Elves

File:Elven Archer at Helm's deep.jpeg

Third Age Elven Warrior as portrayed by Peter Jackson

The first Elves awoke by Cuiviénen, the Water of Awakening in the far east of Middle-earth, long Ages before the Rising of the Sun or Moon. Unlike Men, the Elves were not subject to illness or death, and at the time of the Lord of the Rings, there were still at least two Elves in Aman who had awoken by Cuiviénen in the first days; Ingwë, Lord of the Vanyar, and Olwë, brother of King Elu Thingol.

Origins and Early History

In the far eastern land of Cuiviénen, on the shores of the Inland Sea of Helcar and beneath the mountains of the Orocarni, the Elves awoke under the starlight of the Years of the Trees. The Valar at first knew nothing of their coming, but they were soon discovered by the spies of Melkor, who sent his creatures to watch them and harrass them. How long they existed in this perilous and unprotected state is not known, but the legends of those times, of the Hunter and of a dark Rider, were preserved in Valinor by the Eldar that came there. It is known that many of the ancient Elves were captured by Melkor and imprisoned in Utumno - it is generally thought that these hapless beings were the origins of the race of Orcs.

The Valar discovered that the Elves had awoken when Oromë, hunting in the lands of Middle-earth, heard their singing voices. He named them Eldar, the People of the Stars, but the Elves' own name for their kind was Quendi, those who speak with voices. Because of the horrors of Melkor, many of the Elves were at first suspicious of the Vala, but (after briefly returning to Valinor to tell the other Valar of his discovery) he remained with them and protected them for a time.

Concerned for the safety of the Elves in Middle-earth, which was at that time under the control of Melkor, the Valar left Valinor and made war against the Dark Lord: this was the Battle of the Powers, which saw Melkor taken as captive back to Valinor.

The Great Journey

After the defeat of Melkor, the Valar debated the fate of the Elves - whether they should be left to dwell in Middle-earth, or brought to Valinor to be kept under the direct protection of the Valar. It was decided to bring them to the land of the Valar, and Oromë was sent back to Cuiviénen to summon them. When he returned, though, he found that the Elves feared the Valar, and were reluctant to make the journey. Three ambassadors were chosen, Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë, to travel to Aman with Oromë, and help the Elves decide on their course. These three were filled with awe by what they saw there, and by the light of the Two Trees, and counselled their people to follow the summons.

The followers of Ingwë, and most of the peoples of Finwë and Elwë agreed, and set out on the Great Journey westwards across the wide lands of Middle-earth. These were the peoples later known as the Three Kindreds, the Vanyar, the Noldor and the Teleri. Not all the Elves obeyed the summons; those who refused are known as Avari, the Unwilling.

Oromë led the peoples of the Three Kindreds out of the east of Middle-earth. The Vanyar were the least numerous, and the most eager to reach Aman, and they came first on the Journey, followed by the Noldor of Finwë.

The Teleri, led by Elwë and his brother Olwë, were the greatest host, and many were uncertain and doubtful. Not a few of these people left the Journey and remained in Middle-earth3. The most notable of those who turned from the Journey were the Nandor, who were led away down the Vales of Anduin by Lenwë.

At last, the Vanyar and the Noldor reached the shores of the Great Sea, in the regions between the Bay of Balar and the Firth of Drengist (regions later known, at least for the most part, as the Falas). Ulmo brought a great island to the shores, and on it transported the Elves to Aman.

The Teleri were the hindcomers, though, and arrived in Beleriand too late to embark on Ulmo's island. They dwelt for a while on the banks of the Gelion in eastern Beleriand, but later spread to the shores. In this time, two events of historical importance occurred - their lord Elwë was lost for a time in Nan Elmoth, and they encountered Ossë, a Maia of the Sea.

Many of the Teleri wished to remain in Beleriand, some to seek for their lost lord, and others because of desires stirred in their hearts by Ossë. When the time came for Ulmo to return to Beleriand to take the Teleri to Valinor, then, many of them remained behind. These people became known in after years as the Sindar, the Grey-elves, and those who dwelt by the shores under the lordship of Círdan became known as the Falathrim.

Melkor Chained: Three Ages of Bliss

Now came three ages of glory and bliss for the Elves, both east and west of the Great Sea. In Valinor, the Vanyar and the Noldor, and those of the Teleri who completed the Journey, dwelt with the Valar and learned from them. They dwelt in the jewelled city of Tirion in the Pass of Light, and at the Swanhaven of Alqualondë, and beneath the tower of Avallónë on the Lonely Isle of Tol Eressëa. While the Two Trees still gave light to the realm of the Valar, three ages passed, and the Elves of Valinor became the wisest and noblest of all the Children of Ilúvatar. Meanwhile, in Beleriand, the Sindar dwelt beneath starlight. While most of Middle-earth still slept, awaiting the coming of the Sun and Moon, Melian the Maia brought life to the forests and plains of Beleriand under Thingol's rule, and Oromë would still ride at times across the darkling lands.

The Nature of the Elves

Both Elves and Men are the Children of Ilúvatar, and so have much in common, but there are also great differences between the two peoples. Of these, the most significant is that Elves are 'immortal', at least while the World lasts; they do not suffer ageing or disease, and if they are slain or wither with grief, they are reincarnated in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. Although, unlike Men, the Elves must remain in the world until its ending, they are not bound to Middle-earth. They may if they wish take the straight road, and sail into the Uttermost West, a road that is barred to mortals.

Elves also have far clearer sight and perception than Men; they are naturally aware of many things that are hidden from the Younger Children, but these gifts are not without limit.

Religion

The Elves never had any distinct 'religion' in the sense that Men would understand the word; indeed, the High Elves had travelled to Valinor and lived with the Valar (or 'gods') themselves for many ages before Men came into the world. Of all the Valar, they most revered Varda Elentári, the spouse of Manwë; and Lady of the Stars. In Middle-earth, they called her Elbereth, Star-Queen, and sang to her across the wide ocean Belegaer. Great respect was also given to Ulmo, especially during the First Age when he aided the Elves against Morgoth.

The Elvish life cycle

As told in The History of Middle-earth, the elder Tolkien's writings as edited by his son Christopher and collected into several volumes, 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 - but much could probably be applied to the Avari as well.

Early life

Elves are born about one year from their conception. The day of their conception is celebrated, not the actual birthday itself - since for them, life begins at conception (here one can see influence from Tolkien's Catholicism). Their minds develop quicker 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 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.

Tolkien was divided on how fast Elves actually grew. in Laws and Customs, he states that Elves' bodies develop slower than Men from the start. By the age of twenty, they might still appear physically seven years old, whereas Men at the same age are physically mature. However, he later wrote that Elves and Men develop physically at the same rate until maturity, but then Elven bodies slow down and stop aging physically, while human bodies don't.

Sexuality, marriage and parenthood

Elves marry freely and for love early in life. Monogamy is practised and adultery is unthinkable; they only marry once (Finwë, first High King of the Noldor, was an exception; he remarried after his first wife died).

Spouses can choose each other even long before they are married. They would be betrothed to one another. 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 at a meeting of the two houses. They exchange rings and the betrothal lasts at least a year, and is revokable by the return of the rings (but rarely is it actually broken). After their formal betrothal, the couple appoints a time for the wedding when at least a year passes.

Marriage is celebrated at a feast of the two houses. They give back their betrothal rings and receive others worn on their index fingers. The bride’s mother gives the groom a jewel to be worn, but the marriage is achieved with its consummation. Technically, only the words exchanged by the bride and groom (including the speaking of the name of Eru) and the consummation are required for marriage.

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 -- indeed, the Elves would regard them as contradictions in terms. Because adultery is also unheard of and fidelity between spouses is absolute, spouses can sometimes live separately for extended periods of time, and no one would get worried over it. Yet a sundering 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. In the case of their being raped, Elves lose the will to live.

Elves have few children, as a rule; (Fëanor and Nerdanel were an exception, since they had seven sons), and there are relatively sizable 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.

Daily life

The Elves, particularly the Noldor, preoccupy themselves with various things, such as smithwork, sculpture, music and other arts. Males and females can do almost everything equally; however, the females often specialise in the arts of healing while the men 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 (like Elrond, though he was technically Half-elven).

Later life

Eventually, if they do not die in battle or from some other cause, Elves grow weary of Middle-earth, and desire to go to Valinor, where the Valar originally sheltered their kind. Those who wish to leave for the Undying Lands go by boats provided at the Grey Havens, where Círdan the Shipwright dwells with his folk.

"The third cycle of life", aging, and facial hair

Incidentally, Círdan is quite old when he is shown at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Despite Tolkien's statements in The Hobbit that Elves (and Hobbits) have no beards, Círdan in fact has a beard, which appears to be an anomaly. However, Tolkien later devised at least three "cycles of life" for Elves around 1960; Círdan had a beard because he was in his third cycle of life. (Mahtan, Nerdanel's father, had a beard in his second cycle of life, a rare phenomenon.) It is unclear what these cycles exactly are; however, Tolkien left no notes further explaining this. Apparently, beards were the only sign of further natural physical aging beyond maturity.

Nevertheless, Tolkien may have ultimately changed his mind about whether Elves had facial hair. As Christopher Tolkien states in Unfinished Tales, his father wrote in December 1972 or later that the Elvish strain in Men (such as Aragorn II) was "observable in the beardlessness of those who were so descended", since "it was a characteristic of all Elves to be beardless". This would seemingly contradict the information above.

Elves sometimes appear to age under great stress. Círdan appeared to be aged himself, since he is described as looking old, save for the stars in his eyes; this may be due to all the sorrows he had seen and lived through since the First Age. Also, the people of Gwindor of Nargothrond had trouble recognizing him after his time as a prisoner of Morgoth.

The end

As told above, Elves who die or are killed spend some time in the Purgatory-like Halls of Mandos in Valinor, and after that time they are re-embodied. They almost never go back to Middle-earth, however.

Eventually, their immortal spirits (fëar) will overwhelm and consume their bodies (hröar), 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 this process "Lingering", and it may be thought of as a fourth and final cycle of Elven life.

Theoretically, if the Elves did exist, at the end of the world the youngest of them would still be visible, since for them all to become invisible would logically require that all Elves stop reproducing at some point. Incidentally, this voluntary cessation of reproduction appeared in material related to the Jackson films. In the material (not explicitly stated in the films themselves), Arwen is supposed to be the lastborn of her people, thus her being called "the Evenstar" (evening star). However, this does not appear in the books.

The lives of Elves technically only endure as the world endures; however, it is said that at the end of time the Elves will join the other Children of Ilúvatar in singing before His throne.

Elvish naming conventions

Elves were typically given one name (essi) at birth, a name that had little to do with who they were or their personality. This name was given by the father, therefore called the father name, and reflected either the name of the father or mother. As the Elf grew older, they received a second name, given by the mother. This name was extremely important and reflected personality, skills, or fate. This name is not used by those who did not know the Elf well; it would be considered rude to do so. In those cases, the Father-name would be used.

The epessë or the "after-name" is the third type. The after-name is given later in life, but not necessarily by their kin, as a title of admiration and honor. In some circumstances, the epessë is chosen by the Elf himself or herself. An Elf could be referred to by any of the three, but the epessë typically took preference.

A fourth type was the patronymic — the father's name with the suffix "-ion" added. Thus, Gildor Inglorion is "Gildor, son of Inglor".

In songs and history, the epessë is usually used rather than the essi.

Examples

• Maedhros, the oldest son of Fëanor, was by his brothers referred to as Russandol (copper-top): an epessë he had earned because of his ruddy hair. Maedhros itself was an epessë: his father-name had been Nelyafinwë (Finwë the third: Fëanor's own father-name had been (Curu) finwë), and his mother-name Maitimo.

• Gil-galad (Star of Radiance) is the mother-name of Rodnor, son of Orodreth. He is given the epessë Ereinion because of his heritage: the name literally means "Scion of Kings".

• Círdan (Shipwright) is the epessë of a Telerin Elf who remained in Beleriand, and later Lindon, until the end of the Third Age. His original name had been forgotten, and he was referred to always as Círdan, a title which had been given to him as Lord of the Falas before the First Age.

• Finrod is usually referred to as Felagund (hewer of caves), an original derogatory nickname given to him because of his dwellings at Nargothrond. Finrod adopted the name, and made it a title of honour.

• Galadriel is the Sindarin translation of Alatáriel, the latter being the Telerin epessë originally given to her by Celeborn. Galadriel means "Maiden Crowned by a Radiant Garland". The name itself is an epessë: her father-name is Artanis (noble woman) and her mother-name is Nerwen (man-maiden).