Ilmarë

The handmaid of Varda

Ilmarë is named in the Valaquenta as one of the two Maiar who stand first among that order, the other being Eönwë, the herald of Manwë. Where Eönwë serves the Elder King, Ilmarë serves his queen Varda, the Lady of the Stars, and she is called Varda's handmaid. Her name itself recalls Ilmen, the high region of the airs where the stars are set, and it is natural to suppose that her service to Varda concerns that realm, though the texts say nothing more precise.

What is not known

The published histories give Ilmarë no deeds, no dwelling beyond Valinor, and no part in the wars of Middle-earth. She does not appear in the Quenta Silmarillion, in the Akallabêth or in the tales of the later ages. Her rank alone is stated, and that rank is high: she is set beside Eönwë, who commanded the host of the Valar in the War of Wrath, and above such Maiar as Ossë, Melian and Olórin. Readers should treat her chiefly as a name that marks the greatness of Varda's household on Taniquetil, where Manwë and Varda dwell together in Ilmarin and where the Maiar who serve them are the noblest of their kind.

Ilmarë remains in Valinor in the service of Varda.