Does the Silmarillion Contradict Third age History? How Powerful Were Those First age

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Zigûr

Certainly in Letter 144 he does refer to them as "primeval spirits", although that doesn't necessarily mean Maiar as we understand it now.

Good point. I simplified the matter too much above, although I was centering on "primeval spirits" compared to Melkor-made creatures. The terms Maiar and Umaiar (for Balrogs) do appear in the early 1950s (if CJRT's guess about AAm* is correct), but the matter is not so simple, as you correctly suggest (for example: Maiar "the beautiful" at a point in this phase, and the Valarindi, the children of the Valar).

I should have gone with "primeval spirits" versus Melkor-made

I'm not really sure what point I'm trying to make to be honest

I rarely am sure what point I'm trying to make