Galathil

From Tolkien Gateway
Galathil
Sinda
Jukka Raak - Galadhon and his sons, Celeborn and Galathil.jpg
"Galadhon and his sons, Celeborn and Galathil" by Jukka Raak
Biographical Information
LocationDoriath
LanguageDoriathrin (Sindarin dialect)
Family
HouseA member of the royal house of Doriath
ParentageGaladhon
SiblingsCeleborn
ChildrenNimloth
Physical Description
GenderMale
GalleryImages of Galathil

Galathil was a grandson of King Thingol's brother Elmo, and himself the brother of Celeborn, the Lord of Lórien. His daughter Nimloth wedded Dior, Thingol's Heir, and so Galathil was a distant ancestor of both Elrond and Aragorn.[1]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Galathil and his close kin shared names with the White Trees.[2][3]:147-8

The conception of this name was based on Tolkien's idea that Celeborn's name was first devised to mean "Silver Tree", and his close kin all had "tree-names". Although he later changed what he wanted Celeborn's name to mean, referring to "silver" and "tall" from the adjective ornâ ("uprising, tall") instead of "silver" and "tree" from the noun ornê ("tree"), he did not revise the name meanings of his close kin.[2]

Based on Tolkien's original version of the family's names, Galathil is a name that can be seen in the tree name Galathilion, which was another name for Telperion. This was also the name of the White Tree of Tirion, 'Galathilion the Less', and its seedlings were Celeborn in Eressëa and Nimloth in Númenor.[3] In The Lord of the Rings, Galathilion was the tree of Tol Eressëa, and Nimloth was its seedling.[4][3]:163-4

References