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The '''Elfstone''' ([[Quenya|Q.]] '''[[Elessar]]'''), also known as the '''Stone of [[Eärendil]]''', was one, or possibly two, great green jewel(s) of healing power whose legends of creation are conflicting and complex.{{object infobox
| name=Elfstone
| image=[[File:John Howe - Elessar (Elfstone).jpg|250px]]
| caption=''Elessar (Elfstone)'' by [[John Howe]]
| pronun=
| othernames=''[[Elessar]]'' ([[Quenya|Q]])
| location=[[Gondolin]], [[Havens of Sirion]], [[Valinor]]/[[Eregion]], [[Lothlórien]], [[Rivendell]] [[Gondor]]
| owner=[[Enerdhil]]/[[Celebrimbor]], [[Idril]], [[Eärendil]], [[Galadriel]], [[Celebrían]], [[Arwen]], [[Aragorn]]
| type=Jewel
| appearance=A green gem set on a silver eagle-shaped brooch
| creator=[[Enerdhil]]/[[Celebrimbor]]
| created=late [[First Age]]
| createdlocation=[[Gondolin]]
| destroyer=
| destroyed=
| destroyedlocation=
| notablefor=
| gallery=the Elessar of Eärendil
}}
== History ==
=== Origin ===
The Elfstone, or at least the first of them, was made in [[Gondolin]] during the late [[First Age]]. Some name [[Enerdhil]] the jewel-smith as its maker, but others say that it was his friend, [[Celebrimbor]] son of [[Curufin]].<ref name="CG">{{UT|6}}</ref> After the completion of the jewel, many [[Elves]], including the other Noldor, were astonished by it, for the stone was green as the leaves but had the clear light of the [[Sun]] imprisoned within it. It was said that any who looked upon the stone would see withered and aged things as whole and young again. It was also claimed that it granted any who wore the gem the power to heal any hurts of anyone that they touched.<ref name="CG"/>{{rp|249}}
[[File:Tatyafinwe - Idril Celebrindal.jpg|left|thumb|327x327px|Elessar was in Gondolin in the First Age with the princess Idril Celebrindal by [[:Category:Images by Tatyafinwe|Tatyafinwe]]]]
The Elfstone was eventually given to [[Idril|Idril Celebrindal]], who wore it upon her breast, and as such, it was saved from perishing during the [[Fall of Gondolin]]. Eventually, Idril passed it on to her son [[Eärendil]], whose first memory was of Idril wearing the gem while singing to him. At [[Havens of Sirion|Sirion's Haven]], Eärendil used the Elfstone to heal the hurts of many of the [[Men]], [[Elves]], and [[Kelvar|beasts]] that dwelled there. Eventually, Eärendil carried it with him on his voyages across the [[Belegaer|Great Sea]] to the [[Aman|Blessed Realm]].<ref name="CG" />{{rp|249}}

A legend says that when the [[Wizards]] were sent from Valinor to Middle-earth in the [[Third Age]], [[Gandalf|Olórin]] brought back Eärendil's jewel as a token from [[Yavanna]] that the [[Valar]] had not forsaken them; as [[Gandalf]], he gave it to Galadriel, and remarked prophetically that she would only hold it for a little while, before she passed it to another, who will also be called [[Aragorn|Elessar]].<ref name="CG" />{{rp|250}}

However, another legend says that Celebrimbor, who was in love with [[Galadriel]], remade another version of the lost jewel during the [[Second Age]] and placed it within a great brooch of silver. It was said that this Elfstone was "''more subtle and clear''" yet had less power than the original. It was made at Galadriel's behest, pained at the state of [[Middle-earth]]. When she wore it, "''all things grew fair''" around her.<ref name="CG" />{{rp|251}}

=== Third Age ===
Whatever the origins of Galadriel's Elfstone were, she gave it to her daughter [[Celebrían]], who in turn gave it to [[Arwen]].<ref name="CG"/>{{rp|251}}

[[Bilbo Baggins]], during his stay in [[Rivendell]], was urged by [[Aragorn]] to include a green jewel in his ''[[Song of Eärendil]]'', possibly anticipating the symbolic importance that the gem would have in his life. Bilbo Baggins, [[File:Tatyafinwe - Galadriel wearing the Elessar.jpg|thumb|''Galadriel wearing the Elessar'' by [[:Category:Images by Tatyafinwe|Tatyafinwe]]|399x399px]]

obeying Aragorn, but seemingly unaware of the Elfstone's story, included an inaccurate reference to an emerald.<ref>{{FR|II1}}, p. 237</ref>

When the [[Fellowship of the Ring]] visited the wood of [[Lothlórien]], the Elfstone was again under Galadriel's possession. When the Fellowship departed and Galadriel offered them [[gifts of Galadriel|her gifts]], the Elfstone was the gift for Aragorn.<ref name=Farewell>{{FR|II8}}, p. 375</ref> This giving held the function of a wedding gift from the family of the bride to the groom, foretelling his marriage to Arwen.<ref>{{MR|Laws}}, p. 211</ref>

The Elfstone was worn by Aragorn ever after, and as foretold, he took the name of ''Elessar, the Elfstone of the [[House of Elendil]]''.<ref name=Farewell/> Thus, when he manifested his royal blood at [[Minas Tirith]], he used Elessar, the [[Quenya]] word for Elfstone, as one of his royal names,<ref>{{RK|V8}}, p. 863</ref> being crowned as King Elessar.<ref>{{RK|VI5}}, p. 967</ref>

== Other versions of the legendarium ==
An early concept for the Elfstone was the '''Green Stone of [[Fëanor]]'''. This stone was given from Fëanor to his eldest son [[Maedhros|Maidros]] on his deathbed, and then later given from Maidros to [[Fingon]].<ref>{{WJ|Angband}}, pp. 176-7</ref> Christopher Tolkien noted that this was likely his father "pondering the previous history of the ''Elessar''", though this version of the story was not further expanded upon and likely dismissed in favor of the histories present in ''[[Unfinished Tales]]''.

At one point during the development of "''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''", ''[[Eärnur|King Eärnur]]'', was named '''King Elessar''' in an abandoned draft and manuscript.<ref>{{WR|2|V}}, p. 153</ref>

== Portrayal in adaptations ==
'''1980: [[The Return of the King (1980 film)|''The Return of the King'' (1980 film)]]:'''
:The Elfstone is worn by Aragorn on his cloak. Although it is never identified in film, it matches the books description.

{{references}}
{{Giftsofgaladriel}}
[[Category:Gifts of Galadriel]]
[[Category:Heirlooms]]
[[Category:Rings and jewels]]

[[de:Elessar (Edelstein)]]
[[fr:encyclo/artefacts/bijoux/elessar]]
[[fi:Elessar (jalokivi)]]