A Elbereth Gilthoniel

Within Tolkien's fictional cosmology, the hymn originates as an Elvish devotional song addressed to Elbereth (Sindarin name for the Vala Varda). It appears in The Lord of the Rings (notably in the chapter "Many Meetings") in untranslated Sindarin; Tolkien presented multiple textual versions of the hymn, and later publications and musical settings have reproduced or adapted it. The hymn is a literary creation within the legendarium rather than an independently acting being.

The hymn exists as sung or recited Sindarin words in the narrative. It is presented as audible language and melody—"the sweet syllables of the elvish song fell like clear jewels of blended word and melody"—and appears in three textual versions in Tolkien's work. There is no depiction of a physical artifact; its 'appearance' is linguistic and auditory within scenes.

Sources do not ascribe literal magical powers to the hymn itself. In the narrative it functions as prayer, invocation, and a token of reverence: characters sing or recall it in moments of awe and consolation (for example in Rivendell, and Bilbo's remark about the stars), and individual characters cry lines derived from it in moments of peril (e.g., Frodo's exclamation at Weathertop and related uses by Sam and others). Scholarly commentary compares its devotional tone to Marian hymns, emphasizing cultural and emotional force rather than demonstrated supernatural effects.