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==History== | ==History== | ||
During the [[First Age]], the [[Valar]] summoned the first [[Elves]] to move with them to [[Valinor]]. There were three hosts that first set out to answer the call of the Valar. Of these, the largest host was that of the [[Teleri]]. They advanced very slowly, and would often lose sight of the other two, smaller hosts. There was a time, when they reached the river [[Anduin]], one smaller leader of that host, [[Lenwë]], wished to go no further, and he and his people began to live in the forests surrounding the Anduin Vale as the remaining Teleri continued their journey to [[Valinor]]. Their descendants were the Silvan elves of [[Lothlórien]] and Greenwood the Great. | During the [[First Age]], the [[Valar]] summoned the first [[Elves]] to move with them to [[Valinor]]. There were three hosts that first set out to answer the call of the Valar. Of these, the largest host was that of the [[Teleri]]. They advanced very slowly, and would often lose sight of the other two, smaller hosts.<ref>{{S|3}}</ref> There was a time, when they reached the river [[Anduin]], one smaller leader of that host, [[Lenwë]], wished to go no further, and he and his people began to live in the forests surrounding the Anduin Vale as the remaining Teleri continued their journey to [[Valinor]]. Their descendants were the Silvan elves of [[Lothlórien]] and Greenwood the Great.<ref group="note">{{S|3}} "[Lenwë] forsook the westward march, and led away a numerous people, southwards down the great river, and they passed out of the knowledge of their kin until long years were past. Those were the Nandor . . . greater knoweldge they had of living things, tree and herb, bird and beast, than all other Elves."</ref> | ||
===Second Age=== | ===Second Age=== | ||
During the [[Second Age]], many [[Sindar]] survivors, who did not sail to the [[Valinor|West]], did not wish to stay with the [[Noldor]] in [[Lindon]] and be dominated by them. They travelled eastward from Lindon and eventually ended up in Greenwood the Great, where the Silvan Elves of [[Nandorin]] descent lived. The Silvan Elves were ''[[morbin]]''<ref>{{WJ|B}} (pp. 376-7, 380)</ref> but they shared the same Telerin ancestry | During the [[Second Age]], many [[Sindar]] survivors, who did not sail to the [[Valinor|West]], did not wish to stay with the [[Noldor]] in [[Lindon]] and be dominated by them.<ref name="UT6b"/> They travelled eastward from Lindon and eventually ended up in Greenwood the Great, where the Silvan Elves of [[Nandorin]] descent lived. The Silvan Elves were ''[[morbin]]'',<ref>{{WJ|B}} (pp. 376-7, 380)</ref> but they shared the same Telerin ancestry. The Sindar longed to experience a more "rustic" and "natural" way of life and fully embraced and adopted their culture and language. [[Oropher]], a Sinda, was taken by them as lord and founded the [[Woodland Realm]] in {{SA|750}} with the capital at [[Amon Lanc]].<ref>{{PM|Second}}</ref><ref name="UT6b">{{UT|6b}}</ref> | ||
The Silvan Elves originally lived in the south of Greenwood but over the course of the Age [[Sauron]] | The Silvan Elves originally lived in the south of Greenwood, but over the course of the Age, [[Sauron]] came to [[Mordor]] and started building [[Barad-dûr]] in {{SA|1000}}<ref name="Gladden">{{UT|Gladden}}, note 14</ref> while the [[Dwarves of Khazad-dûm|Dwarves of Moria]] increased their power, and later, [[Galadriel]], who forsook [[Eregion]] due to the revolt of [[Gwaith-i-Mírdain]],<ref name="UT6">{{UT|6}}</ref> followed by [[Celeborn]], who defended that realm until its fall, retreated to [[Lothlórien|Lórien]] with the refugees of that land. Out of resentment to these intrusion from the east and south, which some felt would only bring sorrows to a peaceful realm,<ref>{{UT|6}} "''Amroth and Nimrodel''"</ref> the Silvan Elves across the Anduin gradually moved north to live around the [[Mountains of Mirkwood]].<ref name="UT6b"/> | ||
Oropher joined the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men|Last Alliance]] by summoning a great army which joined with [[Amdír]]'s smaller force of [[Galadhrim|Lórien Elves]] to create one large host of Silvan Elves; the Silvan Elves were strong and brave, but had poor armour and weapons in comparison with the [[Noldor]]. [[Amdír]] and Oropher were unwilling to submit to the supreme command of [[Gil-galad]], as such they suffered heavier losses in the [[War of the Last Alliance]]. In the | Oropher joined the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men|Last Alliance]] by summoning a great army which joined with [[Amdír]]'s smaller force of [[Galadhrim|Lórien Elves]] to create one large host of Silvan Elves; the Silvan Elves were strong and brave, but they had poor armour and weapons in comparison with the [[Noldor]]. [[Amdír]] and Oropher were unwilling to submit to the supreme command of [[Gil-galad]], as such they suffered heavier losses in the [[War of the Last Alliance]].<ref group="note">{{UT|6b}} "The Silvan Elves were hardy and valiant, but ill-equipped with armour or weapons in comparison with the Eldar of the West; also they were independent, and not disposed to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-galad. Their losses were thus more grievous than they need have been, even in that terrible war."</ref> In the first assault upon [[Mordor]], Oropher and other brave and hasty Silvan Elves rushed forward before Gil-galad gave the signal to charge. Oropher charged to the fore of his men and was slain. | ||
Over the course of the war, which ended with the [[Siege of Barad-dûr]] in {{SA|3441}}, two-thirds of the Silvan army had been lost. The remnants of the army returned to Greenwood under the command of Oropher's son, [[Thranduil]], and he was crowned king.<ref group="note">{{UT|6b}} "When the war ended and Sauron was slain (as it seemed) he led back home barely a third of the army that had marched to war."</ref> | |||
===Third Age=== | ===Third Age=== | ||
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::"Oropher had come among them with only a handful of Sindar, and they were soon merged with the Silvan Elves, adopting their language and taking names of Silvan form and style. This they did deliberately; for they . . . came from Doriath after its ruin, and had no desire to leave Middle-earth, nor to be merged with the other Sindar of Beleriand, dominated by the Noldorin Exiles for whom the folk of Doriath had no great love. They wished indeed to become Silvan folk . . ."<ref name="UT6b">{{UT|6b}}</ref></small> | ::"Oropher had come among them with only a handful of Sindar, and they were soon merged with the Silvan Elves, adopting their language and taking names of Silvan form and style. This they did deliberately; for they . . . came from Doriath after its ruin, and had no desire to leave Middle-earth, nor to be merged with the other Sindar of Beleriand, dominated by the Noldorin Exiles for whom the folk of Doriath had no great love. They wished indeed to become Silvan folk . . ."<ref name="UT6b">{{UT|6b}}</ref></small> | ||
A handful of Sindar is hardly going to have the linguistic influence of William the Conqueror with the ruling class' Norman French changing Old English into Middle English. The numbers for a complete language overhaul simply were not there. A mother tongue is not easy to erase even if it is an unlettered one. And, in conflict to the previous passage, Oropher's house also adopted the Silvan people's language. However, Elves live for a long time and adaptations and changes are bound to happen. | A handful of Sindar is hardly going to have the linguistic influence of William the Conqueror with the ruling class' Norman French changing Old English into Middle English. The numbers for a complete language overhaul simply were not there. A mother tongue is not easy to erase even if it is an unlettered one. And, in conflict to the previous passage, in Appendix A, Oropher's house also adopted the Silvan people's language. However, Elves live for a long time and adaptations and changes are bound to happen. | ||
In Letter 347, written in 1972, there is a note which states: "The Silvan Elves of Thranduil's realm did not speak [[S.]] but a related language or dialect."<ref>{{L|347}}</ref> This could be a mixture of [[Doriathrin]], or Old Sindarin, mixing with the Silvan Elvish of the Nandor and Avari.<ref group="note">See [[David Salo]]'s ''[[A Gateway to Sindarin]]'' p. 13</ref> | In Letter 347, written in 1972, there is a note which states: "The Silvan Elves of Thranduil's realm did not speak [[S.]] but a related language or dialect."<ref>{{L|347}}</ref> This could be a mixture of [[Doriathrin]], or Old Sindarin, mixing with the Silvan Elvish of the Nandor and Avari.<ref group="note">See [[David Salo]]'s ''[[A Gateway to Sindarin]]'' p. 13</ref> | ||
In the end, we are left to puzzle it out for ourselves whether or not Silvan Elvish indeed only lived on through place names, influenced a new Sindar | In the end, we are left to puzzle it out for ourselves whether or not Silvan Elvish indeed only lived on through place names, influenced a new Silvan-Sindar dialect, or if it was the woodland tongue of Thranduil's people. | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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| The Elves of Mirkwood | |
|---|---|
| People | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Members | Oropher, Thranduil, Legolas, Galion |
| Physical Description | |
| Lifespan | Immortal |
The Elves of Mirkwood were Silvan Elves that lived in the Woodland Realm of northern Mirkwood, under the rule of Thranduil.
History
During the First Age, the Valar summoned the first Elves to move with them to Valinor. There were three hosts that first set out to answer the call of the Valar. Of these, the largest host was that of the Teleri. They advanced very slowly, and would often lose sight of the other two, smaller hosts.[1] There was a time, when they reached the river Anduin, one smaller leader of that host, Lenwë, wished to go no further, and he and his people began to live in the forests surrounding the Anduin Vale as the remaining Teleri continued their journey to Valinor. Their descendants were the Silvan elves of Lothlórien and Greenwood the Great.[note 1]
Second Age
During the Second Age, many Sindar survivors, who did not sail to the West, did not wish to stay with the Noldor in Lindon and be dominated by them.[2] They travelled eastward from Lindon and eventually ended up in Greenwood the Great, where the Silvan Elves of Nandorin descent lived. The Silvan Elves were morbin,[3] but they shared the same Telerin ancestry. The Sindar longed to experience a more "rustic" and "natural" way of life and fully embraced and adopted their culture and language. Oropher, a Sinda, was taken by them as lord and founded the Woodland Realm in S.A. 750 with the capital at Amon Lanc.[4][2]
The Silvan Elves originally lived in the south of Greenwood, but over the course of the Age, Sauron came to Mordor and started building Barad-dûr in S.A. 1000[5] while the Dwarves of Moria increased their power, and later, Galadriel, who forsook Eregion due to the revolt of Gwaith-i-Mírdain,[6] followed by Celeborn, who defended that realm until its fall, retreated to Lórien with the refugees of that land. Out of resentment to these intrusion from the east and south, which some felt would only bring sorrows to a peaceful realm,[7] the Silvan Elves across the Anduin gradually moved north to live around the Mountains of Mirkwood.[2]
Oropher joined the Last Alliance by summoning a great army which joined with Amdír's smaller force of Lórien Elves to create one large host of Silvan Elves; the Silvan Elves were strong and brave, but they had poor armour and weapons in comparison with the Noldor. Amdír and Oropher were unwilling to submit to the supreme command of Gil-galad, as such they suffered heavier losses in the War of the Last Alliance.[note 2] In the first assault upon Mordor, Oropher and other brave and hasty Silvan Elves rushed forward before Gil-galad gave the signal to charge. Oropher charged to the fore of his men and was slain.
Over the course of the war, which ended with the Siege of Barad-dûr in S.A. 3441, two-thirds of the Silvan army had been lost. The remnants of the army returned to Greenwood under the command of Oropher's son, Thranduil, and he was crowned king.[note 3]
Third Age
With the return of Sauron around T.A. 1050 southern Greenwood became dangerous and was renamed Mirkwood. Creatures like great spiders came to dwell in Mirkwood and Thranduil's folk retreated to the northeastern corner of Mirkwood, where they fortified themselves near the Forest River.
One day in T.A. 2941 Thranduil and some of his folk were feasting in the woods when they were repeatedly disturbed by a party of Dwarves. After the third disturbance the Elves captured them. Thorin their leader, was brought before Thranduil but did not reveal the reason for their journey through Mirkwood. However the prisoners escaped with the help of a Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who escaped captivity by using his magic ring.
After the Dwarves' escape Thranduil sent out messengers, who soon told him about the death of the Dragon Smaug, who had brutalized the Elves for years. He knew about the treasures, which Smaug had hoarded, and so he set out towards the Lonely Mountain with a company of Elves with spears and bows. On the way they met messengers from Bard in Lake-town who was seeking aid for his destroyed town. After the Elves had given food to the Lake-men and had helped them to build shelters against the oncoming winter, they were very surprised when they found out that Thorin and his company had survived Smaugs attacks, had taken possession of the Lonely Mountain and its treasures and that Thorin Oakenshield had claimed the title King under the Mountain.
Bard demanded a part of the treasure for Dale and Lake-town, which Smaug had destroyed, as well as for himself because he had shot the dragon. When Thorin refused to give away parts of the treasure, Thranduil and Bard sieged the mountain and Thorin sent for aid from his cousin Dáin II Ironfoot. After a few days Dain's host approached and fight seemed unavoidable. But in the night Bilbo brought the Arkenstone, a great jewel that Thorin valued above all to him open to negotiations. The next morning Bard and Thranduil entered into negotiations with an angered Thorin, who agreed to pay 1/14 share of the treasure in exchange for the stone. The next day Dain arrived with his forces and although Thranduil was reluctant to start a war over gold, the dwarves proceeded to attack.
At the last moment, when the battle was almost joined between the two sides Gandalf intervened and revealed that while they were bickering amongst themselves, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains and Grey Mountains under Bolg were using the opportunity to march against them. They had been incited by Gandalf's earlier slaying of the Great Goblin, but had now mobilized for a full-scale attack after hearing news of the death of the Dragon and the now relatively unguarded treasure hoard. The three commanders agreed that the Orcs were the enemies of all and previous grievances between them were put on hold in face of the greater threat. So the Battle of Five Armies began.
Thranduil's host was positioned on the southern side of the Mountain, and they were the first to charge. Many Elves were slain and things looked grim when the Eagles arrived on the battlefield. They turned the tide and the battle was won. The victors divided the treasure.
On March 21, T.A. 3018 Aragorn and Gandalf delivered Gollum as a prisoner to Thranduil. He was guarded day and night, but the Elves pitied him and allowed him to climb a tree that stood alone. When one night in June of 3018, Gollum refused to come down, the Elves were attacked by Orcs and Gollum could escape in the confusion. Thranduil sent his son Legolas to Rivendell to inform Elrond, and in the Council of Elrond Legolas was selected as one of the nine members of the Company of the Ring.[8]
On March 15, T.A. 3019, an army of Sauron from Dol Guldur, tasked with destroying the Woodland Realm, attacked Mirkwood. There was a long Battle Under Trees and the woods were set on fire. But in the end Thranduil defeated the invaders.
Because the Shadow over Mirkwood was lifted, Thranduil and Celeborn renamed it Eryn Lasgalen, the Wood of Greenleaves. They divided it up, so that Thranduil received the northern part as far as the Mountains, and Celeborn took the southern part below the Narrows, naming it East Lórien. The wide forest in-between was given to the Beornings and the Woodmen[9].
After the destruction of Dol Guldur and the cleansing of Mirkwood, Thranduil and the Wood-Elves remained untroubled for many years.
Legolas and the Wood-Elves later worked together with Gimli and the Dwarves to rebuild and improve Minas Tirith, capital city of Gondor, the realm of their mutual friend King Aragorn Elessar[9].
Language
The Elves of Mirkwood spoke Sindarin and/or Silvan Elvish. This is, at best, a murky subject as Tolkien himself wrote various accountings of the evolution of their language in Unfinished Tales.
In "The Silvan Elves and Their Speech," Tolkien writes that, "Thranduil father of Legolas of the Nine Walkers was Sindarin, and that tongue was used in his house, though not by all his folk."[10] This implies that Sindarin was the language of court and Silvan Elvish or the woodland tongue was the language of the people. It was later written that, "by the end of the Third Age the Silvan tongues had probably ceased to be spoken in the two regions that had importance at the time of the War of the Ring: Lórien and the realm of Thranduil in northern Mirkwood."[10] However, when Legolas related the song of Nimrodel, a song about a Third Age event, he said, "it is a fair song in our woodland tongue."[11] If the woodland tongue was a dead language at that time, he probably would have just said in Elvish since he was speaking in Westron at the time, but he specified the language of his realm and claimed it as his own with the word our.[note 4]
In "The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves", it is stated that:
- "Oropher had come among them with only a handful of Sindar, and they were soon merged with the Silvan Elves, adopting their language and taking names of Silvan form and style. This they did deliberately; for they . . . came from Doriath after its ruin, and had no desire to leave Middle-earth, nor to be merged with the other Sindar of Beleriand, dominated by the Noldorin Exiles for whom the folk of Doriath had no great love. They wished indeed to become Silvan folk . . ."[2]
A handful of Sindar is hardly going to have the linguistic influence of William the Conqueror with the ruling class' Norman French changing Old English into Middle English. The numbers for a complete language overhaul simply were not there. A mother tongue is not easy to erase even if it is an unlettered one. And, in conflict to the previous passage, in Appendix A, Oropher's house also adopted the Silvan people's language. However, Elves live for a long time and adaptations and changes are bound to happen.
In Letter 347, written in 1972, there is a note which states: "The Silvan Elves of Thranduil's realm did not speak S. but a related language or dialect."[12] This could be a mixture of Doriathrin, or Old Sindarin, mixing with the Silvan Elvish of the Nandor and Avari.[note 5]
In the end, we are left to puzzle it out for ourselves whether or not Silvan Elvish indeed only lived on through place names, influenced a new Silvan-Sindar dialect, or if it was the woodland tongue of Thranduil's people.
See also
Notes
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor" "[Lenwë] forsook the westward march, and led away a numerous people, southwards down the great river, and they passed out of the knowledge of their kin until long years were past. Those were the Nandor . . . greater knoweldge they had of living things, tree and herb, bird and beast, than all other Elves."
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix B: The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves" "The Silvan Elves were hardy and valiant, but ill-equipped with armour or weapons in comparison with the Eldar of the West; also they were independent, and not disposed to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-galad. Their losses were thus more grievous than they need have been, even in that terrible war."
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix B: The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves" "When the war ended and Sauron was slain (as it seemed) he led back home barely a third of the army that had marched to war."
- ↑ “Silvan Elvish is also referred to as the 'woodland tongue'.” (J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment - Languages Invented by Tolkien - edited by Michael D. C. Drout, p. 339)
- ↑ See David Salo's A Gateway to Sindarin p. 13
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix B: The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Four. Quendi and Eldar: B. Meanings and use of the various terms applied to the Elves and their varieties in Quenya, Telerin, and Sindarin" (pp. 376-7, 380)
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VI. The Tale of Years of the Second Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", note 14
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn" "Amroth and Nimrodel"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix A: The Silvan Elves and their Speech"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Lothlórien" p. 330
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 347, (dated 17 December 1972)
