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Lord of the Rings: J.R.R. Tolkien's Elves |
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I did some research to make it easier on people whenever they are writing stories about the Elves in Tolkien's world. This way, they would create stories that make sense and are believable in the world of Lord of the Rings, Middle-earth.
Facts:
1. Elves are the first inhabitants of Middle-earth and the Lands of Arda.
2. Vala Oromë was the one that gave the name Eldar (People Of The Stars) to the Elves - their first name was Quendi (The Ones Who Speak With Voices). Later, the name Eldar was used only for those who were part of the Great Journey To Aman.
3. in the Silmarillion, Melkor, the Dark Lord, had already captured some wandering Elves, and twisted and mutilated them until they became the Orcs.
4. They were about six feet tall and somewhat slender, graceful but strong and resistant to the extremes of nature. Their senses, especially of hearing and sight, were much keener than those of men. Elves apparently did not sleep, but rested their minds in waking dreams or by looking at beautiful things, and they could communicate mentally with each other. Their archery skills were unsurpassed and an Elf could make pincushions out of Orcs at a league or more. They also display a remarkable resistance to the effects of alcohol, even more than that of a dwarf.
5. The elves possessed skills and knowledge that appeared as 'magic' to men.
6. They can be slain or die of grief, elves were not subject to age or disease. Elves could recover from wounds which would normally kill a mortal man.
7. An elf who lost his life went to the halls of Mandos, whence he could go elsewhere in Valinor but not return to Middle-earth. The date of an elf's death is the death of the physical body. The fate of Elves is bound to Ea, and they cannot leave the Circles of the World until the End, when they will join with the Ainur in the Second Music before the throne of lluvatar. An exception to this was Glorfindel.
8. At age 50, they are mature.
As told in The History of Middle-earth and in Tolkien's Letters, Elves had a different life cycle from Men. Most of the following information strictly refers only to the Eldar, as found in his essay Laws and Customs among the Eldar, found in Morgoth's Ring.
9. Elves are born about one year from their conception. The day of their conception is celebrated, not the actual birthday itself. Their minds develop more quickly than their bodies; by their first year, they can speak, walk and even dance, and their quicker onset of mental maturity makes young Elves seem, to Men, older than they really are. Physical puberty comes in around their fiftieth to one hundredth year (by age fifty they reach their adult height), and by their first hundred years of life outside the womb all Elves are fully grown.
10. Elves marry freely and for love early in life. Monogamy is practiced and adultery is unthinkable; they marry only once (Finwë, first High King of the Noldor, was an exception, as he remarried after his first wife died).
11. Spouses can choose each other even long before they are married, thus becoming betrothed. The betrothal is subject to parental approval unless the parties are of age and intend to marry soon, at which point the betrothal is announced. They exchange rings and the betrothal lasts at least a year, and is revocable by the return of the rings; however, it is rarely broken. After their formal betrothal, the couple appoint a date, at least a year later, for the wedding.
12. Only the words exchanged by the bride and groom (including the speaking of the name of Eru Illivatar) and the consummation are required for marriage. More formally, the couple's families celebrate the marriage with a feast. The parties give back their betrothal rings and receive others worn on their index fingers. The bride’s mother gives the groom a jewel to wear (Galadriel's gift of the Elfstone to Aragorn reflects this tradition; she is grandmother to his betrothed, Arwen, Arwen's mother Celebrían having left Middle-earth for Valinor after grievous psychological injury after her capture by orcs and liberation by her sons).
13. The Elves view the sexual act as extremely special and intimate, for it leads to the conception and birth of children. Extra-marital and premarital sex are unthinkable, adultery is also unheard of and fidelity between spouses is absolute. Yet separation during pregnancy or during the early years of parenthood (caused by war, for example) is so grievous to the couple that they prefer to have children in peaceful times. Living Elves cannot be raped or forced to have sex; before that they will lose the will to endure and go to Mandos.
14. Elves have few children, as a rule (Fëanor and Nerdanel were an exception, conceiving seven sons), and there are relatively sizeable intervals between each child. They are soon preoccupied with other pleasures; their libido wanes and they focus their interests elsewhere, like the arts. Nonetheless, they take great delight in the union of love, and they cherish the days of bearing and raising children as the happiest days of their lives.
15. The Elves, particularly the Noldor, preoccupy themselves with various things such as smithwork, sculpture, music and other arts, and of course, what to eat. Males and females can do almost everything equally; however, the females often specialize in the arts of healing while the males go to war. This is because they believe that taking life interferes with the ability to preserve life. However, Elves are not stuck in rigid roles; females can defend themselves at need as well as males, and many males are skilled healers as well, such as Elrond.
16. Eventually, if they do not die in battle or from some other cause, the Elves of Middle-earth grow weary of it and desire to go to Valinor, where the Valar originally sheltered their kind. Those who wish to leave for the Undying Lands often go by boats provided at the Grey Havens, where Cirdan the Shipwright dwells with his folk.
17. Eventually, their immortal spirits will overwhelm and consume their bodies, rendering them "bodiless", whether they opt to go to Valinor or remain in Middle-earth. At the end of the world, all Elves will have become invisible to mortal eyes, except to those to whom they wish to manifest themselves. Tolkien called the Elves of Middle-earth who had undergone this process "Lingerers".
18. The lives of Elves only endure as the world endures. It is said in the Second Prophecy of Mandos that at the end of time the Elves will join the other Children of Iluvatar in singing the Second Music of the Ainur. However it is disputable whether the Prophecy is canon, and the published Silmarillion states that only Men shall participate in the Second Music, and that the ultimate fate of the Elves is unknown. However, they do not believe that Eru will abandon them to oblivion.
19. When naming an elf, they are typically given one name (ataressë) at birth by the father. It usually reflected either the name of the father or mother, indicating the person's descent, to which later some distinguishing prefix could be added. As the Elf grew older, they received a second name (amilessë), given by the mother. This name was extremely important and reflected personality, skills, or fate, sometimes being 'prophetic'. The epessë or the "after-name" is the third type. It was given later in life, not necessarily by kin, as a title of admiration and honor. In some circumstances, yet another name was chosen by the Elf themselves, called kilmessë meaning "self-name". The "true names" remained the first two, though an Elf could be referred to by any of these. Mother-names were usually not used by those who did not know the Elf well. In later history and song any of the four could become the one generally used and recognized.
20. "Qenya", the first primitive form of Elvish. This was later called Quenya (High-elven) and, along with Sindarin (Grey-elven), is one of the two most complete of Tolkien's languages.
21. Elves are also credited with creating the Tengwar (by Feanor) and Cirth (Daeron) runic scripts.
 DamnBlackHeart · Sat Dec 04, 2010 @ 10:07pm · 0 Comments |
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