Aman (Quenya; "blessed realm") was a continent that lay west of Middle-earth, across the great ocean Belegaer. It contained Valinor, home of the Valar and Maiar, as well as Eldamar, home to the three kindreds of Elves: the Vanyar, the Ñoldor and the Teleri. The island of Tol Eressëa lay just off the eastern shore.
History[]
Upon the destruction of Almaren in very ancient times of Arda, the Valar fled to the great continent of Aman in the far west of Arda, and there established the realm of Valinor. Seeking to isolate themselves, they raised a great mountain fence, called the Pelóri, on the eastern coast, and set the Enchanted Isles in the ocean to prevent travellers by sea from reaching Aman.
For reasons untold, the Valar left two lands outside the wall of the Pelóri: Araman to the northeast and Avathar to the southeast. Ungoliant, a great spider of unknown origin, had managed to escape notice in Avathar. When Melkor was released from his captivity, he fled to Avathar, scaled the mountains with Ungoliant's help, and wrought the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor.
The first navigator to succeed in passing the Isles of Enchantment was Eärendil, who came to Valinor to seek the aid of the Valar against Melkor, now called Morgoth. His quest was successful, the Valar went to war again, and also decided to remove the Isles.
Valinor, in Aman, depicted by Robert Zigo
Soon after this, the great island of Númenor was raised out of Belegaer, close to the shores of Aman, and the Three Houses of the Edain were brought to live there. Henceforth, they were called the Dúnedain, or Men of the West, and were blessed with many gifts by the Valar and the Elves of Tol Eressëa. The Valar feared— rightly— that the Númenóreans would seek to enter Aman to gain immortality (even though a mortal in Aman remains mortal), so they forbade them from sailing west of the westernmost promontory of Númenor. In time, and not without some corrupting help from Sauron, the Númenóreans violated the Ban of the Valar, and sailed to Aman with a Great Armament under the command of Ar-Pharazôn the Golden. Eru Ilúvatar collapsed a part of the Pelóri on this army, trapping but not killing them. It is said that the army still lies beneath the pile of rock in the Caves of the Forgotten.
As a result of the Númenórean attack, the Valar laid down their governance of Arda and called upon Eru Ilúvatar, and he changed the shape of the world, making Arda round and removing Aman from it, so that a mariner sailing west along Eärendil's route would simply emerge in the far east. For the Elves, however, he crafted a Straight Road that peeled away from the curvature of the earth and passed to Aman.[1] A very few non-Elves are known to have passed along this road, including the Hobbits Frodo and Bilbo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and the Dwarf Gimli.[2]
Geography[]
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Edit to right of the section title.Etymology[]
The Quenya name Aman is glossed as "Blessed Land",[3] "blessed, free from evil",[4] or "The Unmarred State".[5]
The etymology of the name Aman changed over time in Tolkien's writings. In early linguistic writings, Aman was intended to be a "native Quenya form", derived from the root MAN ("good"). However, in later writings (such as Quendi and Eldar), the name is said to derive from a Valarin word.[6]
Notes[]
- Tolkien may have based Aman on Heaven from his own religion, Christianity, as Aman, like Heaven, is accessible only to beings whose (first) life on Earth has ended, and is inaccessible to any still-mortal beings.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Amharic | ዓማን |
| Arabic | آمان |
| Armenian | Աման |
| Assamese | অমান |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Аман |
| Bengali | আমান |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Аман |
| Cantonese | 阿曼 |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 阿門洲 |
| Danish | Aman (De Udødelige Lande) |
| French | Terres Immortelles (Immortal lands) |
| Georgian | ამან |
| German | Aman (Unsterbliche Länder) |
| Greek | Άμαν |
| Gujarati | આમન |
| Hebrew | אמאן |
| Hindi | आमन |
| Hungarian | Halhatatlanföld |
| Japanese | アマン |
| Kannada | ಅಮನ್ |
| Kazakh | Аман (Cyrillic) Aman (Latin) |
| Korean | 암안 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Аман |
| Laotian | ະມະນ |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Аман |
| Malayalam | അമൻ |
| Marathi | आमन |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Аман |
| Nepalese | आमन |
| Pashto | آمان |
| Persian | امان |
| Russian | Аман |
| Sanskrit | आमन् |
| Sinhalese | ආමන් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Аман |
| Tamil | ஆமந் |
| Telugu | ఆమన |
| Thai | อามัน |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Аман |
| Urdu | امان |
| Uzbek | Аман (Cyrillic) Aman (Latin) |
| Yiddish | ײַמאַן |
|
Middle-earth Locations:
Provinces/Regions: Arnor | Dunland | Ettenmoors | Forochel | Forodwaith | Gondor | Harad | Ithilien | Khand | Lindon | Minhiriath | Mordor | Rhovanion | Rhûn | Rivendell | Rohan | The Shire Forests & Mountains: Amon Dîn | Amon Hen | Amon Lhaw | Caradhras | Emyn Muil | Erebor | Fangorn Forest | High Pass | Iron Hills | Lórien | Mirkwood | Mount Doom | Mount Gundabad | Old Forest | Orod-na-Thôn | Tower Hills | Weathertop Hill City/Fortifications: Angband | Barad-dûr | Bree | Caras Galadhon | Dol Guldur | Fornost Erain | Hornburg | Isengard | Khazad-dûm (Moria) | Minas Morgul | Minas Tirith | Last Homely House | Tower of Amon Sûl | Tower of Orthanc | Osgiliath | Umbar | Utumno Miscellaneous: Argonath | Astulat | Buckland | Cair Andros | Dagorlad | Dead Marshes | Enedwaith | Fords of Isen | Gap of Rohan | Grey Havens The rest of Arda:
Aman | Burnt Land of the Sun | Dark Land | Empty Lands | Neldoreth | New lands | Númenor | Tol Eressëa |
| Places in the Undying Lands (Aman and Tol Eressëa) | ||
| Places and regions of the Valar | Valinor • Ezellohar • Gardens of Lòrien • Halls of Mandos • Halls of Nienna • House of Tulkas • Ilmarin • Máhanaxar • Pastures of Yavanna • Wells of Varda • Woods of Oromë • Plain of Valinor • Two Trees of Valinor | |
| Other regions | Eldamar • Alalvinórëυ • Araman • Avathar • Enchanted Isles • Haerast • Oiomúrë • Sindanórië • Galathilion • Tol Withernonυ | |
| Mountains and passes | Pelóri • Taniquetil • Hyarmentir • Túna • Calacirya • Caves of the Forgotten | |
| Bodies of water | Afros • Bay of Eldamar • Gruirυ • Híri • Lórellin • Shadowy Seas • Sirnúmen | |
| Cities and strongholds | Váli-màr • Alqualondë • Avallónë • Formenos • Kôrtirion • Tavrobelρ • Tirion • Lumbiυ | |
| Houses and towers | Cottage of Lost Playρ • House of the Hundred Chimneysρ Pre-canon • Mindon Eldaliéva • Tower of Avallónë • Tower of Tavrobelρ • Tram Nybolρ | |
| ρ Pre-canon, υ Canonicity unclear. | ||
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, The First Age, The Elder Days, "Introduction"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "Later Events concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Eldarin Hands, Fingers & Numerals and Related Writings — Part Three" (ed. by Patrick H. Wynne) in Vinyar Tengwar, no. 49, pgs. 26-7
- ↑ The War of the Jewels, Part Four: Quendi and Eldar, pg. 399
- ↑ The Book of Lost Tales Part One, "The Coming of the Valar and the Building of Valinor", Notes and Commentary