Ainulindalë

Ainulindalë, commonly translated as the Music of the Ainur, is the opening creation myth of J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium. It appears as the first part of The Silmarillion and outlines the cosmogony of Tolkien's universe, describing the creation of Arda (the world) by Eru Ilúvatar through the musical contribution of the Ainur, a group that includes the Valar and lesser divine beings.

In the narrative, Ilúvatar invites the Ainur to bring forth into sound the themes in his thought. They improvise a great symphony whose harmony and complexity reflect his mind. Some melodies symbolize acts of creation, others the governance of the world. Among the Ainur, Melkor, later known as Morgoth, introduces discord and opposition to the themes. His attempts to alter the music fail to stop the overall design, for Ilúvatar reveals that discord can enrich the music and that a new theme will be woven into the pattern to give meaning to the conflict. The result is the making of Arda, a universe in whom Ilúvatar's plan will unfold, with the coming of the Valar to shape the world and the awakening of the Children of Ilúvatar.

The Ainur descend into Arda to prepare it for the inhabitants who will later live there. The prologue establishes central ideas of Tolkien's mythology: art and sub-creation, free will, the problem of evil, and a divine purpose behind the world's hidden order.

Ainulindalë is the first part of the Silmarillion and was published posthumously in 1977, edited by Christopher Tolkien, serving as the cosmology and prologue to the tales that follow.