Elven characteristics

2015-04-27T16:02:55Z

96.5.60.35: /* Pointed ears */

[[File:Piotr Fox Wysocki - Last Elf.jpg|thumb|''Last Elf'' by Piotr Wysocki]]{{quote|The Elves have their own labours and their own sorrows, and they are little concerned with the ways of hobbits, or of any other creatures upon earth.|[[Gildor Inglorion]]<ref>{{FR|Three}}</ref>}}
The [[Elves]] were the fairest creatures in [[Arda]], a far more beautiful race than [[Men]], and generally tall (about six feet). {{fact}} 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 ==
Whether Elvish ears were pointed or not 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://middle-earth.xenite.org/2011/09/21/do-tolkiens-elves-have-pointy-ears/|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 penis 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 other Elves (including the [[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: [[Míriel Serindë]] of the Noldor, the first wife of [[Finwë]] and mother of [[Fëanor]], is described as having a silvery hair.<ref>{{MR|P3I6}}</ref> [[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]], King of [[Gondolin]], had golden hair inherited from her mother, [[Elenwë]] of the Vanyar. Fëanor, the eldest Noldorin prince is described as having a "raven-dark" hair.<ref>{{S|Feanor}}</ref> However, not all the sons of Fëanor were dark-haired: [[Maedhros]] and the twins [[Amrod]] and [[Amras]] had auburn hair, from their grandfather [[Mahtan]]. Another Noldo with unusual hair colour was [[Glorfindel]], whose hair is described as of "shining gold" in colour.

Additionally, a silver hair colour existed in the royal houses of the Sindar, with [[Thingol]], [[Círdan]] and [[Celeborn]] all described as having silver hair.<ref>{{WJ|Quendi}}: Sindar</ref> [[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]]"). This 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. The golden hair colour is sometimes implied among the other Elves: [[Amroth]], a Sindarin Elf of Lórien is one such case, whose hair is described as "bright" and shining like a spark of gold in the sun.<ref>{{UT|6}}</ref> In ''The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring'', a very similar reference is made for an [[Galadhrim|Elf of Lothórien]] with a hair "glinted like gold" in the sun.<ref>{{FR|Lorien}}</ref> However, these descriptions can be interpreted differently.

==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.

==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 by an insatiable curiosity and a desire of learning and creating.

They detested all evil and were usually more resistant to be corrupted than Men, unless evil tricked them with fair form, like [[Annatar]]. Conversely, their work harmed evil, like [[lembas]] and the [[Elven rope]] that brought pain to [[Gollum]]'s skin. They were, however, succeptible to greed, pride and jealousy, as exemplified by the story of the House of [[Fëanor]], or the jealous and unjustified hatred of [[Saeros]] toward [[Túrin]]. <ref name=UT2>{{UT|2}}</ref>

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>

Although Elves were generally considered the most powerful of the [[Children of Ilúvatar]], there are accounts that some Men from the Great Houses of the First Age were physically stronger, though less agile. It is told that the [[Helm of Hador|Dragon Helm]] was given to [[Fingon]], but "in all Hithlum no head and shoulders were found stout enough to bear the dwarf-helm with ease", so the High King gave it to [[Hador]], a Man.<ref name=UT2/>

{{References|n}}

[[Category:Elves]]

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Elven characteristics