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Places in Middle-earth

Halls of Manwë and Varda

Type: Buildings, Halls, Houses

Region: Aman

Other Names
Ilmarin 'mansion of the high airs'

Location: The dwelling of Manwë and Varda on Oiolossë, the summit of Taniquetil; also called Ilmarin.

Description: With Manwë dwells Varda, Lady of the Stars, who knows all the regions of . ... Manwë and Varda are seldom parted, and they remain in Valinor. Their halls are above the everlasting snow, upon Oiolossë, the uttermost tower of Taniquetil, tallest of all the mountains upon Earth. When Manwë there ascends his throne and looks forth, if Varda is beside him, he sees further than all other eyes, through mist, and through darkness, and over the leagues of the sea. And if Manwë is with her, Varda hears more clearly than all other ears the sound of voices that cry from east to west, from the hills and the valleys, and from the dark places that Melkor has made upon Earth.

The Silmarillion, Valaquenta: Of the Valar

... above all the mountains of the Pelóri was that height upon whose summit Manwë set his throne. ... From their halls upon Taniquetil Manwë and Varda could look out across the Earth even into the furthest East.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 1, Of The Beginning of Days

But Manwë Súlimo, highest and holiest of the Valar, sat upon the borders of Aman, forsaking not in his thought the Outer Lands. For his throne was set in majesty upon the pinnacle of Taniquetil, the highest of the mountains of the world, standing upon the margin of the sea. Spirits in the shape of hawks and eagles flew ever to and from his halls; and their eyes could see to the depths of the seas, and pierce the hidden caverns beneath the world. Thus they brought word to him of well nigh all that passed in Arda....

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 1, Of The Beginning of Days

From the Song of Eärendil:

He came unto the timeless halls
where shining fall the countless years,
and endless reigns the Elder King
in Ilmarin on Mountain sheer;
and words unheard were spoken then
of folk of Men and Elven-kin,
beyond the world were visions showed
forbid to those that dwell therein.
The Fellowship of the Ring, LoTR Book 2, Ch 1, Many Meetings

... now Eärendil had come at a time of festival, and wellnigh all the Elvenfolk were gone to Valimar, or were gathered in the halls of Manwë upon Taniquetil....

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 24, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath

There came the Vanyar, and there came the Noldor of Tirion, and the Maiar were gathered together, and the Valar were arrayed in their beauty and majesty; and they sang before Manwë and Varda in their lofty halls, or danced upon the green slopes of the Mountain that looked west towards the Trees.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 8, Of The Darkening of Valinor

Etymology of Ilmarin

ilm- This stem appears in Ilmen, Ilmarë, and also in Ilmarin ('mansion of the high airs', the dwelling of Manwë and Varda upon Oiolossë). ...

bar 'dwelling' in Bar-en-Danwedh. The ancient word mbar (Quenya mar, Sindarin bar) meant the 'home' both of persons and of peoples, and thus appears in many place-names, as Brithombar, Dimbar (the first element of which means 'sad, gloomy'), Eldamar, Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar. Mardil, name of the first of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor, means 'devoted to the house' (i.e. of the Kings).

The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names

Contributors: Elena Tiriel 8Dec05

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