Manwë drives many of the events in The Lord of the Rings, but many readers of J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel don’t know who he is. Manwë is one of the most powerful characters in Lord of the Rings, but he operates in the background. His real starring role came in The Silmarillion, a collection of stories that Tolkien’s son, Christopher, finished editing and got published after Tolkien died. Here, it is revealed how the commanding figure actually manifests his influence all throughout the Third Age events in the Peter Jackson movies.

Subtly one of the most influential key players in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies, Manwë is well worth knowing about for anyone looking forward to the upcoming Middle-earth movies. With Warner Bros. set to release new movies in the franchise in the coming years, there has never been a better time to get well acquainted with the wide and wonderful world of Lord of the Rings. With even The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power name-dropping Manwë in season 2, the King of the Valar is already seeping more and more into the public consciousness.

Manwë Is The Leader Of The Valar In The Lord Of The Rings Lore

Manwë Is One Of Middle-Earth’s Strongest Characters

Lord of wind and birds, Manwë is the leader and king of the 15 Valar, the godlike beings that govern Middle-earth. As such, Manwë is second only in power to the One creator, Eru Ilúvatar. Tom Bombadil may be older than the Valar and wasn’t affected by the One Ring in the slightest in The Lord of the Rings. His mystery posits him as a possible rival to Manwë’s claim of the second-most powerful being in all of Arda, but regardless, he didn’t create Middle-earth from its foundations like Manwë. The Valar sang the very world into existence.

The Valar are a race called Ainur and sang along with many others of their race a song that visualized Arda. This chorus, called the Ainulindalë, laid out the plan for the world and all its continents, including Middle-earth. Once visualized, the Valar went down into the world and built it from scratch. Impressively, Manwë is one of the three Valar who did most of the work, along with Aulë and Ulmo. Understandably, Manwë is King of Arda, but also the husband of Varda, the Valier (female Vala) of Stars, and brother of Melkor, the Vala who became the evil Morgoth.

Manwë’s History In Middle-Earth & Valinor Explained

Manwë Helped Form Middle-Earth And Prepare It For The Elves

Manwë’s hard work in forming the world was in large part to prepare it for its peoples, the first Children of Ilúvatar, the Elves, and the second, the Men. Tolkien confirmed in The Nature of Middle-earth that the First Age began with the awakening of the Elves in the eastern land of Cuiviénen. Therefore, it was from the First Age onward that things got really interesting in Middle-earth. Tolkien wrote The Silmarillion as if it was Elvish lore. Accurately to this concept, most of Middle-earth’s stories occur after the Elves’ awakening, because they weren’t there to document what came before.

Tolkienian Age
Event Marking The Start
Years
Total Length In Solar Years

Before time
Indeterminate
Indeterminate
Indeterminate

Days before Days
The Ainur entered Eä
1 – 3,500 Valian Years
33,537

Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)
Yavanna created the Two Trees
Y.T. 1 – 1050
10,061

First Age (F.A.)
Elves awoke in Cuiviénen
Y.T. 1050 – Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 – 590
4,902

Second Age (S.A.)
The War of Wrath ended
S.A. 1 – 3441

3,441

Third Age (T.A.)
The Last Alliance defeated Sauron
T.A. 1 – 3021
3,021

Although little is known about it by the Elves, and therefore little is said about it in The Silmarillion, the Valar waged great wars with the evil Vala Morgoth in Arda before the Elves awoke. Morgoth was tyrannical and violent, and the Valar eventually set up Valinor as their stronghold against him in the West. Morgoth was determined to corrupt the Elves, and a series of battles followed that are known as the Battles of Beleriand. But Manwë and his team were little involved until Eärendil begged for their help. Then, they finally defeated Morgoth in the cataclysmic War of Wrath.

How Manwë Is Connected To The Wizards

Manwë Chose Gandalf As An Istar

One notices that Gandalf appears to have a particularly good relationship with the Great Eagles in The Lord of the Rings, and this is no coincidence. When imprisoned atop Orthanc, Gandalf whispered “Gwaihir” to a moth in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie, but in the book, he spoke to Gwaihir himself. Of Middle-earth’s Great Eagles, Gwaihir was the greatest. “All… birds… come and go at [Manwë’s] bidding” in Middle-earth, and “the eagles of Manwë” in particular (The Silmarillion).

Of course, Gandalf would be the envoy of the King of Arda himself, chosen specially.

Tolkien didn’t publish it in his lifetime, but one story reveals how Lord of the Rings’ five Wizards had the backing of particular Valar. This draft, published by Christopher Tolkien in Unfinished Tales, flagged how it was Manwë who chose Olorin, otherwise known as Gandalf. Gandalf was the greatest Wizard alive by the end of the Third Age, with Sauron and Saruman defeated, Radagast happy with flora and fauna for company, and no tales telling of the fate of the Blue Wizards. Of course, Gandalf would be the envoy of the King of Arda himself, chosen specially.

Manwë’s Subtle Role In The Lord Of The Rings’ Ending

The Eagles Save The Day

Manwë “sent force the race of Eagles” in the First Age to help the Elves, and they remained the allies of the Eldar well into the War of the Ring (The Silmarillion). Although Thorondor was “King of Eagles, mightiest of all birds who have ever been” in the First Age, Gwaihir was his Third Age descendant (The Silmarillion). Not only did Gwaihir rescue Gandalf, he rescued Frodo and Sam with his eagle brethren from the broiling steeps of Mount Doom at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Subtly one of Lord of the Rings’ biggest heroes, Gwaihir represents Manwë’s will in Middle-earth.

Why Manwë Doesn’t Directly Fight Sauron In The Lord Of The Rings

The Valar Reduced Their Interference In Middle-Earth’s Affairs

Manwë never directly fought Sauron in the Lord of the Rings because he had stopped interfering in Middle-earth’s affairs in person, along with the other Valar. The Valar’s meddling with the first Children of Ilúvatar led them into difficulties in the Years of the Trees and the First Age. They learned that it was less damaging to let all of Arda’s inhabitants manage their own affairs, as much as possible. Also, they had to balance protecting them with letting history play out, some of which Eru showed them and some of which they themselves had sung into existence.

A wind mysteriously cleared the darkness over the Pelennor in The Lord of the Rings and the stars shone forth, proving that Manwë and his wife watched closely.

When the Valar sent their army to help the Elves fight the War of Wrath, they sank the entire region of Beleriand and reformed Middle-earth’s very structure. Manwë and the Valar didn’t trust that they could keep Middle-earth safe in another violent confrontation. Instead, they sent the Istari, or Wizards, to protect Middle-earth, who were instructed to defeat Sauron through gentler means. And yet, a wind mysteriously cleared the darkness over the Pelennor in The Lord of the Rings and the stars shone forth, proving that Manwë and his wife watched closely, but acted in ways more subtle than many understood.