Elrond
| House / Order | The House of Elrond; descended from Eärendil, Lúthien, and the Kings of the Edain |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Half-elven (counted among the Elves) |
| Status | Departed |
| Origin | Rivendell (Imladris), Eriador |
| Born | F.A. 532 (First Age) |
| Died | Sailed over Sea, 29 September T.A. 3021 |
| Weapon | Vilya, the Ring of Air (greatest of the Three) |
| Fate | Bore Vilya, founded and kept Rivendell; sailed into the West at the end of the Third Age |
| Portrayed by | Hugo Weaving |
Elrond Half-elven was the Master of Rivendell (Imladris), one of the mightiest and wisest of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth in the Third Age, and the bearer of Vilya, the greatest of the Three Rings of the Elves. Loremaster, healer, and counsellor, he held his hidden valley as a house of refuge and learning for the Free Peoples across three Ages.
Of mixed Elven and mortal descent, Elrond stood at the meeting-point of the great tales: son of Eärendil the Mariner, descendant of Lúthien and Beren, herald of the last High King, and foster-father of Aragorn. It was in his house that the Council of Elrond resolved to destroy the One Ring.
Origins
Elrond was born in the First Age, son of Eärendil the Mariner and Elwing, and so descended from all three houses of the Edain and from the Elven-kings of old, including Lúthien Tinúviel herself. With his twin brother Elros he was carried off as a child in the strife over the Silmaril, but was raised by Maglor son of Fëanor. When the war ended, the Valar granted the Half-elven a choice of kindred. Elros chose mortality and became the first King of Númenor; Elrond chose to be counted among the Elves, and so was granted life as long as the world endured.
Biography
The Second Age
Through the Second Age Elrond served the High King Gil-galad as his herald. When Sauron, as Annatar, betrayed the Elven-smiths and overran Eregion, Elrond led the survivors north and founded Rivendell in a deep valley of Eriador, which became a stronghold and place of healing. At the end of the Age he marched with the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and stood at the Battle of Dagorlad and the siege of Barad-dûr. He was present when Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, and counselled — in vain — that it be destroyed at once in the fire of Mount Doom.
Master of Rivendell
For the long centuries of the Third Age Elrond kept Rivendell as the chief house of lore in the West and bore Vilya, the Ring of Air, with which he preserved and protected the valley. He wed Celebrían, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn, and they had three children: the twins Elladan and Elrohir and the daughter Arwen. When Celebrían was waylaid and tormented by orcs, Elrond healed her body but could not heal her spirit, and she departed over Sea — a grief that long shadowed his house.
The War of the Ring
- Main article: Council of Elrond
Elrond fostered the orphaned Aragorn as his own, hiding the boy's lineage; but his love for him was crossed by Arwen's love, for Elrond would yield his daughter only to a king, and her choice meant her mortality and their eternal parting. When the One Ring came again to light, it was to Rivendell that Frodo was brought, and Elrond who drew the Morgul-knife splinter from his wound. He summoned the Council of Elrond, where the history of the Ring was laid bare and the choice made to destroy it, and he named the Fellowship of the Ring — though he set no binding oath upon its members.
Departure
With Sauron overthrown and Aragorn crowned, Elrond gave Arwen to the King and his own time in Middle-earth came to its end. The power of the Three Rings failed with the unmaking of the One, and the Elven realms began to fade. On 29 September T.A. 3021 Elrond passed over Sea from the Grey Havens, bearing Vilya, in the company of Gandalf, Galadriel, Bilbo, and Frodo — sundered for ever from his daughter, who had chosen the mortal world.
Character
Elrond is grave, kindly, and ancient beyond reckoning, "as kind as summer" yet stern in judgement, bearing the memory of countless sorrows. He is the great host and counsellor of the West, a healer of body and a keeper of lore, and the living link between the heroic past and the present struggle. His personal grief — the loss of his brother to mortality, his wife to the Sea, and at last his daughter to the same mortal doom that took Elros — gives his wisdom its weight of melancholy.
Relationships
- Arwen — his daughter, whose choice of mortality sundered her from him.
- Aragorn — his foster-son, whom he raised and to whom he set a king's price for Arwen's hand.
- Celebrían — his wife, who departed over Sea after her torment by orcs.
- Elladan and Elrohir — his sons, who rode with the Grey Company.
- Elros — his twin brother, who chose mortality and founded Númenor.
- Gil-galad — the last High King, whom Elrond served as herald.
- Galadriel and Gandalf — fellow keepers of the Three Rings.
Appearances
In Peter Jackson's film trilogy (2001–2003), Elrond was portrayed by Hugo Weaving. The films make Elrond more openly resentful of Men and reluctant about Aragorn; the books present him as a steadfast supporter of Aragorn's cause, his reluctance bound up only in the cost to Arwen.
Quotes
This quest may be attempted by the weak with as much hope as the strong. Yet such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.
I will not take the Ring to wield it, nor to keep it secret.