The Iathrim were Lingerer, Elves of the Twilight,
the Enchanters, the Wards of Melian, the Kindred of Lúthien Tinúviel. Literally,
the "Fence-people"; the folk of Doriath. The Iathrim of Harlindon were
about as numerous as the Falathrim, and were found throughout the lands
south of the Gulf. Most had dark or silvery hair and pale blue or grey
eyes. Most Iathrim were willing to live near the Noldor and these were
gathered under the leadership of Celeborn. With Oropher some went east
to the Baranduin, and gradually made their way to Mirkwood. For this
reason the Iathrim were not as prominent in s culture and
governance as they might have been. Instead the Falathrim and Noldor were
both more unified and more active. The Iathrin contribution to Lindon
had been in the field of defence (they contributed many rangers),
craftsmanship and magic. The Fenced Folk had spent most of the First Age unified under their mighty king
and his bride Melian, who had taken much of the governance to themselves.As
Thingol had selected local leaders and counsellors to attend to his
decisions his rule was no more despotic than amongst the exiled Noldor, but
a benevolent one. Outlying settlements which were so representative of
the origins of the Iathrim of Lindon were fairly autonomous. For this
reason the Sindar had preserved a more formal mechanism of rule than
the other tribes in the wake of Gil-galads death. They strongly
emphasized bloodline as one of the prerequisites to power, for though
pre-eminence in a specific field of endeavour would bestow a primacy in
that area, it would not grant nobility. Being rural folk in origin, and
determined to delineate themselves from other Elves, they formed several
great Houses (each named after a tree) which themselves contained older
Houses (named after appropriate animals).
The Iathrim revered Elbereth first, and out of their country origins,
Ivann (Yavanna). Melian their Queen had bern a Maia, a spiritual handmaiden
of the Valar. Representations of Melian, particularly from life,
(sometimes with Elu) had acquired some religious importance. Melian’s
Host, the Faerie of Doriath, which had resettled in Harlindon (and absorbed
the local spirits into their number), contributed an intensely
otherworldly feel to the night gatherings of the Iathrim. Some amongst
the Fence elves had the respect of the Host who were their allies. This
prerogative was imbued with religion, being the heritage of Melian’s
handmaidens.