The Mythological Creature
History of mythological Elves

The legendarium J. R. R. Tolkien, the Elves are said to be a race that existed earlier than humans and was superior to humans. The Elves, together with humans and Dwarves, are the inhabitants of the fictional world of the good Middle-earth; in addition to these three main races, many "falling" races are corrupts of these three races. The Elves' process is told in the book Silmarillion (edited and published after Tolkien's death) which is a prequel to The Lord of the Rings series, but they also appear and have an important role in the LOTR trilogy and only have a small role in The Hobbit. Further details about them are given in other Tolkien writings collected into Unfinished Tales (Unfinished Stories) and The Histroy of Middle-earth (History of the Middle World). These books were Tolkien's main works that he worked on until his death.

From Tolkien's legendary Elf race that is very detailed, there are currently many emerging sub-races and stories popularized through books and other media, examples are books and board games as well as the video games Dungeons & Dragons, World of Warcraft, and so on. It can be said that since Tolkien's writings on Elves, Elf figures that once resembled fairies or delicate creatures are now less famous than human-like figures with slim bodies and pointed ears.

Histories

Origin Editing

According to Silmarillion, Elves were the "first child" of Arda (world), which had existed for a very long period of time before humans ("second children") were created. The first elves were "awakened" by Eru Iluvatar near the Cuivienen coast in the Two Days of Trees in the First Age. They wake up in the starlight, because the sun and moon have not been created, therefore the Elves are closely related to the stars and starlight.

They live on the banks of rivers, creating poetry, music, and songs. They also create new words, name things, and love to look at the stars. They are tall, black-haired, and live peacefully because evil has not yet entered Arda, their world.

The Valars (angels) who ruled the world from Valinor, decided to invite the Elves (in their language called Quendi) to stay with them because of Melkor, the Lord of Darkness, the Lord of, a rebellious Valar, wanting to destroy all that is good in Arda (the world). The Valars sent Orome to pick up the Elves. Of all the Elves that exist, not all of them fulfill that call, because they do not know who the Valars are. Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe are three Elves who are willing to go with Orome to Valinor to become ambassadors. Upon their return from there, they invited all their people to leave, for Valinor was more beautiful than Middle-earth. The three Elves managed to convince the majority of Elves to go together with them. However, a small number refused, and these people were called the Avari (Those Who Wouldn't Follow) or Avamanyar (Those Who Refused to Go to Aman). That was the first split. In the end, after hundreds of years of separation, they have different languages, cultures, statures, and traits. (After this great split the Avari nation was fragmented again, but the details were unknown to man. Some tribes migrated to the West and joined the Nandors, a little until they met the Sindars).

This group of Elves who set out was called the Eldar (Star Kaum), by Orome. They made Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe their leaders. On the way to the West, they passed through the Misty Mountains, and some of the Elves, out of fear, chose not to continue their journey and settled on the land they were passing through. They were part of the Elwe people led by Lenwe and their group was named Nandor (They Return). The Nandors and Avari are called Moriquendi (Elf of Darkness). That's the second split.

Then the main group of Elves continued their journey through the Misty Mountains and Blue Mountains (Ered Lindon or Ered Luin) to Beleriand. There Elwe was lost and could not be found by his people, therefore Ingwe and Finwe were forced to leave Elwe and his people and continue their journey. Together with the Nandors led by Lenwe, the Elwe are called Teleri. That's the third split.

Upon reaching the western edge of Middle-earth separated by a vast ocean with Valinor, Ingwe, Finwe, and their people transported by a moving island driven by Ulmo, the, one of the Valars that controls the ocean, heading towards Valinor at the other end of the ocean.

After some time, Ulmo returned to Beleriand in search of the Teleri (Those Who Came Last), the Elwe, who were left to be invited to Valinor. Since Elwe had not yet been found, the majority of the Teleri appointed Olwe, Elwe's brother, as their new leader, and together they fulfilled Ulmo's invitation to follow in the footsteps of their brethren who had come to Valinor. They were called the Falmari.

But a small number of the Teleri, especially those near Elwe, chose to stay and continue their search. They are called the Sindar (Grey Elf). The Sindar and Nandor people are called by the name of Umanyar (Those Who Do Not Get to Aman (Central World)).

Of the Sindars who lived in the Middle World, some chose to stay by the coast and become shipbuilders. They were led by Cirdan the shipbuilder. They lived in Falas and were referred to as the Falathrim (Kaum on the Coast). The group living in the Doriath forest is called the Iathrim (Kaum among the Belts) and the rest occupying the northwestern region of Beleriand near a lake is called the Mithrim (Grey Kaum).

Later, some of the Noldors traveled to the West and met the Sindars. They are called Laiquendi (Green Elf).

In Valinor, the three main families gather (Elwe is represented by Olwe, his brother) and they are called Calaquendi (Elf of Light) or Amanya (Those Who Get to Aman). Olwe and his people chose to stay by the beach to be able to look at the Middle World from afar. Their people are called Falmari (Riders of the Waves). Ingwe and his people lived in the residence of the Valors and became the most noble and honorable Elves, like noble nobles. They never set foot into Middle World again and they are called by the name of Vanyar (Elf Rupawan). Finwe and his people lived among the other two families, not near the beach and not near the residence of the Valars. They were called by the name of Noldor (Elf Dalam) and it was from their descendants that the story of Silmarillion was told.

After the exile of the Noldors, Finwe's son Finfin set out for Middle-earth with his two brothers, Fingolfin and Feanor, but decided to return and become King of Noldor in Valinor. Feanor who was exiled to Middle-earth and followed by her brother Fingolfin eventually settled in Middle-earth. They were referred to as the Exiled People and Fingolfin became King of Noldor in the Middle World.

Aside from these great divisions, each of the descendants of the early Elves made their own Dynasties. Based on their geographical location and situation, they developed different languages, but the primary Elven language spoken in the Middle World (and in Tolkien's books) was the language of the Elwe (the Sindarin language), and the Noldors who returned to Middle-earth from Valinor eventually had to learn the language.

S**life cycle**.

The Quendi or Elves were basically beings with immortal spirits, which were not age-devouring; however, that did not mean that their bodies could not die. Although their spirits are immortal, their bodies undergo an aging process, but very slowly, equivalent to thousands of years of human life. Their bodies can also die/destroy due to disease, war, death, and other unnatural causes.

If an Elf dies, then his spirit will be gathered together with his people in the House of Mandos, the Valor of Death, in Valinor; unlike the human race in Middle-earth whose fate is unknown after death. After some time, their bodies will be returned and they can stay in Valinor, but they will never be able to go to Middle-earth again.

Elves living in Middle-earth are also slightly shorter in life than those living in Valinor because they are told that Middle-earth has been tainted by Melkor, the Lord of Darkness. Half-Elfs who are descendants of Elves and humans are also shorter-lived than the pure Elf race, but longer than the human race.

**Name and naming conventions

Tolkien repeatedly expressed his discomfort with the use of the word elf and his "association which I do not actually want [.] for example in Drayton's work or in A Midsummer Night's Dream [king of the fairies: [: Titania and Oberon]". In his works, Tolkien seems only to act as a translator of languages commonly used in the Middle World (the Westron language) into English, and "elf" it is the closest equivalent of the first race, stating that "[elf is] the oldest form of the name used, and it is up to the readers of my book to determine the association."[1] He wanted to avoid associations in Victorian-era literature of "fairy" or delinquent beings often portrayed with the word (elf), and it seeks to show more evolved beings who "have impressive magical powers in early Teutonic mythology" (Oxford English Dictionary viz. Old English alf, from Proto-Germanic *alboz).

The Elves are also referred to as "The First Born"/"First Child" (Q: Minnonar, or "Older Siblings" (compare to the Middle World humans referred to as "The Second Born"/"Second Child") because they were "awakened" by Eru Iluvatar before the humans. The Elves named themselves Quendi ("The Speaking") because they saw that they were the only beings capable of speech. The Dunedain (Dwarves) named them Nimir ("The Charming"). In the Sindarin language or Sindar language (Elf of the Middle World), they named themselves Eledhrim.[2]

The Elves knew three kinds of self-names: ataresse, amilesse, and less commonly epesse (esse means "name" in Quenya).

Ataresse is the single name given by their father at the time of their birth. Usually this name symbolizes the name of their father and mother, signifying their lineage, and the origin of their people.

Amilesse is the second name they receive from their mother after they mature. This name reflects their personality, their skill, or their fate - which is sometimes prophetic. This second name was extremely important to an Elf.

Epesse or nickname is the third type. This name is given if an Elf does something unusual. This name can be given by anyone, often an expression of admiration or reverence. In certain cases, an Elf may choose a name for herself called kilmesse or "his own name".

Their actual names remain the first two, although an Elf can be summoned using either of the two. The name Amilesse of an Elf is not usually used by those who do not know him well.

After the exile of the Noldors to the Middle World and the adoption of the Sindarin language for the Quenya language they used in Valinor, most Noldor Elves adopted a translation name in Sindarin that corresponded to one of their names in Quenya.

Some examples:

Galadriel is a translation for Alatariel, the epesse given by Celeborn. The Ataress is the Artist and the Amiless is Nerwen.

Maedhros, Phoeanor's first son, was called Russandol by his brothers because of his bronze hair. His attaress was Nelyafinwe (Finwe the third - his father, Feanor, had the ataresse of Curufinwe) and his Amiless was Maitimo. Maedhros is a translation into Sindarin of part of his amilesse and epesses

Finrod is usually referred to as Felagund, the epesse given by the Dwarves (originally Felakgundu). Finrod took the name to his name, and made it an honorary title.

Cirdan (Ship Maker) is the epesse of this Teleri Elf. His real name (the original) which is rarely mentioned is Nowe**.

Before that you must want to ask, what is the middle world?. Let's talk a little bit about what the middle world is.

Middle World or Middle Earth (English: Middle-Earth) is the designation for a world in the J.R.R legendarium. Tolkien (the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and Silmarillion series). Middle World is a world filled with various races, such as: humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits, orcs, trolls.

The middle Earth is an ordinary Earth that is in a fictional period. The story that takes place on the central Earth is divided into four periods. In the first to third periods there is a very long history, namely the history of Gondor, the history of the Kings of Arnor, the Kings of Gondor, and the history of Rohan. This is not told in the book and film The Lord of the Rings which only tells most of the events on Middle-Earth in the third epoch, which was at the time of the War of the Ring.

The process of this fictitious world event is told in the LOTR trilogy prequel book Silmarillion

Etymologically, the term Middle Earth is said to be used by Tolkien because it is influenced by Norse mythology, namely from the word Mithardr, translated into English into Midgard (the world of men) or Middle-erde.