After reading the Ainulindalë and Valaquenta and hearing the discussion from class, I knew at once I had to brush up on a certain subject, given both the nature/descriptions of the Ainur, Valar, and Maiar as well as the importance of singing in the Ainulindalë. That is, I had to look up angelology and the hierarchy of the choirs of angels according Catholic tradition:
Here they are, in all
their magnificence (note, the pictures themselves are not from tradition, but
rather from the greatest video game of all time, Persona 4). Now, how exactly does
the angelic hierarchy of choirs work? Well, according to tradition, the angelic
hosts are divided into three levels, or spheres. In the first sphere one has the
angels closest to God, the seraphim, the cherubim, and the thrones. To them are
bestowed the most knowledge of the plans of God. Then there is the second
sphere, in which are contained dominions, virtues, and powers. To the virtues
are given the power to control the seasons, stars, moon, and nature as a whole.
Finally, in the third sphere are the archangels, principalities, and angels.
These may interact with humans and contest with the servants of Satan.
In relation
to Tolkien’s stories, it can be plainly seen how ingenious he weaves certain
elements of angelology into his narrative. The Ainur who choose to remain with
Iluvatar “beyond the confines of the world” can be likened to the first sphere
of angelic hosts. If this is the case, then the Valar can be compared to the
second sphere. This makes sense, as they are referred to as the Powers of the
World (a bit on the nose with the choirs of Powers) and, like the virtues, are
given domain over certain aspects of nature (e.g., wind, water, hunting, etc.).
Finally, the servants of the Valar, the Maiar, can be seen as the third sphere.
Case in point, not only can Gandalf (a Maiar) regularly interact with the races
of Middle Earth, but he also contends with the servants of Melkor and his
follower Sauron (e.g., the Balrog in Moria). Now, I am sure countless people
have made this connection before, but it is still a fascinating comparison nonetheless!
Thank you for bringing this to our attention! I was previously familiar with most of the names of these groupings, but wasn’t aware of the actual hierarchy that this diagram showed. (Do you know who created the diagram? I’m loving that they used Persona 4’s artwork for each group!)
ReplyDeleteAfter reading through the diagram and your explanation, I’d have to agree with you that the Ainur who stayed behind/didn’t go to Arda seem to be most like the 1st sphere of angelic hosts. My understanding of the Ainur/Valar/Maiar was that they were all the same species/race (for lack of better terms), with the Valar being those who chose to go to Arda “among them many of the greatest and most fair”, whose powers were ”contained and bounded in the World” (not necessarily lessened, but bound to Arda), and the Maiar being “of the same order of the Valar but of less degree” (Simarillion, pages 9, 21). This does support the ideas you had about the Ainur being 1st triad, Valar being 2nd, and Maiar being 3rd – but since I’m not very familiar with angelology/the hierarchy, something confused me! In this hierarchy of angelic hosts, are the different groupings actually different races/species (again, not sure what term to use here) or are they all the same, but with different levels of power? And if so, are those in the 1st sphere the most powerful and those in the 3rd sphere the least powerful?
Do you think Tolkien used the angelology as reference for creating his own creation story/hierarchy? Or do you think this is just a coincidence?