Celeborn

From Tolkien Gateway
This article is about the Lord of Lórien. For the Tree, see Celeborn (White Tree).
Celeborn
Sinda
Ebe Kastein - Celeborn.jpg
"Celeborn" by Ebe Kastein
Biographical Information
PronunciationS, [ˈkeleborn]
Other namesTeleporno (T)
TitlesLord of the Galadhrim, Lord of Lórien, The Wise
LocationDoriath, Harlindon, Eriador, Eregion, Imladris, Belfalas, Lothlórien, East Lórien
LanguageSindarin, Westron
BirthSee below
RuleT.A. 1981 - before Fo.A. 121
Sailed westAfter Fo.A. 171, on the Last Ship[1][2]
Grey Havens
Family
HouseA member of the royal house of Doriath
ParentageGaladhon
SiblingsGalathil
SpouseGaladriel
ChildrenCelebrían
Physical Description
GenderMale
Height6 feet 4 inches (193cm)[note 1]
Hair colorSilver, long[3]
GalleryImages of Celeborn

Celeborn was one of the noblest of the Sindar[4][5] — who wedded the Lady Galadriel of the House of Finarfin and with her, he remained in Middle-earth after the end of the First Age.

History[edit | edit source]

Early life[edit | edit source]

Love at First Sight by Līga Kļaviņa

Celeborn was a Sindarin prince of Doriath,[6] being the grandson of Elmo[7], the brother of Thingol; thus, he was the grand-nephew of the King of Doriath.[8]

In the early First Age, Finrod and Galadriel came to Doriath as guests of Thingol. There, Celeborn and Galadriel met, fell in love, and were soon wedded. Galadriel remained in Doriath with Celeborn after Finrod went to the Caverns of Narog to establish the stronghold of Nargothrond.[6]

For the rest of the First Age, Celeborn and Galadriel are not mentioned to have played any significant role in the general course of events of the Age, while their relatives, both Sindar and Noldor, did. By the Fall of Nargothrond in F.A. 495, Galadriel passed over the Blue Mountains so it seems likely that Celeborn followed her although this is not known for certain.[9]

Second Age[edit | edit source]

After the fall of Beleriand, Celeborn and Galadriel lived in Lindon for some time. Celeborn ruled the fief of Harlindon, which was composed mostly of Sindar, under High King Gil-galad.[10]

Galadriel and Celeborn crossed into Eriador with many Noldor, Sindar, and Green-elves in their following. For a while, they dwelt in the country about Lake Nenuial, ruling the Eldar in Eriador, including the wandering companies of the native Nandor. Probably around S.A. 300, a daughter was born to Galadriel and Celeborn, named Celebrían.[5] They departed for Eregion and arrived there by S.A. 750.[8][11] It was ruled by Celebrimbor, grandson of Fëanor and the distant half-cousin of Galadriel.

It was only sometime between S.A. 1350 and 1400[8] that Galadriel crossed the Hithaeglir through Khazad-dûm and relocated there with their daughter Celebrían, becoming great among the Wood-elves.[8] Celeborn decided to stay in Eregion due to his enmity towards the Dwarves.[8] It is said that Celeborn fought in the Sack of Eregion leading the remnants of Eregion out of the battle. He and Elrond narrowly escaped to a dell, where the latter founded Rivendell.[8]

After the War of the Elves and Sauron, Galadriel passed again through Moria with Celebrían and came to Imladris, seeking Celeborn.[8] There she found him, and there they dwelt together for a long time.[8] Some time later, Galadriel and Celeborn departed from Imladris and went to the little-inhabited lands between the mouth of the Gwathló and Ethir Anduin.[8] There they dwelt in Belfalas, at the place that was afterwards called Dol Amroth; and their company was swelled by Silvan Elves from Lórinand.[8]

Third Age[edit | edit source]

"The Swan-Boat of Galadriel" by Rowena Morrill

After long journeys in Rhovanion, from Gondor and the borders of Mordor to Thranduil in the north, Celeborn and Galadriel passed over the mountains to Imladris, and there dwelt for many years.[12] It was there, in T.A. 109[13], that his daughter Celebrían wedded Elrond Half-elven of Rivendell.

When Amroth, the King of Lórien, perished in T.A. 1981, Celeborn and Galadriel took up the rule of Lindórinand jointly, and were called the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien, the new name for Lindórinand, and together, they built Caras Galadhon.

During the War of the Ring in T.A. 3019, Lothlórien received the Fellowship of the Ring, composed of various travellers on the quest to destroy the One Ring. Celeborn and Galadriel offered advice and boats for the Anduin, sending them on their way. After the Galadhrim repelled the forces of Dol Guldur three times, Celeborn led the forces of the Galadhrim across the Anduin and took the fortress. Galadriel threw down its walls and purified the forest.[14][15]

On 6 April,[15] that was the Elven day of New Year, Thranduil met with Celeborn in the midst of Mirkwood and renamed it Eryn Lasgalen, "The Wood of the Green Leaves". With the forest now cleansed, it was divided among the Elves and Men; Celeborn took all the forest south of the Narrows and established East Lórien.[14]

Celeborn attended the wedding of Aragorn II Elessar and his granddaughter Arwen, and on the journey to return, he bade a fond farewell to Treebeard as well. He and Galadriel escorted Gandalf and the Hobbits until the Mountains of Moria, and on 13 September they turned to return to Lothlórien.[15]

Later history[edit | edit source]

After Galadriel's departure, it is believed that Celeborn relocated to Rivendell to reside with Elladan, Elrohir, and some of the Noldor, having also grown weary of East Lórien.[1][14]

At some unknown date (possibly between Fo.A. 120 and 171),[note 2] he sought the Grey Havens and sailed west aboard Last Ship with his mighty kinsman Cirdan the Shipwright, but when he did so, he took with him the last memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth.[1]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Celeborn is a Sindarin name, consisting of celeb ("silver") + a derivative of ornā ("tall"). Teleporno, his original Telerin name, has an identical meaning. The name Teleporno was "Sindarized" as Celeborn: Telerin telpe ("silver") (Quenya tyelpe) was transformed to Sindarin celeb.[16] Teleporno's name gained an additional Quenya form, Telporno (pron. [telˈporno]).[17]

He was given the epithet "the Wise" by Galadriel.[18]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

Before the summer of 1950 in an earlier version of the Appendix on Languages it was mentioned that the native language of Celeborn was Telerian, the native language of the Teleri who remained behind in the north-west of Middle-earth, of the Elves of Lórien and of the elf-kingdom in Northern Mirkwood of Thranduil, and that in the household of Galadriel also Noldorin was spoken, because she was a Noldo.[19] It thus appears that Celeborn was a wood-elf in this earlier version. In a later version of the Appendix on Languages following a major revision of 1951, it is first mentioned that Celeborn was a Sinda (Grey-elf) and that most of the people of Lórien were of a woodland race.[20] The text in the final version of The Lord of the Rings only mentions that Celeborn was a kinsman of Thingol[21][22]. The Lord of the Rings does not mention the ancestry of Celeborn and if he was a Sinda or a Teler from Valinor. The text in The Silmarillion also only mentions that Celeborn was a kinsman of Thingol and that Galadriel stayed in Doriath, because Celeborn lived there and did not accompany her brother Finrod to Nargothrond[6], and that Celeborn was a prince of Doriath[23] and calls him Celeborn of Doriath.[24][25] The Silmarillion leaves the ancestry of Celeborn open and there is no mention if he was a Sinda or Teler, only implying that Galadriel met Celeborn in Doriath.

In a table with the descendants of Thingol from December 1959 Thingol's younger brother Elmo has a son Galadhon who has two sons, Celeborn and Galathil, and a daughter, Nimloth, who married King Dior. However, on the same table Nimloth also appears as the daughter of Galathil. It looks as if the second thought of J.R.R. Tolkien was that Nimloth was the daughter of Galathil and the niece of Celeborn.[26] The genealogy according to this second thought was included in Unfinished Tales.[27] According to that table, Celeborn is thus the greatnephew of Thingol and second cousin of Galadriel.

In a text written in 1965[28], Celeborn is born in Beleriand and he is a descendant of Elmo.

Only a note in The Road Goes Ever On, which was published in 1967 during J.R.R. Tolkien's lifetime, strictly mentions that Celeborn was a Sinda.[4]

Telerin descent[edit | edit source]

According to an alternate history of Celeborn and Galadriel in Unfinished Tales, Celeborn was a Teler of noble rank in Alqualondë,[29] born Teleporno,[30] grandson of Olwë, prince of Alqualondë (thus he was a kinsman of Thingol in Beleriand).[31] Only nine months before his death, J.R.R. Tolkien still was of the opinion that Celeborn was only a kinsman of Thingol afar off, because Celeborn came from Valinor and that his orginal name was Telporno.[32]

Artanis, Olwë's granddaughter and a Noldorin princess of great beauty, often spent long visits to Alqualondë and her mother’s kin. During this time the two fell in love, and Teleporno gave her the romantic epithet Alatáriel, meaning "Maiden Crowned with Radiant Garland".[33]

Later, Teleporno and Artanis helped to defend Alqualondë from the Noldor during the First Kinslaying.[31][29] Nevertheless, Artanis’s heart was fired by the stories of Fëanor of the open lands across the sea. She urged Teleporno to take a ship eastward to Endor, and he gave in. In doing so the two fell under the Ban of the Valar.

In Beleriand, Teleporno and Artanis were greeted by Elu Thingol, King of Doriath. Teleporno eventually "Sindarized" his name to Celeborn; Artanis Sindarinized the epithet Celeborn had given her, and Alatáriel became Galadriel.

Controversy[edit | edit source]

On the other hand, the making of Celeborn into a Telerin Elf of Aman contradicts not only statements in The Silmarillion, but also those cited already from The Road Goes Ever On and Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings”
Christopher Tolkien, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"

Celeborn as a Telerin prince seems a late development. This altered origin was not adopted into the published Silmarillion, primarily because it contradicted published canon, and was not incorporated in Tolkien's drafts of the earlier parts, and therefore would have necessitated a major rewrite by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Gavriel Kay to account for a separate departure of Galadriel. It is unknown whether Tolkien would have revised the story or would have felt bound by published writings.

Celeborn's Telerin ancestry would have made the couple first cousins. Morgoth's Ring states that among the Eldar first cousins might marry, but seldom did so or desired to do so.[34] Furthermore, the published Silmarillion states "Eldar wedded not with kin so near," in reference to Maeglin's attraction to his first cousin Idril.[35]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

Celeborn in adaptations

1978: The Lord of the Rings:

Celeborn only has a brief, role and speaks only one line. He appeared beside Galadriel for a brief shot.

1981: The Lord of the Rings

Celeborn was voiced by Simon Cadell. Unusually, virtually the whole dialogue Celeborn speaks in the book is utilised in the radio adaptation.

1992: Der Herr der Ringe (1992 German radio series):

Celeborn is played by Wolfgang Hinze.

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

Celeborn is played by Marton Csokas. The role was extremely small in the theatrical version, but expanded slightly in the Extended Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring. In that version, he participates in giving gifts to the Fellowship as they are leaving Lórien. Notably, he gives Aragorn a dagger and warns him of the dangers the Fellowship will face while sailing down the Anduin.

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game):

Celeborn makes a brief appearance in Lothlorien.

2003: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:

Celeborn leaves for Valinor with Galadriel and the other Ringbearers, rather than remaining behind as in the book.

2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II:

Celeborn only appears during the "Evil" campaign, when he is slain by the Forces of Sauron.

2007-: The Lord of the Rings Online:

During an extended flashback depicting the War of the Last Alliance, Celeborn can be found in Echad-in-Edhil in Mordor next to Amroth, Lord of Lorien. After the War's end, Celeborn spends the early years of the Third Age hunting down Shelob in Ephel Dúath and eventually is able to trap her by placing Light of Eärendil at the exits of Shelob's Lair, trapping her inside for many centuries.
During the War of the Ring, Celeborn can be found next to Galadriel on a main talan in Caras Galadhon, from where he negotiates with the Dwarves of the Iron Garrison, sends the player to combat the ancient evil in the depths of Moria and organizes a military assault against Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. After the fall of the Dark Tower, Celeborn meets with Thranduil to rename Mirkwood Eryn Lasgalen and give the middle section of it to the Woodmen. Celeborn and Galadriel then travel to Minas Tirith to attend the Great Wedding of Aragorn and Arwen, after which Celeborn ventures into the Morgul Vale once again to finish Shelob for good and leads a group including Legolas, Mablung and the player inside her Lair, Torech Ungol.

2014: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Chronicles: Art & Design

In a concept for The Battle of the Five Armies film, Celeborn and a force of Lothlorien elves would have joined in the White Council’s assault on Dol Guldur.

2022: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:

7 October: The Eye:
Although he does not appear physically, he is mentioned by Galadriel in a conversation with Theo, telling him that they met after Celeborn saw her dancing in a glade filled with flowers. Later, when he marched off the join the war against Morgoth, Galadriel chided him that his armour did not fit properly and called him a silver clam. Though he never returned from the war, his exact fate remains unknown.

Notes

  1. In the chapter "The Mirror of Galadriel", the heights of Galadriel and Celeborn are described: "Very tall they were, and the Lady no less tall than the Lord". Galadriel's height of 6'4'' comes from "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures" to "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields" in Unfinished Tales.
  2. The Last Ship could not have sailed before Fo.A. 120 based on Aragorn's final words to Arwen. Aragorn suggests Arwen might still take passage on a ship from Mithlond into the West, but by this time Arwen had long forfeited the right to live in the Undying Lands. The words "and some say [Círdan] dwells there still, until the Last Ship sets sail into the West" derive from the Red Book of Westmarch, and not from the original Red Book, which has not been preserved, but from a copy of it, the first of them being the Thain's Book, copied in Fo.A. 171. Thus, the speculation about Círdan still dwelling in Mithlond cannot be exactly dated to a period before Elessar's and Arwen's death. This means that the Last Ship would have sailed at some unknown date after Fo.A. 171.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "Prologue", "Note on the Shire Records"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Mirror of Galadriel"
  4. 4.0 4.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Notes and Translations", in The Road Goes Ever On (J.R.R. Tolkien, Donald Swann), p. 60
  5. 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: IX. Time-scales and Rates of Growth", calculation for Galadriel in a manuscript from c. 1959, p. 65
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Return of the Noldor"
  7. In some texts, Celeborn is considered as the son of Elmo. See for example J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: XVIII. Elvish Ages & Númenórean", p.149.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn"
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Mirror of Galadriel"
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "Of Dwarves and Men"
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Notes and Translations", in The Road Goes Ever On (J.R.R. Tolkien, Donald Swann)
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Amroth and Nimrodel"
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Chief Days from the Fall of Barad-dûr to the End of the Third Age"
  16. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix E: The Names of Celeborn and Galadriel"
  17. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 347, (dated 17 December 1972)
  18. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Mirror of Galadriel", twenty-fifth paragraph
  19. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "II. The Appendix on Languages", manuscript F 2, §18, p. 36 and §3 - §5, commentary §18, pp. 65-66
  20. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "II. The Appendix on Languages", typescript F4
  21. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Second Age", second paragraph
  22. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of the Elves" third paragraph mentioning that the Exiles had adopted Sindarin and that Galadriel was the noblest of all
  23. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  24. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  25. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
  26. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "Part Three. The Wanderings of Húrin and Other Writings not forming part of the Quenta Silmarillion: V. The Tale of Years", stage 'D', p. 257
  27. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", last paragraph before the section Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn, p. 233
  28. J.R.R. Tolkien, Carl F. Hostetter (ed.), The Nature of Middle-earth, "Part One. Time and Ageing: XVIII. Elvish Ages & Númenórean", p.149, footnote with a star.
  29. 29.0 29.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Two. The Annals of Aman: Commentary on the fifth section of the Annals of Aman", notes and corrections, §149
  30. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XI. The Shibboleth of Fëanor", pp. 347, 364 (note 46)
  31. 31.0 31.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", eighteenth paragraph
  32. J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 347, (dated 17 December 1972), answer to question 3
  33. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "XI. The Shibboleth of Fëanor"
  34. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Morgoth's Ring, "Part Three. The Later Quenta Silmarillion: (II) The Second Phase: Laws and Customs among the Eldar"
  35. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Maeglin"
Celeborn
Born: Unknown Died: Sailed west after Fo.A. 171
None
Amroth, as King of Lórien
Lord of Lórien
T.A. 1981 - 29 September, 3021 (with Galadriel)
29 September, T.A. 3021 - before Fo.A. 121
None
Realm abandoned


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