The Star

After Eärendil had travelled to Aman and convinced the Valar to challenge the power of Morgoth in Middle-earth, he was granted the ability to pilot his vessel Vingilot into the airs above Arda. He had carried a Silmaril with him across the Great Sea, and he bound this to his brow, so that its light shone out across all the lands of the world. In Middle-earth this beacon rising into the Western skies was seen as the Star of High Hope, and so it indeed proved. As a result of Eärendil's embassy, the forces of the Valar descended on Morgoth and fought the War of Wrath, freeing Elves and Men alike from the threat of the Dark Power.

The Star continued to shine in the West, and the Edain of Beleriand followed its light across the Sea to reach a new homeland. This led to the foundation of Númenor, a great realm of Men on an isle raised in the Great Sea by the Valar as reward for their service. Indeed, one of Númenor's many names was Elenna or 'Starwards'.

Even after Númenor fell, the significance of the Star was remembered in Middle-earth, and it was used by the Dúnedain (the exiled descendants of the Númenóreans) as one of their most important symbols. The Star itself still shone in the sky in the evening and morning, as indeed it does today. The Elves called it Undómiel, the ' Evenstar', names given as a title to Arwen the daughter of Elrond. Galadriel was able to catch some of the Star's light in a shimmering glass Phial, which she gave to Frodo Baggins as a gift, and which would later prove vital in the achievement of the Quest of Mount Doom.

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While references to the 'Star' are almost always to Eärendil and his Silmaril, there is one other rare use that cannot be directly connected to his flights into the high airs. This was an older Star used as the emblem of the House of Fëanor (which long, long predated Eärendil's voyage). This many-rayed Star symbol was used as part of the design on the Doors of Durin, a design created by Fëanor's grandson Celebrimbor.