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Ah, a complex issue! Here's my take on the matter.

There's one substantial text concerning the Elessar in Unfinished Tales, which purposely presents two internal histories, and the matter gets confused because of an external revision as well (Celebrimbor's history). There is also a three sentence bit of text at the end.

The text is described as a 'very rough manuscript' and 'in the first stage of composition'. It might also be of note that CJRT connects it with 'Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn', itself a 'short and hasty outline, very roughly composed.' -- which also puts it later than the 'Maedros note', and possibly somewhere in the later 1950s.

The earlier idea is that of the 'Maedros note' found in Quenta Silmarillion. At the top of a page Tolkien pencilled: 'The Green Stone of Feanor given by Maidros to Fingon' and CJRT comments that this can hardly be other than a reference to the Elessar, Tolkien's early thoughts on giving the jewel a history after writing The Lord of the Rings proper.

But later JRRT writes the text we find in Unfinished Tales. Keeping in mind its rough nature... 

One Elessar: Enerdhil makes the Jewel and Gandalf brings it back to Middle-earth. Gandalf's statements imply that Galadriel should keep the Jewel until Aragorn (as it turns out) comes to receive it.

However Galadriel already has Nenya by the time Gandalf arrives in Middle-earth, and has had it for long years before this, so why should she: 'grieve in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade; and my heart yearns, remembering trees and grass that do not die.'

Why not use Nenya

And actually in the next version, it is said Galadriel needed the Elessar no more upon receiving Nenya.

Another problem, noted by Hammond and Scull: since Galadriel gave the jewel to her daughter: 'thus the tale seems to suggest that there was a breach of trust, in that Galadriel did not keep the Elessar for the one destined to receive it.' H&S, Reader's Guide. p. 377

Hmmm.

Two Elessars: Enerdhil makes the first one, Celebrimbor the second; and Galadriel receives the Elessar before she receives Nenya, and gives it to Celebrian (with no statement from Gandalf here, of course).

Here the 'three sentence text' might be notable, because in it Tolkien possibly has decided that there is really only one internal tale, or only one version told in Middle-earth. Granted the note is very brief, and maybe that is the reason why it seems to discount a variant history, but of the first stone it is simply stated: 'But that passed away' as if there was no longer a question of another tale. I wonder if Tolkien had realized that the 'One Elessar (Gandalf)' version was too problematic even within the context of two internal tales.

The brief text raises another element: Enerdhil is seemingly to be replaced by Celebrimbor, who is here a jewel-smith in Gondolin, noting that he was from Gondolin in the unrevised version of the text titled Concerning Galadriel and Celeborn too -- 'rather than one of the Feanorians' (CJRT, commentary, The History of Galadriel And Celeborn).

This is an external factor, as Celebrimbor becomes a Feanorian in the 1960s in the revised version of The Lord of the Rings. Thus, was Celebrimbor, now certainly a Feanorian, still meant to be a jewel-smith of Gondolin? This seems doubtful to me.

What some websites might do is replace Enerdhil back into the history of Middle-earth, despite that he was displaced by Celebrimbor -- again, because some might be guessing that the Celebrimbor of the 1960s would not have been a jewel-smith in Gondolin.

So Enerdhil 'reappears'? or does he? Is the Gandalf version meant to be an internal puzzle and meant to be problematic with respect to The Lord of the Rings -- or is it just an external mistake, possibly corrected in a very brief statement, maybe after Tolkien realized Galadriel would have Nenya by the time the Istari arrived in Middle-earth.

I doubt that Tolkien imagined everything he jotted down in his private papers was going to possibly be considered 'history', especially if hailing from rough drafts for example, but that has become a somewhat unique part of discussing Middle-earth.


-- Edited by Galin on Tuesday 22nd of September 2009 09:13:55 PM

Thanks to both of you.

1. Anorlas, I think I also prefer the version with Gandalf returning the Elfstone to Middle Earth the best. Do you recommend the Reader's Companion? It sounds like an interesting book.

2. Ah, Galin, I was hoping that you would reply to this thread. We can always count on you for a very thorough, very well-researched answer. Clearly this is an even more complex and convoluted issue than I originally thought. I had never even considered the idea that Galadriel possessed Nenya and thus had no purposeful reason for "needing" the Elfstone to heal the ills of Middle Earth, but once you pointed it out, I agree that it doesn't make much sense.

Based on what I've gathered so far, I think I have a great preference for the version where Mithrandir returns the Elfstone from Valinor as a token from Yavanna that the Valar have not forsaken Middle Earth. I find this series of events more plausible than the other possibilities. It also renders the problem of who created the Elfstone less problematic as Celebrimbor would not be responsible for crafting one of both of them despite his supposed Feanorian lineage.

Out of curiousity: Is "grieve in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade; and my heart yearns, remembering trees and grass that do not die" a quote from the version of the story where Gandalf returns the Elfstone to Galadriel? It seems but for the supposition that Galadriel desires the Elfstone to "heal the ills of Middle Earth", this version would be the easiest to make fit with other related events, if we could leave the Elfstone to be simply a token of goodwill from the Valar. However, that's only my opinion based on the contents of this thread.

Secret Fire, I would very much recommend "A Reader's Companion". Hammond, Scull, worked with Christopher Tolkien going through all of J.R.R Tolkien's notes to clarify and rectify some of the mistakes that kept poping up in the various printings of The Lord of the Rings. It was this book that finally put an end to the dispute about whether or not Legolas had dark or blond hair. His linage called for blond hair.

Anorlas:  Maybe I will make it my next Tolkien book.  I have not bought anything Tolkien-related since the Children of Hurin came out, so I think I am due for a new book.


Galin wrote:

---

'Out of curiousity: Is "grieve in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade; and my heart yearns, remembering trees and grass that do not die" a quote from the version of the story where Gandalf returns the Elfstone to Galadriel?'

Sorry, I should have been clearer there: yes, she says that to Gandalf. And in the second version Galadriel says similarly (but now to Celebrimbor): 'I am grieved in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade that I have loved, so that the land of my dwelling is filled with regret that no Spring can redress.'

---

This may be an embarrassingly obvious question, but it's something I've never quite understood about the plight of the Elves:

Is the natural state of Middle-Earth that of "passing away", like our Earth is (plants and animals die, things erode, decay, show age, etc), and the Elves "preserve" it only through the use of the Elven rings?  Or was the original state of Arda that of unchanging timelessness?  It seems the Elves mourn the loss and change of everything that they love, but isn't that what would happen normally anyway but for their use of the Elven rings, etc.? Or have I missed some major piece here? They seem to allude to some time "before" when things did not change or decay and I have never figured out when this period was.

If you don't understand what I'm saying it's okay, I don't feel that I'm explaining myself well.

 

But the Elves did seem to have an inate ability to affect nature. In the Silmarillion, when the Noldo first arrived from Aman, flowers bloomed where they feet trod. The niphradil bloomed first where Luthien danced. The rocks of Eregion still sang of the Elven smiths of that country."deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone."
The trees responded to the movement of Elves among them, moving their branches to provide pathways for the sure of foot. The Teleri could fashion ships to sail across the horizon and they didn't need rings to accomplish it. Legolas himself was able to do so without assistance. It was said that the Art of the Elf was to draw "magic" from the nature around them and they did not need rings for that either. Thranduil had no Ring but the defences he wrought in his hall could not be breached unless Sauron himself used his power to break them. He and Celeborn was able to renew much of Mirkwood healing many hurts without the aid of any such device or artifact.
  I guess the fairness of the land would dim and fade as the population of the Elves deminished.



-- Edited by Anorlas on Wednesday 23rd of September 2009 02:25:02 AM

BRUNO!

Hey Nevv King

Go into experinaced forums...theres a post called the Adversary.

It's kind of long but the last 5 or 6 posts raise the very point that you mention.

The elves avvlays hankering for a previous time or state of perfection in the past.

Such a shame to vvaste your time...bellybutton gazing on days gone by.

Smell the flovvers vvhilst you can !

Legolas had hair ??????

In my mind he vvas a bald Morgan Freeman

Galin wrote
I don't remember even the amazing team of Hammond and Scull putting this one to rest.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In "The Lord of the Rings A Reader's Companion" Hammond and Scull make this note on the passage "They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save for the golden house of Finarfin."

"In context these words seem to apply to the Eldar was a whole. In the Book of Lost Tales, Part One pp. 43-4 (compare The Peoples of Middle-earth, pp.76-7), however, Christopher Tolkien quotes a draft for the final paragraph of Appendix F in which it is said that "The Noldor belonged to a race high and beautiful, the elder Children of the World, who now are gone. Tall they were, fair-skinned and grey-eyed, their locks were dark save in the golden house of Finrod." Christopher explains.

"Thus these words describing characters of face and hair were actually written of the Noldor only, and not all of the Eldar: indeed the Vanyar had golden hair, and it was from Fanarfin's Vanyan mother Indis that he and Finrod Felagund and Galadriel his children, had their golden hair that marked them out among the princes of the Noldor. But I am unable to determine how this extraodinary perversion of meaning arose.[p44]"

So I gather...and no one has to agree with me...that other races of Elf...including the Teleri could have hair color other then "dark locks". We have examples in Lorien and Mirkwood of Teleri having golden locks. Thranduil did so there is no reason why his own son should not?

All,
Interesting how much attention Legolas merits...and how much feeling he generates.
Here is a simple few paragraphs from "The Tolkien Gateway"on elvish appearance.

Elven Characteristics
The Elves were a far more beautiful race than Men, and generally taller. Among them, those who had gone to Valinor were the fairest and had the greatest skill of body.

Pointed ears
There are no explicit references to pointed Elvish ears in The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion. It was stated elsewhere that "the Quendian (Elvish) ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than Human. However, practical considerations, including a number of occasions where Men were mistaken for Elves (most notably Túrin Turambar), suggest that the points must have been subtle.
In the Etymologies Tolkien noted the similarity between the words for "leaf" (lassë, las) and "ears" (lasu, lhaw) and suggested an etymological connection. This indicates that he envisioned their ears as leaf-shaped.

Hair color
Elven hair color is quite varied and complex. In general, the Vanyar were golden-haired, and the other Elves (including Noldor, Sindar, and Avari) had dark or even black hair, although some of the Teleri had silver hair. Lúthien Tinúviel and her remote descendant Arwen Undómiel, both described as the fairest of all Elves, were dark haired.
This is not the full picture, however: Finarfin, the youngest son of Finwë, and his descendants (such as Galadriel) had golden hair on account of Finwë's second wife, Indis of the Vanyar. Idril, the daughter of Turgon, had golden hair inherited from her mother, Elenwë of the Vanyar. Even the sons of Fëanor, the eldest Noldorin prince, were not all dark-haired: Maedhros and the twins Amrod and Amras had auburn hair, from their grandfather Mahtan. Fëanor's son Celegorm had blond hair, thus his epithet the Fair in contrast to his brother, Caranthir the Dark.
Additionally, a silver hair colour existed in the royal houses of the Sindar, with Thingol, Círdan, and Celeborn all described as having silver hair. Galadriel displayed an extremely rare hair colour nowhere else observed: "silver-golden" hair, said to be dazzlingly beautiful ("blending the light of the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin"), which may have been a result of her unusual mixed Noldoin-Vanyarin-Telerin heritage (her mother was the niece of Thingol). Thranduil, father of Legolas and a Sindarin Elf, is described as having blond hair in The Hobbit, but his son Legolas' own hair colour is not recorded.

Eye color
When Tolkien describes Elven eyes, they tend to be grey. This is certainly true of Lúthien (and her descendants: Elrond, Arwen and her brothers, and Aragorn and the Dúnedain). Voronwë, who guided the man Tuor to Gondolin, also had grey eyes.
Though he was half-Noldorin, Maeglin is said to have dark eyes (possibly from his father Eöl, who was not of the Noldor), while Olwë (the brother of Lúthien's father Thingol, and a Telerin king) had blue eyes. The eye colour of most other Elves is not mentioned, and so would be difficult to generalize.

Androgyny
Because of their (typical) beardlessness and beauty, the Elves are sometimes perceived as androgynous. However, they were probably not meant to be so; Legolas was described in the following way:
"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship." (The Book of Lost Tales Volume 2)

(From The Tolkien Gateway http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Elven_Characteristics)

There are few cross references but still many leads for further research.
Rock on!
Bear

Quoted from Bear

I agree that the point is made that we may never know the truth about Legolas' hair color....bring on the clairol, Killi! Drat Tolkien for being so specific about all his major characters safe one. Love you J.R.R but just wait until I corner you under you favorite tree in Heaven. I've got a bone to pick with you, so prepare to have your ear bent.

On the subject of Elf-ears there is another quote in Letter 27:

"A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'." (in reference to Hobbits)

So its pretty definite that Tolkien saw the Elves as having fairly pointed ears, with the Hobbits only exhibiting a small part of this trait.

Do you believe Tolkien's Elves had pointed ears, Galin? If it appears they did in early versions, and then it is not contradicted later on (though many other things regarding Elves might change) is there any reason to doubt it?

All,
I started chewing on this when The Secret Fire brought it to a thread on September 21st, 2009.
As Galin and others  pursued the topic we wandered off to what elves looked like. (please - no criticism is implied...it makes the threads fun when we digress)
So I went digging  to answer what The Secret Fire was looking for;
"What I'm looking for here:
* Which variation of the Elfstone story do you feel is most likely to be accurate?
* Which variations, if any, are present in Tolkien texts?
* Is this Wikipedia article full of crap or is it backed up by actual text resources?
* Which version of the story do you prefer?
* Any interesting tidbits about the Elfstone that I haven't mentioned here." (Tolkien Forums > General Lore discussion (standard) > The Elfstone > The Secret Fire > September 21st, 2009)

And in my travels I found this scholastic essay with text references.
"Elessar is an Eldarin word whose English equivalent is "elfstone."  It has two meanings, both associated with Aragorn.  It first appears in Tolkien's writings in The Lord of the Rings when Galadriel uses the word in both its senses.  First, Elessar is the name of a gemstone possessed by Galadriel and given by her to Aragorn: "Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring."  As she gives him the stone , Galadriel uses the term in its second sense, as a name for Aragorn: "In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!"  When Aragorn pins "the brooch upon his breast," the Elessar manifests both ennobling and restorative qualities: "Those who saw him wondered; for they had not marked before how tall and kingly he stood, and it seemed to them that many years of toil had fallen from his shoulders." (The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter VIII - "Farewell to Lórien", pg. 375)
The effect of the Elessar upon Aragorn suggests further detail in regard to both meanings of the word.  In stating that the stone made him appear "kingly," Tolkien implies the precise meaning of Elessar as a name for Aragorn:  it is the name that he takes when he becomes King of Gondor and Arnor.  However, Aragorn initiates use of it long before that event, albeit infrequently: he first uses the name when the Company's boats pass the Argonath (The Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter IX - "The Great River", pg. 393) and, shortly thereafter, when he reveals himself to Eomer. (The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book III, Chapter II - "The Riders of Rohan", pg. 433)
In stating that the Elfstone made "many years of toil" fall from Aragorn's shoulders. Tolkien implies the healing power associated with the stone.  In the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith, after the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Aragorn uses the name in both its senses but emphasizes his abilities as a healer: "In the high tongue of old I am Elessar, the Elfstone, and Envinyatar, the Renewer: and he lifted from his breast the green stone that lay there." (The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter VIII - "The Houses of Healing", pg. 863) It is in ministering to the wounded in the Houses of Healing that Aragorn reveals himself to the people of Gondor as their King, and so they proclaim him: "And word went through the City: 'The King is come again indeed.'  And they named him Elfstone, because of the green stone that he wore, and so the name that was foretold at his birth that he should bear was chosen for him by his own people." (ibid, pg. 871)
The unforeseen appearance of the elfstone in Galadriel's hand raises questions about its origin that Tolkien did not answer until after The Lord of the Rings was published.  In a short piece published in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien provides two stories of the elfstone's appearance in Middle-earth.
First, the stone is made by Enerdhil, a jewel-smith of Gondolin, who loved the appearance of sunlight shining through leaves and captured that light in the stone.  Enerdhil gave the stone to Idril, daughter of King Turgon, and it did not perish when Gondolin was destroyed.  Idril gave the stone to Eärendil, her son by Tuor. The Elessar bestowed healing powers on one who touched it, and Eärendil, so empowered, healed Elves and Men in Sirion and made the land fair.  When Eärendil sailed from Middle-earth, the Elessar departed with him.  The Elessar of Eärendil came to Valinor, where Yavanna gave it to Olórin (Mithrandir) to give to Galadriel when he went to Middle-earth.  Olorin instructed Galadriel to use the elfstone to make Lòrien the most beautiful place in Middle-earth and to keep it until the coming of the man named Elessar, Aragorn.
The second story is a variation that begins after the departure of the Elessar with Eärendil.  Another less-powerful Elessar was made in later years for Galadriel by Celebrimbor, who was also of Gondolin and was Enerdhil's friend.  Galadriel used the stone to make Lórien verdant.  Later, when Celebrimbor gave Galadriel the Elven ring Nenya, she no longer needed the Elessar to preserve Lórien.  She gave it to her daughter Celebrian, who gave it in turn to her daughter Arwen, who gave it to Aragorn. (Unfinished Tales, Part Two, Chapter IV- "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", pgs. 248-250)
In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien does not say which version of the story is definitive, and both can be reconciled with the facts of The Lord of the Rings. - Paul Edmund Thomas
(Thomas, P. E. author  "Elessar" J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. , Michael Drout editor, Scholarship & Critical Assessment ed. 2007.)

In looking over the stories of the Elessar I like the idea of the Valar still holding Elves and Men in their hearts.  So when Yavanna gives Olórin/Gandalf the elfstone and he in turn gives it to Galadriel who gives it to Aragorn, I love the connection...I like the handing down through daughters too...but I love the reconnecting of Valar and the peoples of Middle-earth.
While I really like how Tolkien uses the elfstone to validate Aragorn's regency in The Lord of the Rings the piece in Unfinished Tales seems to be a wonderful story in itself.
The new depth that is given to Galadriel's character shines in both versions of the Elessar.
And it is in these pages that a possible third version lurks...more or less connected to Appendix B in The Lord of the Rings; "in the head note to the Tale of Years of the Second age, as it appeared in the first edition: 'many of the Sindar passed eastward and established realms in the forests far away.  The chief of these were Thranduil in the north of Greenwood the Great, and Celeborn in the south of the forest.' In the revised edition this remark about Celeborn was omitted, and instead there appears a reference to his dwelling in Lindon." (and here a last paragraph eludes that the powers of the elfstone are actually powers of a different gem; ergo another version?)
"Lastly, it may be remarked that the healing power here ascribed to the Elessar at the Havens of Sirion is in The Silmarillion attributed to the Silmaril.(Unfinished Tales, Part Two, Chapter IV- "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", pg. 252)

We can dive deeper into different texts and references...
Find rare outsources...
New hypothesis supported by obscure references...
I have got to bite the bullet...
The Elessar is King of Gondor and Arnor...and a healing green elfstone...
Aragorn is my King!

Very interesting, Bear!  And here I thought this particular thread just didn't capture your interest. 

I guess it turns out that still waters run deep, and all that.

I like the angle on the Elfstone's healing powers.  I always took those "healing powers" that were mentioned to be metaphorical instead of literal.  I didn't know the stone actually had the power to heal and take away years of toil.

But then again, being a blessed stone of Elvish origin, it should have been obvious to me that it would have such powers.

Galin, I'm not sure a convincing argument for what you are looking for CAN be made.  I think this is just one of those circumstances where the story violates its own canon and it was simply overlooked or ignored, either by JRR Tolkien or Christopher Tolkien. It is interesting to speculate, though.

-- Edited by The Secret Fire on Monday 28th of September 2009 11:08:52 PM