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tarcolan
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Post Legolas and Imrahil
on: January 11, 2014 05:45
At length they came to the Prince Imrahil, and Legolas looked at him and bowed low; for he saw that here indeed was one who had elven-blood in his veins.
- Book V, Ch. IX, The Last Debate
It is generally believed that there were only two unions of Elf and Man. Was Legolas wrong?
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Gandolorin
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on: January 11, 2014 06:36
Eldar and Man. I forget where the precise divisions of the Elves was written down, but Imrahil’s Elven ancestry was Silan Elves, not subject to the choices of Earendil and his descendants (Elros and Elrond). As it seems, descendants of such unions seems to be mortal.
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parluggla
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on: January 12, 2014 06:30
I thought I read somewhere that Imrahil had an Elven 11-great-grandmother. Can't remember where, though.
niftyelvish
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on: January 14, 2014 07:22
According to the Wiki, Imrahil is descended from Imrazor of Belfalas and Mithrellas, who was a Nandorin Elf. Mithrellas was a companion to Nimrodel, apparently. Huh, cool

http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Imrahil

Gandolorin
lotrproject <- a family tree of all the characters mentioned in the books. It's incomplete but it is something that exists Anyway I just thought I'd share because it shows which divisions are where.

[Edited on 01/15/2014 by tarcolan]
PotbellyHairyfoot
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on: January 18, 2014 09:16
The CoE encyclopedia entry on Imrahil can be found here .
Imrahil was Prince of Dol Amroth which was mostly a city of Men but was also the main port of departure for Lothlorien Elves that decided to return to the Undying Lands. As a result it would be one of the few places where men and Elves would both be found.
This could result in lots of opportunities for intermixing.



[Edited on 01/18/2014 by PotbellyHairyfoot]
pv
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on: February 14, 2014 02:07
"It is generally believed that there were only two unions of Elf and Man. Was Legolas wrong?"

If we don't take it too literally, maybe Imrahil's "elven blood" is just Tolkien-code, indicating that he's a good sort of person. Faramir is under attack by a father who has a problem appreciating/understanding his better qualities. Imrahil could be seen as a personification of these finer "elven" qualities that we see in Faramir - he is his uncle, and therefore representative of Faramir's mother, from whom the "elven" qualities of Faramir presumably derive. When Faramir is endangered by Denethor, Imrahil symbolically saves him (and his future wife, to boot!) The mother's family saving the son from the mad father.
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tarcolan
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on: February 14, 2014 11:19
Hi pv! Nice to see you.
In a footnote to Letter 131 (late 1951) to Mr Hastings:
Of course in reality this only means that my 'elves' are only a representation or an apprehension of a part of human nature.
I think you've hit the nail on the head pv. The encounter might be an overt expression of this. It's just odd that Legolas seems never to have come across anyone else who exhibited this Elvish air.

In the same letter:
There are thus two marriages of mortal and elf...
Perhaps this is a mistake and should be Eldar.
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pv
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on: February 16, 2014 10:49
Always good to see you, tarcolan! I suppose there are as many different approaches to reading Tolkien as there are Tolkien fans! Some see Tolkien as a historian of Middle Earth and enjoy studying every detail of this world that he's created. Others look for connections with his Catholic faith, or with Norse mythology. Others, like me, look for connections between his work and his personal history - like for instance the number of avatars of Father Francis that crop up in Middle Earth!

Tolkien the historian might have had a very detailed, clear idea of how many elves married men, etc. Two marriages, as you have mentioned. But Tolkien the angry son, who saw his mother being harassed by his uncles for her faith, probably forgot his meticulously created history when he created a very personal portrait of the ideal uncle he probably wished he had - Imrahil. This ideal uncle would of course have to be of elven blood.

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johnson4466
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on: June 18, 2014 08:45
I have heard and read that Legolas had a daughter in the books that he sent to the undying lands, is this true or not? I would like to clear this up, it has been bothering me for a while.
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cirdaneth
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on: June 19, 2014 12:28
My goodness! Where did you read that? No way surely!
johnson4466
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on: June 19, 2014 06:25
I have no idea where I read it, but I've seen it around alot.
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Dinenlasse
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on: June 19, 2014 08:02
From what I understand, we do not know if Legolas had any offspring - in fact, we know little about his family except who his father and who his grandfather were. I am not aware of any known female elves in Legolas' life.
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johnson4466
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on: June 19, 2014 08:23
Ok thank you, this helps very much
The elves began it, waking up the trees, teaching them to speak...
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