Elrond

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Elrond the Half-elven (F.A. 525 - ?) is a fictional character of Middle-earth, created by fantasy author J. R. R. Tolkien. He is Lord of Rivendell, one of the mighty rulers of old that still remain in Middle-earth in its Third Age. His name means "Vault of Stars", "Star-dome", or "Elf of the Cave" (the exact meaning is uncertain as Tolkien gave different derivations in different places).

He is the son of Eärendil and Elwing, and a great-grandson of Lúthien, born in Beleriand in the First Age, making him well over 6,000 years old by the time of the events described in The Lord of the Rings. Because of his mixed blood he is considered (approximately) half-elven. Elrond's twin brother was Elros, Tar-Minyatur, the first High King of Númenor.

As well as being noble, wise, powerful and good, he seemed ageless in appearance. His face was fair and he had dark hair and grey eyes. At Rivendell he sought to preserve the lore and history of the Elves and of Middle-earth, and was also one of the greatest Healers.

1 Biography
2 Portrayal in adaptations
3 See also
4 External links

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Biography

Born at the refuge of the Mouths of Sirion soon before its destruction by the sons of Fëanor, Elrond and his brother, Elros, are captured alive. Their parents fear that they will be killed, but instead they are taken up by the brothers Maedhros and Maglor, who have pity and even cherish them.

Elrond goes to Lindon with the household of Gil-galad, the last High King of the Ñoldor, when Beleriand is destroyed at the end of the First Age, choosing (like his parents but unlike his brother) to be counted among the Elves when the choice of kindreds is given to him.

In the Second Age, he is sent to Eregion by Gil-galad, and after the destruction of Eregion, he flees into Eriador, where he founds Rivendell, one of the last remaining strongholds against Sauron, with the remaining Ñoldor of Eregion. Upon this occasion, Gil-galad entrusts Elrond with Vilya, one of the Three Rings of the Elves.

Near the end of the Second Age, he is Gil-galad's herald at the Battle of Dagorlad, where Sauron is defeated and "killed" by Gil-galad and Elendil (who were also killed) at the gates of his own citadel. In the year 109 of the Third Age, he weds Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel. In the year 130, the twins Elladan and Elrohir are born, and in 241 a daughter, Arwen Undómiel.

He leads the Council of Elrond on the 25th of October of the year 3018, at which it is decided that the One Ring must be destroyed.

Elrond remains in Rivendell until the destruction of both the Ring and Sauron, when he travels to Minas Tirith to see Arwen wed Aragorn, King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor. On September 29, 3021 of the Third Age, aged approximately 6,520 years, Elrond leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea with the other Ring-bearers, never to return.

Elrond's life in Middle-earth is characterized by both duty and loss. He loses his parents at an early age, and he loses his brother when Elros chooses the fate of Men. Later, he loses his mentor, Gil-galad, in battle. He begins a family of his own with Celebrían, but that, too, is sundered when she leaves Middle-earth T.A. 2509, after being attacked by Orcs in the Misty Mountains. All the while he lives with the uncertainty that his children have the same choice that he and Elros faced -- to accept the immortal life of the Elves or the mortal existence of Men. He loses Arwen to that choice after the Ring War, and even as he sails to reunite at long last with his wife, the fate of his twin sons remains undecided.

What makes Elrond truly remarkable is his tenacity, and his sense of duty to the race of Men and to Middle-earth. He could have left with his wife, and perhaps if he had done so, his children would have gone with him. But he stayed, and continued to aid in the fight against Sauron's darkness. Had he not done so, Aragorn's fate, and perhaps that of all Men, might have been very different.

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Portrayal in adaptations

Cyril Ritchard voiced the role of Elrond in the 1977 Rankin/Bass animated film of The Hobbit, created for television. In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film of The Lord of the Rings, Elrond was voiced by André Morell. When Rankin/Bass attempted to finish the story (left incomplete by Bakshi and his financial backers) with The Return of the King in 1980, voice actor Paul Frees played Elrond, Morell having died the year of the first film's release.

Hugh Dickson played Elrond in BBC Radio's 1981 serialisation of The Lord of the Rings.

Image:Elrondwar11.jpg In the movie trilogy by Peter Jackson, Elrond was portrayed by Hugo Weaving, who has also portrayed Agent Smith in the Matrix Trilogy.

Elrond's personality in the movies is somewhat different from his portrayal in Tolkien's novel — he even goes so far as to try to convince Arwen to go to Valinor. (There is also no indication that she is not an only child.) He seems to be bitter towards Men, including Aragorn, in spite of some of his ancestors belonging to this race. This version resembles his ancestor Thingol, father of Lúthien.

In the books, Elrond actually raises Aragorn as his own son, after his father Arathorn dies. In that context, Elrond's condition that Aragorn simply become King before marrying his daughter is a gracious gesture (especially in comparison to the extravagant demands of Thingol, his historical counterpart) and there is never any indication that he feels anything but love for his foster-son.

Also, in The Return of the King, Elrond himself meets with Aragorn at Dunharrow and tells him to take the Paths of the Dead. In the novel, his sons Elladan and Elrohir, with a company of Rangers led by Halbarad, meet Aragorn on the road from Isengard to Helm's Deep, prior to the Muster of Rohan. Elrohir delivers Aragorn a message from Elrond, reminding him of the Paths of the Dead. David Bowie was considered for the role.

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