How Many Elves Lived in Rivendell?

Q: How Many Elves Lived in Rivendell?

ANSWER: This question is hard to interpret because I cannot tell if you are asking how many Elves ever lived in Rivendell altogether, or what the largest number of Elves living in Rivendell might have been, or how many Elves were living in Rivendell at the time of the War of the Ring, or something else.

I will try to answer a couple of those questions. For example, the largest number of Elves to ever live in Rivendell — while undocumented by Tolkien — was probably above a thousand, most likely numbering in multiples of thousands. Elrond founded Rivendell in the Second Age.

When Sauron attacked Eregion in the War of the Elves and Sauron (Second Age years 1693-1701) Gil-galad sent Elrond to reinforce Eregion. However, Elrond was unable to reach Ost-en-Edhil, the chief city of Eregion, and instead Sauron’s forces drove Elrond’s army north away from Eregion. Elrond gathered as many Elves and Men as he could find alive and retreated to the valley where Rivendell would be established.

Hence, during the war there were probably thousands of people living in the valley. After the War of the Elves and Sauron, according to an essay published in Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, Gil-galad and Elrond decided that he should stay in Rivendell rather than attempt to re-establish Eregion. It is conceivable that Rivendell’s population could have increased over the next 1700 years of the Second Age.

During the Third Age Elrond had sufficient numbers of Elves to field armies in the wars between the Dunedain of Arnor and Angmar. The last time an army from Rivendell took the field was when Glorfindel led a force against Angmar in Third Age year 1974. Quite possibly Elrond’s people remained numerous until near the end of the Third Age.

In the chapter “The Shadow of the Past” (in The Fellowship of the Ring) J.R.R. Tolkien writes (as narrator of the story) that in the years following Bilbo’s 111th Birthday Party Elves began passing through the Shire from East to West and not returning. I have usually referred to this period as the Last Great Exodus of the Elves for many Elves fled from Middle-earth at this time.

When Elrond held his council in Rivendell in the year 3018 he told his companions that he no longer had the power to fight against Mordor; however, he also noted that even an army of High Elves from the First Age would not have been able to withstand Mordor’s military might. Nonetheless, I infer from Elrond’s comment that so many Elves had left Rivendell and nearby lands that he could no longer field an army.

If you are writing fan fiction or developing a role-playing campaign, and you want to know how many Elves you should have living in or near Rivendell at the time of the War of the Ring, I would guess that anywhere from 100 to several hundred Elves would be a reasonable number. Many of those Elves left with Elrond and Gildor Inglorion in Third Age year 3021, but a substantial number remained after Elrond’s departure, living under the rule of his sons.

In The Art of the Hobbit Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull published some previously unreleased Tolkien illustrations of Elrond’s house. In one very clear representation you can see that Elrond’s house was a multi-storied building with long sides. Based on that conceptual illustration it would be easy to infer that Elrond must have had dozens, perhaps more than 100 Elves living with him in that one structure. And, of course, the valley stretched on for many miles and could have housed many Elven homes scattered across the landscape.

See also:

• How Many Noldor Left the Undying Lands in Fëanor’s Rebellion?
• Elves by the Numbers
• How Many Rangers of the North Were There?
• How Many Men Entered Beleriand?
• How Many Riders of Rohan Were There?
• How Many Elves Lived in Middle-earth?
• How Many Soldiers Fought in the Battle of Five Armies?

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