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Elrond Peredhil, Lord of Rivendell
Honorable knight of Middle Earth
"The Face of Elrond was ageless, neither old nor young, though in it was written the memory of many things both glad and sorrowful. His hair was dark as the shadows of twilight, and upon it was set a circlet of silver; his eyes were grey as a clear evening, and in them was a light like the light of the stars. Venerable he seemed as a king crowned with many winters, and yet hale as a tried warrior in the fulness of his strength. He was the Lord of Rivendell and mighty among both Elves and men."
- Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien, chapter "Many Meetings" of the second book, page 299 of the Ballatine seventy-second printing, April 1981.
We all know pretty much the basics about Elrond Peredhil. He's a dark-heaired, grey-eyed, half-elven hottie from Imladris (aka Rivendell). But have you ever wondered how old he really is? I did, and though I couldn't find an exact date or time in my studies, I have a theory that he was born sometime in the later years of the First Age. And that makes him one old hot elf.
Hi parents were Earendil, who was an elf woman, and Elwing, who was a man of the Edain. Two sons were born to them: Elrond (of course) and Elros. (They were twins!) The Valar gave them each a choice between mortality and immortality. Well, Elrond chose to remain an Elf and Elros became the first king of the Numenor, and was called Tar-Minyatur. Anyway, back to Elrond. ^_^ In choosing the Elven-kind, he became a master of wisdom and was granted the same grace as the High Elves.
Now you know a bit about his family, but now comes the confusing part. Any Elf that is that old carries a lot of tales... and that's what I am going to try and talk about here. Of course, this will only be a glimpse at his life because it doesn't exactly go into depth. If Tolkien had gone into depth about Elrond's life, our Elven lord would have had a series of his own. ^_^ Not a bad idea...
Anyway, moving on. Before Elrond married the daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, a lot happened. And from what I can see, it mostly picked up in the Second Age. As you know, (or should know), there were many wars in Middle Earth. They happened way before our four beloved little hobbits were born. Ah yes, the first war of the Ring. Of course, I won't go into depth about it, but I will mention Elrond's parts. The first war began in the year 1693 of the Second Age. Elves and Sauron never got along. Anyway, in the year 1695, Gil-galad sent Elrond to Eregion. Alas, our dark-haired hottie ended up retreating in 1697, and the remnant of the Noldor went with him. On the bright side, this is when they founded Imladris, which was used as a refuge.
Skipping ahead to the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which was formed in 3430. And of course, the war and the Second Age ended in 3441, when Sauron was defeated. However, Gil-galad and Elendil both died in battle. Somewhere in all of this, Gil-galad gave Elrond Vilya, the mightiest of the three Elven rings. It is also known as the Ring of Wind, and it is gold with a blue stone. Anyway, it is in the Third Age that Elrond married Celebrian, in the year 100. Such an adorable couple, no? ^_^ 39 years later, their twin sons Elladan and Elrohir were born. It was in the year 241 that Arwen was born.
For a while, Elrond and his family were not really mentioned, but in the year 1976, the Arnor began giving their heirlooms to Elrond for safekeeping. Poor old Elrond! XD However, grief struck our beloved Elrond when, in 2509, Celebrian was attacked by Orcs. Her sons came to her rescue, but she had been tormented and poisoned with a dart. Elrond was able to heal her body, but the joy of Middle Earth was lost to her. So in 2510, Celebrian went to the Grey Havens and sailed West, never to be seen again. I'm not sure if Elrond met back up with her when he went West, but all in all, it's a sad story indeed.
Luckily for Elrond, he receives a little gift named Aragorn in 2933, when the boy's father (Arathorn II) was killed. Elrond adopted him and gave Aragorn the name Estel (which means Hope) and concealed his ancestry from him. However, as the boy grew into a man, Elrond knew that "Estel" had to know the truth. So, in the year 2951, "Estel" became Aragorn once again. This is also the year that Aragorn met his bride-to-be (Arwen) in the woods of Imladris. This is also the year Aragorn became a Ranger.
And now I begin to draw an end to Elrond's story. It is in October that the Fellowship of the Ring was founded in Rivendell, and after that, Elrond's part in the story is brief. After Sauron and the Ring are destroyed, Elrond brought Arwen to Gondor and allowed Aragorn to marry her. This was very heart-breaking for Elrond, yet he was also happy for his daughter and his new son-in-law. This wedding took place on Mid-Year's Day. On Spetember 29, Elrond, Galadriel, and many other Elves met Frodo and Sam. Together, the large group went to Grey Havens and Sam watched them sail off West.
And that is the end. I wish I knew more so I could put things in between the important dates, but alas, more studying and reading must be done. I found most of this information in the Appendices of the "The Return of the King," and also from reading the series.
Extra: The name Elrond itself has a few meanings, my favorites being "Vault of Heaven" and "Starry Sky."
This bio has been brought to you by Chibi Glorfy (Glorfindel). May the Valar always shine on you!
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