10 Facts About Elrond That You Probably Didn't Know

 

I have said many times before that I am a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings books and movies, so I wanted to do a blog post related to it. 

If you have read the books, watched the movies, like reading, or just like learning about random things to tell your friends and family then this post is for you! 

I am sure that you have probably heard about Elrond before. He is the master of Rivendell (also known as the Last Homely House, or Imladris) but you probably don't know a lot about him. He doesn't get much screen time and even then, not much is said about him.

I did not look up these facts, I researched the books to get the information. 

FUN FACT: Elrond's name means star-dome 🌟.  

I am sorry if this post is too nerdy for you to understand. 

1. He Married Galadriel's Daughter

This probably isn't the most widely known fact about him, especially because some people think he is older than Galadriel, but he is Galadriel and Celeborn's son-in-law. Celebrían (their daughter) is his wife. She unfortunately not even mentioned in the movies, while there is a reason why she isn't in them I don't understand why they didn't mention her.
So, to answer the question if you have ever asked this, yes Elrond does have a wife and no he is not older than Galadriel.

2. He Has a Ring of Power 

Elrond is one of the three Elves left in Middle Earth with a Ring of Power. Vilya, the Ring of Air or the Ring of Sapphire was originally in the possession of the High Elven King Gil-galad but was then given to Elrond. I think the ring was probably given to him right before Gil-glad died in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves during his fight with Sauron. After the war in the First Age not many people even knew that he had the ring because it would be dangerous if Sauron ever found out. 

3. Arwen isn't His Only Child

It's shocking right? The movies make it seem like Arwen was the only member of his family. When actually she the youngest, she has two older brothers, and their names are Elladan and Elrohir (I think they are twins). They mostly helped the Dúnedain or Ranger's from the North. Technically they should have been in The Return of the King movie because Aragorn called for them along with the rest of the Rangers during the War of the Ring. But unfortunately, none of the Rangers or the Sons of Elrond made it into the cinemas. 

4. He Hid His Daughter for Years 

I know it sounds weird but it's true. 

For twenty plus years he kept his daughter Arwen away from Aragorn. One of the major ways he did that was after his wife Celebrían left for the Undying Lands, he sent Arwen to live with her grandmother (Galadriel) and grandfather (Celeborn) at their home in Lothoríen. 

He did this because is great grandparents had a tragic love story involving his grandmother being an Elf (Luthien) and his grandfather being a human (Beren). Their story is very confusing, and I think they both died and then Luthien wanted to become a human, so they lived another life in some forest where no one could visit them. Then they died a mortal death (both of them, Luthien had to become a human) and they did all of that just so they could spend the afterlife in the same place (the Elves and humans have different places that they go to) after they die.

His plan to "hide" Arwen worked pretty well until one day when she was actually in Rivendell, Aragorn happened to be there because he was taking a break from being a Ranger and they met. Love at first sight and I am sure you all know what happened after.  

5. He Could have Been a Mortal

At the end of the First Age the Valar gave Elrond and Elros (it means Star-foam) the choice to become human or to stay immortal as an Elf, this was because they were related to Beren (a human) and Lúthien (and elf). His brother chose to become a human and live with humans. Elrond chose to stay an Elf and live for eternity unless he was killed. Because of his choice he was gifted with wisdom.  

6. His Brother was the First King of Numenor 

As said Elros chose to become a mortal. After making this choice he went on to found and become the first King of Númenor and changed his name to Tar-Minyatur (which I think means high tower of power/mastery). Even though he became a mortal he was gifted with a lifespan much longer than an average man. His family line became the royal line of Numenorean kings. 

7. He is Related to Aragorn 

In the fact above I stated that Elrond's brother chose to be human and became the first King of Numenor. In the Third Age, Aragorn the son of Arathorn, is Isildor's heir and first in line to the throne of Gondor (yes, I know he becomes the King of Gondor, but the royal family trees of Numenor and Gondor are intertwined [also the island of Numenor sunk into the sea]). Keeping all of this in mind Elrond is a very distant uncle of Aragorn's. I did the math and looked through the Numenorean royal family line in the Appendix of The Return of the King and I think Elrond is Aragorn's great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, uncle. That means that Elrond is Aragorn's great uncle 71 times. This also means that Aragorn is Arwen's cousin 71 times removed. 

8. It Makes Sense Why He Didn't Want Arwen to Stay in Middle Earth 

Elrond's children also had the choice of whether they wanted to be immortal or not. The only thing different about their decision (especially Arwen) was that it would determine whether they went to the Undying Lands or not. If they chose to be mortal, they would be eternally separated from the rest of their family. Elrond didn't want that to happen, he had already lost his brother in this way, his dad had left for Valinor hundreds of years before and never returned, and his mom jumped into the sea to avoid giving the Silmaril that she had away, and Ulmo the sea god turned her into a white bird. Considering all of that he has a pretty good reason for opposing her marriage to Aragorn. 

9. His Wife is Not Dead 

I am sure you are wondering who Celebrían is. She is the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn and the wife of Elrond. Unfortunately for us she doesn't make it into the movie because she wasn't in Middle Earth at the time. Years before she was on her way to Lothloríen when she was captured by Orcs, tortured and received a poisonous wound. Because of this she was sent ahead to the Undying Lands. 

10. His Parents Sailed Across the Sea Close to Valinor

Hundreds of years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Elrond's dad: Eärendil  sailed across the sea to Valinor to beg the Valar to have mercy on the Elves in their war with Melkor. 

Because you probably don't understand all of this let me explain. 

The Elves had gone against what the Valar and Illúvatar had told them to do. Then Melkor (Morgoth), who was Sauron's master (he taught him everything), started a war with the Elves. Eärendil knew that they were losing badly and couldn't win on their own, so he took a ship and sailed as close to Valinor as he could (using the Silmaril Elwing gave him as a light). Eärendil then pleaded with the Valar on behalf of all Elves. His plan worked and the Elves got the help they needed. But in return the Valar took the Silmaril and cast it into the sky as a star and Eärendil himself was not allowed to return to Middle Earth because he had seen the Valar.

I hoped you enjoyed this piece of the nerdiness.

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If you need clarification about anything in the post, you can shoot me an email at hookedonmybooks@gmail.com.