In the works of
J. R. R. Tolkien, the
Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High
Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the
Eldar, and were the first to arrive in
Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by
Imin, the first Elf to awake at
Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and their twelve companions; but it was
Ingwë, the first Vanya to travel with
Oromë to
Valinor, who became their king. They speak
Quendya, a dialect of
Quenya found only in Valinor.
The name Vanyar (singular Vanya) means "(the) Fair" in Quenya, referring to their golden hair (the original meaning of the word "Vanya" approximating as "light/pale"). They are sometimes known, particularly amongst themselves, by their original name Minyar, meaning "the First". The word "vanya" in Quenya is also listed as a verb meaning "to leave/depart/vanish", which may have either arisen due to the almost complete disappearance of this clan early on in Elven history, or given rise to the noun "Vanya(r)" in later times. However, it is unclear if this is the case, and it appears that Tolkien may have dropped the use of "vanya" as a verb in his later conceptions of Quenya.
According to the Elven legend Cuiviényarna, the Vanyar are descendants of Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and six other pairs of Elves who were awoken by them. Imin's companions, Tata and Enel, later awoke groups of nine and twelve pairs respectively, and Imin decided that since his group was now the smallest and each group that he and his companions discovered was larger than the last, he would now choose third rather than first in order to make up the numbers. However, only a further two groups were discovered, leaving Imin's group of fourteen by far the smallest of the three Elven clans.
When the Elves were discovered by Oromë, each clan chose an ambassador to return with him to Valinor to verify his claims of its greatness. The Minyar (Imin's companions) sent Ingwë. Upon his return, his people were swayed by his testimony and adopted him as their king (appropriate, as the name Ingwë means chieftan in Quenya), and he led them with Oromë to Aman. Ingwë has since been reckoned the High King of all Elves, and became known as Ingwë Ingweron, the "Chief of Chieftains", and his people were known by the rest of the Eldar as the Vanyar. He dwells with them on the slopes of Taniquetil, beneath the halls of Manwë.
