Void
- "Lost and forgotten be, darker than the darkness,
Where gates stand forever shut, till the World is mended" - ― Tom Bombadil, Fog on the Barrow-downs
The Void, or the Timeless Void was a term used in various ways.
Cosmologically, it describes the uninhabited regions of existence outside the World, the absence of the Flame Imperishable.
Melkor used to wander in the Void to look in vain for the Flame Imperishable.
The Timeless Halls of Ilúvatar seem to be apart from the Void; Eä is created amidst the Void but is not a part of it.
After his defeat in the War of Wrath, Melkor was cast out into the Timeless Void, but legends predict that he will return to the World before its end. Elves and Men often confused this Void into which Morgoth was cast, that surrounded Arda and was thus a part of Eä, with the void that existed before the creation of Eä.[1]
Names
The Void was also known as the Outer Dark (or the Outer Darkness), the Everlasting Dark, the Ancient Darkness. Quenya names were Avakúma, Oiakúma[2], and Kúma.[3][4]
References
- ↑ Morgoth's Ring: Myths Transformed, section VII
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies — Part Two" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 46, July 2004, p. 8
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The History of Middle-earth Index, p. 31
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", p. 379
Middle-earth Cosmology | |
Constellations | Anarríma · Durin's Crown · Menelmacar · Remmirath · Soronúmë · Telumendil · Valacirca · Wilwarin |
---|---|
Stars | Alcarinquë · Borgil · Carnil · Elemmírë · Helluin · Luinil · Lumbar · Morwinyon · Nénar · Star of Eärendil · Til |
The Airs | Aiwenórë · Fanyamar · Ilmen · Menel · Vaiya · Veil of Arda · Vista |
Narsilion | Arien · Moon (Isil, Ithil, Rána) · Sun (Anar, Anor, Vása) · Tilion |
See also | Abyss · Arda · Circles of the World · Eä · Timeless Halls · Two Lamps · Two Trees · Void |