Ithrynluin
10-11-2003, 03:09 AM
Galadriel
...greatest of the Noldor...
...except Fëanor MAYBE ;), though she was wiser than he, and her wisdom increased with the long years.
Lady G, as I like to call her, is the greatest of Elven women, and my favourite character in all of Arda. She has a unique status among Elven women. She is not a passive observer , as most of Tolkien's female characters are, but a leader. In the last month of his life, Tolkien commented on Galadriel's commanding stature in Valinor already - 'the equal if unlike in endowments of Fëanor.
Passages describing Galadriel, both physically and mentally:
...she grew to be tall beyond the measure even of the women of the Noldor; she was strong of body, mind, and will, a match for both the loremasters and the athletes of the Eldar in the days of their youth. Even among the Eldar she was accounted beautiful, and her hair was held a marvel unmatched. It was golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold was touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother; and the Eldar said that the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, had been snared in her tresses.
. She was proud, strong, and selfwilled, as were all the descendants of Finwë save Finarfin; and like her brother Finrod, of all her kin the nearest to her heart, she had dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage. Yet deeper still there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget. From her earliest years she had a marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Fëanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own.
She did not get her mother-name – Nerwen (meaning 'man maiden') - for nothing. Eärwen gave her this name because of her height and great strength of body and will. Her other names are Artanis, 'noble-woman', and Al(a)táriel (or the more common Sindarin rendition of this name – Galadriel), meaning 'maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance' or 'Maiden crowned with gleaming hair'.
Galadriel is of very mixed origin, as are all the children of Finarfin. She is 1/2 Telerin, since Finarfin married Eärwen of Alqualonde, the daughter of Olwë brother of Thingol. She is 1/4 Vanyarin from her grandmother Indis. And finally, she is 1/4 Noldorin. Despite the predominant Telerin heritage, she is always considered to be a Noldo, and her pride and willfullness confirm her to indeed belong to the Deep Elves. Yet deep within her there resided the 'noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar'.
It is hinted at that Fëanor first got the idea of making a Silmaril when he first beheld the hair of Galadriel:
Many thought that this saying first gave to Fëanor the thought of imprisoning and blending the light of the Trees that later took shape in his hands as the Silmarils. For Feanor beheld the hair of Galadriel with wonder and delight. He begged three times for a tress, but Galadriel would not give him even one hair. These two kinsfolk, the greatest of the Eldar of Valinor, were unfriends for ever.
Galadriel's attitude about Fëanor and the rebellion of the Noldor:
and it is said here that so far from joining in Fëanor's revolt she was in every way opposed to him. She did indeed wish to depart from Valinor and to go into the wide world of Middle-earth for the exercise of her talents; for "being brilliant in mind and swift in action she had early absorbed all of what she was capable of the teaching which the Valar thought fit to give the Eldar," and she felt confined in the tutelage of Aman. This desire of Galadriel's was, it seems, known to Manwë, and he had not forbidden her; but nor had she been given formal leave to depart.
The history of Galadriel’s hubby Celeborn is a tad complicated. I will not get into it here, but will only touch upon the more relevant aspects concerning Galadriel herself.
In one version, the one that is more widely known and which is used in the Silmarillion, Galadriel departs with the rest of the Noldor, and is one of their leader, the only woman of the Noldor to stand tall and valiant that day. She meets Celeborn in Doriath and weds him (he is the grandson of Elmo, the brother of Elwë Thingol).
In the other more recent version, Galadriel meets Celeborn in Aman already. Here he is a prince of Alqualondë, the grandson of Olwë (Galadriel is also the granddaughter of Olwë). I do not think this is how Tolkien intended it to be, as the Elves did not wed such close kin. They depart separately from the rest of the Noldor, using Celeborn's ship and reaching Middle Earth sooner than Fëanor, sailing into havens where Círdan was lord.
It is said that Galadriel didn't see much hope in the war against Melkor, and together with Celeborn they decided that it would be wisest to establish a foothold further east beyond the Ered Luin:
Unfinished Tales; The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
In the years after they did not join in the war against Angband, which they judged to be hopeless under the ban of the Valar and without their aid; and their counsel was to withdraw from Beleriand and to build up a power to the eastward (whence they feared that Morgoth would draw reinforcement), befriending and teaching the Dark Elves and Men of those regions. But such a policy having no hope of acceptance among the Elves of Beleriand, Galadriel and Celeborn departed over Ered Lindon before the end of the First Age; and when they received the permission of the Valar to return into the West they rejected it.
There were many Noldor in their following, together with Grey-elves and Green-elves.
Celeborn and Galadriel came to be regarded as Lord and Lady of the Eldar in Eriador, including the wandering companies of Nandorin origin who had never passed west over Ered Lindon and come down into Ossiriand
In one version of the story, Amrod is said to have been their son, though this is highly unlikely.
Galadriel becomes aware of Sauron:
But eventually Galadriel became aware that Sauron again, as in the ancient days of the captivity of Melkor [see The Silmarillion p. 51], had been left behind. Or rather, since Sauron had as yet no single name, and his operations had not been perceived to proceed from a single evil spirit, prime servant of Melkor, she perceived that there was an evil controlling purpose abroad in the world, and that it seemed to proceed from a source further to the East, beyond Eriador and the Misty Mountains.
Celeborn and Galadriel therefore went eastwards, about the year 700 of the Second Age, and established the (primarily but by no means solely) Noldorin realm of Eregion. It may be that Galadriel chose it because she knew of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria).
Galadriel was more far-sighted in this than Celeborn; and she perceived from the beginning that Middle-earth could not be saved from "the residue of evil" that Morgoth had left behind him save by a union of all the peoples who were in their way and in their measure opposed to him. She looked upon the Dwarves also with the eye of a commander, seeing in them the finest warriors to pit against the Orcs. Moreover Galadriel was a Noldo, and she had a natural sympathy with their minds and their passionate love of crafts of hand, a sympathy much greater than that found among many of the Eldar: the Dwarves were "the Children of Aulë," and Galadriel, like others of the Noldor, had been a pupil of Aulë and Yavanna in Valinor.
At this point, Celebrimbor emerges. The power of Celeborn and Galadriel grows, and she makes contact with 'Lórinand', probably assisted in this by her friendship with the Dwarves of Moria. Many Noldor and Sindar come to dwell there also.
Galadriel, striving to counteract the machinations of Sauron, was successful in Lórinand
When Sauron forges the One Ring, Celebrimbor goes to Galadriel for counsel. She advises him to hide the rings, and receives Nenya, the Ring of Water, into her keeping. It is said that this Ring of Adamant increased her latent longing for the Sea. After Sauron is initially defeated,
the sea-longing grew so strong in her that (though she deemed it her duty to remain in Middle-earth while Sauron was still unconquered) she determined to leave Lórinand and to dwell near the sea.
...
But at some later time Galadriel and Celeborn together with Celebrían departed from Imladris and went to the little-inhabited lands between the mouth of the Gwathló and Ethir Anduin.There they dwelt in Belfalas, at the place that was afterwards called Dol Amroth.
...
It was not until far on in the Third Age, when Amroth was lost and Lórinand was in peril, that Galadriel returned there, in the year 1981
...greatest of the Noldor...
...except Fëanor MAYBE ;), though she was wiser than he, and her wisdom increased with the long years.
Lady G, as I like to call her, is the greatest of Elven women, and my favourite character in all of Arda. She has a unique status among Elven women. She is not a passive observer , as most of Tolkien's female characters are, but a leader. In the last month of his life, Tolkien commented on Galadriel's commanding stature in Valinor already - 'the equal if unlike in endowments of Fëanor.
Passages describing Galadriel, both physically and mentally:
...she grew to be tall beyond the measure even of the women of the Noldor; she was strong of body, mind, and will, a match for both the loremasters and the athletes of the Eldar in the days of their youth. Even among the Eldar she was accounted beautiful, and her hair was held a marvel unmatched. It was golden like the hair of her father and of her foremother Indis, but richer and more radiant, for its gold was touched by some memory of the starlike silver of her mother; and the Eldar said that the light of the Two Trees, Laurelin and Telperion, had been snared in her tresses.
. She was proud, strong, and selfwilled, as were all the descendants of Finwë save Finarfin; and like her brother Finrod, of all her kin the nearest to her heart, she had dreams of far lands and dominions that might be her own to order as she would without tutelage. Yet deeper still there dwelt in her the noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar, and a reverence for the Valar that she could not forget. From her earliest years she had a marvellous gift of insight into the minds of others, but judged them with mercy and understanding, and she withheld her goodwill from none save only Fëanor. In him she perceived a darkness that she hated and feared, though she did not perceive that the shadow of the same evil had fallen upon the minds of all the Noldor, and upon her own.
She did not get her mother-name – Nerwen (meaning 'man maiden') - for nothing. Eärwen gave her this name because of her height and great strength of body and will. Her other names are Artanis, 'noble-woman', and Al(a)táriel (or the more common Sindarin rendition of this name – Galadriel), meaning 'maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance' or 'Maiden crowned with gleaming hair'.
Galadriel is of very mixed origin, as are all the children of Finarfin. She is 1/2 Telerin, since Finarfin married Eärwen of Alqualonde, the daughter of Olwë brother of Thingol. She is 1/4 Vanyarin from her grandmother Indis. And finally, she is 1/4 Noldorin. Despite the predominant Telerin heritage, she is always considered to be a Noldo, and her pride and willfullness confirm her to indeed belong to the Deep Elves. Yet deep within her there resided the 'noble and generous spirit of the Vanyar'.
It is hinted at that Fëanor first got the idea of making a Silmaril when he first beheld the hair of Galadriel:
Many thought that this saying first gave to Fëanor the thought of imprisoning and blending the light of the Trees that later took shape in his hands as the Silmarils. For Feanor beheld the hair of Galadriel with wonder and delight. He begged three times for a tress, but Galadriel would not give him even one hair. These two kinsfolk, the greatest of the Eldar of Valinor, were unfriends for ever.
Galadriel's attitude about Fëanor and the rebellion of the Noldor:
and it is said here that so far from joining in Fëanor's revolt she was in every way opposed to him. She did indeed wish to depart from Valinor and to go into the wide world of Middle-earth for the exercise of her talents; for "being brilliant in mind and swift in action she had early absorbed all of what she was capable of the teaching which the Valar thought fit to give the Eldar," and she felt confined in the tutelage of Aman. This desire of Galadriel's was, it seems, known to Manwë, and he had not forbidden her; but nor had she been given formal leave to depart.
The history of Galadriel’s hubby Celeborn is a tad complicated. I will not get into it here, but will only touch upon the more relevant aspects concerning Galadriel herself.
In one version, the one that is more widely known and which is used in the Silmarillion, Galadriel departs with the rest of the Noldor, and is one of their leader, the only woman of the Noldor to stand tall and valiant that day. She meets Celeborn in Doriath and weds him (he is the grandson of Elmo, the brother of Elwë Thingol).
In the other more recent version, Galadriel meets Celeborn in Aman already. Here he is a prince of Alqualondë, the grandson of Olwë (Galadriel is also the granddaughter of Olwë). I do not think this is how Tolkien intended it to be, as the Elves did not wed such close kin. They depart separately from the rest of the Noldor, using Celeborn's ship and reaching Middle Earth sooner than Fëanor, sailing into havens where Círdan was lord.
It is said that Galadriel didn't see much hope in the war against Melkor, and together with Celeborn they decided that it would be wisest to establish a foothold further east beyond the Ered Luin:
Unfinished Tales; The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
In the years after they did not join in the war against Angband, which they judged to be hopeless under the ban of the Valar and without their aid; and their counsel was to withdraw from Beleriand and to build up a power to the eastward (whence they feared that Morgoth would draw reinforcement), befriending and teaching the Dark Elves and Men of those regions. But such a policy having no hope of acceptance among the Elves of Beleriand, Galadriel and Celeborn departed over Ered Lindon before the end of the First Age; and when they received the permission of the Valar to return into the West they rejected it.
There were many Noldor in their following, together with Grey-elves and Green-elves.
Celeborn and Galadriel came to be regarded as Lord and Lady of the Eldar in Eriador, including the wandering companies of Nandorin origin who had never passed west over Ered Lindon and come down into Ossiriand
In one version of the story, Amrod is said to have been their son, though this is highly unlikely.
Galadriel becomes aware of Sauron:
But eventually Galadriel became aware that Sauron again, as in the ancient days of the captivity of Melkor [see The Silmarillion p. 51], had been left behind. Or rather, since Sauron had as yet no single name, and his operations had not been perceived to proceed from a single evil spirit, prime servant of Melkor, she perceived that there was an evil controlling purpose abroad in the world, and that it seemed to proceed from a source further to the East, beyond Eriador and the Misty Mountains.
Celeborn and Galadriel therefore went eastwards, about the year 700 of the Second Age, and established the (primarily but by no means solely) Noldorin realm of Eregion. It may be that Galadriel chose it because she knew of the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (Moria).
Galadriel was more far-sighted in this than Celeborn; and she perceived from the beginning that Middle-earth could not be saved from "the residue of evil" that Morgoth had left behind him save by a union of all the peoples who were in their way and in their measure opposed to him. She looked upon the Dwarves also with the eye of a commander, seeing in them the finest warriors to pit against the Orcs. Moreover Galadriel was a Noldo, and she had a natural sympathy with their minds and their passionate love of crafts of hand, a sympathy much greater than that found among many of the Eldar: the Dwarves were "the Children of Aulë," and Galadriel, like others of the Noldor, had been a pupil of Aulë and Yavanna in Valinor.
At this point, Celebrimbor emerges. The power of Celeborn and Galadriel grows, and she makes contact with 'Lórinand', probably assisted in this by her friendship with the Dwarves of Moria. Many Noldor and Sindar come to dwell there also.
Galadriel, striving to counteract the machinations of Sauron, was successful in Lórinand
When Sauron forges the One Ring, Celebrimbor goes to Galadriel for counsel. She advises him to hide the rings, and receives Nenya, the Ring of Water, into her keeping. It is said that this Ring of Adamant increased her latent longing for the Sea. After Sauron is initially defeated,
the sea-longing grew so strong in her that (though she deemed it her duty to remain in Middle-earth while Sauron was still unconquered) she determined to leave Lórinand and to dwell near the sea.
...
But at some later time Galadriel and Celeborn together with Celebrían departed from Imladris and went to the little-inhabited lands between the mouth of the Gwathló and Ethir Anduin.There they dwelt in Belfalas, at the place that was afterwards called Dol Amroth.
...
It was not until far on in the Third Age, when Amroth was lost and Lórinand was in peril, that Galadriel returned there, in the year 1981