Elf (Middle-earth) facts for kids
In the amazing fantasy world created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Elves are a special race living in Middle-earth a long, long time ago. Unlike humans and Dwarves, Elves live forever! You can find them in famous books like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Their full story is told in The Silmarillion.
Tolkien got his ideas for Elves from old poems and languages in Northern Europe, especially Old English. These old stories made him think of Elves as tall, beautiful, and sometimes dangerous beings. They lived in wild places and were great at archery. Tolkien even created whole languages for them, like Sindarin and Quenya.
Today, Tolkien's style of Elves is very popular in fantasy books and games all over the world. You'll see them in movies and role-playing games based on Tolkien's stories, too.
Contents
Where Did Elves Come From?
Old Words for Elves
The English word elf comes from the old English word ælf. Similar words exist in other Germanic languages. Many types of elves appear in old Germanic mythology. Tolkien said his Elves were different from the ones in Norse mythology.
Elves: Halfway Beings
A scholar named Tom Shippey noticed that an old book from around 1250, called the South English Legendary, described elves much like Tolkien did:
| South English Legendary "St Michael" 253-258 |
Modern English |
|---|---|
| And ofte in fourme of wommane : In many derne weye grete compaygnie mon i-seoth of heom : boþe hoppie and pleiƺe, Þat Eluene beoth i-cleopede : and ofte heo comiez to toune, And bi daye muche in wodes heo beoth : and bi niƺte ope heiƺe dounes. Þat beoth þe wrechche gostes : Þat out of heuene weren i-nome, And manie of heom a-domesday : Ʒeot schullen to reste come. |
And often shaped like women: On many secret paths men see great numbers of them: dancing and sporting. These are called Elves: and often they come to town and by day they are much in the woods: by night up on the high downs. Those are the wretched spirits: that were taken out of Heaven, And at Doomsday many of them shall come to rest. |
Some of Tolkien's Elves live in the "undying lands" of Valinor, which is home to powerful beings called the Valar. Other Elves live in Middle-earth. For example, the Elf-queen Galadriel was sent away from Valinor, but she is still good. This is similar to how some old stories describe elves being on Earth, while others are in a kind of "Earthly Paradise."
Elves or Fairies?
By the late 1800s, the word 'fairy' was used to talk about perfect, dream-like worlds. Tolkien and another writer, T. H. White, continued this idea. One famous painting, The Piper of Dreams by Estella Canziani, showed a fairy and was very popular.
When Tolkien started writing his first Elf poems in 1915, the words elf, fairy, and gnome had many different meanings. Tolkien was advised not to use 'fairy', but he kept using it. Later, he chose the word elf over fairy. In his 1939 essay On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien explained that English words like elf were influenced by French words. But over time, fairy and elf also got ideas from German, Scandinavian, and Celtic stories.
Bringing Old Stories Together
Tom Shippey, a Tolkien expert, noted that Tolkien knew many different stories about elves. For example, the old English poem Beowulf talks about strange "giants and elves and demon-corpses." This shows a tough view of non-human creatures. In another old story, Sir Gawain meets an "elvish man," meaning a strange creature.
Elves were also seen as dangerous. The old medical term "elf-shot" meant an internal injury, and it was linked to old flint arrowheads. Tolkien used this idea to make his Elves great at archery. Other old terms like "water-elf disease" (perhaps swelling) and "elf-pain" (perhaps madness) also existed.
However, elves were also seen as beautiful. An Icelandic woman could be "fair as an elf-woman," and Anglo-Saxons might call a beautiful woman "elf-beautiful." Shippey says that beauty itself can be dangerous. Tolkien also used old descriptions like "wood-elf" and "water-elf," connecting his Elves strongly to wild nature.
Another old legend says that Elfland is dangerous because time works differently there. This is like Tolkien's Lothlórien, where time seems to pass slowly. Shippey says that Tolkien's imagined worlds are strong because they use all these different old ideas. This creates a deep and complex feeling, mixing both good and bad parts of old stories.
Shippey suggests that Tolkien's ideas about elves really came together from a Middle English poem called Sir Orfeo. This poem tells a classic myth but places it in a wild Elfland. In Tolkien's translation, the elves appear and disappear: "the king of Faerie with his rout / came hunting in the woods about / with blowing far and crying dim, and barking hounds that were with him; yet never a beast they took nor slew, and where they went he never knew." Tolkien took many ideas from this, like the Elves' horns and hunts in Mirkwood, their proud but honorable kings, and their connection to wild nature.
Shippey also explains that Tolkien's idea of the Sundering of the Elves helped him explain the "Light Elves" and "Dark Elves" from Norse mythology. His "Light Elves" (Calaquendi) are like those who saw the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, while his "Dark Elves" (Moriquendi) are those who never did.
How Tolkien Developed Elves
Tolkien changed his ideas about Elves over many years, from his first writings to The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Lord of the Rings.
Early Ideas
In Tolkien's early poems, you can see traditional Victorian dancing fairies and elves. This was partly because he saw a play of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan in 1910.
O! I hear the tiny horns
Of enchanted leprechauns
And the padded feet of many gnomes a-coming!—J.R.R. Tolkien, Goblin Feet
The Book of Lost Tales (around 1917–1927)
In his The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien wrote that the tiny, fairy-like Elves were once a great and powerful people. As humans took over the world, these Elves became "smaller." This idea was inspired by the god-like, human-sized Ljósálfar from Norse mythology and medieval stories.
Some of Tolkien's Elf history stories were directly influenced by Celtic mythology. For example, the "Flight of The Noldoli" is based on Irish myths. John Garth says that Tolkien was rewriting Irish myths when he described the Noldoli being enslaved underground by Melkor.
Tolkien gave the oldest Elf, Inwe (or Ingwë), a name similar to the Norse god Ingwi-Freyr, who was given the Elf-world Álfheimr.
The larger Elves were inspired by Tolkien's own Catholic beliefs. They represent humans in the Garden of Eden before they "fell." They are like humans but more beautiful and wise, with stronger spiritual powers and a closer connection to nature. Tolkien wrote that they are "immortal, and their will is directly effective for the achievement of imagination and desire."
In The Book of Lost Tales, Tolkien included both serious, "medieval" Elves like Fëanor and Turgon, and more playful Elves like the Solosimpi and Tinúviel. Tolkien also thought about children visiting Valinor, the Elves' homeland, in their sleep. Elves would also visit children at night to comfort them. He later dropped this idea.
The Hobbit (around 1930–1937)
In The Hobbit, Tolkien again showed both serious, "medieval" Elves, like Elrond and the wood-elf king Thranduil, and more playful Elves, like the guards at Rivendell.
The Quenta Silmarillion (around 1937)
In 1937, a publisher didn't like the "eye-splitting Celtic names" Tolkien gave his Elves in The Silmarillion. Tolkien said the names were not Celtic:
Needless to say they are not Celtic! Neither are the tales. I do know Celtic things (many in their original languages Irish and Welsh), and feel for them a certain distaste: largely for their fundamental unreason. They have bright colour, but are like a broken stained glass window reassembled without design. They are in fact "mad" as your reader says – but I don't believe I am.
Dimitra Fimi suggests that Tolkien's comments came from his love for English things, not from how much Celtic myths actually influenced his writing.
The Lord of the Rings (around 1937–1949)
In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien pretends to be just the translator of Bilbo and Frodo's memories, found in the Red Book of Westmarch. He says that English names and terms are his translations from the Common Speech.
According to Tom Shippey, the idea of powerful Elves becoming smaller, like fairies, appears again in The Lord of the Rings. Galadriel says, "Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten."
In 1954, Tolkien wrote that the Elvish language Sindarin sounded a lot like British-Welsh. He felt this "fit the rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers." In the same letter, Tolkien said his elves had little in common with European elves or fairies. He saw them more as humans with greater artistic skill, beauty, and longer lives. In his stories, having Elf blood was the only real way for humans in Middle-earth to be considered 'noble'. Tolkien also wrote that Elves were partly to blame for many problems in Middle-earth. They created the Three Rings to stop their lands from "fading" and tried to prevent change.
Elves in History (Fictional)
The First Elves
The very first Elves were awakened by Eru Ilúvatar near the bay of Cuiviénen. This happened during the Years of the Trees, before the Sun and Moon existed, under a sky full of stars. The first three pairs of Elves were Imin and Iminyë, Tata and Tatië, and Enel and Enelyë. They explored the forests and found other Elves, who joined their groups. They lived by rivers and created poetry and music.
Later, they met tall, dark-haired Elves, who became the ancestors of most of the Noldor. They invented many new words. Then they found Elves singing without words, who became the ancestors of most of the Teleri. A powerful being called Oromë discovered the Elves and told the Valar in Valinor about them.
The Great Journey
The Valar decided to invite the Elves to live in Valinor. Oromë brought three Elf leaders, Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë, to Valinor as ambassadors. When they returned to Middle-earth, they convinced many Elves to take the Great Journey to Valinor. Those who refused were called the Avari, meaning The Unwilling.
The Elves who accepted the invitation were called Eldar, meaning the People of the Stars. They followed Ingwë, Finwë, and Elwë, becoming the Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri. On their journey, some Teleri were afraid to cross the Misty Mountains. They turned back and stayed in the Anduin valleys, becoming the Nandor.
Oromë led the others over the mountains to Beleriand. There, Elwë got lost, and many Teleri stayed behind to look for him. The Vanyar and Noldor moved to a floating island, Tol Eressëa, which was moved to Valinor by Ulmo. Years later, Ulmo returned for the remaining Teleri. Without Elwë, many Teleri followed his brother Olwë to Valinor. But some Teleri stayed, still looking for Elwë, and others stayed by the shores, led by Círdan. These Elves later became known as the Sindar.
Matthew Dickerson notes that Tolkien changed his ideas about the Elves' groups and journeys many times. He says that the splitting of the Elves allowed Tolkien, who loved languages, to create two different but related languages: Quenya for the Eldar and Sindarin for the Sindar. Tolkien himself said his stories were made to create a world for his languages.
The Exile of the Noldor
In Valinor, Fëanor, son of Finwë, was the greatest of the Elves. He created the Silmarils, which held some of the light of the Two Trees of Valinor. After a long time, Melkor (who later became Morgoth, the Black Enemy) was released. He pretended to be good but secretly poisoned the minds of the Elves. Eventually, he killed Finwë and stole the Silmarils.
Fëanor and his seven sons then swore an oath to get the Silmarils back. They led a large army of the Noldor to Beleriand.
Wars in Beleriand
In Beleriand, Elwë was found and married Melian, a powerful spirit. He became the ruler of Beleriand, calling himself Thingol. After the First Battle of Beleriand, the Noldor arrived. They tried to surround Morgoth's fortress, Angband, but were eventually defeated. The Elves never fully recovered and lost their hidden kingdoms like Nargothrond, Doriath, and Gondolin.
When the Elves were pushed to the very south of Beleriand, Eärendil the Mariner, a half-elf, sailed to Valinor to ask the Valar for help. The Valar started the War of Wrath and finally defeated Morgoth.
Second and Third Ages
After the War of Wrath, the Valar asked the Elves to return to Valinor. Many went, but some stayed. In the Second Age, they founded new kingdoms like Lindon, Eregion, and Rhovanion (Mirkwood). Sauron, Morgoth's old servant, attacked them. With help from the Númenóreans, the Elves defeated Sauron. However, both the Noldorin Elf king, Gil-galad, and the Númenórean king, Elendil, were killed.
During the Second and Third Ages, Elves protected realms like Lothlórien, ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn. Rivendell was ruled by Elrond and home to the Elf-Lord Glorfindel. The Grey Havens were ruled by Círdan, who built ships for Elves to sail to Valinor. These realms were protected by the Three Rings of Power that the Elves held.
The Fourth Age
After the One Ring was destroyed, the power of the Three Rings ended. The Fourth Age, the Age of Men, began. Most Elves left Middle-earth for Valinor. Those who stayed slowly faded away, becoming a "rustic folk of dell and cave," as Galadriel said. This fading took thousands of years. In the modern world, rare sightings of these Elves might inspire folktales.
Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir, stayed in Lindon. Celeborn and other Elves from the Grey Havens also stayed for a while before leaving. Legolas started an Elf colony in Ithilien during King Elessar's reign. These Elves helped rebuild Gondor. After Elessar's death, Legolas sailed to Valinor, and all the Elves in Ithilien eventually followed him. Sam Gamgee also sailed from the Havens many years after Elrond.
In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", most Elves have already left Middle-earth. Elrond's garden in Rivendell is empty. Arwen goes to an empty Lothlórien, where she eventually dies.
What Are Elves Like?
Elves have a long pregnancy, about a year. By age 1, Elves can speak, walk, and dance. They reach their full height and become adults between 50 and 100 years old. Elves marry freely, only once, and for love. Their engagement lasts at least a year. Marriage involves exchanging vows and rings, and it's celebrated with a feast. Elves have few children, with long breaks between each child.
Elves, especially the Noldor, love to create things. They are skilled at smithwork, sculpture, music, and other arts. Both male and female Elves are equal. Females often focus on healing, while males go to war. This is because they believe taking a life makes it harder to preserve life. However, females can defend themselves, and many males are also skilled healers. Elves are great horse-riders, sometimes riding without saddles or bridles.
Elves are immortal, meaning they don't get old or tired. They can heal from wounds that would kill a human, but they can still be killed in battle. The spirits of dead Elves go to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. After a time of rest, their spirits get new bodies just like their old ones. If they don't die in battle, Elves eventually get tired of Middle-earth and want to go to Valinor. They often sail from the Grey Havens, where Círdan lives. Over a very long time, their immortal spirits can become too strong for their bodies, making them "bodiless." Eventually, all Elves will become invisible to human eyes, unless they choose to show themselves.
Elvish Languages
Tolkien created many languages for his Elves. He was very interested in languages, and he said his stories grew out of them. The languages were the first thing Tolkien ever created for his fantasy world. He started with what he called "Elfin" or "Qenya." This later became Quenya (High-elven) and Sindarin (Grey-elven). These are two of his most complete invented languages. Elves are also credited with creating the Tengwar (by Fëanor) and Cirth (by Daeron) writing systems.
Elves in Movies and Games
In Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies (2001–2003), Elves are shown as physically better than humans. They have sharper eyesight, better balance, and amazing aim.
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Dimitra Fimi, a Tolkien scholar, compared Jackson's Elves to Tolkien's. Tolkien's Elves are based on old Anglo-Saxon, Middle English, and Norse traditions, with some influence from Celtic fairies. Jackson's Elves, however, look more like the romanticized "Celtic" elves from the Celtic Revival. Fimi points out how Jackson shows Gildor Inglorion's Elves riding through the Shire "moving slowly and gracefully towards the West, accompanied by ethereal music." This is similar to John Duncan's 1911 painting The Riders of the Sidhe.
Elves in Popular Culture
Tolkien's Elves have greatly influenced how elves are shown in fantasy stories since the 1960s. Elves who speak an elvish language, similar to Tolkien's, became common non-human characters in high fantasy books and role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons. They are often shown as smart, loving nature, art, and music. They are usually wiser and more beautiful than humans. They are also often skilled archers and good at magic.
See also
In Spanish: Elfos (Tolkien) para niños
