Spring of Arda

From Tolkien Gateway
Revision as of 13:27, 10 March 2020 by LorenzoCB (talk | contribs) (Inlined references)
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
Elena Kukanova - The Spring of Arda.jpg
Spring of Arda
Event
LocationArda
Date1,900 years after the Valar came to Arda
Part ofYears of the Lamps
ParticipantsValar, Maiar
DescriptionTime period in which Arda first became inhabited by animals and plants

The Spring of Arda was a period of peace and flourishing that started when the First War between the Valar ended.

History

When the Enemy fled and Arda was completed, in the 1,900th year the Valar raised Illuin and Ormal. Arda became filled with trees and herbs, beast and birds, and all the lands were green. In the midmost of Arda was the Isle of Almaren in the Great Lake where, due to the blending of the light of the Two Lamps all things were richest in grown and fairest in hue, and there the Valar made their abode and rested.[1]:52 Yet beyond the Walls of Night Melkor lurked.

"The Elder Days" by Billy Mosig

Manwë ordained a great feast in the 3,400th year at which Tulkas wed Nessa.

After the feast Tulkas slept and Melkor, seeing his chance, passed into the North of Middle-earth, raised the Iron Mountains and began the delving of his vast fortress Utumno from which things were perverted and blighted.

In the 3,450th year Melkor came forth in war and threw down the Lamps of the Valar, breaking the lands, roiling the seas, and ending the Spring of Arda.[1]:53 In their efforts to stay the raging storm and preserve what they may of their creations, the Valar were unable to chase and defeat Melkor, who retreated to Utumno.

The Spring of Arda was marred as living things became sick, or rotted, or corrupted into monstrous forms. The destruction of the Lamps brought relative darkness to Middle-earth for several centuries, a period known as the Sleep of Yavanna. After witnessing the destruction that their powers might cause, the Valar were ever after cautious, fearing for the safety of the Children of Ilúvatar, who hadn't yet entered Arda.[2]

See also

References