Q: How Many Elf-Man Marriages Were There in Middle-earth?
ANSWER: J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in “Appendix A: I The Numenorean Kings (i) Numenor” of The Lord of the Rings that “There were three unions of the Eldar and the Edain: Lúthien and Beren; Idril and Tuor; Arwen and Aragorn. By the last the long-sundered branches of the Half-elven were reunited and their line was restored.” And yet, many readers cannot help but note the exchange between Legolas and Prince Imrahil when they first meet:
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. ‘Hail, lord!’ he said. ‘It is long since the people of Nimrodel left the woodlands of Lórien, and yet still one may see that not all sailed from Amroth’s haven west over water.’
‘So it is said in the lore of my land,’ said the Prince; ‘yet never has one of the fair folk been seen there for years beyond count. And I marvel to see one here now in the midst of sorrow and war. What do you seek?’
This relationship puzzled many readers for years until Christopher Tolkien published Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, in which he shared the following note:
In the tradition of his house Angelimar was the twentieth in unbroken descent from Galador, first Lord of Dol Amroth (c. Third Age 2004-2129). According to the same traditions Galador was the son of Imrazór the Númenórean, who dwelt in Belfalas, and the Elven-lady Mithrellas. She was one of the companions of Nimrodel, among many of the Elves that fled to the coast about the year 1980 of the Third Age, when evil arose in Moria; and Nimrodel and her maidens stayed in the wooded hills, and were lost. But in this tale it is said that Imrazór harboured Mithrellas, and took her to wife. But when she had borne him a son, Galador, and a daughter, Gilmith, she slipped away by night and he saw her no more. But though Mithrellas was of the lesser Silvan race (and not of the High Elves or the Grey) it was ever held that the house and kin of the Lords of Dol Amroth was noble by blood as they were fair in face and mind.
Without digressing into what constitutes “canonical” material in J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythologies, this note appears to be the only canonical explanation of Legolas’ and Imrahil’s cryptic exchange. But for those seeking evidence of Elf-man marriages, there is more to be found. For example, in The Silmarillion we are told that Dior, son of Beren and Luthien, married Nimloth, a kinswoman of Celeborn. Dior was called Half-elven and Thingol’s Heir. His special status (neither fully man nor elf) has elicited much commentary. In a note attached to a brief essay on Numenor published in Unfinished Tales, Tolkien wrote:
In this account, only Elros was granted a peculiar longevity, and it is said here that he and his brother Elrond were not differently endowed in the physical potential of life, but that since Elros elected to remain among the kindred of Men he retained the chief characteristic of Men as opposed to the Quendi: the “seeking else-whither,” as the Eldar called it, the “weariness” or desire to depart from the world….
But were all these half-elven people “born mortal” or “born immortal”? That is the question that keeps following on these elf-man discussions. Why? Because people want to classify the half-elven as either Elf or Man by nature. Unfortunately, Tolkien only ever addressed this question one time, in an early version of “The Silmarillion” which was published in The Lost Road and Other Writings, Volume V of The History of Middle-earth:
“$9 Then Manwe gave judgement and he said: ‘To Earendel I remit the ban, and the peril that he took upon himself out of love for the Two Kindreds shall not fall on him; neither shall it fall upon Elwing who entered into peril for love of Earendel: save only in this: they shall not ever walk again among Elves or Men in the Outer Lands. Now all those who have the blood of mortal Men, in whatever part, great or small, are mortal, unless other doom be granted to them; but in this matter the power of doom is given to me. This is my decree: to Earendel and to Elwing and to their sons shall be given leave each to choose freely under which kindred they shall be judged.'”
Based on this text it seems plausible to guess that the children of Elves and Men are born naturally mortal. Since Dior and his two sons were slain by the Fëanorians they don’t serve as useful examples. But the tale of Imrazor and Mithrellas seems to demonstrate that Tolkien never changed his mind: the children of the Elf-woman and the mortal Man were themselves mortal, and she left them in Middle-earth. So we can say that all marriages between half-elves and Elves were marriages between Men and Elves.
A special choice was appointed to Ëarendil and Elwing and their children, and they chose to be of Elvenkind. Elros chose to be a Man and so became first King of Numenor and the ancestor of Aragorn (though not through the male line). Elrond chose to be of Elvenkind but the choice was also granted to his children. Arwen chose to become mortal and marry Aragorn. Tolkien notes in one of his letters that Elladan and Elrohir defer their choice for a time after Elrond leaves Middle-earth. But he notes in the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings that they remained in Rivendell for many years, where Celeborn eventually joined them until he himself was ready to leave Middle-earth.
Following on that conclusion, here are the documented Elf-Man marriages in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth stories:
- Luthien (Elda/Sinda) and Beren (Adan/Beorian)
- Idril (Elda/Noldo-Vanya) and Tuor (Adan/Marachian-Beorian)
- Nimloth (Elda/Sinda) and Dior (Perelda/Half-elf)
- Earendil (Half-elf) and Elwing (Half-elf)
- Celebrian (Elda/Sinda-Noldo-Vanya) and Elrond (Perelda)
- Arwen (Perelda-Elda) and Aragorn (Dunadan)
- Mithrellas (Silvan Elf) and Imrazor (Dunadan)
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