#uin moodboard

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The Animal Ainur

There are multiple mighty beasts that show up in Tolkien’s writings, and their exact role in the hierarchy of Arda changed over time. They are usually much larger than normal members of their species, and some of them are able to speak. At one stage in Tolkien’s works, these characters were seen as Maiar who had taken an animal instead of humanoid or elvish appearance. An example of this is a quote regarding the eagles from an early version of The Silmarilion that states:  “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.”

Similarly, a quote relating to the hound Huan says:

“As the Valar would robe themselves like the Children, many of the Maiar robed themselves like other lesser living things, as trees, flowers, beasts.”

The problem with the concept was that Thorondor of the eagles and the steed Nahar had descendants, and Tolkien had already decided that the Ainur (with the exception of Melian) wouldn’t have children. So it was decided that while these special creatures were empowered by the Valar with special gifts, they were still creatures, and didn’t have souls/spirits like the Ainur and the Children of Illuvatar. 

Characters in this post are:

Huan, the Hound of the Valar

Thorondor (also called Sorontar), the King of the Eagles

Nahar, the Steed of Oromë

Uin, the Oldest of Whales

Gorgumoth, the Hound of Mandos

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Maiar of Ulmo, The Lord of Waters

Ulmo is the Vala responsible for water and was a close friend of Manwë. He was one of the Aratar, the eight most powerful Valar, and it was said that Melkor feared him almost as much as he feared Varda because the sea could not be tamed. Ulmo had dominion over all water on Arda, including the waters that flowed beneath the earth. His palace called Ulmonan was located in the bottom of the ocean, and he maintained contact with Middle-earth through rivers and streams.

Ulmo was served by multiple Maiar including Ossë and his wife Uinen, who were friends with the elves that dwelled along the coasts. Another Maia who served Ulmo was Salmar, who was in charge of Ulmo’s great musical shell-made horns, the Ulumuri. Additionally, a primeval whale named Uin is mentioned as a servant of Ulmo in Tolkien’s early works, though it’s status as an Ainu is unclear. The "River-Woman", the mother of Tom Bombadil's wife Goldberry, is also speculated to be a servant of Ulmo based on the fact that she is a watery entity, though her exact nature is unclear.

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Uin

The Mightiest of Whales, Gulma’s (Ulmo’s) Whale, The Primeval Whale

In the early stages of Tolkien’s writings, there existed a mighty whale named Uin who helped carry Ulmo’s chariot (along with narwhals and sea lions) as well as towing the island of Tol Eressëa. At one point the word “uin” meant wave, and later it also became the word for whale, while the name uimoth (sheep of the waves) was another term for whales. At this stage Uin was tasked to pull Tol Eressëa, with the help of other sea creatures, to it’s present spot. Ossë and Uinen both disagreed with this decision (this was at a stage where they were both Valar in their own right and often clashed with Ulmo) and tried to prevent it. The piece of the island that broke off and stayed behind was the Isle of Balar. 

As Tolkien’s writings evolved, Uin disappeared and it was Ulmo himself who dragged the island. At one point, Tolkien had envisioned characters such as Uin, the Eagles, and Huan the Hound of Valinor as Ainur/Maiar that had taken an animal instead of humanoid form. This idea was later dropped. 

Uin also appears in Tolkien’s book Roverandom, and is thus a crossover character like Tom Bombadil and his companions. This has led to comparisons to Tom and Goldberry in regards to exactly what sort of being Uin is. In the book, Uin transports the dog Rover around the seas, at one point taking him by Valinor/Aman (though it’s not named that in Roverandom) and Rover spots a faint glimpse of a white elven city on a green hill, referring to the elven city of Tuna. Tolkien didn’t describe Uin much in his writings in the Middle-earth universe, but in Roverandom Tolkien describes him as “The Oldest of the Right Whales” giving us a clue to his appearance.