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The Valar: Tulkas Astaldo

I have been asked to provide a character study of Tulkas Astaldo (Poldórëa), one of the Valar, and to comment on the evolution of his character between “The Book of Lost Tales” (BOLT) and “The Silmarillion.” (TS)  In comparing the two descriptions, there is little change in Tulkas.  There is, however, a significant alteration in the sequencing of events in which Tulkas plays a major role.  With this in mind, I will attempt to show how Tulkas was first conceived in comparison to his final portrayal.  I will follow this up with a comparison of the events in those tales in which he was involved.  I hope I don't bore you to tears or, worse, turn you off of Tolkien!

            Tulkas Poldórëa (Astaldo or Valiant) is described in both volumes as being the strongest of the Valar, delighting in feats of strength and skill, wrestling, boxing, etc.  He also does not carry any weapons, as his fists fill that need.  He is the fleetest of foot of all creatures for none can outrun him.  He is referred to as perpetual youth, always laughing, quick to anger but never striking a blow without cause.  The only physical description given for Tulkas is from TS: “His hair and beard are golden, and his flesh ruddy...”  In BOLT, Tulkas is described as “having a tunic of hide and a brazen belt and no weapon save a gauntlet upon his right hand, iron-bound...”  These items are not mentioned in The Silmarillion.  One other major difference between the books is in his surname.  In BOLT, Tulkas is called Poldórëa or the Mighty One.  In TS, he is called Astaldo or The Valiant.  Both surnames are descriptive of Tulkas.  Whether one refers to Tulkas as Mighty or Valiant is a minor issue.  What does matter is his character: that of an exuberant person, delighting in his own skill and strength, fearing no one and nothing.  A person who would do all he could for you as a friend, but who you might be a little leery of going to for advice.  He was notoriously bad at that!  Tulkas was definitely a person who preferred action over words, as will be seen a bit further in this narrative. 

            As you can see, there is little difference between BOLT's Tulkas and TS's Tulkas, other than cosmetic.  These minor differences served only to flesh out his character a bit, but played no major part in the overall story or events.

            Tulkas is first mentioned in BOLT when they list the order the Valar arrive in at Valinor: he arrives after Ossë, one of the Maiar devoted to Ulmo, and is followed by several other Valar: “Behind him (Ossë) there came Tulkas Poldorea rejoicing in his strength, and...”. In TS, he arrives only after the Valar are in mortal combat with Melkor and in very serious danger of losing the war.  He is also listed as the last of the Lords of the Valar.  There are 14 Valar: 7 Lords and 7 Queens – he’s the last of the Lords. “The names of the Lords in due order are: Manwë, Ulmo, Aulë, Oromë, Mandos, Lórien, and Tulkas;...” and “He came last to Valinor, to aid the Valar in the first battles with Melkor.” From these beginnings, the tales of the Fall of Valinor and the Chaining of Melkor take their courses in the two books.  Since these are the events in which Tulkas plays a significant role, I will explore the differences between the books and the tales they tell.  As the home of the Valar goes by several names in the telling, I will restrict myself to the use of Valinor, except when quoting from a source.

            Following the introduction of the Valar in BOLT, Tolkien steps into the cause of the strife between Melkor (he is referred to as Melko in BOLT, but for simplicity's sake, I'm going to restrict myself to Melkor) and the rest of the Valar.  As the Valar were building Valinor, Melkor was busy with his dark creations.  The world of the Valar was bright and beautiful, Melkor's dark and loathsome.  It finally came to pass that Manwë, chief of the Valar, could no longer stand the evil of Melkor in the world and required that Melkor be brought before him.  To this task were Mandos and Tulkas assigned.  Mandos was selected because Melkor feared him only slightly less than he feared the hand of Tulkas.  These two sought out and brought Melkor before Manwë with little problem.  Tulkas hated the duplicity and evil in Melkor and in the only instance of an unprovoked blow, he “gave him (Melkor) a blow with his fist, and he abode that then but did not forget.”  The malice that Melkor held for Tulkas before became even more vile and would, ultimately, aid the Valar in vanquishing him.  It is interesting to note at this time that, in TS, Melkor's undying hatred of Tulkas arose from a slightly different event.  “and for long Melkor had the upper hand. But in the midst of the war a spirit of great strength and hardihood came to the aid of the Valar...So came Tulkas the Strong, whose anger passes like a mighty wind... and Melkor fled before his wrath and his laughter, and forsook Arda...but Melkor brooded in the outer darkness, and his hate was given to Tulkas for ever after.”

            At this point, BOLT turns to the creation of Valinor, the home of the gods.  I won't go into the details, but ultimately, the Valar build up an island they name Valinor.  Aulë and Tulkas “fared abroad with many of their folk and brought back all they might of marbles and good stones, of iron and gold and silver and bronze and all manner of substances. These they heaped amid the plain, and straightway Aulë began to labour mightily.”  In this fashion did Valinor come to be.  In TS, following the retreat of Melkor, the Valar formed Almaren, their first abode, filling it with all manner of wonders and creatures.  Again, Aulë and Tulkas are instrumental in the formation of the land and the wonders it held.

            I will pause here for a moment and describe the house of Tulkas, as given in BOLT:

“(Tulkas) dwelt amidmost of Valmar.  His was a house of mirth and revelry; and it sprang high into the air with many storeys, and had a tower of bronze and pillars of copper in a wide arcade. In its court men played and rivalled one another in doughty feats, and then at times would that fair maiden Nessa wife of Tulkas bear goblets of the goodliest wine and cooling drinks among the players.”  And of Tulkas' wife:  “Nessa loved to retire unto a place of fair lawns whose turf Oromë her brother had culled from the richest of all his forest glades, and Palurien had planted it with spells that it was always green and smooth.  There danced she among her maidens as long as Laurelin was in bloom, for is she not greater in the dance than Vana herself?”  TS does not describe Tulkas' home.  In TS, Tulkas does not wed Nessa until after the Valar are established at Almaren, their first abode, whereas in the BOLT they are already wed when they arrive.  The character of Nessa is virtually the same in both books, as she is described as loving to dance in the fields.  Another interesting difference between BOLT and TS is that Telimektar of the Silver Sword, the son of Tulkas, is mentioned only in the first book.  There is not a hint of him in TS.  Telimektar, indeed all of the children of the Valar, are dropped altogether by Tolkien in TS.  It would seem that Tulkas was given more attention in BOLT than he was in TS, though he played a significant role in each.

            Now let us turn our attentions to yet another major event common to both tales:  The Chaining of Melkor.  In BOLT, Melkor has continued to work his evil in the world until finally the Valar decide they have to take action.  What they decide to do is to bring Melkor before Manwë by whatever means necessary.  It is evident they know he won't come quietly as it is now that Aulë creates the chain Angaino (Oppressor), as well as the manacles Vorotemnar (Bind Forever) and the fetters Ilterendi (Might not be filed or cut).  The weight of the chain is such that Tulkas is barely able to carry it alone.  TS has the chain already made and no other description of it is provided in this telling.  Yet another instance of Tolkien paring the telling of his tale, and with no apparent detriment to the story.  Once the Valar arrive before the gates of Utumno, Melkor's stronghold, they attempt to lure him out with deception.  Melkor agrees that the Valar may come before him, unarmed, to pay their respect, but that Tulkas should come in chains.  He intended to humiliate them for the hurt he had suffered at their hands.  The Valar agree to his terms and Tulkas is draped in Angaino.  When they are brought before Melkor, he demands “wilt thou come Manwë and kneel before me, and after you all the Valar; but last shall come Tulkas and kiss my foot, for I have in mind something for which I owe Poldórëa no great love." Now he purposed to spurn Tulkas in the mouth in payment of that buffet long ago,...”  But the thought of Manwë kneeling before the evil Melkor proves to be too much for Tulkas:  “Tulkas leapt across the hall at a bound despite Angaino, ...thereupon Tulkas smote Melko full in his teeth with his fist of iron, and he and Aule grappled with him, and straight he was wrapped thirty times in the fathoms of Angaino.”  Thus is Melkor taken prisoner by the Valar.   In TS, the Valar break through the defenses of Utumno and Tulkas finds Melkor in the uttermost pit:  ”Then Tulkas stood forth as champion of the Valar and wrestled with him, and cast him upon his face; and he was bound with the chain Angainor that Aulë had wrought, and led captive; and the world had peace for a long age.”  And, so, in both tales, does Melkor become the prisoner of the Valar.

            Once again Melkor is brought to the home of the Valar.  He is doomed by Manwë to be chained for three ages in a dungeon of Mandos and then for four ages would he be a servant to Tulkas.  Many of the Valar thought this to be too lenient a punishment, but Manwë held to his decision.  Of this punishment, only the three ages in the dungeons of Mandos remained in TS.  At the end of this time, Melkor was allowed to wander free through Valinor.  It is to be noted that, though many disagreed with Manwë's decision, none went against it, despite their inner forebodings.  As Tolkien wrote: “for those who will defend authority against rebellion must not themselves rebel.”  This is in direct contrast to the BOLT where all of the Gods did defy Manwë's will one time.  This occurred when a herald of Melkor came before Manwë to speak for him.  Tulkas had seized the herald and Manwë bid him to release him.  “...but the  Gods  arose crying with one voice: "This is no herald, but a rebel,  a thief, and a  murderer." "He hath defiled the sanctity of Valinor,"  shouted Tulkas, "and cast  his insolence in our teeth.” Manwë was intending to send word back through this herald rejecting Melkor and outlawing Melkor and his followers forever from Valinor.  ”... but the folk of the Vali and the  Elves would  have none of it, and led by Tulkas they took that  renegade to the topmost peak of Taniquetil, and there declaring him no herald and taking the mountain and  the stars to witness of the same they cast him to the boulders of Arvalien so that he was slain, and Mandos received him into his deepest caves.  Then Manwë seeing in this rebellion and their violent deed the seed of bitterness cast down his scepter and wept.”  It would appear that, after comparing this rebellion and the quote above regarding authority, Tolkien had decided that such defiance was contradictory to his overall conception of the character of the Valar.

            As we have seen, when doing a comparison between BOLT and TS, the character of Tulkas did not change.  In both books, he was a stalwart and honorable person.  He maintained his role as champion of the Valar and helped Aulë in fashioning the land of the Valar in both books.  His unabated hatred of Melkor carried through and showed itself in every encounter between them.  His was a very straight-forward personality, unable to hide his emotions, and impetuously acting on them at times.  He would do all he could for his friends and allies, but nothing would stop him from exacting revenge for an injustice, save only the command of Manwë.