Aegnor and Andreth

There was one romance between a male elf and a female mortal. Way back in the First Age, Aegnor (one of the princes of the Noldor, son of Finarfin) and Andreth (Barahir’s aunt, who was the father of Beren.)

Aegnor and his brother Angrod settled in northern Dorthonion during the events of The Silmarillion. It was there that, while taking a walk one night, Aegnor saw Andreth’s reflection in a lake and the two fell in love.

However, since it was against elvish custom to be married during times of war, and because of the complication of their different races, Aegnor wouldn’t marry her. However, it’s said that Aegnor refused to marry any elves either, for Andreth’s sake.

Aegnor died before Andreth - both he and his brother Angrod were killed during the Dagor Bragollach. It’s said that he is one of the few elves that refuses to be re-embodied, and instead stays in the Halls of Mandos, since he has no desire to live in a world without Andreth.

Andreth went on to become a wise woman of her house, respected by elves and men alike. She actually had a close friendship with Aegnor’s other brother, Finrod Felagund. The two would often meet and discuss the differences between elves and men. One of these conversations was recorded as Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth, and is probably the best source for the differences (philosophical and otherwise) between elves and men.

SOURCES: The Silmarillion, Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth (published in The History of Middle Earth, v. 10)

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Thranduil's "Greed"

((This was a multi-question ask, so I blocked out the other questions to keep this post focused. Plus, it was really fun to go through and redact things, lol.))

Not really… Of course, you’re free to interpret Thranduil’s character however you’d like, but there isn’t much in The Hobbit that supports this claim.  Many readers think of Thranduil as greedy, and it’s all thanks to this quote:

In ancient days they had had wars with some of the dwarves, whom they accused of stealing their treasure. It is only fair to say that the dwarves gave a different account, and said that they only took what was their due, for the elf-king had bargained with them to shape his raw gold and silver, and had afterwards refused to give them their pay. If the elf-king had a weakness it was for treasure, especially for silver and white gems; and though his hoard was rich, he was ever eager for more, since he had not yet as great a treasure as other elf-lords of old.

Now, I admit, this whole paragraph makes Thranduil look pretty bad. But I honestly believe that the first half (the reference to ancient wars and conflicts between the dwarves and the elves) is actually a reference to Thingol. Since The Hobbit was written before Tolkien had cemented a lot of the Silmarillion stories, and certainly before he ever thought they’d be published, it’s very possible that he mixed Thingol’s story in with Thranduil. This theory is supported by the fact that, later on in the paragraph, Tolkien tells us that Thorin’s people weren’t involved with these old conflicts - if it wasn’t the dwarves of Moria, then it must have been the dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, which were involved with the elves of the First Age.

The second part of the quote explains that the reason Thranduil is interested in gold is because he sees it as a measure of his worth as a ruler. He compares his own treasure to the treasure amassed by the great elf-lords of the First Age. It’s not that he wants gold and jewels for the sake of having gold and jewels. He wants it because he believes it will prove that he is a great ruler. So it’s not really pure greed (at least, not greed for treasure.) All in all, the whole paragraph sounds worse than it actually is.

Furthermore, Thranduil’s actions throughout the rest of the book suggest that he’s actually pretty willing to prioritize other issues over the accumulation of treasure. Yes, he responds to news of Smaug’s demise by marching straight for Erebor (where he thinks the treasure has been left unprotected.) But as soon as Bard’s messengers arrive, pleading for help with the wounded and homeless people of Esgaroth, he changes course and sends ahead food and supplies, arriving with his people to help rebuild the town. And later, when Bard suggests they attack the dwarves before they’ve had a chance to prepare for battle, Thranduil refuses, saying "Long wil I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold."

Basically, while Thranduil likes treasure (who doesn’t), he isn’t portrayed as caring for gold and jewels above all else. He is willing to put aside the promise of treasure in order to help his friends, and even to avoid a fight with his enemies/not-really-friends.

SOURCES: The Hobbit

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Tolkien's Favorite Character

I’m not sure if Tolkien ever admitted to having a favorite character (if I had to guess, I’d say either Gandalf or Galadriel.) However, there is a clear winner for which character is most based on Tolkien himself. “As far as any character is ‘like me’" Tolkien wrote, “it is Faramir."This resemblance is particularly clear when it comes to Faramir’s views on war, which are very much influenced by Tolkien’s own opinions after World War One. As Faramir said "I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness… I love only that which they defend." However, Tolkien admits that Faramir (and he says this of each character) possesses a courage that he does not.

Tolkien’s relationship with Faramir is interesting beyond this resemblance. Tolkien wrote that Faramir wasn’t planned, and that he was as surprised as anybody when Faramir appeared in the story. "(I am sure I did not invent him, I did not even want him, though I like him, but there he came walking into the woods of Ithilien): Faramir, brother of Boromir." And the rest, as they say, was history.

SOURCES: Tolkien’s letters #66 and #180

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Elves and Dwarves: An Overview

The history of the relationship between the elves and the dwarves is a complicated one (and by that I mean it’s lasted thousands of years, hasn’t always been bad, and hasn’t always involved the same groups of elves and dwarves.) I tried answering this question for real, but literally ended up with over five pages of information, and that’s just ridiculous. So here I’ll give you a very brief overview of the relationship. But if anybody finds any particular part to be interesting, please ask me for more details, because I’ve already got it typed up! :)

Philosophical Predisposition: It’s said that the elves and the dwarves are predisposed to dislike each other because of a conflict in their origins. The elves were always meant to be the Firstborn, but the dwarves were (kind of) created first. If anything this would be a subconscious/unrecognized factor in their relations.

The First Age: When elves first arrived in Beleriand they would hunt down exiled dwarves like animals for fun. But the two main dwarf cities, Nogrod and Belegost, had good relations with the elves. They built Thingol’s city of Menegroth and Finrod’s city of Norgothrond and made the Nauglamir for him (they even gave him the name Felagund.) They fought alongside the elves in the Nirnaeth Arnoenidad. Then things fell apart when Thingol and the dwarves of Nogrod got into a conflict over the Nauglamir. By the end Thingol was dead (as well as many other elves from Doriath), and most of the dwarves of Nogrod had been killed as well (Belegost stayed out of the whole thing.)

The Second Age: The dwarves of Moria had a very good relationship with the elves of Eregion. Celebrimbor especially got along with the dwarves. When Sauron attacked Eregion the dwarves helped ensure the elves retreat, but then shut their doors and avoided the rest of the war.

The Third Age: Many of the elves of Lothlorien flee when the balrog is awakened in Moria. The dwarves’ greed is blamed. The dwarves of Erebor resent the elves of Mirkwood for their lack of aid when Smaug attacked, as well as Thranduil’s actions during the events of The Hobbit. The elves of Rivendell remain friendly, though. Legolas and Gimli forge a famous and very strong relationship during the War of the Ring.

Again, this is the cliffnotes version of the story. I’ve got lots more where that came from if you want more details.

SOURCES: The Silmarillion, LOTR, The Hobbit, LOTR Appendices, The Unfinished Tales

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The Dunedain Rangers

The Dunedain rangers are treated much the same in historical records as they were in life – that is, they’re working pretty much non-stop to keep everybody safe and happy, and receive almost no recognition for it. The Shire is, unbeknownst to the hobbits, protected round-the-clock by rangers. Every time there’s an increase in orc populations, or the rivers flood, or there’s an especially bad winter, or the wolves migrate south – the rangers are there, fighting battles, herding refugees, delivering supplies, and chasing off the wolves.

In the Fellowship movie, when Boromir makes that comment about Gondor fighting Mordor “while your lands are kept safe”, and Aragorn does that epic eye-roll? That’s not just because Boromir’s being pompous, but because Aragorn’s father (Arathorn II) was stabbed through the eye by an orc. And his grandfather (Arador) was killed by hill trolls. And his great-grandfather (Argonui) died of cold or disease during the Fell Winter. And his great-great grandfather (Arathorn I) was killed by wolves. And his great-great-great grandfather (Arassuil) delivered emergency supplies to The Shire during the Long Winter (though Gandalf got all the credit for that.)

Basically the Dunedain were once lords – nobility of the great kingdom of Arnor. Their kingdom fell, was taken away from them by civil war and the Witch King. They could have moved south to Gondor, and still lived like lords. Or they could have become simpler people, and lived out happy peaceful lives like the men of Bree. Instead they chose to hang on to all the responsibility of lordship – protecting the people living in Eriador, fighting every evil that passes through – without any of the perks. No castles, (no cities left, even, they’re all deserted.) Just a dwindling group of bad-ass, increasingly shifty-looking men, wandering the wild and fighting the good fight. And that’s pretty awesome.

SOURCES: LOTR, LOTR Appendices

((Somewhere in the middle of this post I lost track of what I was supposed to be talking about. If you have a more specific question about the Dunedain rangers, please let me know and I’ll try to be more direct next time, lol.))

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Eowyn, The White Lady of Rohan

When Eowyn was seven her father was killed by orcs, and her mother soon after died of grief, leaving Eowyn and her brother Eomer to go and live with Thoeden, a widower with one son. It’s not that Eowyn was raised like a boy – when we meet her she is very much the lady of the Golden Hall – but that she grew up without any female role models. She grew up hearing stories of great warriors, of watching her brother and cousin train to be great warriors, of learning from her uncle, a (you guessed it) great warrior. For Eowyn, glory in battle was the way to prove your worth. But she was a woman, and glory in battle wasn’t really an option for her in Rohan.

Then comes Aragorn, this mysterious great warrior from a distant land. And Eowyn thinks that this is her chance. She could go with Aragorn, find her glory fighting alongside him outside the constraints of Rohirric society. But he refuses. Because battle isn’t Eowyn’s only chance for glory. While she’s trying to find a way to the battle field, Theoden has placed her in charge of Rohan while he and Eomer are gone. They’re all expecting to die, so really what he’s doing is placing Eowyn on the throne. She would rule over all of Rohan, and there is a lot glory in that kind of duty.

But it’s not what Eowyn wants. For all that Aragorn and her brother and her uncle assure her that there is no cage waiting for her, in Eowyn’s mind she can only prove her worth on the battle field. And since proving your worth to yourself is more important than anyone else, she keeps trying. She takes a disguise and travels with the army anyway. And she fights the Witch King, doing something that nobody else on that battle field could have done, killing Sauron’s second in command. She finds her glory, and finally proves her worth to herself.

It’s while healing that she meets Faramir. And if there’s anybody else in Middle Earth that understands the need to prove your own worth, it’s Faramir. And here’s where Eowyn shows that she’s really amazing. She lets go of her dreams of battles. Not because she can’t be the shieldmaiden and the lady of Ithilien at the same time, and not because anyone is going to stop her.  Tolkien says that “the heart of Eowyn changed, or else at last she understood it.” She’d achieved her goal: she’d fought in a great battle and did glorious things, her story is already being put to song across Gondor, she’s earned renown as the Lady of the Shield Arm. But most importantly she has proved to herself that she is worthy. And now, comfortable in her own skin, she move on to making herself happy by letting herself have this, have Faramir. And that takes a level of self-awareness, self-acceptance, and strength that most people don’t have.

Released from her self-imposed expectations, Eowyn happily marries Faramir and settles with him in Ithilien, where they have a son. Frankly she’s one of the few independent women in Middle Earth that ends up with such a happy life, and I think it’s because she knew what she wanted in life, she insisted on getting it, and then when she had it, she was wise and strong enough to let it go and move on.

SOURCES: LOTR, LOTR Appendices

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Dwarvish Naming Customs

Here’s an interesting fact about dwarves: we don’t know their real names. That’s right, all the dwarves you know and love are using aliases. Gimli is not really Gimli. Thorin is not really Thorin. Who knows who Kili and Fili are. Heck, even Durin wasn’t really Durin. 

The dwarves, due to their extremely secretive nature, refused to tell non-dwarves their true, personal names - or the personal names of any other dwarves. When dwarves first started forming relationships with the communities of men living nearby, they would use names in the Mannish languages used by those communities. As this tradition solidified, it seems that the dwarves kept using names similar to these first “aliases" - either by reusing family names, or just by keeping to the same naming forms and traditions. This is why the names we see in the later Ages seem so “dwarvish" - though they’re technically Mannish names, the languages spoken by these early men have since died out, so they seem unusual to the men of the later Ages.

Dwarves went so far as to forbid these true, personal, “inner" names from being carved (in case someone who could read Khuzdul saw it), and when telling outsiders the history of their people, they even assigned Mannish names to dwarves long dead (like Durin.)

((I read once on another blog that dwarves believed their inner names to be connected to their souls. This would make sense, seeing as how they saw their language as sacred, having been given to them by Aule. However, the blog didn’t cite any sources, and I haven’t been able to find this in any of my books. If you’ve seen in somewhere, please let me know, as I’d like to know if it’s true or not!))

SOURCES: LOTR Appendix F, History of Middle Earth vol. 12 ("Of Dwarves and Men")

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Hierarchy Among the Elves

((These were both multi-question asks, so I blocked out the other questions to keep this post focused. Plus, it was really fun to go through and redact things, lol.))

This is a really interesting question, and one that I spent some time trying to decide how to answer. Because, in the end, I think it really depends. If we were to look at it from a strictly political point of view, Thranduil comes out on top every time, being the only actual king in the group. But there are other things to take into account:

Galadriel

• Ancestors: Galadriel is the daughter of Finarfin and granddaughter of Finwe. Her brothers, Finrod, was one of the greatest lords of the First Age. Her cousins (both the children of Feanor and Fingolfin) were the movers and shakers of Beleriand. (Tied #1)
• Friends: Galadriel spent centuries learning from Melian, the Maia Queen of Doriath. She married Celeborn, a lord of Doriath. (#2)
• Age/Experiences: By the time of the War of the Ring she is over 7,000 years old, and one of the very very few elves left in Middle Earth who saw the light of the Two Trees. (#1)
• Titles: Galadriel has never taken a royal title, though she certainly could have if she’d wanted to (including possibly even the High Kingship/Queenship of the Noldor.) Instead she is simply the Lady of Lorien. (#2)
• Wisdom/Power: Tolkien often refers to Galadriel as the “greatest of elven women", and the mightiest elf in Middle Earth after the death of Gil-galad. She is incredibly wise, even without the use of her “powers", of which she has many. (#1)
• Narrative Bias: Tolkien loved Galadriel. Loved her. She’s already important and powerful, but Tolkien makes sure to emphasize this whenever possible. And in later revisions, Tolkien actually went back and kept making Galadriel more important and powerful. She’s definitely the favorite child.

Elrond

• Ancestors: Elrond is the son of Earendil, who basically saved the day in the First Age. He comes from a line of great heroes, including Beren, Luthien, Tuor, Idril, Turgon, Barahir, Huor, and Fingolfin. (Tied #1)
• Friends: Elrond spent his “youth" among other heroes including Maedhros, Maglor, Gil-galad, and Cirdan. He married Celebrian, the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn (basically the most eligible bachelorette in Middle Earth.) (#1)
• Age/Experiences: Elrond’s 6,000+ years are nothing to sneeze at, and what he lacks in the more divine experiences of Galadriel’s youth, he makes up in his more worldly experiences serving King Gil-galad and fighting in several wars. (#2)
• Title: Rumor has it Elrond could have made a claim to be the next High King of the Noldor, and his brother became the first king of Numenor, so the potential for a royal title is certainly there. But Elrond is only the Lord of Imladris. (#4)
• Wisdom/Power: He is incredibly wise, and much more accessible than Galadriel in terms of people coming to him for advice. While he doesn’t have the same power as Galadriel, he is gifted with a good amount of foresight. (#2)
• Narrative Bias: Elrond, though initially created specifically for The Hobbit, is the only character to appear in all three major stories (unless you count the Gandalf shout-out in the beginning of the Silmarillion, which I do not.) His close relationship with Gandalf, as well as his strong ties to the men of Numenor and Gondor, put him in the center of the majority of the action in Middle Earth, and he’s always willing to help out with a quest or a war.

Celeborn

• Ancestors: Assuming we’re going with the Sindarin version of Celeborn’s background (Tolkien and his multiple, diverging drafts, am I right?), Celeborn is a grand-nephew of King Thingol. A distant though not insignificant, relative. (#3)
• Friends: Celeborn’s main connection is to his wife, Galadriel. Beyond this, he had to have been pretty close to Thingol, being a lord of Doriath. He had a somewhat rocky, though important, relationship with Celebrimbor, and developed a good friendship with Elrond. It also seems that he had a good relationship with Thranduil (and possibly Oropher as well.) (#3)
• Age/Experiences: Celeborn is likely closer to Galadriel’s age than Elrond’s (and is certainly older than Elrond.) His own resume is pretty impressive - he spent his youth in King Thingol’s court, then went on to help establish the realm of Eregion. He fought in the War of Sauron and the Elves, and then eventually went on to rule Lorien with Galadriel. (#4)
• Title: Celeborn, like Galadriel, had the opportunity to claim a few royal titles in Eregion as well as Lorien. However, he remains the Lord of Lorien only. (#3)
• Wisdom/Power: He’s no doubt very wise, but tends to fade into the background with his wife being as fabulous as she is. (#3)
• Narrative Bias: Celeborn’s character is barely developed beyond being Galadriel’s wife ((EDIT: husband, my bad lol)). Being tied to someone as fabulous as she is, it’s hard for him to stand out on his own.

Thranduil

• Ancestors: Thranduil’s father was Oropher, the first Sindarin king of Mirkwood. Oropher must have been a reasonably important elf in Doriath, since he became the leader of the Sindarin elves that travelled east to live among the Silvan elves. (#4)
• Friends: Thranduil is somewhat isolated among the elven community, mostly due to the anti-Noldorin origins of his family’s rule. He’s not unknown to Galadriel and Celeborn (and they fight together in the Battle Under Trees), but he’s not particularly close with anyone. His closest political relationship is to the men of Dale and Esgaroth, which (in the grand scheme of politics in Middle Earth) is pretty insignificant. (#4)
• Age/Experiences: Thranduil’s age is unknown, but we do know that he lived in Lindon during his youth with Gil-galad. He later travelled east with some other Sindarin elves who wished to live among the Silvan elves and return to their “natural” state. By the numbers, he is the second longest reigning monarch in Middle Earth’s history (as of the War of the Ring, beaten only by Gil-galad), having ruled Mirkwood since his father’s death at the end of the Second Age. (#3)
• Title: Thranduil is king of Mirkwood, and the only Elvenking left after the death of Gil-galad. (#1)
• Wisdom/Power: Thranduil is, by all accounts, a fair and wise ruler. While he isn’t specifically mentioned as being a member of the White Council, he is still included in much of the business leading up to the War of the Ring, such as guarding the captured Gollum, showing that the other “big players” trust him. (#4)
• Narrative Bias: The stories of the elves of Middle Earth are overwhelmingly told from the Noldorin point of view. As a Sindarin elf, this puts Thranduil at a distinct disadvantage. He’s basically sitting on the periphery of the story (except for The Hobbit), and really doesn’t get much attention from Tolkien. (Celeborn largely escapes this fate through his marriage to Galadriel, a Noldo.)

By almost all these categories, Arwen (as well as Elrond’s sons) outrank Legolas. He only beats them on paper, due to technically having the title of Prince, while they do not. But seethis post for more information on inherited power among the elves, if interested. The full elf/peredhil issue doesn’t seem to count against Elrond’s children. This is likely because the couples that created the peredhil - Beren and Luthien, Tuor and Idril, were so incredibly important in the First Age that being their descendant is too much of an honor to also be a detriment.

SOURCES: The Silmarillion, LOTR, LOTR Appendices, The Hobbit, The Unfinished Tales, The History of Middle Earth series

((To be thorough I really should have included Cirdan, as well as probably some of the dead elven lords, such as Gil-galad. But this post ended up way too long as it is. Let me know if you want me to go into this issue in any more detail.))

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