Talk:The Silmarillion

The Valar as Olympian Gods or Norse Æsir

The (rather long) introductory section likens the Valar to Olympian Gods and to the Norse Æsir. In actuality, the Valar are much closer to (and intentionally so, according to Tolkien) the Christian angels. Tolkien consistently referred to the as "angelic powers" and that "the position of God is taken by the One". This should be changed. 51.149.249.36 (talk) 11:49, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

Granted that the Valar are theologically (in Christian terms) more angels than gods, but they also exist as literary constructions, where the similarities with Norse and Greek gods in myths and literature are relevant. -- Verbarson  ^talk_edits 13:09, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

The point is not that editors should work out what they think reasonable, that's WP:OR, but that this article and the others linked to it are reliably cited to multiple scholarly sources, which are pretty plain about the resemblances to both the Norse and the Classical gods. Chiswick Chap (talk) 14:28, 22 September 2022 (UTC)

It should be differentiated that in the personal opinions of some literary scholars, the Valar resemble pagan deities, but that in the explicit intention of the author himself (TOlkien, in this case), the Valar are supposed to more closely resemble Catholic angels. The opinions of literary scholars (especially those with an anti-Catholic bias) should be given here as if they are indisputable facts. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 13:35, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

No such differentiation can be made, as Tolkien expressed different opinions on this as on many other matters, and scholars have rightly pointed out that the Valar appear (act, look and feel) like a pantheon (a group of pagan gods), however much Tolkien may have protested their angelic nature. I have read the scholarship closely, and I can't bring to mind a single scholar who could be described as "anti-Catholic". As for the imputation that scholarly views are stated as facts, they are all attributed and cited, and it is for readers to decide which scholars they see as correct. Wikipedia simply notes that there are multiple viewpoints. Chiswick Chap (talk) 14:34, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

"[R]ightly" in whose opinion? I am not passing judgment on any scholars, my issue is with this way this Wikipedia article is written, not what any scholar did or didn't say. I'm sorry if I am coming off as abrasive, but it just appears as if these article are consistently downplaying Tolkien's Catholicism and routinely trying to overstate the influence that Norse mythology had on his legendarium. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 14:47, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

You're not just coming across as abrasive, you are totally out of order for rudeness and making personal attacks. The article is not "trying" to do anything more than cover the facts and the scholarship, which is quite unambiguous about the pagan aspect of the Valar, see the paragraph below. Chiswick Chap (talk) 15:08, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

You are cherry picking scholars which promote the point of view which you apparently subscribe to. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:09, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Can you provide some citations here that express the viewpoint you feel has been overlooked or buried?Michael Martinez (talk) 15:22, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Do I have to provide citations which disprove currently uncited material in order for that uncited material to get removed? 173.67.130.26 (talk) 18:46, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia works by consensus. You should review the Reliable Sources policy and try to find sources that meet those criteria which you feel should be represented in this article. Post the links here (start a new section) so that interested Wikipedians can look at them and comment. And please be patient. It could take days or weeks for a consensus to form. Even if one person imemdiately replies with "that won't work" (or whatever), that's not the end of it. There's always time for more discussion. Michael Martinez (talk) 19:08, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Tolkien's original Valar were indeed modeled on pagan gods. He created them for The Book of Lost Tales, which was a mythology for England (THE "mythology for England" everyone incorrectly identifies as The Lord of the Rings). The Valar of The Silmarillion are direct literary descendants of that original pagan pantheon, preserving the symbolic associations with elements and special interests. Tolkien never intended them to be the angels of Catholicism (or literally the Bible). So you're only going to find Tolkien research that evaluates the Valar in these contexts. Maybe the article could be tweaked to be a little less of a soapbox for scholarship, but it would be more productive to suggest specific word changes.Michael Martinez (talk) 15:00, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Thanks Michael. Chiswick Chap (talk) 15:03, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

What source says that Tolkien modeled the Valar on pagan gods? I've read The Book of Lost Tales before and I do not recall Tolkien (either the father or son) making the claim that the Valar were modeled on pagan gods. The Book of Lost Tales being "a mythology for England" does not mean that it is a pagan work or that it's characters are modelled off of any pagan figures. Anglo-Saxon England was Catholic for a much longer time that it was pagan and Tolkien's Anglo-Saxon inspirations are clearly Catholic in nature, specifically the term "middle-earth" coming from the poem Crist I. Tolkien explicitly referred to the Valar as "angelic-beings" and the fact they share their name (the Powers) with a important group of Catholic angels (also called "the Powers") is not coincidental. My suggestion is that the article not try to compare the Valar to pagan gods as there is not actual basis for this comparison, that is all. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:09, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

There are entries in both volumes of The Book of Lost Tales (that is, the first 2 volumes of The History of Middle-earth) where Christopher Tolkien cites his father's notes identifying the Valar with pagan gods and Aelfwine (the central character of the book) with being "an early pagan Englishman who fled to the West". The whole idea behind the mythology for England concept was to recreate the lost English mythology that scholars are certain once existed. It would have been closely related to Norse and Germanic mythologies that have survived. It was a purely literary experiment with no religious overtones. Tom Shippey has written and spoken much on the subject, as well as other scholars. Whether the article does a good job of explaining that is a matter of opinion. But you'll need to form a consensus among Wikipedians (people with active accounts) to get a proper change made that has any chance of lasting.Michael Martinez (talk) 15:21, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Can you give specific quotes where either Tolkien says that Valar were modeled off of pagan deities? Aelfwine is not in The Book of Lost Tales, I think you're confusing Eriol with Aelfwine. I am not denying that The Book of Lost Tales was intended to be "a mythology for England", I'm saying that this fact doesn't mean that The Book of Lost Tales is pagan. The Book of Lost Tales is full of "religious overtones". Tom Shippey is one scholar with one point of view. Shippey should not be taken as an unquestioned authority on Tolkien. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:32, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Shippey’s scholarly work is what gives the work notability. He (and the other scholars cited) are far more important to Wikipedia that the works of Tolkien themselves.

You have been asked to produce citations that support your claims. Provide citations to scholarly work of the quality of Shippey that support your view point (Tolkien doesn’t count, he’s WP:PRIMARY, Christopher Tolkien is borderline and can be used in parts when he’s commenting on his fathers work as an editor and scholar but we have to be careful we don’t stray into using him where he’s again a primary source. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:37, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Why only Shippey though? Are you suggesting that Shippey is the only Tolkien scholar? The people claiming that Tolkien modeled the Valar off Norse gods have also failed to produce any citations which support this claim. A single scholar making the claim is different that the author himself stating it. If anything, it would changed to state, that Shippey himself is the one that possesses the view that Tolkien modeled the Valar off of Norse gods, but that Tolkien himself never made this claim. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:43, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

It’s not only Shippey though. And no, what you are proposing would constitute original research which has not place on Wikipedia. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:45, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

What other scholars is it? 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:46, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

There are numerous citations across the articles you have been pushing your POV onto. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:53, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Can you be more specific? I don't believe you. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:54, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

No. Do your own work. The articles you are attacking are cited. Use them. GimliDotNet (talk) 16:01, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The sentence in question is uncited actually and I have added the tag to this effect at your suggestion. It is not my responsibility to find citations for uncited material. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 16:04, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The sentence is cited in the main body of the article (where it belongs as the lede is a summary of what is included in the article.

It’s also not reliant on Shippey. You should read the articles and the citations. GimliDotNet (talk) 16:43, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I have reviewed the citations and I can't find a single one which says that Tolkien modeled the Valar on Norse gods. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 16:57, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Then I suggest you don’t have the capacity to continue editing on Wikipedia. You either don’t understand, or are being wilfully dishonest. GimliDotNet (talk) 18:16, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Okay? So even though there are no citations to support the assertion that Tolkien modeled the Valar on Norse gods, we should leave that assertion in the article? Please explain to me the logic in that line of thinking. As of right now, there are no citations which show a reliable secondary source saying that Tolkien modeled the Valar on Norse gods.

If you actually think that I'm being dishonest, then show me which of the citations in the article back up your assertion that Tolkien modeled the Valar on norse gods. Please don't attack my integrity. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 18:40, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The citations are inline and they support the text. If you continue to edit in a non-constructive way you will be reported to WP:ANI leading to a potential block. This is my last word with you until you start behaving as a wikipedia editor should. GimliDotNet (talk) 18:56, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Which citations? I have reviewed every single one of the 49 secondary sources for this article and not a single one of them say that Tolkien modeled the Valar on the Norse gods. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 19:13, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The one I left here before. Directly references.

In place of the Norse Aesir, or gods, are the Valar.

Why are you insisting on going down a path that anyone who has access to the sources can see is dishonest. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:17, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

That does not say that Tolkien modeled the Valar on the Norse gods. It just simply says that in the opinion of one scholar, the Valar resemble the Norse gods. Tom Shippey's scholarly opinion does not equal authorial intent, even if he did make the claim that Tolkien modeled the Valar on the Norse gods.

I am not being dishonest. Please stop making personal attacks against me. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 19:21, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

First of all, that source is not Shippey. Second, authorial intent is not as important as what the external sources say. YOU are applying your interpretation of authorial intent and dismissing the third party sources. That is not allowed, we go off what published, reliable sources say. We can only use Tolkien as a source to confirm what Tolkien published, we cannot use it to draw conclusions about his intent. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:28, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I agree, which is why it's insane to state that the Valar were inspired by the Norse gods as if it was an unquestioned fact. As it sits right now, a reader who knows nothing about Tolkien and his inspirations would think that the Valar were explicitly intended to be representations of the Norse gods by Tolkien. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 20:09, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I agree, which is why it's insane to state that the Valar were inspired by the Norse gods as if it was an unquestioned fact. It's good that the article makes no such claim then. GimliDotNet (talk) 20:18, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Slow down here (and I realize I'm injecting into the middle of a thread). There ARE citations available. Michael Drout's J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment includes a section on Old Norse Literature where the influences of Norse mythology on the Valar are discussed. This is a broad subject, however. Many scholars have weighed in on the Norse influence and where and how Tolkien moderated it. And keep in mind that there is no single Silmarillion. There were several and Christopher Tolkien combined sources to produced the published book as roughly representative of what he thought his father might have intended (though he later repudiated many of his editorial changes, especially in the later part of the book). Michael Martinez (talk) 19:23, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

None of the sources in this article say that Tolkien modeled the Valar on the Norse gods, which is the topic of this conversation. I am not in any way claiming that Tolkien was not inspired by Norse mythology (or even that in the view of some scholars, that the Valar resemble the Norse gods), but the claim that he modeled the Valar on the Norse gods is an extraordinary one, which is currently unsupported by the cited references in the article. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 19:27, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The article does not say the Valar were modelled on the Norse gods. Only you are doing that. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:32, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Actually, note 15 does provide a source: John Garth's book. Page 86 is referenced at the bottom of this discussion (as it currently appears for me). The paragraph reads: "The Qenya lexicon translates Valinor as 'Asgard', the 'home of the gods' where the Norsemen feasted after they had been slain in battle. Tolkien was undoubtedly developing the conceit that the Germanic Vikings modelled their mythical Asgard on the 'true' myth of Valinor. In place of the Norse Aesir, or gods, are the Valar." Michael Martinez (talk) 19:39, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Indeed, the source makes a stronger claim for the link than this article does. How this can be seen as wikipedia having an anti-catholic bias is beyond me. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:46, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I just used Shippey as an example because he's the most well-known Tolkien scholar, he held the same chair as Tolkien, and he knew the man himself. But there are plenty of other scholars who follow Shippey's lead. Look, the literary and academic communities have been digesting Middle-earth since the 1930s (with the publication of The Hobbit) and the 1950s (with the publication of The Lord of the Rings). They've hashed out a lot of these issues. If you really want to see changes to the article, I suggest you present some specific sources you'd like to see considered.Michael Martinez (talk) 15:46, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I would argue that Christopher Tolkien is the most well known Tolkien scholar if we are going to be doing a ranking, but that's neither here nor there.

Can you give the names of any of these scholars which you believe adhere to Shippey's position?

Does notoriety as a scholar equal authoritiveness? Should it if it does?

The sentence in question in the article is uncited. I am simply asking for a citation to support what is written in the article at the moment at the very least. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:54, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The {{cn}} tag is available for you to add to any phrase you feel requires citations. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:57, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I added it. Thank you for the kind suggestion. I hope it doesn't get removed though. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:59, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

See especially point two of the guidance on WP:PRIMARY.

Any interpretation of primary source material requires a reliable secondary source for that interpretation.

This is none negotiable. If the word Christ doesn’t appear in the work, then we cannot use Tolkien as a source for saying the work has Christ in it, we are forced to rely on the works of others. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:40, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

So we then should try to erase all of Tolkien's Catholicism because he more obliquely refers to Christ? The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe also doesn't use the word "Christ", but no one would make the claim that Aslan isn't Christ. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:45, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

No one is erasing the catholic influence. Aslan as Christ is cited as authorial intention (Lewis explicitly stated it) and to at least three secondary sources supporting it. GimliDotNet (talk) 15:55, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The Athrabeth and Tolkien's own commentary, in addition to Christopher's scholarly commentary, make it very clear that Tolkien is referring to Christ with the character of "the Great Hope". 173.67.130.26 (talk) 15:58, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

That’s not a citation. That’s you making a claim. Provide a citation. GimliDotNet (talk) 16:02, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The Athrabeth states: " 'But there are among us a few (of whom I am one) who have the Great Hope, as we call it, and believe that His secret has been handed down from the days before our wounding. This is the Great Hope: that Eru will himself enter into Arda and heal Men and all the Marring.' " and Christopher writes in his commentary: "Was he referring then to the astonishing conception in the Athrabeth of 'the Great Hope of Men', as it is called in the draft A (p. 352), 'the Old Hope' as it is called in the final text (p. 321), that Eru himself will enter into Arda to oppose the evil of Melkor? In the Commentary (p. 335) this was further defined: 'Finrod ... probably proceeded to the expectation that "the coming of Eru", if it took place, would be specially and primarily concerned with Men: that is to an imaginative guess or vision that Eru would come incarnated in human form' - though my father noted that 'This does not appear in the Athrabeth'. But this surely is not parody, nor even parallel, but the extension - if only represented as vision, hope, or prophecy - of the 'theology' of Arda into specifically, and of course centrally, Christian belief; and a manifest challenge to my father's view in his letter of 1951 on the necessary limitations of the expression of 'moral and religious truth (or error)' in a 'Secondary World'." 173.67.130.26 (talk) 16:56, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

That's not a proper citation, and if you included the full text of the discussion it would be too long and (in my opinion) probably violate the Primary Sources policy as you're presenting an interpretative point of view in the above. Michael Martinez (talk) 19:16, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

Christopher Tolkien is a scholar. His scholarly commentary is not a primary source. JRR Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien are separate people. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 19:18, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

- though my father noted that 'This does not appear in the Athrabeth' - your own source disagrees with you. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:20, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

I don't follow The "This" that doesn't appear is an actual account of Eru entrance into Arda. The final form of the Athrabeth makes multiple references to "the Old Hope" and Eru's arrival into Arda for the salvation of Man (which is the role of Christ in Catholic theology). The previous drafts which are discussed by Christopher in his scholarly commentary talk about "the Great Hope" and Christopher notes that this is not "a parody" of Christianity, but a literal "extension" of Christianity.

Christopher's words don't disagree with the assertion that "the Great Hope" or "the Old Hope" are Christ-figures. 173.67.130.26 (talk) 19:25, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

"It seems to me therefore that there are problems in the Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth for the interpretation of my father's thought on these matters; but I am unable to resolve them." His discussion of his father's possible intentions is by no means definitive, even if we could safely regard him as a secondary source on this matter. Michael Martinez (talk) 19:29, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

So we are treating Tom Shippey as an authoritative secondary source, but not Christopher Tolkien. Is that what I'm understanding? 71.114.123.162 (talk) 13:40, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

First of all, neither The Lord of the Rings nor The Silmarillion are allegorical works, whereas The Chronicles of Narnia are allegorical. On the other hand, the order of the Valar - as described in The Silmarillion - is a direct literary adaptation of traditional northern pantheons. Then you also need to consider that Christopher Tolkien's work is heavily cited in the Primary Sources section for this article. When it comes to Tolkien literary criticism, he's a complicated source to work with in terms of Wikipedia's standards. That's just the way it is. Outside of Wikipedia we have much more freedom in using our personal judgment. But an ambiguous commentary on the Athrabeth - which isn't even part of the published Silmarillion (and was never intended to be part of it, so far as we know) - isn't the source you're looking for, if you want the article to state something along the lines of "the Valar were based on Catholicism's angelic orders". The Valar originated as a reconstructed pagan pantheon. That's an immutable fact. Tolkien reworked the whole concept to do away with a pantheon, so they became Iluvatar's messengers (angels). That's as close as Tolkien got to making them angels in the story. The scholarship written around the book over the past 50 years acknowledges these facts. The article - per Wikipedia's guidelines - is going to reflect what the scholarship says. Michael Martinez (talk) 14:10, 27 June 2023 (UTC)

They don't support it either. You need a citation that makes that connection. Anything else is your opinion GimliDotNet (talk) 19:34, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

By the way, have you read the excellent article over at Christianity in Middle-earth that is focused on the Christian inspirations for Tolkien's work. GimliDotNet (talk) 19:38, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

References