Character of the Month: Ulmo

Ulmo is, in short, a complicated character. He is one of Tolkien's earliest characters, first appearing in the 1910s Book of Lost Tales. Like many of Tolkien's early Ainur, he is a tangle of contradictions: the only Vala to remain active in the lives of the people of Middle-earth after the Noldorin exile, yet delighting in scaring those upon whom he visited his blessings. He is both benevolent and terrifying (and, in some of the earliest drafts, a bit silly as well).

This month, Anérea tackles the first of a two-part biography of Ulmo, Lord of Waters, focusing on his realm and his relationships with the other Ainur (which, as his complex nature suggests, were also complicated). She also dives—pardon the pun—into some of the mythological correspondences between Ulmo and other sea deities, his special significance as a god of water in a legendarium where water places a central role, and biographical connections that possibly reveal how water—and Ulmo—came to be so central in Tolkien's imagination.

You can read Part 1 of Anérea's biography of Ulmo here.

Posted on 4 February 2023 (updated 3 March 2023) by SWG Moderators