This Is What You Need To Know About Elrond Ahead of 'The Rings of Power'
Image Source: The One Wiki to Rule Them All
At this time, it is nearly three weeks to the debut of the massive budget Amazon Prime show The Rings of Power, which will delve into the Second Age of Middle-earth. It is an age of growing dread, powerful kingdoms, and the creation of the titular rings, including the One Ring at the center of The Lord of The Rings. This article continues to exam the major players in the upcoming show with an in-depth look at a character who has been in each of the film adaptations so far: Elrond. Originally played by Hugo Weaving in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies, Robert Aramayo will play him in The Rings of Power.
Who Is Elrond?
Image Source: Bell of Lost Souls
The first thing to understand about Elrond is that he is a half-elf, meaning he is half human and half-elf. The union between an elf and a human is relatively rare in Tolkien’s lore. There are some Great Tales, what Tolkien referred to as central to the history of his creation, that involve a union between an elf and a human, such as the tale of Beren and Lúthien.
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Elrond’s lineage is uniquely full of these types of unions. His parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents were part of these types of unions. His great-great-grandparents were an even rarer form of union, that between an Elf and a sort of demigod. Tolkien called these beings Maiar, and they were servants of the universe’s lesser gods, the Valar. Even Elrond’s eventual daughter, Arwen, was in this type of union with Aragorn.
The reason these unions were rare outside of Elrond’s lineage was due to a major difference between Elves and Men. Elves are immortal. They can only die through violence or terrible emotional trauma. When an Elf and a human fall in love, however, the Elf has a choice to make. They can either forsake their immortal gift, or they can keep it. Either way, tragic loss accompanies the choice. If they retain their immortality, their loved one withers and dies without them. If they forsake their immortality, they themselves will age and eventually die. When an Elf die as an immortal they can eventually be “reborn” in the realm of the Valar. But what happens after a mortal dies is unknown, and that is a scary proposition to an Elf, which is why these types of unions are usually avoided.
Image Source: Tolkien Gateway
Elrond was born in the First Age. He has a twin brother named Elros. When Elrond and his brother were six, they were captured during the Third Kinslaying. Eventually, their captor, Maglor, came to pity them and freed them. The bond between the three of them grew to one of friendship.
Then, the power of the world’s evil deity, Morgoth, grew so much that the Valar intervened. In the ensuing War of Wrath, Men, Elves, and Valar fought and won, defeating Morgoth for good. As a result of their lineage, Elrond and Elros were given the choice to either be Elf or Man. Elros chose his human blood and went to the island of Numenor. Elrond chose to retain his Elven blood and remained in Middle-earth under the rule of Gil-galad. There he became known as a healer (as we see later in The Lord of the Rings when he heals Frodo) and a lore-master.
Elrond In The Second Age
Image Source: Esquire
The War of Wrath marked the end of the First Age. Since the show pertains to the Second Age, it is important now to look at what Elrond does in the Second Age.
Elrond remained in Middle-earth under High King Gil-galad’s rule. Much of this was in the Elven city of Lindon. It was during this time that Sauron, under the disguise of a Maia called Annatar, Lord of Gifts, came to Lindon seeking entrance. Both Elrond and Gil-galad sensed something was not right about Annatar, and they turned him away. Their suspicion of Annatar proved correct, but Sauron’s power grew enough to launch a war of conquest, known as the War of the Elves and Sauron.
Gil-galad, being High King of the Noldor, sent Elrond to protect the region of Eregion, where Elrond’s future mother-in-law Galadriel resided with her husband Celeborn. Unfortunately, Elrond arrived too late and with too small a force to protect Eregion. Sauron split his army, preventing Elrond from evacuating with those he was defending to Lindon. While Sauron attacked Lindon, Elrond took the survivors of Eregion to a safe haven. There he created a stronghold named Imladris, later known as Rivendell.
Image Source: The One Wiki to Rule Them All
Elrond and the survivors welcomed more and more refugees as Sauron spread across Eregion, as it was the only part of that area that Sauron did not come to control. In due time, after Gil-galad and the Elven army were reinforced by the Men from Numenor, the Elves of Middle-earth were liberated. Later, after Sauron was defeated in the War of the Elves and Sauron, Elrond remained in Imladris. Gil-galad designated Elrond his vice-regent in the region and bestowed him one of the Elven rings of power, Vilya.
Years passed, and as Sauron again launched his greatest war, Elrond joined Gil-galad and the King of Men Elendil in the Last Alliance of Men and Elves in their fight against Sauron. The war came to the foot of Sauron’s stronghold, Barad-Dûr in Mordor where the final battle of the war took place. Elrond witnessed the death of his King and the severing of the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. Being a lore-master, he knew that the only way to destroy the ring and be rid of Sauron forever, was for the ring to be thrown back into the heart of Mount Doom. He begged Isildur, Elendil’s son, who cut the ring from Sauron’s hand, to throw it into the magma. But Isildur refused, unable to resist the corruption of the ring.
Image Source: BBC
Dismayed at Isildur’s refusal, Elrond returned to Rivendell. Though he could have become High King of the Noldor, he never took the title. The Elves were beginning to leave Middle-earth to return to Aman, and eventually, Elrond’s time would come too.
Much of what Elrond did during the Second Age is likely to be seen in The Rings of Power over its five seasons. It will be interesting to see what else he does between those major events when the show airs on September 2.
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Source(s): Tolkien Gateway