Elven characteristics

2012-10-15T18:29:32Z

65.24.153.255:

[[File:Piotr Fox Wysocki - Last Elf.jpg|thumb|''Last Elf'' by Piotr Wysocki]]
The [[Elves]] were the fairest creatures in [[Arda]], a far more beautiful race than [[Men]], and generally tall (between 5 foot 5, and 5 foot 10). Among them, [[Calaquendi|those]] who had gone to [[Valinor]] were the fairest and had the greatest skill of body.

Elves had keener senses, sight and hearing than Men, were slender, graceful yet strong, but were resistant to extremes of nature, illness and disease. However many [[Noldor]] died at the crossings of [[Helcaraxe]].

Practical considerations, including a number of occasions where Men were mistaken for Elves (most notably [[Túrin|Túrin Turambar]]), suggest that the points of difference between Elves and Men, must have been subtle.

== Pointed ears ==
If Elvish ears were pointed is open for speculation,<ref name=Dunkerson>{{webcite|author=Conrad Dunkerson|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Ears.html|articlename=Do the Elves in Tolkien's stories have pointed ears?|dated=|website=[http://tolkien.slimy.com/ The Tolkien Meta-FAQ]|accessed=15 February 2012}}</ref><ref name=Martinez>{{webcite|author=[[Michael Martinez]]|articleurl=http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Ears.html|articlename=Do Tolkien’s Elves Have Pointy Ears?|dated=21 September 2011|website=[http://middle-earth.xenite.org/ Middle.earth.Xenite.org]|accessed=15 February 2012}}</ref> but it should be noted that there are no explicit references to pointed Elvish ears in ''[[The Hobbit]]'', ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' or ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.

It was stated in early linguistic writings that "the [[Quendi|Quendian]] ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [[Men|Human]]."<ref>{{LR|Etymologies}}, p. 368 (roots LAS<sup>1</sup> and LAS<sup>2</sup>)</ref><ref>{{VT|45a}}, p. 26</ref> Answering to a question on [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] ears, [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] wrote that these were "only slightly pointed and 'elvish'".<ref>{{L|27}}</ref> Some fans take this to mean that Elvish ears were pointed, while others argue that it is an ambiguous statement.<ref name=Dunkerson/><ref name=Martinez/>

== Hair colour ==
Elven hair colour is quite varied and complex. In general, the [[Vanyar]] were golden-haired, and the other Elves (including [[Noldor]], [[Sindar]], and [[Avari]]) had dark (brown) or even black hair,<ref>{{PE|17}}, pp. 118, 125</ref><ref group=note>[[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]] notes in one manuscript that "''no Elf had absolute black hair''" ({{PE|17}}, p. 125).</ref> although some of the Teleri (including [[Celeborn]]) had silver hair. [[Lúthien|Lúthien Tinúviel]] and her remote descendant [[Arwen|Arwen Undómiel]], both described as the fairest of all Elves, were dark haired.

This is not the full picture, however: [[Finarfin]], the youngest son of [[Finwë]], and his descendants (such as [[Galadriel]]) had golden hair on account of Finwë's second wife, [[Indis]] of the Vanyar. [[Idril]], the daughter of [[Turgon]], had golden hair inherited from her mother, [[Elenwë]] of the Vanyar. Even the sons of [[Fëanor]], the eldest Noldorin prince, were not all dark-haired: [[Maedhros]] and the twins [[Amrod]] and [[Amras]] had auburn hair, from their grandfather [[Mahtan]]. Fëanor's son [[Celegorm]] had blond hair, thus his epithet ''the Fair'' in contrast to his brother, [[Caranthir]] ''the Dark''.

Additionally, a silver hair colour existed in the royal houses of the Sindar, with [[Thingol]] and [[Círdan]] both described as having silver hair. [[Galadriel]] displayed an extremely rare hair colour nowhere else observed: "silver-golden" hair, said to be dazzlingly beautiful ("blending the light of the [[Two Trees]], [[Telperion]] and [[Laurelin]]"), which may have been a result of her unusual mixed Noldorin-Vanyarin-Telerin heritage (her mother was the niece of [[Thingol]], and her father was a son of [[Finwë]] and [[Indis]]). [[Thranduil]], father of Legolas and a Sindarin Elf, is described as having blond ("golden") hair in ''The Hobbit'',<ref>{{H|8}}</ref> but his son Legolas' own hair colour is not recorded.

==Eye colour==
When Tolkien describes Elven eyes, they tend to be grey. This is certainly true of Lúthien (and her descendants: [[Elrond]], Arwen and her brothers, and [[Aragorn]] and the Dúnedain). [[Voronwë]], who guided the man [[Tuor]] to Gondolin, also had grey eyes.

Though he was half-Noldorin, [[Maeglin]] is said to have dark eyes (possibly from his father [[Eöl]], who was not of the Noldor), while [[Olwë]] (the brother of Lúthien's father [[Thingol]], and a Telerin king) had blue eyes. The eye colour of most other Elves is not mentioned, and so would be difficult to generalize.

==Androgyny==
Elves were mostly beardless since they grew one only during their [[Elven Life cycle|third cycle of life]] ([[Mahtan]] was an exception)<ref>{{VT|41}}</ref>. Because of their (typical) beardlessness and beauty, the Elves are sometimes perceived as androgynous. However, they were probably not meant to be so; Legolas was:

<blockquote>''"tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part Two]]'') </blockquote>
==Other characteristics==
The Elves were like [[Ainur]] in spirit; they loved all beauty of nature, especially water, the [[Sea]] and the [[stars]], since they were the first things they saw; as a consequence [[Ulmo]] and [[Varda]] were the [[Ainur]] closer to them. They were marked for an insatiable curiosity and desire of learning and creating.

They detested all evil and usually were incorruptible, to it, unless evil tricked them with fair form, like [[Annatar]]. Conversely, their work harmed evil, like [[lembas]] and the [[Elven rope]] brought pain to [[Gollum]]'s skin.

The Eldar could manipulate '''''[[sanwe-latya]]''''' ([[Quenya]] for "thought-opening" or "telepathy") which allowed them to communicate with thought ([[Ósanwe]]).

Elves apparently did not sleep but rested their minds with beautiful thoughts in reverie or looking at fair things.

Also, unlike Men, Elves were ambidextrous.<ref>{{VT|49a}}</ref>

==External links==
*[http://tolkien.slimy.com/essays/Ears.html On the pointed ears]
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[[Category:Elves]]

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Elven characteristics