Ainulindalë (Rúmil’s work)
The Ainulindalë was the creation story of Arda, as written by Rúmil the Loremaster in the First Age. Like with most of the work of Rúmil, Pengoloð the Sage expanded it with his words.
History
The Ainulindalë or The Music of the Ainur was written by Rúmil of Túna in the Elder Days, and was later spoken to Ælfwine by Pengoloð in Tol Eressëa, in an imprecise context. Pengoloð recited to him the Ainulindalë as Rúmil wrote it, in which it is narrated the Creation of the Ainur, their Great Music, the Vision of Ilúvatar, the Creation of Ëa, the entry of the Valar into Arda and the First War with Melkor. When Pengoloð finished, he paused for a while, until Ælfwine asked him about the Valar and their ancient wars before the coming of the Elves. Thus, Pengoloð adds to Rúmil's work what he has heard among the loremasters of the Noldor. He tells him about the coming of Tulkas, the Spring of Arda, the destruction of the Two Lamps, the creation of Valinor and Utumno, and the descriptions of the main Valar.
Real world history
The development of the Ainulindalë from the earlier version to the published in The Silmarillion differs very much from the other writings of the legendarium, as Christopher Tolkien explains:
Through the volumes of The History of Middle-earth there are mentioned nine different manuscripts of the Creation myth, some of them being simple copies or drafts. Here are listed the main texts given by Christopher. The details about their composition can be read within each article:
- The Music of the Ainur, written between November 1918 and Spring 1920. Published in The Book of Lost Tales Part One.
- Ainulindalë B, written in late 1930s. Published in The Lost Road and Other Writings.
- Ainulindalë C*, written in 1948. Published in Morgoth's Ring.
- Ainulindalë C, written in late 1948. Published in Morgoth's Ring.
- Ainulindalë D, written in 1951. Published in Morgoth's Ring.
As can be seen, in all versions both the tale and the narrative frame are essentially the same: the author is Rúmil, and the tale is told to the human Eriol/Ælfwine, who is visiting Tol Eressëa. However, for his edition of The Silmarillion, Christopher decided to remove the element of fictional authorship from the main text, including the Ainulindalë. The attribution to Rúmil remains at the end of the book in the "Index of Names." For an explanation of his edition see Ainulindalë#History of composition.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 20/05/2026.
