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Elves
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Dominions
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Valinor, Tirion,
Alqualonde, Tol Eressea, Imladris, Lindon, Lórien, Mirkwood, various smaller Realms
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Languages
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Average Height & Weight
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6'44" & 170 lbs (for the Eldar)
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Average Lifespan
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Immortal
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Renowned individuals
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The Elves, or Firstborn, were the eldest of the Eruhini and the first to awaken. Born under the stars before the rising of the Moon and the Sun, they held a deep love for light and all that was fair, and all possessed a spirit of great strength, a wise and subtle mind, and bodies gifted beyond those of other peoples. They called themselves the Quendi, or "Speakers" in their own tongues, for they were the first living creatures to form words and order their lives through speech; even in later days, when Men and other peoples came into the sunlight and grew numerous, no race understood language, lore, art and craft as did the Firstborn. Fair and ageless, keen and proud, deathless and tall, swift and strong, they were the most gifted of all the Free Peoples. Yet despite their gifts, in Middle-Earth they were a people touched by sorrow— one burdened by fate.
An Overview of Elves[]
As with all the Speaking Peoples, such as Men and Dwarves, the Elves were a diverse folk shaped greatly by the lands in which they dwelt. Their tale is one of long wanderings, wars born of pride, and great works, and includes many figures of note in history. Their history was bound to that of Middle-Earth itself, and the histories of other races would have run differently, or perhaps not occurred at all, without their influence.
Elven History[]
The divisions and sub-divisions of the various Elven kindreds are complex, and at times intricate. In this section the chief migrations and divisions will be set forth, together with the actual kindreds as they were found in the Second and Third Ages of Middle-earth.
The Awakening of the Firstborn[]
In the early years of the world, before the Sun and the Moon first rose, the Elves awoke under the stars on the shores of Cuivienen, a great bay in the inland sea of Helcar in eastern Middle-earth. They dwelt in the twilight lands, far from the light of Valinor, for many years before one of the Valar—Oromë the Hunter—found them. The Valar loved Eru's new-born children and wished to bring them to the light of Aman, the Undying Lands, to preserve them from Morgoth and the evil that he was already bringing into Middle-earth. Morgoth, the greatest of the Valar who had turned from his brethren before the beginning of creation, now hated the Elves because they were beloved by the others. He sent forth his shadowy servants and took many of them in the darkness. Unable to create life himself, it was believed he tormented and twisted the Elves he had captured, and from this corrupt stock bred Orcs.
The First Sundering[]
It was at the summons of the Valar that the Elves first divided. At first, they feared to leave their home under the stars, but three of their kind went to Valinor with Orome to see for themselves the glory of the Undying Lands. These were Ingwë Ingweron, Finwë Ñoldóran, and Elu Thingol, who later became Kings. When they returned, bearing the light of Aman in their eyes, many of the Elves heeded their words and followed the Vala westward.
But not all the Elves wished to leave their native land. Some had come to love the starlight of Middle-earth and chose to remain. Those Elves who refused to follow the Valar became known as the Avari (Q."Unwilling"), and they became the lesser East-Elves. They were by far the most numerous of the Elves and, despite persecution by the Black Enemy, spread through eastern and much of southern Middle-earth. Those who heeded the summons of the Valar and undertook the Great Journey westward to Aman became known as the Eldar. Yet still some lingered along the road or turned back, or were lost. But those Elves who completed the long journey were made greater by their sojourn in the Undying Lands, and forever after their descendants held the pure light of Aman in their eyes.
The Great Journey[]
The Eldar were those who made the great journey to dwell in the blessed land of Aman. There were three kindreds: the Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri. The Eldar came to the Uttermost West by an uncommon means: the island Tol Eressea which, moved by the power of the sea-Vala Ulmo, made two voyages from Middle-earth to the Undying Lands. The first carried the Vanyar and Noldor; the second carried the Teleri (Q."Hindmost") who had lingered on the long road and missed the first passage.
The Teleri themselves did not remain undivided, however. There were three groups, led by the brothers Olwë and Elu Thingol, and another Teler, Lenwë. When they reached the Anduin Vales, Lenwe and his people turned aside from the journey and remained in Middle-earth. They became the Nandor and passed from the histories for many years. West of the Blue Mountains, Elwe (one of the first ambassadors to the Undying Lands) encountered Melian the Maia and fell into an enchantment of love. While he was lost, most of his kindred (but not all) went over the sea with Olwe's people. Elwe at last awoke and founded a realm in Beleriand with his Maia wife Melian. As ruler of Doriath he was known as Elu Thingol (S."King Greycloak"). His people were called the Sindar. The rest of the Teleri reached the West; there they dwelt on the isle of Tol Eressea, within sight of Valinor. The Maia Gaerys taught them the art of shipbuilding, and they were ever after the greatest shipwrights and sailors in all Arda. They sailed to the coast of Aman where they built the fair city and havens of Alqualondë. The Teleri were held to be the fairest singers in all Middle-earth (rivalling the Vanyar) and called themselves the Lindar.
Nandor
The Nandor (Q."Those who turn back"), though by descent of the Teleri and so of the Eldar, were an exception, since they never travelled to the Undying Lands and so did not see the light of the Trees. Therefore, they were named among the Moriquendi (Q."Dark Elves"). Some in time went on to settle in Ossiriand, but most remained east of the Misty Mountains, spreading through the forested lands there. These later came under the rule of the Sinda King Thranduil in Mirkwood and Galadriel in Lothlórien.
Of Tirion and the Vanyar[]
Fairest of the Eldar, and known as the Fair Elves, the Vanyar were most beloved of the Valar. They were the first of the three kindreds to set forth on the Great Journey and the first to reach the Undying Lands, led by their King, Ingwë Ingweron. Together with the Noldor, they built and dwelt for a long time in the fair city of Tirion upon Túna. Some time later, however, they removed further westward through the gap in the Pelori (Q."Mountains of Defense"), and there they made their lasting home.
Only once did the Vanyar ever depart Valinor: to aid the Ainur in battle against the Black Enemy in the War of Wrath. When the evil Vala was at last overthrown, the Fair Elves returned to their home in victory. There is no record of any Vanya ever again leaving the Blessed Land.
Of Feanor and the Noldor[]
The Second Kindred of the Calaquendi, both in numbers and order of arrival in Aman, the Noldor were also called the Deep Elves. Finwë Ñoldóran was their King. They were the most skilled of all the Firstborn in crafts and lore, the most fierce of spirit, proud and eager for knowledge. It was the Noldo Feanor who made the Silmarils and, because of his unwillingness to yield them up, doomed his kindred to a hopeless war against Morgoth to recover the stolen gems, and later to exile from Aman. When the Black Enemy took the Silmarils and fled with them to Middle-Earth, the Noldor sought to pursue him over the water by taking the great vessels of the Falmari. The Falmari resisted, and the Noldor, in their rage, slew many of the defending shipwrights and mariners to win the boats. Great was the wrath of the Valar that Elf should slay Elf. A storm swallowed many of the taken ships. The leftover Noldor came to the wastes of Araman only to be met by the Vala Mandos, who pronounced their doom: exile from Aman forever for their grievous deed - the Kinslaying of Alqualonde. The Noldo Exiles had seen the light of the Two Trees, but lived out their days in Middle-earth.
It is a bitter thing that Feanor's grandson Celebrimbor was deceived by Morgoth's servant Sauron as Feanor had been corrupted by the evil Vala's false words. Twice did the Noldor bring peril upon all of Middle-earth through their desire for knowledge that knew no bounds.
Of Doriath and the Sindar[]
Sindar
Ruled by Lenwë, the Nandor dwelt many years in the woods along the Anduin. Some spread to the river's mouths and lived there beside the sea. Others passed by the Ered Nimrais and then came north again, settling in the wide lands of Eriador. These latter Nandor enjoyed peace until the third age of Morgoth's captivity, when at last the fell beasts of the Black Enemy came forth from their lairs and ravaged the lands. Then, led by Lenwë's son Danitharo, the Eriadoran Nandor fled into Beleriand. There they were welcomed by Thingol and his Sindar. The Eriadoran Nandor wed among their hosts and ceased to retain a separate identity.
Although the Sindar were more noble than the Avari, they were yet Moriquendi, never having reached the shores of Aman. Their homeland was the realm of Doriath in Beleriand, ruled by Thingol and Melian. The Sindar gained great wisdom under the teaching of Melian the Maia and her husband, who was accounted among the Calaquendi, and so they became known as the Grey Elves. They spoke Sindarin, and devised Runes, or Cirth, for the keeping of records. With the fall of Beleriand, the surviving Sindar removed eastward, some remaining in Lindon, while others went to dwell with the Noldor in Eregion or east of the Misty Mountains in Lothlórien and Great Greenwood.
Elven Nature[]
Before the physical nature of the Elves can be described, it is needful to speak of their manner of life, and how they have at times been falsely understood. Though the passing of years may in time blur understanding of the nature of the Firstborn into mere legend, it remained clear to those who knew them that they were not a distant race of beings dwelling apart from the world in societies without law, structure or order. Indeed, it seems that most shunned such a manner of living, holding it lawless and rude. All kindreds of the Quendi had governments (varying from tribal chieftaincies to well-ordered monarchies) and often intricate guilds and brotherhoods. Family and dynasty formed the heart of Elvish society, and not only realms but the guilds within them were handed down from parent to child in the manner of dynasties. The tribal Avari, wild by the measure of their higher kin, nonetheless ordered themselves in close-knit tribes of a few families, holding their positions by inheritance and intermarrying as need required, under the guidance of a single wise chieftain. The Nandor and Silvan-folk lived in like fashion, and in later days most in fact dwelt as subjects of Sinda or Elda monarchs in confederate kingdoms. The Sindar of Beleriand, under their great High-King Elu Thingol, raised a great and prosperous realm in their homeland, and ordered themselves as a strong people under the rule of their king, and maintained always the crafts of their fathers. Yet, above all their earthly kin, it was the High-Elves of the Undying West who more than any other kindred sought order and pattern in all parts of their lives; and in this seeking, under the teaching and rule of the Ainur of Aman, they raised the most advanced society in Arda, rich in crafts, bound by kinship and art in their way of life, passing down their traditions unbroken to their many children, under the rule of the High-Kings of their several peoples: the learned and wise of the Vanyar, the craftsmen and warriors of the Noldor, and the artists and mariners of the Falmari. But in one thing above all others were the Elves united, both as ordered societies and as followers of a single faith: they held faith above all other practices, and all were devout in their worship of Eru Iluvatar, forming the faith of Eruaistale which they celebrated in many forms, from the simple rites of the Avari and Nandor to the great ceremonies of the Eldar. All revered the Powers of the world, and the realm of spirit, and from these teachings they drew the principles of their society.
Familial and Social Values[]
Blood was the chief means of order and fellowship in Elvish society. Families not only fostered growth and fellowship, they also served a practical purpose in the work and crafts of the Quendi: an Elf's family was his refuge, the source of his learning in youth, and the centre of his craft in later years, for inheritance by blood was a foundation of Elvish communities and guilds. Elves, as a rule, trained in the craft of their fathers from youth and inherited these crafts when able, in youth or later age, or else founded families and enterprises of their own through marriage and skill or remained as learners under their elders.
Therefore, the bonds between close kin were of greatest importance to the Quendi, and the raising of their children was held to be a foundation of their society, as important as upholding the standards of law and faith. Elves nearly always married, and those unwed were usually quite young, devoted to their crafts for a brief time before settling into married life. They bore usually only a few children at a time, but to these children they gave particular care and concentrated attention. Young Elves, called Elf-Children or "Elflings," were raised together by their parents and other older kin, and often by all the local community. Noble Elf-children in particular were taught the history of Arda and the ways of governance, and trained to take their place as rulers, artists and healers, while common Elf-children were trained, though gently, to inherit their family's craft. A young Elf of any station was raised in an atmosphere of love, beauty, unity, and other nurturing ways, and they were encouraged to embrace these things themselves. The Elves neither held themselves above their children, nor regarded their children as beings of lesser worth, as Men often did, but regarded both parent and child as needful parts of their society. In no other race was such careful and measured bearing of children to be found.
Beyond the simple family, there may be reckoned two general orders among the Elven peoples: that of family dynasty, and that of kinship by way of land and custom. Individual Elvish peoples were generally bound within themselves by tradition and passed these traditions from parent to child, but what these traditions were varied with their surroundings and dwelling-place. At the time of their awakening, the Elves had already formed distinct ways of life based on the manner of their people and their choices, and afterwards others grew and changed through their many wanderings and histories. The Calaquendi (Q."Light Elves") had travelled to the Undying Lands and beheld the radiance of Aman, and the light of the Two Trees. Their kindred included all groups into which they were divided: Vanyar, Noldor, and Falmari, for the blessed air and light of that land entered into the very being of the Firstborn and left within them a sacred fire which they carried with them always, together with a refined and advanced way of life, with intricate religious and social structures. At times, a visible light shone about a Light Elf, and he was more skilled in language and in song than any lesser Elf. The Moriquendi (Q."Dark Elves") never made the journey to Aman, or halted along the way, failing to reach their goal, and thus lacking the advancement of their kin. Of the Dark Elves, the Sindar ("Grey Ones") set forth toward the Undying Lands and travelled as far as the western shores of Middle-earth before halting. They dwelt in Doriath and the realm of Beleriand under King Thingol (Elwe) and the Maia Melian. Thus they gained greater wisdom and prosperity than most Moriquendi, and achieved many works and advances in learning, becoming skilled warriors and artists; yet they did not themselves behold the Light as did the Calaquendi, and did not receive the teaching and rule of the Valar directly. Their ways were neither dark nor light; they were the Elves of Twilight. This division by dwelling-place ran parallel to that of separate races among other peoples, such as Men and Dwarves. All of the Vanyar, Noldor and Falmari were held to be Eldar (Q."People of the Stars"), which included those groups that lingered on the Western March (namely the Sindar and Nandor) for they shared at least a reverence for the divine powers, and likeness in their societies. Those Elves who were not Eldar were, by definition, Avari, and were simpler and more wild than other Elvish peoples; yet they too possessed an ordered way of life, and though they remained tribal folk skilled chiefly in woodcraft and worshipful only of Eru and not of his servant powers, Elves they were and remained, and all Elves were good and wise folk, especially when set beside other races.
Language[]
When the Firstborn awoke on the shores of Cuivienen, with them awoke language in Middle-earth. It was the Elves—or, more fittingly, the Quendi (Q."Speakers") as they called themselves—who taught all other races and creatures speech, each after its kind. When the Eldar went West, however, they encountered the Valinorean Tongue of Aman, and took it for their own. Indeed, this may have come to pass as early as the return of Ingwe, Elwe, and Finwe from Aman with Orome the Vala. This became the high tongue Quenya. The many Silvan tribes still in Middle-earth, though touched by Quenya at first, diverged and changed with the movements of the world, and the original Elven-speech became broken and altered by countless dialects. By the Second and Third Ages, the Silvan and Eldarin tongues had become so different that the two had little in common. Where Silvan Elves dwelt with Sindar or Noldor, they ever learned Sindarin and used it save when alone among their own kind. The Silvan Elves of Lorien, for example, spoke Sindarin, but with an accent, recalling their Greenwood Silvan origins. The Sindar knew Quenya, but shaped it for their own use, making a language less formal and more suited to daily writing and speech - a language that became known as Sindarin. Thingol forbade the use of Quenya among his people after the Kinslaying of Alqualonde, and with the passing of the years even the Noldor came to use Sindarin as their common tongue, holding Quenya as a high, ceremonial language.
The Tengwar were the first written letters ever devised, made by the Noldo Loremaster Rúmil of Tirion. The original form of the Tengwar was known and used only in the Undying Lands. Feanor later shaped and revised this script, and the Feanorean Tengwar gained far wider use, both in the Undying Lands and in Middle-earth. Both of these written scripts were cursive, which is to say that they were made to be joined, written in flowing strokes as with a pen. They were ill-suited to engraving, but the Great Smiths in Eregion—and Sauron himself—were equal to the task. Sauron's inscription within the One Ring was engraved in cursive Tengwar.
Much later the Sinda Minstrel Daeron of Doriath devised the runes called the Certhas Daeron ("Cirth" or "Letters" of Daeron). These were far more angular and fitted to stonework. The Dwarves of Moria especially loved this manner of writing and took it as their own.
Religion[]
Ordered worship was of great importance in the lives of the Elves, especially among the Eldar, who knew the Valar not merely as deities, but as living figures of authority and as honoured teachers. Nearly all Elves worshipped Eru Iluvatar (Q."The One") as the maker of all things: the earth, the Valar, Elves, and Men (Dwarves, wrought by Aulë, were reckoned differently, though they were adopted by Eru). In this manner they saw themselves as standing equal with all other beings, though perhaps of different kind. The worship of Eru took many forms; the lesser tribes of Middle-Earth worshipped without ceremony, raising no temple or shrine more elaborate than an open garden. These lesser Elves, and to some measure their higher kindred, worshipped Eru through praise of the beauty of his creation. They sang and made verse of the light of the stars or the sound of falling water, the sweetness of fruit or the gleam of gems from deep within the earth. With music above all they rejoiced in the splendour of Eä, for music was the Essence of Arda. Among the High-Elven peoples ritual held a greater place. From the simple oath, which to them was a pledge given before the Valar themselves, to great celebrations of the seasons and hallowed events of history, rich in song, prayer, and feasting, ritual stood at the heart of the society of the Western Elves. Through song and chant the Elves could in truth touch the Secret Fire itself, and with it they wrought spells of great strength and craft, surpassing any works of mortal hands, and thus religious ritual reached even into the crafts of the Eldar. Within their guilds and other works, ceremony was present at every level, and among them the forms of courtesy governed even the simplest of daily tasks.
Economic Practices[]
Elven communities, like any community, required material support; as has been said, their ways, though advanced and enriched by divine teachers, were not so blessed that within them there was neither need nor want to call for work or craft. All Elves tended gardens and prepared food, lesser Elves hunted and gathered, the elves of Twilight traded and wrought, and the greater Elves delved, crafted, built, and made many things, and all laboured much as did mortals in their own societies.
It was true, however, that the Elves possessed different powers of mind and body, and for two reasons their labours and works surpassed those of Men. First, their crafts were nearly always more advanced than those of Men; with their great understanding and gifts of body, all that they made, from the simple woodcraft of the lesser kindreds used in hunting and gathering to the high skills and arts by which they gave light and warmth to their dwellings, far exceeded the works of Men. The most advanced of the High-Elves had already achieved certain systems of craft and making long ages before Men had conceived of such things. Also worthy of note was their bodily capacity for labour; even the most wearisome toil seemed not to burden them. With their uncommon strength and their resistance to weariness, they could labour for many hours even after centuries of such work each day. Mortals said that they "walked as if in a dream," and labour though they might, they sang and laughed as they worked and wrought. Even Elvish children, likewise surpassing their mortal counterparts, found pleasure in and mastered tasks at which a mortal youth would despair.
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Physical characteristics[]
Body and spirit[]
Nearest to Men in bodily form, the Elves were nonetheless a more gifted race than any other, and in several ways they surpassed Men. For one thing, they were both taller and stronger than most Men (save the high Edain), yet they remained slender and lithe as Men were in youth. High-Eldarin males ranged in height from 6' to 8' (the tallest Elves, such as Thingol, Turgon or Penlodh were said to approach 9' in height), and in weight from 140 to 250 pounds. The women of the Eldar were usually between 5'8" and 6'4", and were likewise slender (130-160 lbs), while the Avari were usually about 6' or somewhat less. Even the children of the Elves were tall beside Men; by their fiftieth year, most were already as tall as the tallest Men. Though to those unfamiliar with them this race appeared frail, the great warriors of the Eldar were as strong as the strongest among Men, or stronger. They could endure the cold of the frozen north and the heat of Angband's depths, and yet not break in body, though they might in spirit. Those of the Blessed Realm, under the teaching and care of the Valar, were strong in build from birth, by nature resistant to nearly all harm from disease to poison, and at full growth were without doubt the strongest in body of all speaking peoples in Middle-Earth. Again, even the children of the Elves surpassed the hardiest Men in bodily strength; they could climb trees with greater skill than any beast, could bear the nearness of wild beasts from which mortal children would flee, and could even survive alone in the wild, apart from their parents.
Elves healed swiftly, and bore no scars, though they could not, naturally, restore grievously damaged parts of the body, as some Men believed. Their bodies were proof against all sickness and blight, and could scarcely be harmed save by violence or great hurt. Should an Elf perish, whether by wound or mischance, his soul, which was stronger and more bound to the world than that of Men, passed to appointed places in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor where, after a time of waiting, his body was restored and he was free to dwell in the Undying Lands— unlike the fate of Men, which remained a mystery: for Men, after death whether by violence or age, departed from the world as all mortal creatures must, to enter the presence of Iluvatar and abide with him in bliss, or else, in certain grievous cases, remained in Middle-Earth to wander as wraiths.
Elves bore little of the body hair of Men, having not even fine down upon their smooth skin, though the hair of their heads was long and flowing, and was finer and less coarse than that of Men; ever well-kept, their hair was often grown to great length and cut only as need required— some could even guide the growth of their own hair by will, though long hair was often regarded as a mark of pride and short hair as a token of humility and modesty. Cirdan the Shipwright, Mahtan, Beleg Cúthalion and Tinfang Gelion were the only Elves ever recorded to have grown beards. These notable figures were indeed reckoned among the ancient of Elves, and some had aged more swiftly through great grief and burden.
Proof even without clothing against both heat and cold, the garments of the Quendi were worn chiefly for seemliness, for concealment, and for modesty. Their senses were exceedingly keen: their sight could reach over the curve of the earth itself across distances of many miles, their sense of smell could catch the scent of a wood fire through many obstacles, and their hearing could discern a voice from a deep valley even from a mountaintop. Elves could see on a clear starlit night as well as if it were broad day. Only in what a Man would call utter darkness would an Elf begin to find difficulty, and even then he could yet see for many yards.
The ears of the Quendi, much spoken of among Men, were not so sharply pointed as Men often supposed; they were rather shaped like leaves, and this served to gather sound into their ear passages. The most skilled of the Elves, especially the Eldar, could read one another's thoughts without need of speech, and all Elves, whether great or small, could hear sounds that mortals could not: from deep below ground, from high above, or from far beyond a barrier of land, or the sounds of the unseen as well as the seen.
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They did not require sleep in the manner of Men and Dwarves to rest their bodies; rather, for a few hours each night, they entered a manner of waking dream in which they dwelt upon the beauty of Ea or recalled fair times earlier in their long lives. Gimli son of Glóin spoke thus, as The Red Book of Westmarch records: "...Elves may see things otherwise. Indeed I have heard that for them memory is more like to the waking world than to a dream. Not so for Dwarves." Yet this does not mean that an Elf could not fall into true sleep; especially when strong drink was at hand. For though the Quendi did not suffer hurt of mind as readily as Men, they were not wholly proof against the weight of sorrow, and did not refuse the chance to ease such burdens with a potent drink. Wine above all they favoured, being its first makers, and while a strong draught indeed was needed to cloud their wits, a sufficient measure would bring forth mirth of an uncommon kind, and an Elf so affected could, indeed, fall into deep sleep; as was shown by Galion of Mirkwood in the presence of Bilbo Baggins.
The most elusive of all the marks of the Elves was the light that dwelt in each of the Calaquendi. Those who had beheld the light of the Two Trees in Aman carried with them an echo of that radiance, like a lingering glow of that first illumination, now dimmed forever through the malice of Morgoth. This light was not always plain to see, but the lesser peoples of Middle-earth could sense it - a gleam at the edge of sight.
Youth and Age: the Circles of life[]
Perhaps the most notable trait of the Elves was their agelessness and deathlessness; for they did not age as other peoples did or grow frail with years, and they kept even in later life the fair features of youth. They were in body more like mortal children than grown Men, or rather Men resembled them in childhood. From birth they had fine features and unblemished skin that did not weather, and their hair grew swiftly and did not thin or fade. In childhood Elves were ever fairer in appearance than their mortal kindred, and this fairness and beauty did not dim or fail, though wisdom and long life might deepen it. This was woven into their very nature; for their lives were far longer than those of Men, and they were indeed deathless, enduring as long as Middle-Earth itself, and thus their aging was as long and slow as that of the hills.
The Quendi were born a full year after their begetting. Elvish infants were somewhat slow to develop, but were not weak and helpless as the infants of Men; they learned swiftly and with due care gained strength within months, and most could speak, walk, and dance by their first year. Yet their bodies grew more slowly than those of mortals, for Elvish childhood was long and mild; they remained as young children until their fiftieth year, at which time they were like unto mortal youths of sixteen or eighteen summers, and only at the age of one hundred, when they resembled a full grown Man of about twenty years, were they held to have reached their full growth. To Men this seemed strange, but it was in truth a blessing to the Elves and their children; for during their long childhoods, under the care of loving families and with much time for learning and the honing of skill, young Elves surpassed even grown Men in understanding. After this long time of youth, they entered a second stage of life, and though grown in strength, their features remained ageless. Only in the depths of their eyes, or in the great wisdom of their minds, might one perhaps glimpse a hint of the great age of an ancient Elf, and then only in such as those upon whom the weight of years lay heavy, such as the exiled Noldor and their lords. Many common Elves, even after thousands of years, yet appeared and behaved as fair, unburdened youths. But this deathless life did not remain wholly youthful forever. Though it was seen only in the most ancient of their kind, Elves became truly aged only after many ages of being, and through countless thousands of years. At this time, an old and weary Elf at last entered his third stage of life, and finally became aged and stooped; though their skin did not wrinkle, nor did their strength fail, their faces grew long and grave, their hair lengthened and thinned, and at last the males grew beards, though usually short save in rare cases. After this they entered a state they called "the Fading" in which they became less and less substantial until they remained as beings purely of spirit. This, however, the Elves attributed also to the marring of Arda, and while the Avari and a few of the lingerers accepted this fate, the Eldar believed their kindred in Aman were spared this doom and remained in their second or third stage as living, deathless beings in body.
Elves and Men[]
Though early in the First Age the Wild Elves had been allies and counsellors to the first young Men, only a few Men, let alone whole kindreds, were held to be true Elf-friends throughout the ages. Many of the Wild Men and Men of Darkness were mistrustful, set against, or openly hostile toward the Elves whom they knew by such names as the White Furies, White Devils, and Pale Demons.
Elven Kindreds and Cultures[]
The Vanyar[]
The Vanyar were the fairest and highest of all the Eldar, and of all the Quendi. In form, they had golden hair and skin of ivory-white, ruddy-gold, or pale silver, with eyes of clear blue or violet. They were the tallest and most fair of the Elves, most beloved of the Valar. Ingwe was their King, under Manwë himself, and thus he was High King of all the Elves. Their skill in music and art was unsurpassed, save perhaps by the Falmari who learned song and craft from the Maia Osse. They were also deep in wisdom and learning, and their people dwelt in the most blessed and peaceful realm ever known in Arda. No shadow or strife, whether the chiding of a child or discord between houses or any manner of war or division, troubled these folk, who were the people of Valinor under the law and teaching of the Valar. Though their crafts and works may have been somewhat less renowned than those of their Noldor kin, their magic was beyond all measure, which their lords learned from the Ainur themselves. The Vanyar spoke the Vanyarin form of Valinorean-Quenya, which was in truth the Elvish rendering of Valarin, the tongue of the Valar, most ancient in the world.
The Noldor[]
In appearance, the Noldor had hair of dark brown to raven-black or, more rarely, copper-red. Skin of ivory, pale gold, ruddy, or at times darker hue, and eyes of dark brown or grey were common—with one notable exception: the children of Finwe, King of the Noldor, and Indis the Fair. Their sons, Fingolfin and Finarfin, both bore hair of gold like their mother, and this trait passed to their children as well. This included, naturally, Galadriel (the daughter of Finarfin).
The Noldor were a noble and valiant people, who bore themselves with dignity and courage, even under their Doom. Most of this kindred were of strong build. Some of the greatest warriors of the First Age were Noldo lords, and some among them could stand alone in combat against a Balrog, a mighty demon of Morgoth. Fingolfin was held to be the greatest warrior in all of Middle-earth, surpassing all other Elves and Men.
Another of the great Noldo warriors was Glorfindel of the House of the Golden Flower, of the house of Finarfin, who dwelt in Elrond's House in the Third Age.
Here follows a passage from the Red Book of the Periannath where Gandalf, in Rivendell, explains to Frodo Baggins what came to pass at the Ford when the Hobbit briefly put on the One Ring, and Glorfindel stood against the Riders: "'...those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and Unseen they have great power.' 'I thought that I saw a white figure that shone and did not grow dim like the others. Was that Glorfindel then?' 'Yes, you saw him for a moment as he is upon the other side: one of the mighty of the First-born. He is an Elf-lord of a house of princes.'"
The Noldor spoke Noldorin-Quenya among themselves and with the Vanyar in Aman, but the greater part of those in Middle-earth took Sindarin as their daily tongue, keeping Quenya as much as they might as a high language for certain occasions. Many could also speak in most of the western Umanya-dialects.
The Falmari[]
The third kindred of the Calaquendi had hair of silvery white, pale gold, or light brown, sun-browned skin and eyes of grey or hazel. In general they were more varied in kind than the Noldor or Vanyar. They were also a more numerous people, with greater chance for diversity. The true Falmari, who dwelt on Eressea, were apt to be taller and stronger, with the bearing and light of the High Elves plain to see.
The Umanyar[]
Less tall and lordly than the kindreds of the Eldar, the Sindar and Nandor were nonetheless more noble than the Avari. All were apt to be slender, possessing a lithe strength and great swiftness. In body they resembled the Teleri, being descended from that kindred, though they lacked the light of the Calaquendi, having not beheld the radiance of Aman. Most, owing to their custom of spending long times in the open air, had somewhat darker, sun-touched skin. As might be expected, this folk spoke Sindarin almost without exception.
The Avari[]
These were the East-Elves, most wild of the Kindreds and most numerous. They were mostly like in appearance to the Noldor and Umanyar, but somewhat lesser in height, with darker hair (most often chestnut to dark brown or blue-black, less often silver-white, pale gold or copper-red) and eyes of dark grey or brown, at times also green, and often either darker or more sallow in complexion. In later Ages they pread throughout Middle-earth, withdrawing from wherever there were too many mortals, they spoke their own tongues among themselves, but when dwelling with the higher kindreds ever adopted Sindarin.
Genealogy of the Quendi[]
There were two ways to reckon the noble Quendi, for their history told that they were twice sundered. The first parting of their people brought forth the Eldar and Avari: the "People of the Stars" who made the Great Journey toward the Light of Aman, and the "Refusers" who remained in the East of Middle-earth. From the Avari came the East-Elves of lore, who make up the greater part of Middle-earth's Elven peoples.
The Eldar brought forth the three great kindreds of the Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri, many of whom now dwell in the Undying Lands. It was among the Eldar that the Second Sundering came to pass.
Parting before they left the shores of Middle-earth, the Teleri brought forth two lesser groups that never went to Aman and never beheld the blessed light of the Valar's Realm. These, like the Avari, were called Moriquendi, "Dark Elves". Their brethren who went west into Aman were counted among thew Calaquendi, or "Light Elves". The Calaquendi included the Vanyar, Noldor, and Falmari of the Undying Lands—together with the Noldor who returned to Middle-earth—while the Sindar, Nandor and Avari of Middle-earth were reckoned as Moriquendi. Thus, as had been noted, there were two ways to order the Quendi: (I) the Avari set against the Eldar; and (II) the Moriquendi set against the Calaquendi. The chart shows their kinship:
- Quendi or Elves
- Eldar or West-wandering elves
- Lost Elves (Elves who mysteriously disappeared during the Great Journey)
- Minyar
- Tatyarin Eldar
- Teleri (Last Ones) or Nelyarin Eldar
- Falmari or Sea-Elves
- Sindar or Grey-Elves
- Nandor
- Hawnin and Tirael of Near-Harad
- Lindellim or Brown-Elves of Eriador
- Wood-Elves or Tawarwaith
- Galadhrim
- Elves of the Woodland Realm in northern Mirkwood
- Elves of the Taur Rómen (Uialrim)
- Green Elves or Laiquendi
- Snow-Elves or Lossidil
- Avari , Wild Elves or East-elves
- Lost Elves (Elves who mysteriously disappeared, either in Cuivienen or during the Great Journey)
- Hisildi (Avari of Helcarth, Helkanen and Helcar Sael (or Helcarim))
- Eldar or West-wandering elves
Quotes[]
"'It is not easy for us to tell the difference between two mortals' "
"It is old, very old. So old that I almost feel young again, as I have not felt since I travelled with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace."
“Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you.May the stars shine upon your faces!”
"the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk, and the trees and the grass do not now remember them. Only I hear the stones lament them: deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone. They are gone. They sought the Havens long ago."
"Men multiply and the Firstborn decrease, and the two kindreds are estranged."
“It is said that the skill of the Dwarves is in their hands rather than in their tongues"
"That what should be shall be"
"Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod. We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long ago departed and we too are now only tarrying here awhile, ere we return over the sea"
“Here’s the old villain with his head on a jug! He’s been having a little feast all to himself and his friend the captain.”
“I will not give you counsel, saying do this, or do that. For not in doing or contriving, nor in choosing between this course and another, can I avail; but only in knowing what was and is, and in part also what shall be.”
"I have seen three ages in the West of the world, and many defeats, and many fruitless victories."
"Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in m home since then, and but a little while does that seem to us."
"A plague upon the stiff necks of dwarves."
"I say : Let the ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf."
"Yes, they are elves, and they say that you breathe so loud they could shoot you in the dark"
"To the sea, to the sea! The white gulls are crying, The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying. West, west away, the round sun is falling, Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling, The voices of my people that have gone before me?"
"I go to find the Sun"
Editorial Note: This entry contains speculative or fan-based material — such as fanon, fanfiction, or theory constructs — that may not be directly supported by canonical texts. Interpretations offered here are part of the NNCA’s speculative corpus and should not be mistaken for primary Tolkien sources.