#silpion

Lorien, Uinen, and the Silver Tree

Telperion was the White Tree of Valinor and was also known by the name of Silpion, particularly in the early stages of Tolkien’s works. Tolkien’s earlier writings provide connections between the White Tree and some of the Ainur. 

Irmo, more commonly known as Lorien after his dwelling place, was the master of dreams and visions and the brother of Namo/Mandos and Nienna. Their isn’t a lot of detail about Lorien in The Silmarilion, but in earlier works he has a strong connection to Telperion/Silpion. A youthful Ainu named Silmo was a servant of Lorien (the concept of the Maiar wasn’t quite developed yet). Silmo was in charge of keeping the tree Silpion (Telperion) watered, just like how Arien watered Laurelin. The dews of Silpion were collected into a cauldron called Silindrin which was located in the gardens of Lorien. Here, Irmo/Lorien would gaze into the cauldron and see many mysterious visions. Silpion, Silmo, and Silindrin all come from a root word associated with shining, silver light. 

Since the last flower of Telperion later became the Moon, Lorien’s connection to the tree as the Master of Dreams and Visions may be due to the Moon’s association with the occult, the supernatural, and of course sleep. 

Uinen has an interesting connection to Telperion as well. After the deaths of the two trees, Vana cut her golden hair short to weave for the sails of the ship of the Sun. Meanwhile, Uinen is described as weaving the sails of the ship of the Moon out of foam and mists, with some glittering like fish scales and others shining with tiny points of star-like lights. 

Arien and Silmo Caretakers of the Two Trees

In the Silmarillion, the Maia Arien is described as being in charge of watering the golden tree Laurelin, because she was the only one who could withstand its heat. She would also collect the golden dews of Laurelin, and use it to water Vana’s flowers. Her counterpart is Tilion, a hunter from Orome’s company who loved the color silver and was in love with Arien.

But in early versions of Tolkien’s works, Tilion didn’t exist. Instead, there was Silmo, a youthful Ainu who was “loved” by the Vala Irmo-Lorien. Silmo was more like a male copy of Arien (called Urwen and Urwendi in early stages) than Tilion is, being appointed guardian of the silver tree (then called Silpion) to be “ever mindful” of the watering of the tree. This similarity between Arien and Silmo is a reflection of the Valar Irmo-Lorien and Vana, who were both more connected to Telperion/Silpion and Laurelin, respectively; Arien was associated with just as Silmo was associated with Irmo-Lorien. 

When the the Two Trees were destroyed, Arien was selected to guide the last fruit of Laurelin (the Sun) across the sky. But while Silmo begged to become the guardian of the last flower of Telperion/Silipion (the Moon), the Valar ended up choosing Ilinsor, an air spirit and assistant to Varda who was associated with snow, instead. 

Silmo’s connection to the silver tree is made clear through the rootword it shares with Silpion as well as Silindrin, a cauldron that held the collected dews of Silpion which Irmo-Lorien gazed into for divination. They all share the root “sil” or “silip” which means to shine with a white or silver light.

Irmo-Lorien, Master of Dreams and Visions

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Silmo, Guardian of Silpion

Irmo was the Vala of dreams and visions, and was often called Lorien after the gardens in which he lived. Together with his brother Mandos he is one of the Feanturi, the Masters of Spirits, and their sister is Nienna. His wife is Este the Healer, who sleeps during the day on the isle of Lorellin in Lorien. In early stages of Tolkien's works, Irmo-Lorien was more closely associated with the silver tree, which at one point was known as Silpion. At this stage the dews of Silpion were collected in a cauldron called Silindrin, and Irmo would gaze into it and see strange and mystifying visions.

Silmo is a youthful Ainu in Tolkien's early works who was a servant of the Vala Irmo-Lorien. Silmo was in charge of watering the silver tree Silpion (with his name coming from the same rootword as Silpion and Silindrin) in the same way that Arien was in charge of watering Laurelin. When the moon was created Silmo wanted to be given the task of guiding it through the sky, but he was passed over in favor of Ilinsor, a servant of Varda who was associated with air, snow, and starlight. Both Silmo and Ilinsor are absent from the Silmarillion, with the Maia Tilion replacing them.

Silmo 

Maia of Lorien, Guardian of Silpion

Silmo is an Ainu from Tolkien’s early works who was associated with the White Tree of Valinor. The Vala Irmo/Lorien who “loved the youthful Silmo” chose him to be the guardian of The White Tree, which in this stage of Tolkien’s writings was called Silpion, to keep it watered. In this sense he is essentially a male, lunar copy of Arien/Urwen/Urwendi. But while Arien was chosen to guide the Sun upon its creation, the Valar chose Ilinsor to guide the Moon instead of Silmo even though Silmo begged to be given this task. They chose Ilinsor because he was a wind spirit who served Manwe and Varda and loved snows and starlight and assisted Varda in her works, so he would be more familiar with the regions of the sky than Silmo, who spent all his time on the ground. Silmo isn’t mentioned after this and neither Silmo nor Ilinsor appear in Tolkien’s later works; Tilion is the Maia in The Silmarillion who is associated with the Moon. 

Silmo’s name comes from the Quenya root sil, which means to shine with white or silver light, and emphasizes how closely he was connected to the tree Silpion (later Telperion) whose name comes from the same root. In Tolkien’s early works there is also a pot called Silindrin that stored the collected dew of Silpion/Telperion. It’s also probably not a coincidence that his name also contains “ilm”, a word for starlight which can be found in the names of Ilmen, Ilmare, and Ilmarin. Ilmen refers to the region of the sky where the stars, Sun, and Moon are, while Ilmare is the handmaiden of Varda and Ilmarin is the mansions on top of Taniquetil where Manwe and Varda live. Tolkien in turn got the inspiration for this root from Finnish ilma (air) which appears in the Finnish epic Kalevala in the names of the characters Ilmatar and Ilmarinen. The Gnomish (earlier name for Noldorin) version of Silmo’s name was Thilim.

The Valar’s reason for passing over Silmo as guardian of the Moon is intriguing since Arien, who they chose as guardian of the Sun, had essentially the same role as Silmo, spending her time watering the golden tree Laurelin. Like Silmo, Arien was associated with a Vala (Vana) who wasn’t numbered among the Aratar, the eight most powerful of the Valar. Even as Silmo disappeared and Vana’s role “shrank” in Tolkien’s later drafts, Arien has remained the guardian (and only candidate mentioned) of the Sun.

Silmo and Arien’s roles as the guardians of the Two Trees also reflect how the Valar Irmo/Lorien and Vana were much more closely connected to the Trees in the early drafts than they are in the published Silmarillion. Lorien, who was associated with dreams, prophecy, spirits, and magic, would gaze into the pot Silindrin (which contained the collected dews of Silpion) and saw many visions. This probably reflects the fact that most dreams occur during the night when the moon is out, and the fact that the moon has long been associated with magic and the supernatural. 

Silmo is an example of how Tolkien’s perception of the character who guided the Moon went through many revisions during his writing process. In the early works we have both Silmo (associated with dreams and visions; servant of Lorien) and Ilinsor (connected with snows, air and wind, and stars; servant of Manwe and Varda) while later on there is the Maia Tilion, who is a hunter skilled in archery who loves the color silver and is one of Orome’s Maiar. The Book of Lost Tales also mentions a being living on the Moon called Uolë Kúvion by the elves, though not much is known about him. The folklore of the Hobbits also mentions The Man in the Moon, an old being who secretly lives on the Moon in a tower. This same character occurs in some of Tolkien’s non-Middle-earth stories such as Roverandom, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, and Letters From Father Christmas. In contrast, Arien/Urwen/Urwendi has been the guardian of the Sun throughout Tolkien’s writings and her details have pretty muched remained the the same since the beginning.