| Varda | |
| Tolkien character | |
 | |
| First appearance | The Lord of the Rings (1954-5) |
| Created by | J. R. R. Tolkien |
| Information | |
|---|---|
| Aliases | Elentári, Tintallë, Elbereth, Gilthoniel, Fanuilos, Barathi, Baradis, Avradî |
| Species | Ainur |
| Spouse(s) | Manwë (husband) |
| Books | The Lord of the Rings (1954-5) The Silmarillion (1977) |
Varda Elentári is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. She appears in Tolkien's Silmarillion as one of the Valar (powers) of Middle Earth. The longest sample of the Sindarin language published by Tolkien, is addressed to her. She is also known as Elbereth Gilthoniel.
She is the only Valar mentioned in the main text of Lord of the Rings. Invoking her name is shown as effective against evil powers.
In The Silmarillion, she and Manwë are the two most powerful after the enemy Morgoth. And she is the creator of the stars.
Character description
Varda is one of the Valar, the pantheon or gods in the legendarium. She is one of the greatest of the Valar. Being associated with light, she is central to the dualism of light and darkness in Tolkien's cosmology.
With dew from the vats of Telperion, Varda made the brightest stars in the heavens, most significantly the Valacirca, The Sickle of the Valar (The Big Dipper) and Menelmacar (Orion).
She resides with her husband Manwë, with whom she shared a complementary power. When they are together, Manwë "sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea" and Varda "hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west". When the evil Vala Melkor first began to create his discord, Varda saw his true nature and rejected him. Melkor feared and hated Varda the most out of the Valar because he greatly desired to possess light.
Tolkien's work often repeats characters in "doubles" in different settings or ages. Thus, Varda's Marian characteristics are repeated in Melian (a maïa), Galadriel (queen of the High Elves in Lothlorien) and again in "a more homey way" in Goldberry.
Names
Like most of the legendarium's characters, Varda has a different name in each of Tolkien's invented languages. Her Quenya name Varda means "sublime" or "lofty", from Primitive Quenya barádâ (root barád-, whence also Noldorin brennil "lady", brand, brann "lofty, noble fine"). The corresponding Noldorin form is Berethil, Breðil (Primitive Quenya Barathī). Telerin Baradis, from a related stem barathî (while the expected cognate form would have been Barada). The Adûnaic reflex of the name is Avradî.
When invoked by Elves, she is more commonly addressed by epithets reflecting her role in making the stars, as "Star-queen" and "Star-kindler", in Quenya Elentári and Tintallë, and in Sindarin Elbereth and Gilthoniel, respectively. Another Sindarin epithet is Fanuilos "Ever-white". In the English text, she is also addressed by the epithets The Kindler, Lady of the Stars, Queen of the Stars, Snow-white, ostensibly translations of her Elvish names.
Invocations in Lord of the Rings
In Chapter 3 of Book One, Gildor's elves sing a song to her, as Elbereth Gilthoniel.
Also in Book 1, at Weathertop just as the Nazgul are closing in on the company and the Lord of the Nazgul comes at Frodo, Frodo invokes her name while wearing the One Ring.
In the last chapter of Book Four, Sam Gamgee invokes her, also as Elbereth Gilthoniel. He speaks in a language he does not know, and this along with the Phial of Galadriel drives off Shelob.
In the final chapter of Lord of the Rings, the departing High Elves sing of her at the Grey Havens.