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A Canon Misfired
A Canon Misfired

Myths and Elusions of the Tolkien Canon

My Corpus or Yours?

Ask a dozen Tolkien enthusiasts to define the 'canon' and you will hear a dozen different answers. To some, Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion are sufficient. [1] Others reject the last on the grounds that it was partly written by Christopher Tolkien and Guy Kay. We must consult the source material contained in The History of Middle-earth, they say, to truly understand Tolkien's intentions. Some uphold Tolkien's final words on a subject, even if they contradict the works he published during his lifetime. Still others will incorporate his earliest writings to support a particular argument. [2]

For the purposes of the fan fiction writer, the canon is somewhat elastic. Good fan fiction sheds new light on the original author's work or creates a story around ideas and details given cursory treatment. The writer might even change an indisputable canon fact to test its effect on the outcome of the story. Tolkien's posthumously published material is an invaluable source of inspiration and information to writers of fan fiction. However, the volume and contradictory nature of this material create misunderstandings and outright hostility between writers and 'purists'. There are certainly many writers who have not read the books Tolkien did publish. Yet some of the most vocal purists are not familiar with Tolkien's unfinished work and unaware of the inconsistencies that exist from one source to another.

Specious criticism does a great disservice to Tolkien's legacy. Half-truths become 'fanon'; other readers believe unfounded claims and websites propagate inaccuracies. It is hoped that a writer would have the necessary texts close at hand during composition; it is inexcusable for a critic to rely on websites or memory. This article explores some of the misconceptions that have arisen not from writers ignorant of Tolkien's work but from those who claim to defend the canon. In many cases, the critic is not wrong - but neither is the writer. Fan fiction is creative, not didactic; a Balrog might not fly under the scrutiny of scholars, but it can certainly take wing in amateur fiction. By allowing our imagination full rein where Tolkien is vague or silent, by exploring ideas that he eventually rejected, we often see elements in his work that were previously hidden from us. Certainly, no ill can come of a process that allows us to continually rediscover Tolkien's magical worlds.

Those Amazing Elves

Myth: Elves do not sleep.

Elves do not always sleep as mortals do, but Tolkien does use the word 'sleep' to describe their dreams.

They now drew lots for the watches, and the lot for the first watch fell to Gimli. The others lay down. Almost at once sleep laid hold on them. ...Legolas already lay motionless, his fair hands folded upon his breast, his eyes unclosed, blending living night and deep dream, as is the way with Elves. [3]
In this passage, we find Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas on the edge of Fangorn. Gimli is on watch, thus 'the others' must refer to both Aragorn and Legolas. Moreover, Legolas uses the word 'sleep' reflexively: '"...the sound of the falling water may bring us sleep and forgetfulness of grief."' [4]

We also have evidence in The Hobbit that perhaps Elves do, at times, sleep as mortals do; they even snore!

Very soon the chief guard [of Thranduil's dungeons] nodded his head, then he laid it on the table and fell fast asleep. The butler [Galion] went on talking and laughing to himself for a while without seeming to notice, but soon his head too nodded to the table, and he fell asleep and snored beside his friend. [5]
Elves are not tireless, though their fatigue and sleep may be due less to physical need than unusual circumstance (strong wine in the above example) or emotional distress. After the loss of Gandalf and the harrowing escape from Moria, Legolas is eager to wade in the Nimrodel: '"I will bathe my feet, for it is said that the water is healing to the weary."' [6] In contrast, the final push to defeat Sauron leaves the Elf's mortal companions exhausted, yet Legolas needs only a walk in the woods to replenish his strength. [7]

Myth: Elves are impervious to cold.

Caradhras may not love Elves, but its wrath largely falls upon the mortal members of the Fellowship. Nonetheless, it is important to note that LOTR is written from the point of view of the Hobbits. It may appear to them that Legolas is not cold. Certainly, he is hardier, but one would get considerably less cold walking dryshod on top of the snow. Furthermore, Legolas is probably no stranger to bitter weather - Mirkwood, given its far northern, inland location, would be frigid in winter.

We have a few indications that Tolkien's Elves are sensitive to cold, at least under trying circumstances. During the journey from Nevrast to Gondolin in the Fell Winter of FA 496, '...Tuor and Voronwë were tormented by the cold... .' [8] The wastes of Araman have a similar effect on the Noldor as they flee Aman, [9] and the crossing of the Helcaraxë proves deadly: 'There Elenwë the wife of Turgon was lost, and many others perished also; and it was with a lessened host that Fingolfin set foot at last upon the Outer Lands.' [10]

Myth: Elves possess strength superior to that of Men.

There are merits to both sides of this argument. Tolkien once described Legolas as 'immensely strong', [11] but the text of LOTR does not entirely support this image. On Caradhras, it is not the Elf but the 'Strong Men' (as Legolas calls them), [12] who clear a path through the snow. Here, an exchange between Boromir and Legolas not only extols the greater strength of Men, but finds the Elf in full agreement.

"The strongest of us must seek a way."
...
"The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf." [13]
At Sarn Gebir, we find the 'Strong Men' carrying the boats.

'Nonetheless it needed the strength of the two Men to lift and haul them over the ground that the Company now had to cross. ... One by one Boromir and Aragorn carried the boats, while the others toiled and scrambled after them with the baggage.' [14]
One might note that Gimli also does not carry the boats or help with the snow, though he chastises Boromir for the implication that his strength is inferior. [15] However, he is hampered by another impediment - his height. While two Dwarves might manage to carry a boat as easily as Men, a Man and a Dwarf would find the going difficult, and on Caradhras, the snow is higher than Gimli's head. [16]

Be an Elf, or Look Just Like One

Myth: Elves do not have 'pointy' ears.

The question of Elven ear-shape is much debated by Tolkien enthusiasts. The fan fiction writer may rest assured that whether she chooses pointed or rounded ears for her Elves, the evidence is scanty enough to encompass both visions. In 'Did Tolkien's Elves Have Pointed Ears?', Ellen Bundage points out (no pun intended) that while Tolkien complained about the interpretations of many artists and filmmakers, he did not take issue with pointed ears. [17] Indeed, Ted Nasmith, whose early drawings drew Tolkien's approval, [18] portrays his Elves with pointed ears.

The best textual support comes from the Etymologies, in which the root for 'leaf', LAS¹ is also the root for the word 'ear'. Of this connection, Tolkien writes, 'The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human].' [19] The brackets and question mark were added by Christopher Tolkien, who was not certain that the final word of this sentence was 'human'. In a reexamination of the source documents, Carl F. Hostetter and Patrick H. Wynne conclude that this somewhat illegible word is, indeed, 'human'. [20] This demonstrates that at one time, Tolkien did envision Elven ears as pointed, but whether this held true, as his Elves matured, cannot be stated with surety.

Myth: Legolas has dark hair.

In truth, we simply do not know if he is blond, as Peter Jackson and many artists envision, or dark-haired, as some fans believe. Many point to a passage from LOTR as proof of a dark-haired Legolas: 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' [21] However, we might postulate that 'his head was dark' indicates just how little light is available - in other words, 'his head was dark' might not indicate a normal condition but a contrast to the normal condition.

In The Silmarillion, blond hair is frequently associated with honor and righteousness - we have the non-Elven contrast of golden Tuor with his dark cousin Túrin; among Elves, we find the moral superiority of the Vanyar over the Noldor. Is it possible that Tolkien envisioned the last Elven hero as blond?

We do know that Legolas' father is blond: '...at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair... .' [22] One cannot help but wonder if Tolkien's vision of Legolas might not have considered this. Tolkien writes of his 'fair elvish face', [23] and it is interesting that this line did not enter the draft text of LOTR until the undistinguished Elf of Mirkwood became the son of Thranduil, [24] but to suppose that a fair complexion entails fair hair requires a rather strained reading of the description. [25] Moreover, 'fair' normally signifies 'handsome' or 'beautiful' in Tolkien's work. Unless something turns up amid the unpublished linguistic materials, we shall never know what Tolkien intended, and the determination of blond or dark hair is left to the reader's imagination.

Mirkwood Unmasked

Myth: Thranduil hates Men/Thranduil is an isolationist.

Thranduil has good reason to imprison the Dwarves - they come into his realm without leave and refuse to give the King a reason for their presence. Under less suspicious circumstances, if not friendly with the Dwarves, he is willing to work with them; they even assist in the delving of his cave palace. [26]

Mistrust between the Sindar and Dwarves arises from an old injury, one to which The Hobbit briefly alludes in somewhat lighthearted terms. [27] The story as Tolkien envisions it, however, is grim. In FA 503, Dwarves kill the King of Doriath and sack the city. [28] It is not clear whether Thranduil was born in Doriath or somewhat later, [29] but his father does come from Doriath. [30] In this light, it seems quite reasonable for the Elvenking to be wary of Dwarves wandering about his realm.

With Men, the Elves of Northern Mirkwood maintain more amicable relations. In The Hobbit we learn that the Men of Esgaroth consider the neighboring Elves to be more than trading partners: 'Except for occasional squabbles about river-tolls they were friends with the Wood-elves.' [31] Mirkwood's ties with Men are not limited to Esgaroth, however. During the siege of Barad-dûr, Thranduil apparently comes to know Isildur well enough for the latter to consider him an ally when he and his men are attacked by Orcs in TA 2. [32] In fact, Thranduil does send his warriors to the aid of the Dúnadan King: 'There were rescuers who came on the scene too late, but in time to disturb the Orcs and prevent their mutilation of the bodies: for there were certain Woodmen who got news to Thranduil by runners... .' [33]

Thranduil's relations with other Elven realms and his participation in the White Council are rather murky. Legolas and Celeborn tell us that there has been little contact between Lórien and Mirkwood. [34] Some communication between Mirkwood and Rivendell may be supposed, given that Thranduil sends his son to Rivendell with the news of Gollum's escape. There is no evidence for hostility between Thranduil and Elrond. We do know that Thranduil is not present at the meeting of the White Council in TA 2941 (during the events of The Hobbit), but he may have sent a son or another representative to the meeting. The White Council's unwillingness to move against the evil at Dol Guldur would be most frustrating to the Elvenking, however, and perhaps a source of tension between him and the Ring-bearing rulers. It is no wonder, then, that he is nothing less than fond of Gandalf: '"May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected! The oftener you appear in my halls the better I shall be pleased!"' [35]

Myth: Thranduil's people speak only Sindarin.

In Lórien, Frodo believes that Legolas and Haldir speak together in a language unique to the Silvan Elves, [36] but in a footnote to Appendix F, Tolkien explains that this is not so: 'In Lórien at this period Sindarin was spoken, though with an 'accent', since most of its folk were of Silvan origin. This 'accent' and his own limited acquaintance with Sindarin misled Frodo... .' [37] Note, however, that he says nothing of Northern Mirkwood. Tolkien changed his mind more than once about the language of Mirkwood. A snippet in Unfinished Tales informs us 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.' [38] But wait - Tolkien has already established that the 'woodland tongue' is alive at this time, and furthermore, that Legolas knows this language: '"I will sing you a song of the maiden Nimrodel, who bore the same name as the stream beside which she lived long ago. It is a fair song in our woodland tongue... ."' [39]

Other snippets in Unfinished Tales support the endurance of the Silvan language, [40] and this seems to have been Tolkien's final decision on the matter. In a letter written in December of 1972, he writes, 'The Silvan Elves of Thranduil's realm did not speak S. [Sindarin] but a related language or dialect.' [41] The incursion of the Noldor in Lórien is held responsible for the demise of the language in that realm. [42]

Myth: All Elves are destined to leave Middle-earth.

In The Peoples of Middle-earth, Tolkien tells us that the Silvan Elves of the Greenwood never [43] leave Middle-earth.

For there were other Elves of various kinds in the world; and many were Eastern Elves that had hearkened to no summons to the Sea, but being content with Middle-earth remained there, and remained long after, fading in fastnesses of the woods and hills, as Men usurped the lands. Of that kind were the Elves of Greenwood the Great... . [44]
This passage was written fairly early in the composition of LOTR and ultimately left out of the final manuscript. However, this omission does not necessarily indicate that Tolkien abandoned the idea. In a 1954 letter, Tolkien suggests that such Elves cannot leave Middle-earth.

But the promise made to the Eldar (the High Elves - not to other varieties, they had long before made their irrevocable choice, preferring Middle-earth to paradise) for their sufferings in the struggle with the prime Dark Lord had still to be fulfilled: that they should always be able to leave Middle-earth, if they wished, and pass over Sea to the True West... . [45]
'High Elves' here must be read as 'Eldar', as Legolas, Celeborn and Círdan, all Sindarin Elves, have the right to sail to Tol Eressëa. The Silvan Elves are not Eldar but Avari. [46]

Perhaps, like many of his readers, Tolkien could not bear the idea that Middle-earth is finally abandoned by the Elves. In Appendix B to LOTR, he reveals that after the War of the Ring, though Lórien is all but deserted, 'in the Greenwood the Silvan Elves remained untroubled... .' [47]

No Sex, Please, We're Elvish?

Myth: Elves only marry for love.

In Morgoth's Ring, Tolkien writes, 'the Eldar wedded once only in life, and for love or at the least by free will upon either party.' [48] The last part of this sentence implies that Elves occasionally married for reasons other than love. Elves cannot be coerced into arranged marriages, but apparently, some marry for convenience - perhaps for diplomatic ends - rather than love.

Finwë might provide the best example of a marriage impelled by circumstance; though he loves her, he bonds with Indis chiefly out of desire for more children. [49] After he is slain by Morgoth, Finwë chooses to remain in the Halls of Mandos rather than return to Indis. He loves both Elves, he tells Vairë: 'Love of Indis did not drive out love of Míriel; so now pity for Míriel doth not lessen my heart's care for Indis.' [50] Yet his next words are telling.

But Indis parted from me without death. I had not seen her for many years, and when the Marrer smote me I was alone. She hath dear children to comfort her, and her love, I deem, is now most for Ingoldo. His father she may miss; but not the father of Fëanáro! ... Little comfort should I bring her, if I returned... . [51]
Finwë's love for Indis is an imperfect love. Desire for children brings them together; love for their children finally divides them. In death, it is Míriel for whom he pines, not Indis. Regardless of his words, his intent in remarriage seems less than pure - had he been content with one son, it is doubtful that he would have sought another wife.

Myth: Elves do not enjoy sex/only have sex for procreation.

Marriage is accomplished by bodily union, [52] but many couples bond years before such unions produce children [53]. The Tale of Years dates Elrond and Celebrian's marriage to TA 109 but Elladan and Elrohir are not born until TA 130. [54] This is actually a fairly brief interval in comparison to the dates given in the 'Annals of Aman' for the marriages and births of the princes of the Noldor. [55]

Moreover, Elves are not immune to sexual desire: 'The union of love is indeed to them great delight and joy... ,' [56] and were even prey to less wholesome impulses: '...seldom is any tale told of deeds of lust among them.' [57] 'Seldom' allows for such stories as that of Maeglin.

...He loved the beauty of Idril and desired her, without hope... . Idril loved Maeglin not at all; and knowing his thought of her she loved him the less. For it seemed to her a thing strange and crooked in him... . [58]
Miscellaneous: Cooking With Melian and Mary-Sue Elven's Sword

Myth: Only Lórien has lembas/only a queen can make lembas.

This misconception is based on a line in The Silmarillion: 'And she gave him store of lembas, the waybread of the Elves...for according to the customs of the Eldalië the keeping and giving of lembas belonged to the Queen alone.' [59] Tolkien must have seen the problem with this wording, for in a late essay on lembas he writes, 'since it came from Yavanna, the queen, or the highest among the elven-women of any people, great or small, had the keeping and gift of the lembas... .' [60] Limitation of lembas to a 'Queen' would present a discrepancy with the text of LOTR. Galadriel is not a queen - she is never referred to as such in LOTR. In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien explains that '...Galadriel and Celeborn took up their permanent abode in Lórien, and its government. But they took no title of King or Queen... .' [61] Indeed, after the war in Mordor, only one Elf in Middle-earth can properly be titled 'Queen' - the wife of Thranduil. [62]

Myth: With the exception of Elbereth, the Sindar are ignorant of the Valar.

In The Peoples of Middle-Earth, Tolkien states that Oromë told the Elves of Varda, Manwë and Morgoth, but they knew nothing of the other Valar until they arrived in Aman. [63] However, the Moriquendi must learn of other Valar during the First Age. Ulmo speaks to Círdan, [64] and since the Sindar have Ivonwin, [65] we can suppose that Melian told them of Yavanna. They probably know of Aulë, if not from Elwë or Melian, then from the Dwarves, and they must be familiar with Námo, since we have no indication that the Sindar are unaware of their fate in death.

There is also a curious entry in the unpublished portion of the Etymologies: a Nandorin ('Danian' in the text) name for Estë. [66] While one might suppose that the Sindarin ('Noldorin') words for the Valar that appear in the Etymologies were created by the Noldorin Exiles, the Nandorin word must have been made by the Green Elves, indicating that they, too, are not ignorant of the Valar. Most likely, this word would arise among the Nandor of Doriath, who might learn of Estë from Melian.

Myth: Female Elves cannot not be warriors.

Male Elves would make up the bulk of Elven armies, but Tolkien allows for the odd female soldier.

There are, however, no matters which among the Eldar only a nér can think or do, or others with which only a nís is concerned. There are indeed some differences between the natural inclinations of neri and nissi... . For instance, the arts of healing, and all that touches on the care of the body, are among all the Eldar most practised by the nissi; whereas it was the elven-men who bore arms at need. ... In dire straits or desperate defence, the nissi fought valiantly, and there was less difference in strength and speed between elven-men and elven-women that had not born child than is seen among mortals. [67]
In a late attempt to exonerate Galadriel of her part in the revolt of the Noldor, Tolkien envisions her taking up arms against the Fëanorians at Alqualondë: '...she fought fiercely against Fëanor in defence of her mother's kin... .' [68] There is a problem with this example, however - Galadriel's guilt is established by her song in LOTR.

Who now shall refill the cup for me?
...
Now lost, lost to those from the East is Valimar!
Farewell! Maybe thou shalt find Valimar. [69]
Yet LOTR also confirms that Tolkien envisions Galadriel with a sword from an early stage; in Appendix B, we learn that Galadriel participates in the assault on Dol Guldur during the War of the Ring. [70] This can hardly be considered 'dire straits or desperate defense'. Galadriel is a warrior.

~ ~ ~

Much of the story of Middle-earth is rendered in broad strokes, leaving the details to our imagination. In a letter to Milton Waldman, Tolkien confesses that he had once hoped to

...make a body of more or less connected legend... . I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched. The cycles should be linked to a majestic whole, and yet leave scope for other minds and hands, wielding paint and music and drama. [71]
Here, he dismisses such hopes as mere fancy ('my crest has long since fallen'), [72] yet the popularity of fan fiction based on his work cannot be solely attributed to Peter Jackson's movies. Thoughtful and imaginative fiction is holding its own against the tide of 'Mary Sues'. Writers imagine the departure of Celebrian and its effect on Elrond and his family; they strive to create a background for the enigmatic Legolas. In the hands of a talented writer, the starkly-drawn images of The Silmarillion come to life and tales half-finished come to conclusion.

In the introduction to Unfinished Tales, Christopher Tolkien writes
Divergent versions need not indeed always be treated solely as a question of settling the priority of composition; and my father as "author" or "inventor" cannot always in these matters be distinguished from the "recorder" of ancient traditions handed down in diverse forms among different peoples through long ages... . [73]
Purists might wish for a corpus with fewer contradictions, a canon less amorphous - one that allows them to declare, without equivocation, 'Thus saith Tolkien.' [74] Yet, perhaps the good professor did not intend it to be so. As his son suggests in the above passage, the mythologies of our ancestors are not received in tidy, set form. They are based on oral traditions that took on new flavor as they passed from bard to bard, hamlet to hamlet. Over time, stories changed to reflect the needs and challenges of their tellers. Tolkien knew this; perhaps his greatest gift to us lies in all those unfinished manuscripts, for what we have is a fictional legendry that truly resembles the myths of the real world. And perhaps the greatest tribute to his work is the humble fan's attempt to add her vision to that legendry, for by her efforts, Tolkien's dream of an enduring mythology proves not so fanciful after all.

© erunyauve (erunyauve at lycos.com) 2004. Please contact me for permissions.


Notes

[1] Tolkien published several shorter works during his lifetime, some of which include important details regarding the legends of Middle-earth. The Road Goes Ever On, 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil', 'Notes on the Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings', 'The Monsters and the Critics' and 'On Fairy-Stories' are considered particularly important but can be difficult to obtain. The Road Goes Ever On has recently been republished in the UK. 'The Monsters and the Critics' is included in The Monsters and the Critics & Other Essays, which is still in print but somewhat difficult to find in the US. 'Notes on the Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings' was originally part of A Tolkien Compass, but in the republished version of that book this work was not included by request of the Tolkien Estate. It is to be included in another book, but as of March 2004, I have no further information. (A Tolkien Compass, 2nd Ed, 'Postscript' p 157 pub Open Court/Carus) 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil' and 'On Fairy Stories', however, are included in The Tolkien Reader, which is readily available in the US (and, I assume, the UK). (Back)

 [2] For the purposes of this article, I have considered LOTR and The Hobbit to be inviolate, but I refer to other works to illustrate Tolkien's intentions or provide details not found in the published novels. Bolding in the quoted passages is mine. I have endeavored to retain the full meaning of all quoted passages but have edited for relevancy. (Back)

 [3] (TTT, Book 3 Ch II p 432 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [4] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VI p 330 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [5] (The Hobbit, Barrels Out of Bond, p 178 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [6] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VI p 330 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [7] '"And I," said Legolas, 'shall walk in the woods of this fair land, which is rest enough."' (ROTK, Book 6 Ch IV, p 935 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [8] (Unfinished Tales, 'Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin' p 41 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [9] 'Therefore Fëanor halted and the Noldor debated what course they should now take. But they began to suffer anguish from the cold... .' (The Silmarillion, 'Of the Flight of the Noldor' p 97 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [10] (The Silmarillion, 'Of the Flight of the Noldor' p 99 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [11] (The Book of Lost Tales 2, 'The History of Eriol or Aelfwine and the End of the Tales' p 333 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [12] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch III 285 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [13] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch III p 284 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [14] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch IX p 382 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [15] '"The legs of Men will lag on a rough road, while a Dwarf goes on, be the burden twice his own weight, Master Boromir!"' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch IX, p 381 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [16] 'In places the snow was breast-high, and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking.' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch III, p 284 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [17] (Ellen Bundage, From pointy ears to Grima's tears: Tolkien Investigations, 'Did Tolkien's Elves Have Pointed Ears?') (Back)

 [18] ([Editor Unk.], Realms of Tolkien - Images of Middle-earth, 'About the Artists' pub HarperCollins) (Back)

 [19] (The Lost Road, 'Etymologies' LAS¹ p 409 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) Alas, there is no evidence for the Erogenous Elven Ear™ of which certain fan fiction writers are so fond. On the other hand, there is no evidence against it, either. (Back)

 [20] (Vinyar Tengwar Number 45, Nov 2003 p 26) (Back)

 [21] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch IX p378 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [22] (The Hobbit, 'Flies and Spiders' p154 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [23] '"Alas! Alas!" cried Legolas, and in his fair elvish face there was great distress.' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch II, p 248 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [24] The above-referenced line is absent from the story in the fifth revision of the text, and Legolas (here named 'Galdor') is identified only as 'Galdor [> Legolas] of the Wood-elves'. (The Treason of Isengard, 'The Council of Elrond (2)' p 148 pub. Houghton Mifflin). Furthermore, in 'Galadriel', Christopher Tolkien implies that Celeborn's greeting to Legolas as the 'son of Thranduil' is a very late revision. (Ibid. 'Galadriel' pp 256-7) (Back)

 [25] They were a race high and beautiful, the older Children of the world, and among them the Eldar were as kings, who now are gone: the People of the Great Journey, the People of the Stars. They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finarfin... . (LOTR, Appendix F Part II p 1111 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [26] '"Do you think those halls are fair, where your King dwells under the hill in Mirkwood, and Dwarves helped in their making long ago?"' (TTT, Book 3 Ch 8, p 534 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [27] 'In ancient days they had had wars with some of the dwarves, whom they accused of stealing their treasure.' (The Hobbit, 'Flies and Spiders' p 168 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) This sentence introduces a somewhat misleading passage; the ensuing story is clearly that of the Nauglamír and Silmaril, but the generic 'elf-king' is often confused with the Elvenking. Poor Thranduil has been most unfairly lambasted for his greed, when in fact the guilty party is Thingol (who, having sold his daughter's hand for a Silmaril, is perhaps rightfully described as 'greedy'). Aside from the use of 'elf-king' (whereas Thranduil is called 'Elvenking' or 'woodland king' simply 'king'), there is another clue that tells us that the paragraph refers to different king: 'If the elf-king had a weakness it was for treasure, especially for silver and white gems... .' (Ibid.) Thranduil prefers another sort of stone: 'To the Elvenking he [Bard] gave the emeralds of Girion, such jewels as he most loved... .' (Ibid. 'The Return Journey' p 293) (Back)

 [28] In FA 503, 'The Dwarves of Belegost and Nogrod invade Doriath. King Elu Thingol is slain and his realm ended.' (The War of the Jewels, 'The Tale of Years' p 350 pub. Houghton Mifflin) - I do not refer to The Silmarillion here because this part of the history was never completed by Tolkien. In an aborted attempt to revise this text, Tolkien notes, 'Doriath cannot be entered by a hostile army!' (Ibid. p 352) The difficulty of getting past the Girdle of Melian proved an insurmountable hurdle to the tale's conclusion. Christopher Tolkien and Guy Kay cobbled together 'Of the Ruin of Doriath' from the author's various unfinished starts and snippets and solved the problem of invasion, and many fans defer to their version as canon. (Back)

 [29] '...at last Thranduil established his realm in the north-east of the forest and delved there a fortress and great halls underground. Oropher was of Sindarin origin, and no doubt Thranduil his son was following the example of King Thingol long before, in Doriath.' (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn, Appendix B' p 272 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) This sentence may imply that Thranduil has actually seen Menegroth. However, we can only be certain that Thranduil was born before SA 1000: '...before the building of the Barad-dûr [c. 1000] many of the Sindar passed eastward.... . Thranduil, king in the north of Greenwood the Great, was one of these.' (LOTR, Appendix B, p 1058 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [30] '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... .' (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn, Appendix B' p 272 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) Note that in this paragraph, Tolkien states that the Dwarves did not aid in the work on Thranduil's caverns. This, however, contradicts Gimli's words in LOTR, which must be considered the superior source. This line also contradicts other passages regarding the language of Thranduil's house, considered more fully in another part of this article. (Back)

 [31] (The Hobbit, 'A Warm Welcome' p194 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [32] '"We have no hope of help: Moria and Lórien are now far behind, and Thranduil four days' march ahead."' (Unfinished Tales, 'Disaster of the Gladden Fields' p 285 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [33] (Unfinished Tales, 'The Disaster of the Gladden Fields' p 288 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [34] '"It is long since any of my own folk journeyed hither...but we hear that Lórien is not yet deserted... .' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VI, p 329 pub. Houghton Mifflin) '"Welcome son of Thranduil! Too seldom do my kindred journey hither from the North."' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VII, p 346 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [35] (The Hobbit, 'The Return Journey' p 295 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [36] 'Frodo could understand little of what was said, for the speech that the Silvan folk east of the mountains used among themselves was unlike that of the West.' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VI, p 333 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [37] (LOTR, Appendix F Part I p 1101n pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [38] (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn' p 271 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [39] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VI p 330 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [40] 'Thranduil father of Legolas of the Nine Walkers was Sindarin, and that tongue was used in his house, though not by all his folk.' (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn' p 269 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) This is supported by a line in LOTR: '"Yrch!" said Legolas, falling into his own tongue.' (FOTR, Book 2 Ch IX, p 377 pub. Houghton Mifflin) In the Etymologies, we are given the plural yrc as the 'Danian' (Nandorin) word for 'Orcs'. (The Lost Road, 'Etymologies: ÓROK-' p 423 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) Tolkien later revised the root word to 'RUKU-'. (The War of the Jewels, 'Quendi and Eldar' p 389 pub. Houghton Mifflin) Moreover, he apparently decided that the Silvan Elves should not have a Sindarin-style umlauted plural. Common Eldarin*kwendí, 'the people', becomes penni in '...the "Wood-elven" speech of the Vale of Anduin... ,' conserving the CE plural ending (-i). (Ibid. p 410) Even in light of these revisions, however, the 'woodland' (Nandorin) word for 'Orcs' would not be Yrch, so we must conclude that Legolas' birth tongue is Sindarin. (Back)

 [41] (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 347 p 425n pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [42] 'In Lórien, where many of the people were Sindar in origin, or Noldor, survivors from Eregion, Sindarin had become the language of all the people.' (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn' p 269 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey)

It may be noted that at the end of the Third Age there were prob. more people (Men) that knew Q., or spoke S., than there were Elves who did either! Though dwindling, the population of Minas Tirith and its fiefs must have been much greater than that of Lindon, Rivendell, and Lórien.
(The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 347 p 425 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [43] 'The East-elves that being content with Middle-earth remained there, and remain even now.' (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'The Appendix on Languages' p 73 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [44] (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'The Appendix on Languages' p 79 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [45] (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, No 154 p 198 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [46] 'The Elves far back in the Elder Days became divided into two main branches: the West-elves (the Eldar) and the East-elves. Of the latter kind were most of the elven-folk of Mirkwood and Lórien... .' (LOTR, Appendix F Part I p 1101 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [47] '...after the passing of Galadriel in a few years Celeborn grew weary of his realm and went to Imladris to dwell with the sons of Elrond. In the Greenwood the Silvan Elves remained untroubled, but in Lórien there lingered sadly only a few of its former people... .' (LOTR, Appendix B p 1069 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [48] (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 210 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [49] 'Yet Finwë was not content, being young and eager, and desiring to have more children to bring mirth into his house.' (Morgoth's Ring, 'The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II)' p 237 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [50] (Morgoth's Ring, 'The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II)' p 249 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [51] (Morgoth's Ring, 'The Later Quenta Silmarillion (II)' p 249 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [52] 'It was the act of bodily union that achieved marriage... .' (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 212 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [53] 'In mortal count there was often a long interval between the wedding and first child-birth and even longer between child and child.' (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 212n pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [54] (LOTR, 'Appendix B, The Third Age' p 1060 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [55] Note that the years given in the 'Annals' are in Years of the Trees. (Morgoth's Ring, 'The Annals of Aman' p 50 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [56] (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 213 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [57] (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 210 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [58] (The Silmarillion, 'Of Maeglin' p 162 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [59] 'And she gave him store of lembas, the waybread of the Elves...for according to the customs of the Eldalië the keeping and giving of lembas belonged to the Queen alone.' (The Silmarillion, 'Of Túrin Turambar' p 241 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [60] (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'Of Lembas' p 404 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [61] (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn: Amroth and Nimrodel' p 257 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [62] We know nothing of Thranduil's wife and can only suppose that she would be called 'Queen'. However, it is notable that Bilbo sees no such lady during his wanderings in the Elvenking's home; had he seen such an Elf, one would imagine that he would not forget her in his tale. This omission has led many fans to speculate that by the time Bilbo and his friends arrive in Mirkwood, Thranduil's wife has gone to the Halls of Mandos or over the Sea. There is no further evidence for this, however, and there is certainly no error in supposing that she remains in Mirkwood after the War of the Ring. (Back)

 [63] 'The Sindar knew little of the Valar and had no names for any of them, save Oromë...and Manwë and Varda of whose eminence they had been instructed by Oromë; and the Great Enemy whom the Noldor called Melkor.' (The Peoples of Middle-Earth, 'The Shibboleth of Fëanor' p 358 n21 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [64] '"Hear then the words of the Lord of Waters! Thus he [Ulmo] spoke to Círdan the Shipwright... ."' (Unfinished Tales, 'Narn i Hîn Húrin, Appendix' p 168 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [65] From the ear to the wafer none were permitted to handle this grain, save those elven-women who were called Yavannildi (or by the Sindar the Ivonwin), the maidens of Yavanna; and the art of the making of the lembas, which they learned of the Valar, was a secret among them, and so ever has remained. (The Peoples of Middle-earth, 'Of Lembas' p 404 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [66] (Vinyar Tengwar Number 45, Nov 2003 p 13: EZDE) 'Dan. Eord' (Back)

 [67] (Morgoth's Ring, 'Laws and Customs Among the Eldar' p 213 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [68] (Unfinished Tales, 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn' p 242 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [69] (FOTR, Book 2 Ch VIII, pp 368-9 pub. Houghton Mifflin) Tolkien himself once interpreted these words to mean that Galadriel was forbidden to return to the West.

The attempt of Eärendil to cross Ëar was against the Ban of the Valar prohibiting all Men to attempt to set foot on Aman, and against the later special ban prohibiting the Exiled Elves, followers of the rebellious Fëanor, from return: referred to in Galadriel's lament. ... Morgoth was overthrown and extruded from the World (the physical universe). The Exiles were allowed to return - save for a few chief actors in the rebellion of whom at the time of the L.R. only Galadriel remained.
He continues in a note to this text as follows: 'At the time of her lament in Lórien she believed this [ban on her return] to be perennial.' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter No 297, p 386 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [70] '...Celeborn came forth and led the host of Lórien over Anduin in many boats. They took Dol Guldur, and Galadriel threw down its walls and laid bare its pits, and the forest was cleansed.' (LOTR, Appendix B p 1069 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [71] (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter No. 131, pp 144-5 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [72] (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter No. 131, p 144 pub. Houghton Mifflin) (Back)

 [73] (Unfinished Tales, 'Introduction' p 10 pub. Ballantine/Del Rey) (Back)

 [74] 'But can you see that it is not always clear what Tolkien had intended? He changed his mind about quite a few important characters, he was not always able to fix everything for the next printing, and his son chose to publish EVERYthing [sic],' a poster once lamented in rec.arts.books.tolkien. (Message-ID: provost-1108971340320001@starman.jou.utexas.edu, 08/11/1997) (Back)
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