Half-elven

From Tolkien Gateway
Revision as of 19:38, 19 December 2015 by Elf-esteem (talk | contribs) (cleaning up, clarifying, adding refs - still needs a lot of work)
"I shan't call it the end, till we've cleared up the mess." — Sam
This article or section needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of article quality.
"Who told you, and who sent you?" — Gandalf
This article or section needs more/new/more-detailed sources to conform to a higher standard and to provide proof for claims made.

Half-elven (Sindarin singular Peredhel, plural Peredhil), are the children of the union of Elves and Men. Half-elven are not a distinct race per se; rather, they were fertile offspring as the result of a union between Elves and Men. There are four recorded unions of the Eldar with the Edain. In The Silmarillion, Lúthien married Beren and Idril married Tuor.[1][2] In The Lord of the Rings, Arwen married Aragorn,[3] and there is a mention of an Elven bloodline in Prince Imrahil via the old tale of Mithrellas and Imrâzor.[4][5]

Overview

The first bond between Elves and Men was the marriage of Beren Erchamion and Lúthien Tinúviel, from which a single son, Dior Eluchíl, was born. Dior Eluchíl wed Nimloth of Doriath, and the two of them had three children: twin sons Eluréd and Elurín, and daughter Elwing the White. Eluréd and Elurín were abandoned in the woods outside Doriath by the vengeful servants of Celegorm in retribution for their father's killing of their master; they were never found, even when Maedhros Fëanorion searched for them.

The next bond came about through the union of Tuor son of Huor and Idril Celebrindal, from which another son, Eärendil, was born. These two lines of Peredhil were then joined by the marriage of Eärendil and Elwing. The aforementioned pair begat another pair of twin sons: Elrond Peredhel and Elros Tar-Minyatur. Elros chose the fate of Men, and thus bore no more descendants bearing the title of "Half-Elven," but his brother Elrond chose the fate of Elven-kind.

Elrond wed Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, and bore three children: twin sons Elladan and Elrohir, and daughter Arwen Undómiel. This order of offspring was oddly reminiscent of the children of Elrond's grandfather, Dior Eluchíl. Arwen Undómiel wed Aragorn II Elessar, a distant descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur, thereby uniting the long-sundered lines of those descended from both Elves and Men. Aragorn and Arwen were parents to a son, Eldarion, as well as several daughters, thus leaving a remnant of the proud Elven lineage even after the Firstborn had long passed over the sea and out of time and memory.

History

Eärendil and Elwing were specifically given a choice in their fates when they journeyed to Valinor with a Silmaril to beg pardon for the Noldor and plead the plight of Elves and Men to the Valar. Only after that event was the choice passed to their children.[6] The half-elven of this line were given a choice to be counted as one of the Eldar (Elves), thus being immortal, or one of the Edain (Men), thus being mortal. There is no evidence that any other mixed bloodline shared in that choice of fate. There is evidence that other half-elves did not as the children of Mithrellas, Galador and Gilmith, were enobled but mortal like their father, as were their descendants.[7]

While Eärendil was truly half-elven, his Edain father, Tuor, had been granted the fate of the elder race.[2] Elwing and her father, Dior, were not truly half-elven as they were descendants of the divine bloodline of Melian. However, all three of them, Dior, Eärendil, and Elwing bore a Silmaril, before the choice of fates, which was a hallowed jewel that would not have suffered the touch of mortals.[8]

In the list below, those who were counted as Eldar are italicized; those who were counted as Edain are not. Their actual mathematical descent from elves is in a fraction in parentheses.

The important half-elven were:

Eärendil would rather have chosen the kindred of Men, but he chose the Elves for his wife Elwing's sake, who chose the Elves. Eärendil's fate was special, however: he was not allowed to stay in Valinor, but had to sail the heavens in his ship Vingilótë, the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien on the prow, as a sign of hope for Middle-earth. Elwing built a tower in the Shadowy Seas and met him upon his return.

Elwing's father, Dior, was the son of Beren and Lúthien, and he was therefore also counted as Half-elven, as were his children with the Elf Nimloth of Doriath: Eluréd, Elurín, and Elwing. The fate of Eluréd and Elurín is not known.[11] But, Elwing was given her choice of kindred. Dior and his descendants also descend from the angelic beings the Maiar, through Dior's grandmother, and Luthien's mother, Melian.

  • Elrond, son of Eärendil and Elwing. (9/16)

The heirs of Elrond, including Arwen Undómiel, also had the free choice of kindred, therefore Arwen could choose to be counted amongst the Edain even though her father had chosen to be counted as Elven. The heirs of Elros were not given this choice, but their lifespan was enhanced many times that of normal Men. In later times the Númenórean Kings, descendants of Elros, regretted their forefather's choice, and this helped lead to the downfall of Númenor.

  • Elros, also son of Eärendil and Elwing. (9/16)

Arwen, daughter of Elrond, married Aragorn, heir of Elros, and thus the two Half-elven lines were merged in the Fourth Age. Their son Eldarion and their daughters were not counted as Half-elven, but rather as Dúnedain restored.

See also

Notes

  1. "Then Manwë gave judgement and he said: 'To Eärendil I remit the ban, and the peril that he took upon himself out of love for the Two Kindreds shall not fall on him; neither shall it fall upon Elwing who entered into peril for love of Eärendil: save only in this: they shall not ever walk again among Elves or Men in the Outer Lands. Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them..." - J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, "Part Two: Valinor and Middle-earth before The Lord of the Rings, VI. Quenta Silmarillion"

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beren and Lúthien"
  2. 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VII. The Heirs of Elendil", pp. 220-2
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Last Debate"
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor"
  9. Lúthien was considered to be of the Eldar, not the half-elven; however, she was technically half-elven since only her father was an Elf. Her mother, Melian, was one of the Maiar, an angelic holy being. Though she did actually give up her mortality so her husband would be brought back to life, she was still considered one of the Eldar and never of the half-elven or Edain.
  10. Among all the Half-elven whose Elvish ancestry is documented, Eärendil is the most Vanyarin of them, being five-sixteenths Vanyarin through his five-eighths Vanyarin mother Idril.
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Doriath"
  12. Eluréd and Elurín were captured by the servants of Celegorm and abandoned in the forest, thus dying before their decision as to their kindred could be made.
  13. It is uncertain whether Elladan and Elrohir chose to be of the Edain or the Eldar; this information is not given in the books. However, since their choice was expressed by whether they would follow their father to Valinor at the time of his own departure, and they were described as remaining in Rivendell, they are often said to have chosen the Edain.