Elrond

Elrond (in Elvish «Vault of stars») is a half-elf, a character belonging to the saga The Lord of the Rings who also has a small part in the story of The Silmarillion. Called the Half-elf, Elrond was the son of Eärendil and Elwing and the great-grandson of Beren and Lúthien. Elrond's twin brother was Elros Tar-Minyatur, the first of the High Kings of Númenor. At the end of the First Age of the Sun, the children of Eärendil were allowed to choose which lineage to belong to. Elros chose to share the fate of men, and was chosen king of the Three Houses of Men and led his people to Númenor. Elrond, instead, preferred to be counted among the First Born, the Elves, and remained in Middle-earth, as a herald of Ereinion Gil-Galad, the last of the high kings of the Noldor.

It is said that Elrond was the wisest of the Eldar, except perhaps Galadriel. He was a great master of science and a powerful warrior, who faced Sauron on more than one occasion: first, in the invasion of Eriador, in front of the gates of Eregion; in Mordor, during the War of the Last Alliance; and lastly fought him when he was in the form of the Sorcerer of Dol Guldur or The Necromancer.

Elrond married Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, and to them were born Elladan, Elrohir, who were twin brothers, and later Arwen, called Undómiel.

History

At the end of the First Age, most of the exiled Noldor returned to Aman. However, Gil-Galad, and many with him (Elrond and Galadriel among others), chose to stay, for Middle-earth was beautiful and they did not want to say goodbye to it yet.

During the Second Age, Sauron manifested again and was first among the Noldorin Elves of Eregion, disguised and under the name of Annatar, Lord of Gifts, and despite Elrond, Gil-Galad. and Galadriel, who advised caution, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain accepted it. Celebrimbor created the Three Rings of the Elves, and with the help of Sauron he created the seven rings of the dwarves and the nine rings of men. For his part, Sauron created the One Ring that ruled them all.

When he donned the One Ring, his disguise was revealed, and the troops that had been waiting long in Mordor unleashed their fury on Eregion. Elrond came from Lindon with an army, but Celebrimbor was already dead and he could only gather the survivors and flee to the refuge of Imladris, which he hid from the eyes of the Enemy, and where he suffered a long siege.

Before departing for the War of the Last Alliance, Gil-Galad entrusted Vilya to Elrond, the Ring of Wind and the most powerful of the Three Elven Rings, and named him Vice Regent of Eriador. However, Elrond did not assume the position of High King of the Noldor after Gil-Galad's death, and the High Elves were left without a king in Middle-earth.

At the end of the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur tore the One Ring from Sauron's hand, and was advised by Elrond and Círdan, who recommended that he destroy the Ring. Isildur ignored his advice and kept the Ring for himself. From that moment, Elrond understood that Sauron would reappear sooner or later, and he withdrew to Rivendell while the power of the elves in Middle-earth was waning.

Elrond makes a brief appearance in the tale of The Hobbit, when Bilbo Baggins and the company of Dwarves led by Thorin pass through Rivendell on their journey to the East.

In the events leading up to the War of the Ring, Elrond played little part. Elrond's power was revealed in the chapter Fleeing to the Ford of The Fellowship of the Ring, when he ordered the flooding of the Bruinen River (Sonorona) into which the Ringwraiths fell.

In Elrond's house, Erestor, chief of the Elves of Rivendell, called a Council, later known as the Council of Elrond, in which representatives of the Free Peoples deliberated until they decided what to do with the One Ring.

Elrond remained in Rivendell until the destruction of the One Ring. On September 29, TE 3021, he left Middle-earth with the bearers of the Three Rings and the bearers of the One, to live in the kingdom of Valinor and meet his wife there.

Elrond's Family Tree

In other media

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the actor in charge of interpreting him was the Australian Hugo Weaving, also recognizable as Agent Smith in the trilogy of Matrix movies.

The character also appears, played by the same actor, in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. He later appears in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, where he confronts, along with Galadriel and Saruman, the Necromancer and they manage to drive him out of Dol Guldur.

In the Amazon Prime television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, released in 2022, actor Robert Aramayo plays Elrond.