Elrond
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Elrond the Half-elven (F.A. 525 – ?) is a fictional character of Middle-earth, created by fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien. He is Lord of Rivendell, one of the mighty rulers of old that still remain in Middle-earth in its Third Age. His name means "Vault of Stars", "Star-dome", or "Elf of the Cave" (the exact meaning is uncertain, as Tolkien gave different derivations in different places).
He is the son of Eärendil and Elwing, and a great-grandson of Lúthien, born in Beleriand in the First Age, making him well over 6,000 years old by the time of the events described in The Lord of the Rings. Elrond's twin brother was Elros Tar-Minyatur, the first High King of Númenor.
Although Elrond is considered half-elven, that is not meant to be an exact percentage value; he and his brother Elros had Maian ancestry as well. Elrond, along with his parents, his brother, and his children, was granted a choice between elven or human fates by the Valar. Elrond chose to travel into the West and live as an immortal elf.
As well as being noble, wise, powerful and good, he seems ageless in appearance. His face is fair and he has dark hair and grey eyes. At Rivendell he sought to preserve the lore and history of the Elves and of Middle-earth. He is also a great healer.
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[edit] Biography
Born at the refuge of the Mouths of Sirion soon before its destruction by the sons of Fëanor, Elrond and his brother, Elros, are captured alive. Their parents fear that they will be killed, but instead they are taken up by the brothers Maedhros and Maglor, who have pity and even cherish them.
Elrond goes to Lindon with the household of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Noldor, when Beleriand is destroyed at the end of the First Age, choosing (like his parents but unlike his brother) to be counted among the Elves when the choice of kindreds is given to him.
In the Second Age, Elrond is Gil-galad's lieutenant. In 1695 he is sent to Eregion when it is being attacked by Sauron. He manages to unite his army with an army from Eregion, led by Celeborn. Eregion is destroyed however, and Elrond is driven back and surrounded by Sauron. He was saved though by an army led by Durin and Amroth, and retreated to a valley where he settles Imladris (Rivendell). In 1700 an army from Númenor arrived in Lindon and Gwathló, and Sauron is trapped between the Númenóreans and Elrond.
The First White Council is held. The Council decides that Eregion is to be abandoned in favour of Imladris. Upon this occasion, Gil-galad entrusts Elrond with Vilya, the mightiest of the Three Rings of the Elves.
Near the end of the Second Age, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men is formed, and the army departs from Imladris, led by Elendil and Gil-galad, who are both killed in the Siege of Barad-dûr. Elrond was the herald of Gil-galad and was with Círdan, the only who stood by Gil-galad's side when he fell.
In the year 109 of the Third Age, Elrond weds Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel. In the year 130, the twins Elladan and Elrohir are born, and in 241 a daughter, Arwen Undómiel. During the Third Age Elrond is the main ally of Arnor. After its fall, Elrond hosts the Chieftains of the Dúnedain. After Aragorn's father died when he was only 3, Elrond raised him in his own household and became something of a surrogate father to him (Aragorn was actually Elrond's distant nephew, being the direct descendant of his brother Elros (through 64 generations)). He gives shelter to Bilbo Baggins's party in The Hobbit, after which, presumably, the two become friends.
He leads the Council of Elrond on October 25, 3018, at which it is decided that the One Ring must be destroyed.
Elrond remains in Rivendell until the destruction of both the Ring and Sauron, when he travels to Minas Tirith to see Arwen wed Aragorn, King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor. On September 29, 3021 of the Third Age, aged approximately 6,520 years, Elrond leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea with the other Ring-bearers, never to return.
Elrond's life in Middle-earth is characterized by both duty and loss. He loses his parents at an early age, and he loses his brother when Elros chooses the fate of Men. Later, he loses his king, Gil-galad, in battle. He begins a family of his own with Celebrían, but that, too, is sundered when she leaves Middle-earth T.A. 2509, after being attacked by Orcs in the Misty Mountains. All the while he lives with the uncertainty that his children have the same choice that he and Elros faced; to accept the immortal life of the Elves or the mortal existence of Men. He loses Arwen to that choice after the War of the Ring, and even as he sails to reunite at long last with his wife, the fate of his twin sons remains undecided.
[edit] Portrayal in adaptations
Cyril Ritchard voiced the role of Elrond in the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated film of The Hobbit, created for television. In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film of The Lord of the Rings, Elrond was voiced by André Morell. When Rankin/Bass attempted to finish the story (left incomplete by Bakshi and his financial backers) with The Return of the King in 1980, actor Paul Frees voiced Elrond in the same style as Ritchard, who had since died.
Hugh Dickson played Elrond in BBC Radio's 1981 serialization of The Lord of the Rings.
In the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, Elrond was portrayed by Hugo Weaving.
Elrond's personality in the Peter Jackson movies is somewhat different from his portrayal in Tolkien's novel. Jackson's Elrond even goes so far as to try to convince Arwen to go to Valinor. He seems to be bitter towards Men, including Aragorn, in spite of some of his ancestors belonging to this race (though he is never presented as being outright unreasonable). This version of Elrond resembles his ancestor Thingol, father of Lúthien.
In the books, Elrond raises Aragorn as his own son, after Aragorn's father Arathorn dies. In that context, Elrond's condition that Aragorn simply become King before marrying his daughter is a gracious gesture (especially in comparison to the extravagant demands of Thingol, his historical counterpart), and there is never any indication that he feels anything but love for his foster-son. Aragorn's kingship necessarily requires the death of Sauron, and it is unlikely in any event that either Aragorn or Arwen would enjoy long life in Arda while the Dark Lord yet lived.
Also, in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Elrond himself meets with Aragorn at Dunharrow and tells him to take the Paths of the Dead. In the book, his sons Elladan and Elrohir, with a company of Rangers led by Halbarad, meet Aragorn on the road from Isengard to Helm's Deep, prior to the Muster of Rohan. Elrohir delivers Aragorn a message from Elrond, reminding him of the Paths of the Dead. They also bring a royal banner of Gondor, made by Arwen, which Aragorn subsequently uses.
In the 2006 musical adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Elrond was portrayed by Victor A. Young.
[edit] Line of the Half-elven
[edit] External links
- Elrond at The Thain's Book
- Encyclopedia of Arda article, which includes a detailed description of Elrond's "half-elven" ancestry
