Silvan Elves in The Lord of the Rings
by: The Elf , age 15
Hello, mortals. I am here to enlighten you on the history of my people – the Silvan Elves. I, personally, am an Elf of Mirkwood – excuse me, Greenwood the Great – but the Elves of Lórien are my kin. Silvan Elves are descendants of those Elves who set out for the land of the Valar with Oróme, but stopped before they even crossed the Misty Mountains. There are two kingdoms of our Silvan race, as I said: Lórien and Mirkwood.
Lórien’s first remembered ruler, even among the Elves, is Amdir, who was king during the Second Age. He joined Gil-galad’s army during the War of the Last Alliance, and fell in the Battle of Dagorlad.
After Amdir died, his son Amroth became king, and ruled in happiness for nearly two millennia. Then those stupid dwarves released Durin’s Bane, the Balrog of Moria, and many Elves of Lórien fled Middle-Earth through their haven on the Bay of Belfalas. Amroth’s beloved, Nimrodel, was one of them, and Amroth followed her but, unfortunately, ended up drowning. Even though that haven is now a city of men, it has ever since been called Dol Amroth.
At that point, Galadriel and Celeborn became Lady and Lord of Lórien. With her ring, Galadriel kept the woods safe until the War of the Ring, turning back three sieges with her might. After the war and the downfall of Sauron, she left Middle-Earth. Her husband, Celeborn, remained as king of Lórien (and part of Mirkwood… more on that later) for several years, but became bored and left for Rivendell, and from there, doubtless, he passed overseas.
The kingdom of Greenwood, on the other hand, was founded by Oropher, a Sindarin Elf born in the first millennium of the Second Age. Originally, the king’s dwelling was on the hill of Amon Lanc in the southern tip of the forest. But as the power of the Dark Lord grew, we Elves retreated farther and farther north. Oropher, like Amdir, died in the Battle of Dagorlad fighting for the Last Alliance.
Oropher’s son Thranduil then became king. He was witness to Sauron’s building on Amon Lanc, the hill where the Elves once lived, a tower known as Dol Guldur, the Hill of Black Magic. Greenwood then became known as Mirkwood, for Sauron’s creatures filled it and Thranduil’s kingdom moved to the far northeastern corner of the forest. This was the situation until the War of the Ring.
During the War of the Ring, orcs and foul beasts from Dol Guldur attacked Thranduil’s kingdom and set the trees on fire, but they could not penetrate the magically sealed doors of his halls and, when Thranduil sallied forth, we drove them from our kingdom.
Near the end of the war, Thranduil’s victorious army met up with the Elves of Lórien. The combined forces assailed Dol Guldur, and Galadriel, by the power of her ring, destroyed its foundations and collapsed its underground pits. Mirkwood was again renamed, now being known as the Wood of Greenleaves. The southern part of the forest, around Amon Lanc, became known as East Lórien; and even when Lórien proper was emptied of Elves, East Lórien’s Elves lived in prosperity with those under
Thranduil.
Something needs to be said here about Legolas, the most famous Silvan Elf of all time. His fame springs from his part in the Fellowship of the Ring and his heroic deeds in the War of the Ring, which are so well known that I needn’t elaborate. After the War, however, he ruled a kingdom in Ithilien, where Elves from the Wood of Greenleaves lived alongside Faramir’s men. He sailed overseas with his friend Gimli, the only dwarf ever to do so.
by: The Elf , age 15
Hello, mortals. I am here to enlighten you on the history of my people – the Silvan Elves. I, personally, am an Elf of Mirkwood – excuse me, Greenwood the Great – but the Elves of Lórien are my kin. Silvan Elves are descendants of those Elves who set out for the land of the Valar with Oróme, but stopped before they even crossed the Misty Mountains. There are two kingdoms of our Silvan race, as I said: Lórien and Mirkwood.
Lórien’s first remembered ruler, even among the Elves, is Amdir, who was king during the Second Age. He joined Gil-galad’s army during the War of the Last Alliance, and fell in the Battle of Dagorlad.
After Amdir died, his son Amroth became king, and ruled in happiness for nearly two millennia. Then those stupid dwarves released Durin’s Bane, the Balrog of Moria, and many Elves of Lórien fled Middle-Earth through their haven on the Bay of Belfalas. Amroth’s beloved, Nimrodel, was one of them, and Amroth followed her but, unfortunately, ended up drowning. Even though that haven is now a city of men, it has ever since been called Dol Amroth.
At that point, Galadriel and Celeborn became Lady and Lord of Lórien. With her ring, Galadriel kept the woods safe until the War of the Ring, turning back three sieges with her might. After the war and the downfall of Sauron, she left Middle-Earth. Her husband, Celeborn, remained as king of Lórien (and part of Mirkwood… more on that later) for several years, but became bored and left for Rivendell, and from there, doubtless, he passed overseas.
The kingdom of Greenwood, on the other hand, was founded by Oropher, a Sindarin Elf born in the first millennium of the Second Age. Originally, the king’s dwelling was on the hill of Amon Lanc in the southern tip of the forest. But as the power of the Dark Lord grew, we Elves retreated farther and farther north. Oropher, like Amdir, died in the Battle of Dagorlad fighting for the Last Alliance.
Oropher’s son Thranduil then became king. He was witness to Sauron’s building on Amon Lanc, the hill where the Elves once lived, a tower known as Dol Guldur, the Hill of Black Magic. Greenwood then became known as Mirkwood, for Sauron’s creatures filled it and Thranduil’s kingdom moved to the far northeastern corner of the forest. This was the situation until the War of the Ring.
During the War of the Ring, orcs and foul beasts from Dol Guldur attacked Thranduil’s kingdom and set the trees on fire, but they could not penetrate the magically sealed doors of his halls and, when Thranduil sallied forth, we drove them from our kingdom.
Near the end of the war, Thranduil’s victorious army met up with the Elves of Lórien. The combined forces assailed Dol Guldur, and Galadriel, by the power of her ring, destroyed its foundations and collapsed its underground pits. Mirkwood was again renamed, now being known as the Wood of Greenleaves. The southern part of the forest, around Amon Lanc, became known as East Lórien; and even when Lórien proper was emptied of Elves, East Lórien’s Elves lived in prosperity with those under
Thranduil.
Something needs to be said here about Legolas, the most famous Silvan Elf of all time. His fame springs from his part in the Fellowship of the Ring and his heroic deeds in the War of the Ring, which are so well known that I needn’t elaborate. After the War, however, he ruled a kingdom in Ithilien, where Elves from the Wood of Greenleaves lived alongside Faramir’s men. He sailed overseas with his friend Gimli, the only dwarf ever to do so.
