Elves of Rivendell

The Elves of Rivendell were Elves who dwelt in Rivendell between its founding in the Second Age and abandonment in the early Fourth Age. Most of them were Noldor.

History

Second Age

Previously having been affiliated with either the Elves of Lindon or the Elves of Eregion, the original Elves of Rivendell came together during the War of the Elves and Sauron.

Around the year S.A. 750 the realm of Eregion was founded primarily, but not solely by Noldor Elves.

In S.A. 1695, the forces of Sauron invaded Eriador. In response, King Gil-galad sent a host of Elves under the command of Elrond from Lindon to the help of the Elves of Eregion. A force of Elves led by Celeborn sortied from Eregion, drove back the scouts and vanguard of the army of Sauron and joined the host of Elves of Elrond. However, they were not able to retreat to Eregion, because Sauron's army held them off and besieged Eregion.

At last, in S.A. 1697, the forces of Sauron broke into Eregion and sacked it. Sauron took the Nine Rings, captured Celebrimbor, the Lord of Eregion, and tortured him to divulge where the Seven Rings had been bestowed. He then attacked the host of Elrond who had assembled the few Elves that had been able to escape from Eregion. A force of Dwarves from Moria and Elves from Lothlórien led by Amroth sallied from Moria and attacked the rear of Sauron's army. Elrond was driven to the north and the Dwarves of Moria and the Elves of Lothlórien had to retreat into Moria and shut the Doors of Durin. Elrond and his forces retreated to the valley of Rivendell, where Elrond oversaw the creation of a refuge as a stronghold of the Elves in the east of Eriador.

In S.A. 1700, a fleet from Númenor landed in Lindon and at the mouth of the Gwathló. Subsequently, the Númenóreans and the Elves of Lindon defeated the army of Sauron in three battles at the River Lhûn, at Sarn Ford and at the Gwathló. After that, the force of Sauron that was besieging Rivendell was attacked on two fronts by the forces of Gil-galad and Elrond and annihilated. It was decided that Rivendell rather than Eregion should be an Elvish stronghold in the east of Eriador. Gil-galad appointed Elrond as his vice-regent in Eriador and gave Vilya, one of the Three Rings of Power of the Elves, to him.

More than 1,700 years later, in S.A. 3431 the hosts of Gil-galad and Elendil of Arnor joined together in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and journeyed to Rivendell where they spent three years to prepare for war before continuing their march to Mordor.

Third Age

The Elves of Rivendell lived in peace for more than 1,300 years. Around T.A. 1300, Sauron's shadow became stronger and evil things multiplied, heralded by the reappearance of the Nazgûl. The lord of the Nazgûl came north and established the evil realm of Angmar between the Ettenmoors and the Mountains of Angmar on both sides of the Misty Mountains, because he intended to destroy the Dúnedain of the North and to exploit the disunity of the splinter realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. He gathered many evil Men, Orcs and other fell creatures in Angmar and became known as the Witch-king of Angmar, but it was not known at that time that he was the lord of the Nazgûl.

It is said that sometime between T.A. 1356 and 1409 Rivendell was under a siege. The identity of the besiegers is unknown, but it is possible that they were forces from Angmar. Eventually the forces of Angmar were subdued for a while by Elves from Lindon and Elves from Rivendell aided by Elves from Lothlórien.

In the autumn of T.A. 1973, the kingdom of Gondor received messages that Arthedain was in great danger, because the Witch-king of Angmar was preparing an attack against it. In response, King Eärnil II of Gondor sent his son Eärnur north with a fleet as fast as he was able. Before the end of the winter of 1974, Angmar invaded Arthedain from the north. The Witch-king overran Arthedain and conquered Fornost before the end of the year and drove away most of the remaining Dúnedain over the River Lhûn, including the sons of the king. King Arvedui of Arthedain defended the North Downs as long as he could until he had to flee to the north with some of his guards on horses. Arvedui hid in tunnels of old dwarf-mines at the northern end of the Blue Mountains until his supplies ran out and then fled to a camp of the Lossoth at the southern shore of the Icebay of Forochel where he was forced to wait. The Elves of Lindon heard of the flight of Arvedui to the north and sent a ship to rescue him, but it sank shortly after retrieving Arvedui in the bay of Forochel when the ship was driven back to the ice by a storm and was crushed by further ice that was piled up against it in March of T.A. 1975.

When Prince Eärnur of Gondor arrived with his fleet at the havens of Lindon in T.A. 1975 it was too late, because Arthedain had already been conquered and King Arvedui was already dead. Círdan gathered a force from Lindon and Arnor and the combined forces of Lindon, Arnor and Gondor, which included tall and fair riders, princes from Rhovanion and horses from the Vales of Anduin crossed the River Lhûn and marched north. The Witch-king came from Fornost with the forces of Angmar to meet them, but was defeated in a battle on the plain between Lake Evendim and the North Downs. The Witch-king fled northwards with a remnant of his forces in the direction of Angmar, but his forces were overtaken by the cavalry of Gondor and by forces led by the Elf-lord Glorfindel who came north from Rivendell before they could reach the shelter of Carn Dûm. The Witch-king was able to escape from the north on a black horse, but the realm of Angmar was utterly defeated so that no Men and Orcs of Angmar remained on the west side of the Misty Mountains.