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An Elf (plural Elves) is an individual member of one of the races that inhabit the lands of Arda in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien. They first appear in The Hobbit and remain prominent in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described in full only in The Silmarillion, edited and published after Tolkien's death. More details about them are given in the author's other writings edited and published since then, such as Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth.

Elves are sometimes called the Firstborn or the Elder Kindred (as opposed to Men, the second born) as they were "awakened" first by the creator of the universe, Eru Ilúvatar. The Elves named themselves Quendi ("the Speakers"), in honour of the fact that, when they were created, they were the only living things able to speak. (This name is no accident — Tolkien was a philologist.) Oromë the Vala was the first who called them the Eldar ("Star People") because they were born under the stars, but the name is generally considered to exclude the Avari, Elves who refused the summons of the Valar to go live in Valinor, the Blessed Realm.

Strictly speaking, "Elves" and "Elf" are "convenient" English renderings of the words in Middle-earth languages which refer to them. This is in keeping with Tolkien's concept that his writings on Middle-earth were translated from the Red Book of Westmarch, largely written by Bilbo, Frodo and Sam. In Westron, the term used would have been Nimîr and in Quenya, the aforementioned terms Quendi and Eldar.

Overview

Elves are described as the fairest and wisest of all creatures in Middle-earth. They are generally taller than Men, usually about six feet tall . Many, if not all, of them have light complexions. Their hair is either black, brown, blonde, silver, or (rarely) auburn (with one individual having both silver and blonde hair).

They are lovers of Art (particularly songs, which they sing in beautiful voices). The kindred of the Ñoldor in particular possess skills and knowledge which to Men appear to be "magic". Their memories and dreams are as vivid as real life. Elves can "sleep" without physically sleeping by indulging in deep thought ("waking dreams"), even as they move about. Elves have far sharper senses and perceptions than men, especially eyesight. They are also resistant to extreme cold, and probably to extreme heat as well. Their most notable feature is their natural immortality, which makes them appear ageless to mortal eyes (though they did age, after their own fashion; see below). In addition to their immortality, Elves are immune to all diseases, and they can recover from wounds which would normally kill a mortal Man.

However, Elves can be slain, or die of grief and weariness. If this happens their spirits (fëar) go to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. After a certain period of time and rest that serves as "cleansing", their spirits are clothed in bodies (hröar) identical to their old ones. These reembodied Elves remain in Valinor for ever; Glorfindel was the only documented (and probably the only) exception.

Tolkien's Elves could be considered a representation of what human beings might have been, if they had passed the test in the Garden of Eden. Elven capabilities in Art, aesthetics, and pure science (i.e., botany, not agriculture) exceed that of fallen humanity not just in degree, but in kind.

Elves were not "perfect", nor did they represent angels among Men (that would probably be the Valar and Maiar, especially the Istari), but despite their faults, they always rejected the evil of the mighty Vala Melkor, whom they named Morgoth, "the Dark Enemy of the World" (with the possible exception of Maeglin, who betrayed Gondolin). The Kinslaying at Alqualondë, however, in which the rebellious Ñoldor slew the Teleri to steal their ships, loomed like a shadow over all that they later did.

The immortal Elves sometimes wearied of being unchanging themselves in an ever-changing world. They longed for the Undying Lands of Valinor, and sometimes even envied Men's brief mortality.

History

The stories of the First Age deal mostly with the Elves, especially those who did not heed the call of the Valar and stayed behind in the various kingdoms of Beleriand, and those who later returned. Men appear in the tales of the First Age, but do not rise to dominate the world until the later stories. The Elves of the First Age are in their youth, and one of their kings, Fingolfin, is powerful enough to challenge Melkor, a being of angelic might.

They first awake at Cuiviénen under the light of the stars; see Awakening of the Elves for details.

After the end of the First Age and throughout the Second Age, the Elves of Middle-earth are still powerful enough to hold off Sauron and create Rings of Power which can actually slow the effects of time.

However, by the Third Age (the time of The Lord of the Rings), their importance in affairs of the world is diminishing, and only a few of them are left in the refuges of Rivendell, Lindon, Lothlórien, and Mirkwood. Many of them can be seen walking west, towards the Grey Havens, to leave Middle-earth forever. Therefore few of them remain in Middle-earth after the end of the Third Age, when the One Ring was destroyed.

Kinds of Elves

The Elves are a sundered people. They first awoke at Cuiviénen on the continent of Middle-earth (see: Awakening of the Elves), where they were divided into three tribes: the Vanyar, the Ñoldor, and the Teleri. After some time, they were summoned by Oromë to live with the Valar in Aman. That summons and the Great Journey that followed split the Elves into two main groups (and many minor ones), which were never fully reunited.

The name Quendi refers to all elves.

Avari

The Avari are Those who Refused the Summons of Oromë, or simply The Unwilling. (Most of the Avari came from the largest tribe, the Teleri. A few of the Ñoldor remained as well, but were no longer called by that tribal name.) Together with the Nandor and the Sindar, they are called the Moriquendi (Elves of * Darkness) in recognition of the fact that they did not see the light of the Two Trees. While all of the Eldar departed Middle-earth by the early Fourth Age, it appears that the Avari mostly stayed.

Eldar

The Eldar are those who accepted the summons. Their name, literally Star People, was given to them by Oromë in their own language. Those of the Lindar who undertook the Great Journey were called the Teleri.
  • Those of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty Mountains, and stayed in the valley of Anduin, are called the Nandor (Valley People).
    • Those of the Nandor who left the Anduin under the leadership of Denethor and came to Beleriand are called the Laiquendi (Green Elves).
    • The other Nandor became known as the Silvan Elves, living in the forests of Wilderland. They were joined there by some of the Avari.
  • Those of the Teleri who reached Beleriand by the Great Sea but chose not to cross to Aman were called the Sindar (Grey People).
    • Many of the Teleri chose to remain behind in order to look for their lord Thingol, who disappeared near the end of the journey. These were known as the Eglath (Forsaken), because they were left behind when their kindred crossed the Sea.
    • Those of the Teleri who came to the shores of the Great Sea but decided to stay there are called the Falathrim (People of the Shore).
  • The Vanyar, the Ñoldor, and those of the Teleri who stayed with them to the end are called the Calaquendi (Elves of * Light) because they saw the Two Trees. The rest of the Teleri are also sometimes counted among the Moriquendi.
    • Most of the Ñoldor returned with Fëanor to Middle-earth, and at least some of these remained there through the Third Age. These became known as the Exiles.
    • Those Ñoldor that remained behind or returned under Finarfin became known as the Aulendur (Servants of Aulë).

Locations in Middle-earth

The Elves lived in various parts of Middle-earth at different times, including:

The Elvish life cycle

As told in The History of Middle-earth, the elder Tolkien's writings as edited by his son Christopher and collected into several volumes, and in Tolkien's Letters, Elves had a different life cycle from Men. Most of the following information strictly refers only to the Eldar, as found in his essay Laws and Customs among the Eldar, found in Morgoth's Ring—but much could probably be applied to the Avari as well.

Early life

Elves are born about one year from their conception. The day of their conception is celebrated, not the actual birthday itself—since for them, life begins at conception (here one can see influence from Tolkien's Catholicism). Their minds develop quicker than their bodies; by their first year, they can speak, walk and even dance, and their quicker onset of mental maturity makes young Elves seem older than they really are. Physical puberty comes in around their fiftieth to one hundredth year (by age fifty they reach their adult height), and by their first hundred years of life outside the womb all Elves are fully grown.

Tolkien was divided on how fast Elves actually grew. in Laws and Customs, he states that Elves' bodies develop slower than Men from the start. By the age of twenty, they might still appear physically seven years old, whereas Men at the same age are physically mature. However, he later wrote that Elves and Men develop physically at the same rate until maturity, but then Elven bodies slow down and stop ageing physically, while human bodies don't.

Sexuality, marriage and parenthood

Elves marry freely and for love early in life. Monogamy is practised and adultery is unthinkable; they only marry once (Finwë, first High King of the Ñoldor, was an exception; he remarried after his first wife died).

Spouses can choose each other even long before they are married. They would be betrothed to one another. The betrothal is subject to parental approval unless the parties are of age and intend to marry soon, at which point the betrothal is announced at a meeting of the two houses. They exchange rings and the betrothal lasts at least a year, and is revocable by the return of the rings (but rarely is it actually broken). After their formal betrothal, the couple appoints a time for the wedding when at least a year passes.

Marriage is celebrated at a feast of the two houses. They give back their betrothal rings and receive others worn on their index fingers. The bride’s mother gives the groom a jewel to be worn, but the marriage is achieved with its consummation. Technically, only the words exchanged by the bride and groom (including the speaking of the name of Eru) and the consummation are required for marriage.

The Elves view the sexual act as extremely special and intimate, for it leads to the conception and birth of children. Extra-marital and premarital sex are unthinkable—indeed, the Elves would regard them as contradictions in terms. Because adultery is also unheard of and fidelity between spouses is absolute, spouses can sometimes live separately for extended periods of time, and no one would get worried over it. Yet a sundering during pregnancy or during the early years of parenthood (caused by war, for example) is so grievous to the couple that they prefer to have children in peaceful times. In the case of their being raped, Elves lose the will to live.

Elves have few children, as a rule; (Fëanor and Nerdanel were an exception, since they had seven sons), and there are relatively sizable intervals between each child. They are soon preoccupied with other pleasures; their libido wanes and they focus their interests elsewhere, like the arts. Nonetheless, they take great delight in the union of love, and they cherish the days of bearing and raising children as the happiest days of their lives.

There seems to only be one known example of extreme marital strife in Tolkien's mythology, that of Eöl and Aredhel, in which the latter actually left the former without his knowing, with the result of Eöl ultimately killing her. This was far from a normal Elven marriage, however.

Daily life

The Elves, particularly the Ñoldor, preoccupy themselves with various things, such as smithwork, sculpture, music and other arts, and of course, what to eat. Males and females can do almost everything equally; however, the females often specialize in the arts of healing while the men go to war. This is because they believe that taking life interferes with the ability to preserve life. However, Elves are not stuck in rigid roles; females can defend themselves at need as well as males, and many males are skilled healers as well (like Elrond, though he was technically Half-elven).

Later life

Eventually, if they do not die in battle or from some other cause, the Elves of Middle-earth grow weary of it and desire to go to Valinor, where the Valar originally sheltered their kind. Those who wish to leave for the Undying Lands go by boats provided at the Grey Havens, where Círdan the Shipwright dwells with his folk.

"The third cycle of life", ageing, and facial hair
Incidentally, Círdan is quite old when he is shown at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Despite Tolkien's statements in The Hobbit that Elves (and Hobbits) have no beards, Círdan in fact has a beard, which appears to be an anomaly and a simple oversight. However, Tolkien later devised at least three "cycles of life" for Elves around 1960; Círdan had a beard because he was in his third cycle of life. (Mahtan, Nerdanel's father, had a beard in his second cycle of life, a rare phenomenon.) It is unclear what these cycles exactly are; however, Tolkien left no notes further explaining this. Apparently, beards were the only sign of further natural physical ageing beyond maturity.

Nevertheless, Tolkien may have ultimately changed his mind about whether Elves had facial hair. As Christopher Tolkien states in Unfinished Tales, his father wrote in December 1972 or later that the Elvish strain in Men (such as Aragorn) was "observable in the beardlessness of those who were so descended", since "it was a characteristic of all Elves to be beardless". This would seemingly contradict the information above.

Elves sometimes appear to age under great stress. Círdan appeared to be aged himself, since he is described as looking old, save for the stars in his eyes; this may be due to all the sorrows he had seen and lived through since the First Age. Also, the people of Gwindor of Nargothrond had trouble recognizing him after his time as a prisoner of Morgoth.

The end

As told above, Elves who die or are killed spend some time in the Purgatory-like Halls of Mandos in Valinor, and after that time they are re-embodied. They almost never go back to Middle-earth, however. Glorfindel, who may have died during the destruction of the elven city of Gondolin, may be considered an exception - he appeared in the Fellowship of the Ring.

Eventually, their immortal spirits (fëar) will overwhelm and consume their bodies (hröar), rendering them "bodiless", whether they opt to go to Valinor or remain in Middle-earth. At the end of the world, all Elves will have become invisible to mortal eyes, except to those to whom they wish to manifest themselves. Tolkien called this process "Lingering", and it may be thought of as a fourth and final cycle of Elven life.

Theoretically, if the Elves did exist, at the end of the world the youngest of them would still be visible, since for them all to become invisible would logically require that all Elves stop reproducing at some point. Incidentally, this voluntary cessation of reproduction appeared in material related to the Jackson films. In the material (not explicitly stated in the films themselves), Arwen is supposed to be the lastborn of her people, thus her being called "the Evenstar" (evening star). However, this does not appear in the books.

The lives of Elves technically only endure as the world endures; however, it is said that at the end of time the Elves will join the other Children of Ilúvatar in singing before His throne.

Elvish naming conventions

Elves were typically given one name (essi) at birth, a name that had little to do with who they were or their personality. This name was given by the father, therefore called the father name, and reflected either the name of the father or mother. As the Elf grew older, they received a second name, given by the mother. This name was extremely important and reflected personality, skills, or fate. This name is not used by those who did not know the Elf well; it would be considered rude to do so. In those cases, the Father-name would be used.

The epessë or the "after-name" is the third type. The after-name is given later in life, but not necessarily by their kin, as a title of admiration and honour. In some circumstances, the epessë is chosen by the Elf himself or herself. An Elf could be referred to by any of the three, but the epessë typically took preference.

A fourth type was the patronymic — the father's name with the suffix "-ion" added. Thus, Gildor Inglorion is "Gildor, son of Inglor".

In songs and history, the epessë is usually used rather than the essi.

Examples

  • Maedhros, the oldest son of Fëanor, was by his brothers referred to as Russandol (copper-top): an epessë he had earned because of his ruddy hair. Maedhros itself was an epessë: his father-name had been Nelyafinwë (Finwë the third: Fëanor's own father-name had been (Curu) finwë), and his mother-name Maitimo.

  • Gil-galad (Star of Radiance) is the mother-name of Rodnor, son of Orodreth. He is given the epessë Ereinion because of his heritage: the name literally means "Scion of Kings".

  • Círdan (Shipwright) is the epessë of a Telerin Elf who remained in Beleriand, and later Lindon, until the end of the Third Age. His original name had been forgotten, and he was referred to always as Círdan, a title which had been given to him as Lord of the Falas before the First Age.

  • Finrod is usually referred to as Felagund (hewer of caves), an original derogatory nickname given to him because of his dwellings at Nargothrond. Finrod adopted the name, and made it a title of honour.

  • Galadriel is the Sindarin translation of Alatáriel, the latter being the Telerin epessë originally given to her by Celeborn. Galadriel means "Maiden Crowned by a Radiant Garland". The name itself is an epessë: her father-name is Artanis (noble woman) and her mother-name is Nerwen (man-maiden).

Common misconceptions

It should be noted that Tolkien's Elves differ greatly from elfs of older folklore, as well as most modern fantasy elves. Aside from their different bodies and life cycle, his Elves were very much human, if "Unfallen".

Forests and archery?

It may come as a surprise to some, but the now clichéd special affinity with forests and archery is largely an accident, resulting from the fact that the most prominent Elven character in The Lord of the Rings, Legolas, is a Wood-elven archer. The trip to Lórien furthers the perception that most Elves live in trees and carry bows, while we learn from Tolkien's other writings that his Elves were just as likely to live in caves (Nargothrond and the halls of Thranduil in Mirkwood) or mountain fortresses (Gondolin), and the Ñoldor are known for their mighty swords, the Vanyar for their spears, and the Sindar were known to use axes (often thought to be restricted to Dwarves). However, Elves were closer to nature than Men were, though not in the same way as popularized in other fantasy worlds such as that of Dungeons and Dragons.

Pointed ears?

In addition, there are no explicit references to pointed ears in The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion. We know that Tolkien's Elves did, in fact, have pointed ears only because of a letter Tolkien sent to illustrators for The Hobbit, which stated that Bilbo's ears should be shown as "only slightly pointed and elvish", and a passage in the Etymologies (published in The Lost Road and Other Writings, corrected in Vinyar Tengwar issue 45), where Tolkien states that "the Quendian * ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than Human." However, practical considerations, including a number of occasions where Men are mistaken for Elves (most notably Túrin Turambar), suggest that the points must have been subtle, quite different from the large ears of Elfquest or the extremely long, narrow elf-ears in some anime such as Record of Lodoss War or from the Warcraft games.

Hair colors

Elven hair colour is more varied and complex than most people realize. Some may think that most Elves were blond, but this is simply not the case. In Peter Jackson's films, elves from Rivendell tended to be portrayed with dark hair, while elves from Lothlórien tended to be blond; but this is still a simplification. In general, the Vanyar were blond, and the other Elves (including Ñoldor, Sindar, and Avari) had dark or even black hair, although some of the Teleri had silver hair. Lúthien Tinúviel and her remote descendant 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 blond 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 Ñoldorin 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; however, this was edited out of the published Silmarillion, probably due to its being a genetic anomaly.)

Additionally, a silver hair colour existed in the royal house of the Sindar, with Thingol, Círdan, and Celeborn all described as having silver hair. As revealed in Unfinished Tales (since it was not mentioned in The Lord of the Rings), 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 Ñoldor-Vanyar-Teleri heritage (her mother was the niece of Thingol). Thranduil, father of Legolas and a Sindarin elf, is described as having blond hair in The Hobbit. Legolas' own hair colour is actually a bone of contention; see here for details. The blond Glorfindel was a Ñoldorin elf of Gondolin.

Eye colours

Peter Jackson's films and their related materials depict Elves as having blue (Wood-elves) or dark brown (High Elves) eyes. Arwen, a half-elf ultimately descended from Ñoldor, Vanyar and Teleri (as well as humans and a Maia), has blue eyes as portrayed in the films by Liv Tyler. Legolas as portrayed by Orlando Bloom even changes eye colour from blue to brown and purple in some scenes due to technical mishaps.

However, when Tolkien describes Elven eyes at all, they tend to be grey. The idea for the grey eyes might have come from Tolkien's wife, Edith, who had grey eyes herself. This is certainly true of Lúthien (and her descendants: Elrond, Arwen and her brothers, and Aragorn and the Númenóreans/Dúnedain). Voronwë, who guided the man Tuor to Gondolin, also had grey eyes. Perhaps the grey-eyed convention comes from the fact that in Medieval English literature, grey eyes were a sign of nobility.

Tolkien apparently describes all Elves in Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings with the statement "They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finrod"; however, this statement was meant to apply only to the Ñoldor (substituting Finarfin for Finrod, his son).

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

Eärendil, the half-elven son of Idril and Tuor, was said to have blue eyes when he was born—as found in The Fall of Gondolin in The Book of Lost Tales, circa 1917. Tolkien could have changed his mind later—and besides, Eärendil was only half-elven—but in reality it is common for babies to be born with blue eyes, regardless of their final eye colour, so this statement does not really shed much light on his adult appearance.

Body builds

With common stereotypical fantasy elves having slighter builds than humans (especially when compared to big, bulky barbarian-type characters), some might attribute this feature to Tolkien. However, he never says explicitly that all Elves have smaller builds than humans. This misconception may have come from the fact that the broadest of the Company of the Ring are Boromir and Aragorn, not Legolas, and from the simple fact that the Elves were portrayed as faster, more graceful, and more nimble than their human counterparts. However, most Elves were equal and some greater in stature to Men.

In certain of his earliest writings, Elves are depicted as smaller and slighter than Men; in "Turambar and the Foalókë", the first version of the rescue of Túrin Turambar from Orcs by Beleg and Gwindor, the rescuers being Elves and the captive a Man made the deed more difficult. He explicitly revised this out of later versions.

"Androgynous" Elves?

Tolkien's Elves are sometimes perceived as androgynous (generalized because of Peter Jackson's casting choices for some extras, but actually a quite early notion long before the movies); however, they were not.

Christopher Tolkien recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas:

"He was 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 Volume 2)

Beards, or lack thereof

Technically, since the information concerning the cycles of life and facial hair is not present in The Lord of the Rings, it can be said that it is a common misconception that male Elves did not have beards at all; they did grow beards, usually during the third cycle of their lives — if one accepts "the cycles of life" explanation over the later statement that did say that they were beardless, as given above.

Elvish languages

A skilled philologist, Tolkien devised several Elvish languages, such as Quenya and Sindarin; once he even stated that his stories were created for his languages, not the other way around. See the respective articles for details.

Notable Elves

Half-elven:

See also

Middle-earth Elves | Middle-earth races

Елфи (Средна земя) | Elfs de la Terra Mitjana | Elfi (Terra di Mezzo) | Elbes | エルフ (トールキン) | Alv (Midgard) | Elf (Śródziemie) | Эльфы (Средиземье) | Vilini | Haltia (Arda) | எல்வ்ஸ்

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Elf (Middle-earth)".

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