Elves (Tolkien)

The elves are fantastic beings that in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien appear as practically immortal beings, at least for the time of Arda. Of all the Children of Ilúvatar they are the fairest, the bravest, and the most wise and powerful. They call themselves the Quendi, which means those who speak (named after the Noldor).

History

The so-called first Children of Eru, or First Born, awoke next to the Cuiviénen lagoon when the Valië Varda, the Lady of the Skies, lit new and brilliant stars in the firmament to hinder the darkness of Melkor. As the first thing they saw were the stars, these are what they love most of all things, and they revere Varda, calling her Elbereth, "mistress of the stars".

According to the account of the Quenta Silmarilion some of them: "they fell into the hands of Melkor, before the fall of Utumno, they were put in prison, and by the slow arts of cruelty, corrupted and enslaved; and thus Melkor bred the race of Orcs, out of envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were later the fiercest enemies", it is not that the orcs come from the elves, but with the blood of these could make the orcs evolve from wild vermin to humanoids with some intelligence; the elves who refused to undertake the Great March of the elves became known as the dark elves or Avari. Then came the Vala Oromë, who almost by accident came across them on one of his customary journeys through Middle-earth. When the Valar learned of the long-awaited awakening of the Quendi, they agreed (despite Ulmo's objections) to bring them to Valinor, for they desired his company. Thus Oromë returned to Cuiviénen and urged them to heed the call of the Valar. At first the Elves refused, fearing the Valar (the cataclysmic Battle of the Powers had recently occurred, in which Utumno was destroyed), but after sending ambassadors to Ingwë, Finwë and Elwë, they were convinced. A few refused to undertake the journey west, and these were the Avari ('reluctants'). Those who set out on the Great Journey were called by Oromë Eldar ("the people of the stars," a name originally applied to all Elves).

A lord of the elves, just as Tolkien imagined.

On the long journey, the first group (the smallest) was led by Ingwë. They were the Vanyar (the beautiful elves). They came first to Valinor, and they sit with the Valar. The second group, led by Finwë, were the Noldor, beloved of Aulë. They loved wisdom and knowledge. They were grave, more inclined to pity than to laughter. The third group (the largest) was the furthest behind. That is why they were called Teleri ('the stragglers'). They were led by Elwë and his sister Olwë.

Arriving near the Anduin and before the Misty Mountains, some of the Teleri decided to stay in the great valleys and forests. They were the Nandor, ruled by Lenwë. The others crossed the mountains and Eriador until they reached Beleriand. Much later, some Nandor would also come to Beleriand, led by Denethor, son of Lenwë. They would dwell in Ossiriand. These were the Laiquendi, the Green Elves.

But while the Vanyar and Noldor were driven to Aman over Tol Eressëa, most of the Teleri remained in Middle-earth. Some to look for their lord Elwë (who had been lost in Nan Elmoth captivated by Melian) and others (the Falathrim, the elves of the coasts, with Círdan in command), convinced by the Maia Ossë. The remainder of the Teleri sailed west led by Olwë and eventually dwelt in Alqualondë, while the Noldor dwelt in Tirion. All the Elves that reached the Blessed Realm were called Calaquendi ("Elves of light"), Amanyar ("los de Aman") and Tareldar ("High Elves"); while those who remained in Middle-earth were the moriquendi ('dark elves') or úmanyar ('those who are not from Aman').

For several ages they lived in bliss in the realm of the Valar, until, after the unchaining of Melkor, dissensions occurred among the Noldor which, together with the slaying of Finwë and the theft of the Silmarils, culminated in the rebellion of the Noldor, headed by Fëanor, son of Finwë.

It was thus that most of the Noldor left Aman and returned to Middle-earth in search of Morgoth and the jewels, after stealing the ships from the Teleri of Alqualondë and killing many of them. A remnant of the Noldor remained in Tirion under Finarfin son of Finwë, along with the Vanyar and the rest of the Teleri.

In Middle-earth the Noldor lived side by side with the Sindar (the Teleri who remained in Beleriand, ruled by Thingol [Elwë] and Melian) and suffered greatly in their wars against the dark power of Morgoth. Two more slaughters of Elves by Elves occurred in the course of these wars: in the Kingdom of Doriath and at the Mouths of the River Sirion. Finally, all the elven kingdoms fell one after the other and the Elves, together with the Edain, their Men allies, found themselves in dire need. Thus the Curse of Mandos was fulfilled, uttered by this Vala after the Noldorin rebellion. Finally, Eärendil the Half Elf, married to Elwing (both children of the two unions of Men and Elves that had occurred up to then), sailed to the Far West in search of the help of the Valar. This came, and after the War of Wrath Morgoth was defeated and expelled from the world and the First Age of the Sun came to an end. The Noldor were allowed to return to Valinor and many did. But some (among them Celeborn of Doriath, his wife Galadriel, descendant of Finwë, Círdan the shipbuilder, and Gil-Galad, last Noldorin king) chose to remain in Middle-earth. To them also came the Prophecy of Mandos, for of these Elves it was said they would know long defeat and turn like shadows of regret ere the younger race dominate. Thus, they remained for long ages in Middle-earth, increasingly removed from the world and from the growing humanity, some of them reigning far from the sea in forests and mountains over people who were almost all Wood Elves.

During the Second Age, the Noldor were deceived by Sauron, servant of Morgoth, and forged the Rings of Power, ruled by Sauron's One Ring. After realizing the deception, there was war between Sauron and the Elves in Eregion. A remnant of the Noldor took refuge in Imladris with Elrond, son of Eärendil. Gil-Galad and Círdan remained in Lindon and the Gray Havens, ruling over another portion of Elves. Elsewhere Sauron spread the dark domain of him. Those were the Dark Years in Middle Earth. Finally, with the arrival of the Dúnedain of Númenor, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men was established, and they managed to defeat Sauron, who, after the loss of the One Ring, disappeared from the lands of the West.

During the Third Age, the Elves of Middle-earth dwindled and dwindled, while Men multiplied everywhere. Thanks to the power of the Three Elven Rings (power that remained because the Ruling Ring had not been destroyed), they were able to preserve their environments (Rivendell and Lothlórien) from the deterioration of time, and keep them as immutable images of past splendor. But the Elves lived on memories and tried nothing new. At the end of that age, when Sauron was definitively defeated in the War of the Ring when his Ring was destroyed, the Elf Lords (such as Elrond, Glorfindel, Celeborn and Galadriel) intervened relatively little, limiting themselves to advising, healing and giving some gifts and gifts. gifts.

The elves leave the Middle Earth.

After the destruction of the One, the Three Rings lost their power. The places they held rapidly fell into disrepair and the world grew old and gray to the First Born. Thus, shortly after the War, much of the Noldor (and possibly Silvans of Lórien and Mirkwood) sailed from the Gray Havens to the Blessed Realm, far from the circles of the world, never to return.

There are a few Eldar who seem to have lingered in Middle-earth indefinitely, or at least we are not told when they last left it: among them Celeborn, Thranduil, King of the Elves of Mirkwood, and Círdan, Lord of the Gray Havens. In addition there are the children of Elrond: Elladan and Elrohir, and also a significant portion of Elfos Silvanos. And we must not forget the Wild Elves, the ancient Avari, who, though no history mentions them, possibly continued to dwell in vast regions throughout Middle-earth.

Thus, during the Fourth Age of the Sun and the Dominion of Men, there may have been furtive encounters between Men and this ancient race, already converted into a rustic people, lovers of the forests, the moon and the stars. The author of The Lord of the Rings tells us something of this when he narrates that Frodo, when contemplating Galadriel shortly before the farewell in Lórien, sees her "already as the men of later times once saw to the Elves: present and yet remote; a vision of that which the ceaseless stream of time had left behind".

Description

Physically, Elves age more slowly than Men, though in their early years, their appearance can easily be mistaken. At the age of fifty, Elves attain the appearance they will have for the rest of their lives, and it is not until the age of one hundred that they fully develop, when most Men would already be dead. Mentally, they develop faster and learn to talk and walk at less than a year old.

Elves are physically similar to humans and can be differentiated mainly by their eyes and voice. In no text published by J.R.R. Tolkien mentions them having pointed ears.

Elves have vision far superior to Men (Numenoreans excepted) and see perfectly in the dark if it is not absolute. They are more skilled than the other races, and tougher in body and mind than Men and Dwarves. They recover faster from injuries and are not subject to disease. They are beautiful creatures who love nature, life and music. All elves are virtually immortal: they age along with the world and exist as long as the world exists. They are immune to disease; they can only lose their lives in battle or die of sorrow. But they can come back to life in Aman. Although it is not well known how this comes about, it is known that they maintain their same physical appearance and continue to be the same person they were before they died (see the case of Glorfindel). Their main languages are Sindarin (Sindar Elves) and Quenya (Noldor Elves).

Both within the world of Middle-earth, and in mythology in general, Ingwë (who in the world of Middle-earth is also the king of the Vanyar) is considered the High King of all elves, although after the Great March of the Elves, he never returned from Aman and lives always near the Valar.

There are different types of elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's mythology.

Classification

Division I'm sorry. (elphs), as was perceived after the exile of the Noldors.

Depending on whether or not they undertook the Great March of the Elves

• Elves that started the March (Eldar, although this term originally covered all Elves)
• Renuentes elves (Avari)

According to whether or not they saw the light of the Two Trees

• Elves of light or Altos Elfos (calaquendi, as the elves of Aman, are called amanyar)
• Elves of darkness (moriquendi, for not being elves of Aman, are called úmanyar)

Eldar, according to their race

• Beautiful Elves (Vanyar)
• Cast elves (on the Great Trip) (Teleri)
• Deep elves (of wisdom) (Noldor)

Subdivisions of the Teleri

• Elves of the sea, in Aman under King Olwë (Falmari)
• Grey Elves (Sindar, those Teleri ruled by Elwë in Beleriand)
  • Elfos de las Falas (costas de Belnderia, governed by Círdan) (Falathrim)
  • Elves of the kingdom of Doriath (Doriathrim, previously called "the abandoned people") (also called Iathrim)
  • Elves of Mithrim
• Jungle Elves (Nandor, live in forests and mountains away from the sea)
  • Elfos Silvanos (Cruces between Avari and Nandor)
  • Green Elves of the Ossiriand Forest (Laiquendi) (Nandor who later entered Beleriand)