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{{objects
| image=[[Image:Roger Garland - Two Trees of Valinor.jpg|300px]]
| name=Two Trees of Valinor
| name=Two Trees of Valinor
| othernames=Gold and Silver trees; i Aldu
| image=[[File:Roger Garland - Two Trees of Valinor.jpg|250px]]
| derivation=
| caption="Two Trees of Valinor" by [[Roger Garland]]
| pronun=
| othernames=
| location=[[Ezellohar]]
| location=[[Ezellohar]]
| ownedby=[[Valar]]
| owner=
| maker=[[Yavanna]]
| type=Trees/source of light
| appearance=Two tall trees, one of gold, the other of silver
| appearance=Two tall trees, one of gold, the other of silver
| references=''[[The Silmarillion]]''
| creator=[[Yavanna]]
|}}
| created=V.Y. 3450–3500
The '''Two Trees of Valinor''' are '''Telperion''' and '''Laurelin''' ('''i Aldu'''), the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the [[Valar]] in ancient times. They were destroyed by [[Melkor]] and [[Ungoliant]], but their last flower and fruit were made by the Valar into the [[Moon]] and the [[Sun]].  
| createdlocation=
| destroyer=[[Morgoth|Melkor]] and [[Ungoliant]]
| destroyed={{YT|1495}}
| destroyedlocation=
| notablefor=
| gallery=the Two Trees
}}
{{quote|A! the Trees of Light,&nbsp;&nbsp;tall and shapely,<br />gold and silver,&nbsp;&nbsp;more glorious than the sun|[[The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor]], vv.1-2}}


== Creation and destruction ==
The '''Two Trees of Valinor''' are '''[[Telperion]]''' and '''[[Laurelin]]''', the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the [[Valar]] in ancient times. They were destroyed by [[Morgoth|Melkor]] and [[Ungoliant]], but their last flower and fruit were made by the Valar into the [[Moon]] and the [[Sun]].
The first sources of light for all of [[Arda]] were two enormous [[Two Lamps|Lamps]], Illuin, the silver one to the north and Ormal, the golden one to the south. These were cast down and destroyed by [[Melkor]]. Afterward, the Valar went to [[Valinor]] and [[Yavanna]] sang into existence the Two Trees, silver [[Telperion]] and golden [[Laurelin]]. Telperion was considered male and Laurelin female. The Trees sat on the hill [[Ezellohar]] located outside [[Valimar]]. They grew in the presence of all of the [[Valar]], watered by the tears of [[Nienna]].
 
==History==
===Creation and characteristics===
The first sources of light for all of [[Arda]] were two enormous [[Two Lamps|Lamps]], [[Illuin]], the silver one to the north and [[Ormal]], the golden one to the south. These were cast down and destroyed by [[Morgoth|Melkor]]. Afterward, the Valar went to [[Valinor]] and [[Yavanna]] sang into existence the Two Trees, silver [[Telperion]] and golden [[Laurelin]]. Telperion was considered male and Laurelin female. The Trees sat on the hill [[Ezellohar]] located outside [[Valimar]]. They grew in the presence of all of the [[Valar]], watered by the tears of [[Nienna]].<ref name=Days>{{S|1}}</ref>


Each tree was a source of light: Telperion's silver and Laurelin's gold. Telperion had dark leaves (silver on one side) and his silvery dew was collected as a source of water and of light. Laurelin had gold-trimmed leaves and her dew was likewise collected by [[Varda]].
Each tree was a source of light: Telperion's silver and Laurelin's gold. Telperion had dark leaves (silver on one side) and his silvery dew was collected as a source of water and of light. Laurelin had gold-trimmed leaves and her dew was likewise collected by [[Varda]].


One "day" lasted twelve hours. Each Tree, in turn, would give off light for seven hours (waxing to full brightness and then slowly waning again), so that at one hour each of "dawn" and "dusk" soft gold and silver light would be given off together.
The Count of [[Time]] and the [[Years of the Trees]] began with the first light of Telperion. One "day" lasted twelve hours. Each Tree, in turn, would give off light for seven hours (waxing to full brightness and then slowly waning again), so that at one hour each of "dawn" and "dusk" soft gold and silver light would be given off together.<ref name=Days></ref>
 
===Destruction===
[[File:Luis F. Bejarano - The Darkening of Valinor.jpg|left|thumb|220px|"The Darkening of Valinor" by [[Luis F. Bejarano]]]]{{main|Darkening of Valinor}}
Jealous [[Morgoth|Melkor]] enlisted the help of the giant spider-creature [[Ungoliant]] (an ancestress of [[Shelob]]) to destroy the Two Trees. Concealed in a cloud of darkness, Melkor struck each Tree and the insatiable Ungoliant devoured whatever life and light remained in them.<ref>{{S|8}}</ref>


[[Image:Luis_Bejarano_-_Morgoth_and_Ungoliant_attacking_the_Two_Trees.jpg|left|thumb|350px|"Morgoth and Ungoliant attacking the Two Trees" by [[Luis Bejarano]].]]
Again [[Yavanna]] sang and [[Nienna]] wept, but they succeeded only in reviving Telperion's last flower (to become the [[Moon]]) and Laurelin's last fruit (to become the [[Sun]]). These were assigned to [[Maiar|lesser spirits]], [[Tilion]] and [[Arien]], respectively.<ref>{{S|11}}</ref>
Jealous [[Melkor]] enlisted the help of the giant spider-creature [[Ungoliant]] (an ancestress of [[Shelob]]) to destroy the Two Trees. Concealed in a cloud of darkness, Melkor struck each Tree and the insatiable Ungoliant devoured whatever life and light remained in them.


Again [[Yavanna]] sang and [[Nienna]] wept, but they succeeded only in reviving Telperion's last flower (to become the [[Moon]]) and Laurelin's last fruit (to become the [[Sun]]). These were assigned to [[Maiar|lesser spirits]], male [[Tilion]] and female [[Arien]], after the 'genders' of the Trees themselves. This is why, in ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', the Sun is usually referred to as "she" and the moon as "he".  
However, the true light of the Trees, before their poisoning by Ungoliant, was said to now reside only in the [[Silmarils]].<ref>{{S|9}}</ref><ref>{{S|23}}</ref> According to the [[Second Prophecy of Mandos]], after the breaking of the Earth, the light of the Silmarils will be used by Yavanna to rekindle the Two Trees, which will light all the world.<ref>{{LR|P2VI}}, p. 333</ref>


However the true light of the Trees, before their poisoning by Ungoliant, was said to now reside only in the [[Silmarils]].
==In lore==
The imagery of the Two Trees is used by the Eldar in their arts, either in poetry (like [[Elemmírë]]'s ''[[Aldudénië]]'') or crafts. Especially renowned were the images wrought by [[Turgon]], named [[Glingal and Belthil]].<ref>{{S|15}}</ref>


== Telperion's descendants ==
The Two Trees of Valinor existed at a time when the only other sources of light were the stars (which had been created for the Elves' benefit by [[Varda]] from the dews collected from the Two Trees). When three Elven ambassadors were brought to see Valinor for themselves, in order that the Elves might be convinced to come to Valinor, it seems that the Two Trees affected them most significantly.<ref>{{S|3}}</ref>
Because the Elves that first came to Valinor especially loved Telperion, Yavanna made a second tree like it to stand in the city of [[Tirion]] where the [[Vanyar]] and [[Ñoldor]] dwelt together at first. This tree, named '''Galathilion''', was identical to Telperion except that it gave no light of its own. It had many seedlings, one of which was planted in the isle of [[Tol Eressëa]] (named '''Celeborn''').


In the [[Second Age]], a seedling of Celeborn was brought as a gift to the [[Númenor]]eans -- that was [[Nimloth of Númenor|Nimloth]], the White Tree of Númenor. It lasted through the vast majority of the realm's duration, but when [[Sauron]] took control of the island he had king [[Ar-Pharazôn]] chop it down.
In particular [[Thingol]] seems to have been motivated in the [[Great Journey]] by his desire to see the Light of Valinor again (until he found contentment in the light he saw in [[Melian]]'s face). Also in later times, the Elves would be divided between the ''[[Calaquendi]]'' who had seen the light of the Trees, and the ''[[Moriquendi]]'' who had not, with the former group explicitly superior in many ways.  


Fortunately [[Isildur]] managed to save a single fruit of that tree. Of this fruit later came the [[White Tree of Gondor]].
In the [[Second Age|Second]] and [[Third Age|Third]] Ages, the [[White Tree]]s of Númenor and of Gondor, whose likeness descends from that of Telperion, had a mostly symbolic significance. They stood both as symbols of the kingdoms in question, and also as reminders of the ancestral alliance between the [[Dúnedain]] and the Elves.


== In lore ==
In the Elvish ''[[enquië]]'' (week), the fourth day was named ''[[Aldúya]]'' in [[Quenya]] and ''[[Orgaladhad]]'' in [[Sindarin]], dedicated to the Two Trees.<ref>{{App|D2}}</ref>
The Two Trees of Valinor existed at a time when the only other source of light were the stars (which had been created for the Elves' benefit by [[Varda]] from the dews collected from the Two Trees). When three Elven ambassadors were brought to see Valinor for themselves, in order that the Elves might be convinced to come to Valinor, it seems that the Two Trees affected them most significantly.


In particular [[Thingol]] is said to have been motivated in the [[Great Journey]] by his desire to see the Light of Valinor again (until he finds contentment in the light he sees in [[Melian]]'s face). Also in later times, the Elves would be divided between the '''''[[Calaquendi]]''''' who had seen the light of the Trees, and the '''''[[Moriquendi]]''''' who hadn't, with the former group explicitly superior in many ways.
==Names and Etymology==
''See:''
*''[[Telperion#Names|Telperion: Names]] and [[Telperion#Etymology|Telperion: Etymology]]''
*''[[Laurelin#Names|Laurelin: Names]] and [[Laurelin#Etymology|Laurelin: Etymology]]''


The whole of the history of the [[First Age]] is strongly affected by the desire of many different characters to possess the [[Silmarils]], which contain the only remaining unsullied light of the Trees.
The pair of the trees was perhaps referred to as '''''Aldu''''' in [[Quenya]], the dual form of ''[[alda]]''. The word as such appears in the names of the weekday name ''[[Aldúya|'''Aldú'''ya]]'' ("Day of the Two Trees") and ''[[Aldudénië|'''Aldu'''dénië]]'' ("Lament for the Trees").<ref>{{webcite|website=Arda|author=[[Helge Fauskanger]]|articleurl=http://folk.uib.no/hnohf/quen-eng.htm|articlename=Quettaparma Quenyallo}}</ref>


In the [[Second Age|Second]] and [[Third Age|Third]] Ages, the White Trees of Númenor and of Gondor, whose likeness descends from that of Telperion, have a mostly symbolic significance. They stand both as symbols of the kingdoms in question, and also as reminders of the ancestral alliance between the [[Dúnedain]] and the Elves.
==Other versions of the legendarium==
The concept of the Two Trees is present since the earliest writings of the legendarium, as in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]''. In that continuity, the Elves maintained a prophecy concerning their rekindling and return to [[Luthany]] in historical times. In the [[Cottage of Lost Play]] the Elves toasted "to the rekindling of the [[Magic Sun]]" which [[Christopher Tolkien]] interprets as an expectation of the future event.<ref>{{LTII|VI}}, p. 286</ref><ref>{{LT1|III}}</ref> Before Yavanna tried to heal the Trees (after [[Melko]] destroyed them, before the Sun and Moon were made), she warned that a very long time will pass before the glow of the Trees or the Magic Sun will be seen again, although this name was not known yet.<ref>{{LT1|VIII}}</ref>


== External Significance ==
In Tolkien's latest writings in which Arda was a [[Round World version of the Silmarillion|round world]] from its beginning, the Two Trees held the light of the untainted Sun rather than the light of the Two Lamps, which in this history never existed. They still lit the darkened world during the Years of the Trees, though in this history the darkness came from Melkor's sorceries rather than the absence of a Sun or Moon.<ref>{{MR|P5II}}, pp. 375-385</ref>
Light as a concept is full of symbolism. [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]], as a Roman Catholic, would certainly have been exposed to the significance of light in Christian symbolism. Trees were of special importance to Tolkien - in his short story "[[Leaf by Niggle]]", which in a sense was an elaborate allegory explaining his own creative process, the protagonist, Niggle, spends his life painting a single Tree.


The Trees are another appearance of the recurrent 'gold and silver' concept of the legendarium. They are created after the lamps [[Ormal]] and [[Illuin]], and from the trees themselves, Sun and Moon are created.
==Inspiration==
[[Michael Martinez]] has noted a similarity to [[Wikipedia:Persian mythology|Persian mythology]], where:


== Names and Etymology ==
"''there is a legend of two cypress trees, the Trees of the Sun and Moon, that are said to have been planted by Zoroaster himself. Alexander the Great, hearing of these trees, visited them when he conquered Persia. He asked the oracle of the trees what his future would be. The oracle told him that he would go on to conquer India but that he would then die soon afterward. In some versions of the legend the trees themselves speak to Alexander. According to Marco Polo, the Khalif Motawakkil had one of the trees cut down in the 9th Century CE (when the tree was said to be 1450 years old) and sent to Baghdad. The Khalif was subsequently murdered by his own guards (Cf. The Book of Ser by Marco Polo, the Venetian).''"
Both Telperion and Laurelin are said to have been given many names among which are the following: Telperion was also named '''Silpion''' and '''Ninquelótë''' while Laurelin was also given the names of '''Malinalda''' and '''Culúrien'''.


In early writings of Tolkien (see: ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]'') Telperion's names were '''Silpion''', '''Bansil''' and '''Belthil'''.
While Martinez acknowledges that there is no "''direct connection between J.R.R. Tolkien and Marco Polo''", he speculates that Tolkien possibly was familiar with the writings of [[Wikipedia:Marco Polo|Marco Polo]]. Tolkien himself visited Venice many times, which he identified with Gondor - where supposedly the Tale of Two Trees was preserved.<ref>{{webcite|author=[[Michael Martinez]]|articleurl=http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2011/11/29/is-there-a-source-for-the-tale-of-the-two-trees/|articlename=Is There a Source for the Tale of the Two Trees?|dated=29 November 2011|website=[http://middle-earth.xenite.org/ Middle-earth.Xenite.org]|accessed=31 December 2011}}</ref>


==See Also==
==See also==
* [[:Category:Images of The Two Trees|Images of the Two Trees]]
* ''[[Aldudénië]]''
* [[Light of Valinor]]
{{References}}
{{cosmology}}
{{cosmology}}
 
[[Category:Creations of the Valar]]
[[Category:Trees]]
[[Category:Valinor]]
[[Category:Valinor]]
[[de:Zwei Bäume]]
[[de:Zwei Bäume]]
[[fi:Valinorin Kaksi Puuta]]
[[fi:Valinorin Kaksi puuta]]
[[fr:encyclo:biologie:flore:deux_arbres]]
[[fr:encyclo:biologie:flore:deux_arbres]]

Revision as of 12:45, 30 April 2021

Two Trees of Valinor
Trees/source of light
Roger Garland - Two Trees of Valinor.jpg
"Two Trees of Valinor" by Roger Garland
LocationEzellohar
AppearanceTwo tall trees, one of gold, the other of silver
CreatorYavanna
V.Y. 3450–3500
DestroyerMelkor and Ungoliant
Y.T. 1495
GalleryImages of the Two Trees
"A! the Trees of Light,  tall and shapely,
gold and silver,  more glorious than the sun"
― The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor, vv.1-2

The Two Trees of Valinor are Telperion and Laurelin, the Silver Tree and the Gold that brought light to the Land of the Valar in ancient times. They were destroyed by Melkor and Ungoliant, but their last flower and fruit were made by the Valar into the Moon and the Sun.

History

Creation and characteristics

The first sources of light for all of Arda were two enormous Lamps, Illuin, the silver one to the north and Ormal, the golden one to the south. These were cast down and destroyed by Melkor. Afterward, the Valar went to Valinor and Yavanna sang into existence the Two Trees, silver Telperion and golden Laurelin. Telperion was considered male and Laurelin female. The Trees sat on the hill Ezellohar located outside Valimar. They grew in the presence of all of the Valar, watered by the tears of Nienna.[1]

Each tree was a source of light: Telperion's silver and Laurelin's gold. Telperion had dark leaves (silver on one side) and his silvery dew was collected as a source of water and of light. Laurelin had gold-trimmed leaves and her dew was likewise collected by Varda.

The Count of Time and the Years of the Trees began with the first light of Telperion. One "day" lasted twelve hours. Each Tree, in turn, would give off light for seven hours (waxing to full brightness and then slowly waning again), so that at one hour each of "dawn" and "dusk" soft gold and silver light would be given off together.[1]

Destruction

"The Darkening of Valinor" by Luis F. Bejarano
Main article: Darkening of Valinor

Jealous Melkor enlisted the help of the giant spider-creature Ungoliant (an ancestress of Shelob) to destroy the Two Trees. Concealed in a cloud of darkness, Melkor struck each Tree and the insatiable Ungoliant devoured whatever life and light remained in them.[2]

Again Yavanna sang and Nienna wept, but they succeeded only in reviving Telperion's last flower (to become the Moon) and Laurelin's last fruit (to become the Sun). These were assigned to lesser spirits, Tilion and Arien, respectively.[3]

However, the true light of the Trees, before their poisoning by Ungoliant, was said to now reside only in the Silmarils.[4][5] According to the Second Prophecy of Mandos, after the breaking of the Earth, the light of the Silmarils will be used by Yavanna to rekindle the Two Trees, which will light all the world.[6]

In lore

The imagery of the Two Trees is used by the Eldar in their arts, either in poetry (like Elemmírë's Aldudénië) or crafts. Especially renowned were the images wrought by Turgon, named Glingal and Belthil.[7]

The Two Trees of Valinor existed at a time when the only other sources of light were the stars (which had been created for the Elves' benefit by Varda from the dews collected from the Two Trees). When three Elven ambassadors were brought to see Valinor for themselves, in order that the Elves might be convinced to come to Valinor, it seems that the Two Trees affected them most significantly.[8]

In particular Thingol seems to have been motivated in the Great Journey by his desire to see the Light of Valinor again (until he found contentment in the light he saw in Melian's face). Also in later times, the Elves would be divided between the Calaquendi who had seen the light of the Trees, and the Moriquendi who had not, with the former group explicitly superior in many ways.

In the Second and Third Ages, the White Trees of Númenor and of Gondor, whose likeness descends from that of Telperion, had a mostly symbolic significance. They stood both as symbols of the kingdoms in question, and also as reminders of the ancestral alliance between the Dúnedain and the Elves.

In the Elvish enquië (week), the fourth day was named Aldúya in Quenya and Orgaladhad in Sindarin, dedicated to the Two Trees.[9]

Names and Etymology

See:

The pair of the trees was perhaps referred to as Aldu in Quenya, the dual form of alda. The word as such appears in the names of the weekday name Aldúya ("Day of the Two Trees") and Aldudénië ("Lament for the Trees").[10]

Other versions of the legendarium

The concept of the Two Trees is present since the earliest writings of the legendarium, as in The Book of Lost Tales. In that continuity, the Elves maintained a prophecy concerning their rekindling and return to Luthany in historical times. In the Cottage of Lost Play the Elves toasted "to the rekindling of the Magic Sun" which Christopher Tolkien interprets as an expectation of the future event.[11][12] Before Yavanna tried to heal the Trees (after Melko destroyed them, before the Sun and Moon were made), she warned that a very long time will pass before the glow of the Trees or the Magic Sun will be seen again, although this name was not known yet.[13]

In Tolkien's latest writings in which Arda was a round world from its beginning, the Two Trees held the light of the untainted Sun rather than the light of the Two Lamps, which in this history never existed. They still lit the darkened world during the Years of the Trees, though in this history the darkness came from Melkor's sorceries rather than the absence of a Sun or Moon.[14]

Inspiration

Michael Martinez has noted a similarity to Persian mythology, where:

"there is a legend of two cypress trees, the Trees of the Sun and Moon, that are said to have been planted by Zoroaster himself. Alexander the Great, hearing of these trees, visited them when he conquered Persia. He asked the oracle of the trees what his future would be. The oracle told him that he would go on to conquer India but that he would then die soon afterward. In some versions of the legend the trees themselves speak to Alexander. According to Marco Polo, the Khalif Motawakkil had one of the trees cut down in the 9th Century CE (when the tree was said to be 1450 years old) and sent to Baghdad. The Khalif was subsequently murdered by his own guards (Cf. The Book of Ser by Marco Polo, the Venetian)."

While Martinez acknowledges that there is no "direct connection between J.R.R. Tolkien and Marco Polo", he speculates that Tolkien possibly was familiar with the writings of Marco Polo. Tolkien himself visited Venice many times, which he identified with Gondor - where supposedly the Tale of Two Trees was preserved.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Beginning of Days"
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Darkening of Valinor"
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Sun and Moon and the Hiding of Valinor"
  4. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Flight of the Noldor"
  5. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
  6. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, VI. Quenta Silmarillion", p. 333
  7. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Noldor in Beleriand"
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
  9. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D, "The Calendars"
  10. ↑ Helge Fauskanger, "Quettaparma Quenyallo", Ardalambion (accessed 16 April 2024)
  11. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "VI. The History of Eriol or Ælfwine and the End of the Tales", p. 286
  12. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "III. The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor"
  13. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "VIII. The Tale of the Sun and Moon"
  14. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Five. Myths Transformed", "[Text] II", pp. 375-385
  15. ↑ Michael Martinez, "Is There a Source for the Tale of the Two Trees?" dated 29 November 2011, Middle-earth.Xenite.org (accessed 31 December 2011)
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
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