Skip to main content

tolkiens legendarium - Are there any references to Eru or the Valar in the Lord of the Rings movies?



The closest references to Eru or the Valar in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies I can think of are Gandalf's vague description of his resurrection ("I've been sent back... until my task is done.") and his later description of Aman to Pippin ("White shores and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise." -- as an aside, he's taunting Pippin here, since Hobbits suffer from the Gift Of Men) and the equally vague information viewers are given about where the elves are going when they leave Middle Earth.


Are there any more direct references I'm missing? Maybe a mention of Aule by a dwarf?



Answer



Fellowship of the Ring




  • There's at least one reference to Morgoth in the extended edition:



    Celeborn: Tell me, where is Gandalf, for I much to desire to speak with him. I can no longer see him from afar.


    Galadriel: Gandalf the Grey did not pass the borders of this land. He has fallen to shadow.



    Legolas: He was taken by a foe of shadow and flame: a balrog of Morgoth.


    Fellowship of the Ring (2003)





  • Gandalf alludes to both Eru and Morgoth in his fight with the balrog1:



    Gandalf: I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udun.


    Fellowship of the Ring (2003)






  • There's at least one reference in the score; according to the Fellowship of the Ring annotated score, the full text of Arwen's prayer is:



    What Grace is given me, let it pass to him. Let him be spared. Mighty Valar, save him.


    The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films Part 1: The Fellowship of the Ring The Annotated Score Texts "Arwen's Prayer"





The Two Towers





  • When Aragorn is floating down the river, hallucinating Arwen, she says:



    Arwen: May the grace of the Valar protect you.


    The Two Towers (2004)





  • In the next scene, between Arwen and Elrond, Valinor is called out by name:




    Elrond: Tollen i lû. I chair gwannar na Valannor. Si bado, no círar. (Arwen, it is time. The ships are leaving for Valinor. Go now... before it is too late.)


    The Two Towers (2004)





The Battle of the Five Armies




  • Galadriel has a throwaway line during her dust-up with Sauron3:




    Sauron: (in the Black Tongue) It has begun... The East will fall. So shall the Kingdom of Angmar rise. The time of the Elves is over. The Age of the Orc has come.


    Galadriel: You have no power here, servant of Morgoth.


    The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)





Considering Peter Jackson didn't have the rights to the Silmarillion material2, and very little mention of the Valar is made in the Lord of the Rings books themselves, I actually find it surprising that so many exist.



1 Nod to Hatandboots for reminding me of this one



2 To the point where reference is made of the Blue Wizards in An Unexpected Journey, but Gandalf can't remember their names; the Blues are referenced in the Appendices, but their names are only revealed in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales


3 Nod to suchiuomizu for pointing me to this one.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

What is Tolkien trying to say in this letter?

In a draft of a letter, later recorded as #246, Tolkien makes a strange statement. I am interested in the first few sentences of the letter, but I will include the remainder for the sake of context. In the 'Mirror of Galadriel', 1381, it appears that Galadriel conceived of herself as capable of wielding the Ring and supplanting the Dark Lord. If so, so also were the other guardians of the Three, especially Elrond . But this is another matter. It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power . But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as is seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond or Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subservient generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy ...
Post a Comment
Read more

tolkiens legendarium - Was Galadriel's temptation of Boromir instrumental to his fall?

We know Galadriel tempted the members of the Fellowship, did she tempt Boromir with visions of taking the Ring and saving Gondor? In the books, Boromir willingly accepts the judgement of the council that the Ring should be destroyed, but after the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel his personality seems to change. Was the temptation offered by Galadriel in some way responsible for Boromir's fall? Answer It's likely, but not certain I believe it is likely Galadriel tempted him with the ring, and in doing so re-ignited a pre-existing idea to take the ring, but to be clear lets break this down into three parts. Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir after setting off Boromir after being tempted Boromir at the Council of Elrond Boromir pleas for the ring to go to Minas Tirith, to help Gondor in its defense against Mordor. “ Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more