there. Elros and Elrond were parted, but their descendents, Aragorn and Arwen, would reunite their lineages two ages of the world later.
Morgoth, the Valar cast into the Timeless Void beyond the Walls of the World. There, Earendil keeps watch on him. Morgoth's lies, though, still bear fruit among Elves and Men.
The Parallels
Tolkien's tale of Earendil has a Christian origin in an Old-English poem, "Crist." In this appear the lines, "Eala Earendel engla beorhtast/ ofer middangeard monnum sended." These may be translated into Modern English as, "Hail, Earendel, the brightest angel sent to the world of men!" The word for world in this line, middangeard, literally means Middle-Earth. From this one line Tolkien developed, not only his tale of the angelic messenger Earendil, but also the whole rich mythology of The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.
Earendil fills the Biblical role of an intercessor, one who "goes between" fallen humans and a righteous God to plead for their forgiveness. The concept of an intercessor first appears in the Book of Job, where the suffering innocent wants someone to plead his case with God (Job 9:32-35). In the Jewish Scriptures, the most dramatic example of an intercessor was the High Priest, who on the Day of Atonement carried a sacrificial animal's blood into the Holy of Holies of the temple to cover Israel's sins (Leviticus 16:1-34). The New Testament sees Jesus, who died for the sins of all of humanity, as the fulfillment of the high priestly role of intercessor (Hebrews 4:14-5:10).
Earendil, bearing Beren's Silmaril into the heavens, becomes the morning star, foreshadowing the deliverance of Elves and Men from Morgoth. In the role of Morning Star, Earendil is a Christ-figure, for Christ is called the "bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16). He is also the day-star that rises in our hearts (II Peter 1:16-20). In both roles He appears as the promise of our final deliverance from darkness. Those who overcome temptation and keep doing righteous deeds to the end will receive the morning star's fulfillment (Revelation 2:26-28). A star was associated with Jesus' birth (Matthew 2:2-13). Many early Christian writers saw Jesus as the fulfillment of a promised "Star out of Jacob" (Numbers 24:15-17).
The answer to Earendil's prayer for Elves and Men is an apocalyptic war in which the archangelic Valar overthrow the Satan-figure, Morgoth. From this war Sauron, a Balrog, and the Dragon Smaug escape to bedevil Elves and Men in the world's Second and Third Ages. Morgoth himself is chained again, but will break his chains at time's end to begin the Final War. After his defeat in this, Elves and Men (and possibly Dwarves and Ents) will join the Valar and the Maiar in the Second Great Music, the creation of a world untouched by Morgoth's evil.
The parallels of the War of Wrath and the Final War to the Book of Revelation have already been discussed. The drowning of much of Beleriand has parallels to the flood of Noah, the Cataclysm. This will appear much more clearly, though, in Tolkien's tale of his Atlantis, Numenor, the Fallen Land to which Elros went and from which Aragorn's ancestors came.
posted by Alfred D. Byrd at 4:55 PM
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