Gildor Inglorion, Glorfindel, Elrond, Galadriel, Celeborn, Luthien Tinuviel, and Finrod Felagund all share something in common: they are members of that vaguely defined group of Elves whom J.R.R. Tolkien called “the Wise”.
What did Tolkien mean when he used the word, “wise”? As a philologist he would not simply have grabbed the word at random. He would have studied its history and elected to use it for reasons which were very clear to him. In examining “wise”, we can see that it is a very powerful, ancient, and flexible word.
“Wise” comes to us from the Indo-European root word “weid-“, “to see”. The adjective “wise” refers to something perceptive, shrewd, prudent, or to a person who possesses great knowledge, keen judgement, or the ability to perceive what is right and true. As a noun, “wise” may be used to refer to “a way” (as of doing things); or it may refer to people who are deemed to be wise, as in the Bible’s references to “the wise (who did something prudent)”.
Tolkien’s Elven-wise, the Wise, are not simply prudent people, although both Gildor and Glorfindel seem rather prudent. Nor are they merely knowledgeable or perceptive people. Elrond is a master of wisdom and lore, but he also foresees many things, and perceives hidden meaning behind events. Galadriel, too, possesses great wisdom, though hers seems more born of experience than learning (as Elrond’s seems to derive mostly from study), but Galadriel is also very perceptive, seeing deeper into the hearts of others than anyone else.
Celeborn is called “the wise” but many readers feel he doesn’t live up to his reputation. The general view seems to be that Galadriel could outmaneuver Celeborn in a one-way street, or lead him any way she pleases. Galadriel only really outshines Celeborn in one scene, but she does get her own scene with Frodo and Sam, whereas Celeborn sits back and lets Galadriel do most of the work in ferreting out the Fellowship’s motives and intentions.
It is Celeborn, however, who understands and acknowledges the implications of the Fellowship’s actions or indecision. Galadriel is praised for her gentle admonishment to Celeborn when he regrets his welcome of Gimli and his companions, upon learning that a Balrog dwells near the border of Lorien. But Celeborn does quickly assess the danger to his people: if the Balrog had been roused by the Dwarves, then it plainly might follow the Fellowship into Lorien. Gandalf, too, seems to have understood what could happen — and that is why he sacrifices himself. There is no other way to prevent the Balrog from achieving whatever end it has in mind. Frodo and the Ring are in the gravest peril from the Balrog, and even Lorien’s Elves wouldn’t be able to protect him.
Celeborn also perceives the doubt and confusion in Aragorn, when it is time for the Fellowship to depart from Lorien, and therefore Celeborn gives Aragorn some extra time to think by providing the Company of the Ring with boats. The boats allow Aragorn to defer his choices for at least a few more days. But Celeborn, like Elrond before him, engages in a bit of foresight. When the Fellowship leaves Rivendell, Elrond and Gimli exchange truisms about oaths and abiding by them. Their words foreshadow events to come.
In a similar, though briefer exchange, Boromir elicits a warning from Celeborn concerning Boromir’s mistrust of old wives tales. Those old wives, Celeborn points out, often remember things that were once important to know. Although Fangorn Forest is the subject of Boromir’s scoffing, it is an old wife in Minas Tirith, Ioreth, who later on recalls rhymes of lore which inspire Gandalf to bring Aragorn into Minas Tirith to heal Merry, Eowyn, and Faramir (and, ultimately, many of the city’s sick people — thus endearing Aragorn to the population and proving that he is the rightful king).
Celeborn thus exhibits a perception unlike Galadriel’s, yet proves he is one of the Wise. But his wisdom lies in his shrewd ability to judge people’s needs and address those needs. Galadriel’s wisdom is more a wisdom born of long and sad experience. She has learned the bitter lessons history has to teach, and she is wiser for such experience. Galadriel and Celeborn complement each other, but neither is strikingly superior to the other. Celeborn is, in fact, quite decisive, whereas Galadriel is deliberative and cautious.
The contrasts between Galadriel and Celeborn underscore just how difficult it is for the reader to understand and identify all of Tolkien’s Wise, or Elven-wise, “lords of the Eldar from over Sea”. Not all of the Wise are from over Sea (Elrond was born in Middle-earth, for example).
It is curious that Tolkien should distinguish the Wise as “lords of the Eldar”. Are all the Wise members of the nobility? If so, what is it that makes them Wise? They may possess great learning, which among mortal men is more likely to be acquired by wealthy families than poor families. But Elves live long enough that even their poorest families must eventually accumulate a great deal of lore.
Wisdom is the product of education, experience, and reason. One need not acquire a formal education in order to become wise (and an educational system cannot guarantee results in any event). The Elves in general were very wise, possessing a great deal of experience. Tolkien successfully distinguishes between Elves by limiting their experiences and filtering their values through cultural motifs. Hence, Legolas thinks of the Elves of Eregion as strange and foreign to his own woodland folk. The Elves of Lothlorien are even less worldly than Legolas, except for Galadriel and Celeborn. Haldir the march-warden knows about Hobbits but hasn’t seen any for many years. And he is one of the few scouts who are occasionally sent out to have dealings with other peoples. Legolas is not surprised to know about Hobbits, but then, he has already met Bilbo and dealt with Gollum. And Gildor Inglorion and his folk pass through the Shire frequently, so they are quite comfortable with Hobbits.
Each Elf who encounters the Hobbits in the story accumulates some new experience, and gains a little wisdom thereby, but the Elf who exhibits the most growth is Legolas. By traveling with Frodo and the Company of the Ring, Legolas gains a unique experience which even Fëanor, Finwë, Elwë, and all the great Elves of old cannot match. He seems a bit rustic when the reader first meets him in “The Council of Elrond”, but by “Many Partings” Legolas has proven he possesses the wisdom and courage of a great leader, and that he can take on the wider world without stumbling in wide-eyed fashion. Some of the Elves, such as Lindir in Rivendell, would seem a bit out of place in the mortal world. Legolas may not be one of the Elven-wise, but he is a wise lord of the Elves.
So, if a wise lord of the Elves is not one of the Wise, how does one join the elite club? Are only lords of the Eldar admitted to the ranks of the Wise? If so, does Celeborn, originally conceived of as a Wood-elf, count? Or are only Noldor and Sindar considered eligible? And who makes the final determination? How do the Elves recognize their Wise lords, as opposed to their wise lords? Erestor was the chief counsellor of Elrond’s household, but was he, like Elrond (and probably Glorfindel) one of the Wise? Were Elrond’s sons, Elladan and Elrohir, who elicited a great deal of admiration from Legolas, counted among the Wise? Or, being only about 3,000 years old, were they still working on their apprenticeship?
There may have been only four Elves at the time of the War of the Ring whom all readers would regard to be numbered among the Wise: Cirdan, Glorfindel, Galadriel, and Elrond. Most people would probably accept Gildor, too. And maybe a lot of people would accept Celeborn despite the contrast Tolkien draws between Galadriel and Celeborn. But all other Elves and Half-elves encountered in the story, including Arwen and her brothers, and Erestor and Legolas, are merely wise Elves, not members of the Wise (so far as we know). The distinction, if there is one, seems to be that the Wise were members of the great families of the Eldar, the royal houses, except for Glorfindel. But Glorfindel was himself an ancient prince among the Eldar in their greatest city in Middle-earth.
Cirdan and Galadriel were both very ancient, Cirdan being the elder of the two. He had communed with one or more of the Maiar and Valar before the rebellion of the Noldor. And he may have communed with them after the First Age. Galadriel had lived in Aman and therefore had known many of the Valar and Maiar personally. She would have learned directly from the master architects of creations. And later, after the rebellion of the Noldor, Galadriel was introduced to Melian, who had taught the Sindar of Menegroth many things.
The Elven-wise were thus members of the most ancient Eldarin civilizations, or the direct heirs of those civilizations. Elrond was born after all the old kingdoms of Beleriand had been destroyed, but his father was Earendil and his foster father was Maglor. Maglor, though renowned mostly as a great singer and warrior, was the second son of Fëanor. Fëanor was the greatest among the Eldar in arts and lore (presumably, “lore” here being what Tolkien called “technology” as acquired and applied by the Noldor). Elrond’s apprenticeship under one of the last Fëanorians who had walked in Aman might not have been equivalent to an education in Aman, but he would have benefitted from Maglor’s experience in many ways. When Elrond met Frodo and Sam in the Shire, he was playing a harp. Was his musical skill derived from Maglor?
The lords of the Eldar seem to have been the most powerful of the Elves. Finrod engaged in a contest of sorcery with Sauron, and though Sauron prevailed Finrod’s deed is considered a great achievement. Luthien was the greatest of all Elven enchantresses, but she was also the daughter of Melian the Maia. Fëanor had the greatest power, and he was able to sway most of the Noldor toward rebellion and exile. It would seem, therefore, that the chief power was invested in the Finwëans and Elwëans. That is, the families of the Eldarin kings displayed greater power or sorcery than other Elven families. Hence, Celebrimbor alone could make three Rings more powerful than the other Rings which the Gwaith-i-Mirdain had made with Sauron’s aid. Galadriel could cast down the walls of Dol Guldur.
Glorfindel proved to be an exceptional Elven lord, and was certainly a very powerful lord at the end of the Third Age. But in fleshing out Glorfindel’s history, Tolkien determined that Glorfindel’s status as a re-embodied Elf enhanced his gifts and power. He had become more powerful, and was almost like one of the Maiar. Glorfindel might not have been able to assume a huge, mountainous form like one of the Maiar, but he might have been able to achieve some pretty powerful magic. So, Glorfindel’s ancient age, his accumulated wisdom and experience, and his great power virtually assured him a place among the Wise. But when did the Wise become the Wise? When did the Elves look at these great lords and realize there was more to their wisdom and lore than just the sum of their experience and education?
The Wise are found in Tol Eressëa as well as in Middle-earth. At least, in considering the possible origins of the Orcs, The Silmarillion tells us that the Wise of Tol Eressëa believe the Orcs were bred from Elves whom Melkor captured soon after their awakening at Cuivienen. So, who are these Wise of Tol Eressëa? None of the Finwëans return to Aman after the First Age. Plenty of them die during the Wars of Beleriand, but are they the Wise of Tol Eressëa to whom the narrative refers? How many of them are released from Mandos after the First Age? Finrod, at least, is said to have been brought forth. He walks under the trees of Eldamar with his father, Finarfin. Yet Tol Eressëa becomes the home of the Eldar who sail over Sea to Aman after the War of Wrath. That is, the Noldor led by Finarfin continue to live in Aman itself, and Finrod when he emerges from Mandos must settle in Aman, in Eldamar, rather than on Tol Eressëa.
It may be that Turgon, Finrod, Orodreth, Angrod, Aegnor, Fingolfin, and Fingon were all eventually restored to life and that most of them if not all of them settled in Tol Eressëa. There they could have become the Wise of Tol Eressëa, and devoted ages to examining the questions they didn’t have time to answer during the Wars of Beleriand. Or it may be that other Elven lords, from less important families, assumed roles of leadership among the Eldar of Tol Eressëa, and became the Wise of Tol Eressëa. In Tol Eressëa’s original conception, developed for The Book of Lost Tales, Littleheart was one of the leaders of the Eldar on Tol Eressëa. He was the son of Bronweg, who eventually became Voronwe. Voronwe, in “Of Tuor and his Coming to Gondolin”, claimed to be related to Cirdan through his mother. But he also claimed to be “of the House of Fingolfin” when he named his father, Aranwe, in approaching Gondolin. No genealogy has been published which shows how Voronwe could have been related to either Cirdan (and thus Elwë, Cirdan’s kinsman) or Fingolfin.
Nonetheless, if Voronwe, Tuor, and Idril did eventually reach Aman (as some people believe), and Tuor was admitted to the kinship of the Noldor, they may have formed the core of the Wise of Tol Eressëa. Should Tuor and Idril have had more children than just Earendil? Perhaps. But Voronwe could have established a family of Elven lords who assumed an important place in Tol Eressëa’s society.
But we are left with the question of whether bloodlines really matter. For what were the Eldarin kings before they became kings? Were they the mightiest of the Elves in wisdom and power to begin with? Were they already leaders of the Elves? And, if so, how did they become so important? In the story of the First Elves, Imin, Tata, and Enel awaken before all the other Elves. They begin the process of inventing language, and because they were the eldest they possessed more experience than other Elves. But would they ever have become Elven-wise? Did they possess great power or acquire knowledge which made them and their children superior in any way to other Elves?
It may be that a natural order was established in which authority was conferred upon individuals for the sake of presiding over communities. That is, those Elves who became leaders among their peoples were enhanced. Their authority would require that they be able to judge matters fairly, if they applied their gifts fairly. The choices these leaders made would not be preordained for them. They would not always choose the wisest path. But they would be empowered to discern more clearly than the people in their followings. Which is not to say that an average Elf couldn’t see through an empty window. Rather, the Elven leaders may have gained an increase in their perceptive abilities, or their analytical abilities, as they built their communities.
In a sense, the Elves themselves may have been responsible for empowering their leaders. Each Elf, in giving his or her loyalty to a particular leader, would emotionally and mentally support that leader. It seems strange that so many Noldor would abide Fëanor’s treachery, for example, and participate in the Kin-slayings at Alqualonde, Doriath, and Arvernien. But what if the Elves had in some way become tied to their leaders, such that part of each follower’s power passed into or bequeathed upon the leader a small enhancement? A powerful bond could form between an Elven leader and followers, and the followers might begin to share their leader’s temperment. The rare breach between leader and followers might prove to be an emotional and potentially debilitating experience.
Hence, when Finrod left Nargothrond, he would have been diminished, because most of his people had refused to support his commitment to the family of Barahir. But the Elves of Nargothrond would, in their own way, have been diminished because of the loss of their leader. Even though Orodreth eventually became King of Nargothrond and forced Celegorm and Curufin to leave (without their own followers), Orodreth may not have benefitted from the bond between King and Folk because it had not passed to him naturally. That is, the Elves may have lost some of their strength when they allowed their bond to Finrod to wither. Hence, Orodreth could never be the leader his brother had once been.
A bond between leader and followers, established by the individual choices of the Elves, empower the authority of leaders as no mortal contract could. The relationship between leader and follower may not have been one of mutual obligation but rather one of mutual enchantment. A great people would literally make a great leader, and the great leader would make better choices for his people. And, hence, the Elven-wise would be the lords of the Eldar because they were empowered by their people to see matters more clearly, to choose and judge for their people, to exercise the communal wisdom and lore. Elrond is said to have been made a master of lore when he chose to be of Elven-kind. Who made him such a master? Eonwe? Manwe? Or did the Noldor who accepted him into their ranks as an Elven-lord bestow upon him a communal trust and bond?
The process of creating and sustaining the bond between leader and follower would be magical, an act of sub-creative will. It would be something only an Elven people could or would do. Under such a system, it would be easy to identify the members of the Wise: they would be the leaders of the communities, or at least the larger communities. Elrond, therefore, would not have been among the Wise until he became the leader of a community. Gildor Inglorion would be one of the Wise because he was the leader of a company of Elves. The Wise were not Wise because of what families they came from, but rather because of how many Elves followed them. An Elf king might be one of the Wise, but only if he were personally bonded to a community of Elves.
The communal bond need not enhance the leader’s power, or strength. Rather, individual strength would remain constant, but the wisdom to use that strength would be enhanced. The communal bond could, however, extend to entire families. Hence, Elven realms would be more likely to maintain a dynasty than mortal realms. The Noldor were contentious and fractious, but after Fëanor’s rebellion they remained fairly stable.
The Elven-wise are also loremasters, great scholars and philosophers. Any Elf may learn whatever knowledge is made freely available. But the great insights provided by leaders like Finrod and Elrond might be achieved only by members of the Elven-wise, the leaders, because of their enhanced abilities. Hence, an Elf like Lindir of Rivendell may seem less wise when compared to Legolas or Elrond, but is not really dense or ignorant. Lindir trusts Elrond to lead the community with the insight of the Wise.
The Wise are credited with discerning or ferreting out truths behind events and mysteries. The Wise of Tol Eressëa thus speculate that Orcs are bred from ancient Elves. The Wise (of Middle-earth) suspect that the Necromancer may be Sauron or one of the Nazgul returned. The Wise are the chief lords of the Eldar. They must act as the judges of the Eldar, and not just their intelligence agency. The Wise are therefore something like the ancient Hebrew Judges in pre-Davidic Israel. The Wise discern the threats to the Eldar, choose how those threats are to be met, and lead the Eldar in their wars against whatever threatens them.
If the Wise depend upon a leader-follower bond to distinguish who is among the Wise, then it should be no wonder that only Elves are ever referred to. Men, even Numenoreans, would not be able to establish such a bond. The secretive and jealous Dwarves have their own customs, but probably would not invest their strength in communal leaders. Ents don’t seem to have had much in the way of sub-creative faculties. So, among Rational Incarnates (Elves, Dwarves, Men, Ents), only the Elves could develop a class of leaders who would be collective judges and guardians of the communal wisdom. The Wise are a very Elvish concept, and the greatest among them would have to be “the chief lords of the Eldar”.
This article was originally published on June 10, 2001.
As Gandalf frequently reminds us, the Wise include the wizards as
well as the Elvish rulers. When he says (in ‘The Shadow of the Past’): “Among the Wise I am the only one that goes in for Hobbit-lore” it may be a playful reference to Tolkien’s own sometimes questioned academic standing. The White Council, i.e. a Council of the (possibly self-appointed) Wise, might be a dig at the Hebdomadal Council, the notoriously secretive and arbitrary body which used to run Oxford University.
The concept applies most clearly to the Third Age, when the Elves, like Elrond, have chosen wisdom rather than power. Of course they still need some power, but their concern is to preserve, not conquer. (Thranduil may be an exception, going on his portrayal in The Hobbit as something of a belated, treasure-hungry arriviste among Elf-lords.)
I feel the theme was a natural one for Tolkien, who could use it to illustrate various kinds of “wisdom”. For example, in his letters he displays a Christianised Platonism which he shared with C.S.Lewis. Thus Galadriel to Frodo: “Your sight is grown keener. You have perceived my thought more clearly than many that are accounted wise.” The metaphor of sight recalls Plato’s Guardians (philosopher-rulers), who “see” with the eye of the mind.
As far as the credentials of the Elven-Wise are concerned, Tolkien’s outlook would seem to be firmly monarchical and aristocratic. The Guardians were in fact an idealised and re-modelled aristocracy, which to Plato was the original and best form of society. There may however be an opening left for the not-so-aristocratic in phrases like “the learning of the Wise”, used on the title page of the Red Book; again there is a hint of self-parody.
A valiant effort to rehabilitate Celeborn but a wholly unsuccessful one. Celeborn’s reaction to the news of the balrog’s awakening is, at best, rash. The idea that the entry of the Fellowship into Lórien threatens that realm more than would Durin’s Bane chasing the Ringbearer down the Anduin valley is an absurdity. Celeborn makes a snap judgement on the basis of insufficient information and comes to a manifestly erroneous conclusion: as far from wisdom as one might ever care to be.
The gift of boats hardly exculpates him. He provides people who are trying to save the world and need to travel fast – with a means to travel fast. If that’s remarkable wisdom, show me folly. And crediting Celeborn for his admonishment of Boromir’s scepticism is the least justifiable of them all. Not only is this authorial foreshadowing of the most heavy-handed kind, but it is also strongly reminiscent of Elrond’s miserable cautioning of Boromir upon the winding of his horn when departing Rivendell. It’s apparently just what elven lords do when they say goodbye: weigh you down with dismal words. Beyond the authorial/Galadriel’s epithet, there simply isn’t any textual evidence to support the idea of Celeborn’s wisdom; and what evidence there is suggests the opposite – Celeborn is a fool.
However, this does not mean he cannot be one of ‘the Wise’. While you make some interesting points in your discussion of Elvish leadership, a more elegant explanation is at hand. The one thing ‘the Wise’ have in common is not insight, or wisdom, or learning: it is power, and, specifically, ‘legitimate’ power. Respect for – or, indeed, subjugation to – legitimate authority is the quintessential element of all Tolkien’s writing, and Celeborn is no exception. Celeborn is a Lord; Lords are Wise; therefore Celeborn is Wise. Be it wise or not, this is Tolkien’s argument.
Duncan, Celeborn has always had an uphill climb in winning readers’ hearts. I still have around 30 of these old essays to republish. One of the last in the series is “Celeborn Unplugged”, which many people feel was my best effort at defending and elevating the wisest of the Elves to the status Tolkien may have conferred upon him. I don’t have a precise schedule for publishing all the essays but I think that one will appear on this blog around November or December.
Is it ever mentioned anywhere what became of Maglor (I mean besides wandering around the coasts singing)?
But good essay by the way. I like the comparison you make between Galadriel’s wisdom by experience and Elrond’s wisdom by learning (I could’ve sworn it was mentioned somewhere that Elrond was the greatest lore-master of the Third Age).
So did the White Council contain the same members of the Wise? Were they one and the same? And where did they meet?
I am not aware of any subsequent references to Maglor. I think Tolkien left him in that wandering state.
There is, I think, one statement somewhere that suggests the White Council was composed of the Elven-wise and the Istari, although as has been pointed out Gandalf included himself among the Wise so I suppose one could reconcile these ideas by distinguishing between “All the Wise” and the “Elven-wise” (a subset of the larger group).
The LOTR index defines the White Council as “the Council of the Wise.” The Wise in turn are “the Wizards and the Rulers of the Elves.”
Sorry to pick at it but I think the term “Wise” needs a little further clarification, as it is used in different ways. We first hear of the Wise when Gandalf tells Frodo that Saruman is “great among the Wise” [1]. At Rivendell, the Elven-wise are revealed: “lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas” [2]. Judging by Gandalf’s donnish chit-chat, for Wizards “wisdom” is a form of professional expertise, gained by study and research. Conversely the Elven-wise, like Glorfindel, have a personal power derived from their sojourn in Valinor. Though Elrond is both wise and (by courtesy at least) an Elf, under the given definition he doesn’t qualify as Elven-wise; as a lore-master he is more like the Wizards. Whereas after his re-incarnation, Gandalf grows in power.
There is still the question, as Michael puts it, of “bloodlines” – i.e. how these particular Elves, or their ancestors, got to be the lords and rulers. It isn’t really explained; in the Silmarillion the original Elf-lords, Ingwe of the Vanyar and the rest, are simply that from the start.
I’m afraid Tolkien’s ideas here are very far from modern ones. It was possible for a long time for Englishmen to be simultaneously liberal and democratic in outlook and completely accepting of social rank. For instance John Milton, who put his name to the death warrant for King Charles I [3], describes the angelic host in descending order as “Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Vertues, Powers” [4]. Tolkien’s “angels”, the Valar and Maiar, embody such a hierarchy and so, it would seem, do the Elf-lords.
Other, more accessible models might be the Catholic church with its College of Cardinals, or the fellowship system of the Oxford colleges. Entry to such bodies is simultaneously a grant of power and status and a recognition of “wisdom”. Similarly Gandalf describes the Istari as “my Order”, implying it is some kind of collegiate body; presumably with a procedure for entry (and the possibility of expulsion, as Saruman discovers).
Bear in mind that Tolkien himself was of far from aristocratic or even gentry origins; as the language of the day had it, he was a “grammar-school boy” among “public school men”. He had however earned “gentleman” status, I should judge, by his academic appointments [5]. So I should say that membership of the “Wise”, hinted at in various places albeit in a self-deprecating way, was quite an important part of his self-image.
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[1] ‘The Shadow of the Past’
[2] ‘Many Meetings’
[3] He wasn’t executed for being a king, he was executed for treason against “the People”; thus providing a key concept of the US constitution.
[4] Paradise Lost v.601
[5] And by having held a King’s commission; but notice, he won the commission after his graduation. The style of “Esq”, which properly denotes a gentleman (or gentlehobbit – cf the auctioneers’ notice at the end of The Hobbit, and the Gaffer’s remarks in the opening scene of LOTR) can also be earned by gaining a Master of Arts degree at either of, but only, Oxford or Cambridge Universities*. I’m not sure if Tolkien had an MA but in both places it’s normally automatic, requiring no study beyond what is required for a BA. During this era my grandfather, another grammar-school boy who later studied at Oxford, had to settle for NCO.
*I swear this is true – you can guess why I would know 🙂
Response to Who Is Like The Wise Elf
Excellent essay, Michael, and my favourite so far.
Despite Gandalf’s reference to “the Wise” as a clear category to which a given individual may or may not be considered to belong, I have always felt that Tolkien used it as a turn of speech as much as a literal statement regarding this rarefied college of far-flung elves and wizards. Discussing what is known to the Wise is effectively describing what is knowable within Middle-earth, short of divine inspiration.
I’ve never had a problem with Celeborn, so I’m not much concerned with the apologia. But if your case isn’t proven by the examples discussed, I think you correctly identify Tolkien as having aimed at portraying him as wise, even if that’s not entirely successful with all readers.
To return to the notion of divine inspiration, Círdan is stated to have received such. I might quibble that he did not commune with one or more of the Maiar or Valar, in that he did not initiate communication, but communication was given to him. And more importantly, “From that night onwards, Círdan received a foresight touching all matters importance, beyond the measure of all other Elves upon Middle-earth,” (‘Círdan’, in PoMe). I place importance on the word “received”, taking it not to mean merely that Círdan was given some native faculty to foresee, but to be used in the sense indicated in the Osanwe-kenta essay, that he was periodically in receipt of guidance from the Powers themselves (or, conceivably, the Highest Power of all).
Others of the Wise, however great their native powers, seem like Elrond and Gandalf to have to base their wisdom regarding the highest of matters on Estel-faith in the Will of Eru.
As to the lordship of the Wise, firstly terms like “Elf-lords” may be intended to refer only to greatness rather than necessarily being a matter of quasi-feudal rule over others. Secondly, if they are indeed a matter of rulership, then that would draw upon the concept identified in Osanwe-kenta as ‘Authority’: a source of enhanced power in some matters. Thirdly, I really like the notion that Authority is something that those under the individual’s rule buy into and bestow upon the leaders of their communities — though I think the concept extends to the lords of Dwarves, Men (and presumably Hobbits, if they only knew it) as well, rather than being something that applies only amongst the Elves. But finally I have to say that despite this, Tolkien’s conception of it appears to have largely derived from a monarchist perspective, such that the Authority of rightful rulers is absolute and ordained by the Powers, rather than just a consensus of the ruled to vest power in those who rule over them. But given that base, the Elves doubtless had a stronger faculty to contribute strength to their leaders through the leader-follower bond than did the other peoples.
Cheers!
–Os.
I guess the discussion shows the power of the line with which the “Elven-wise” are introduced: “lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas” [1]. This works well in its place, especially considering the reassurance it may give to Frodo, but there is evidence that JRRT progressively modified the concept. In a draft of ‘The Tale of Years’ the collective Wise become “the chieftains of the Eldar and the Istari” [2]. In the published work they are “the Istari and the chief Eldar.” (The Index definition I quoted before, “the Wizards and the Rulers of the Elves”, appears to be an editorial insertion as it is in square brackets. If so, even if it is taken from authentic material it is not quite “canonical”.)
The ‘Tale of Years’ revision may seem a minor one, but with so careful a writer one should take note of two differences: (i) the Istari are placed ahead of the Elvish component (ii) the Elvish Wise are only the “chief” i.e. the most important of the Eldar, and not “chieftains” in the sense of clan or war leaders.
The changes appear to backtrack on the association of “wisdom” with outright rule or “Authority”. They still leave it open as to whether wisdom follows from the status of being “chief”, or vice versa. A late essay on Glorfindel [3], paralleling the one about Cirdan [4], which details Glorfindel’s return from the halls of Mandos to Middle Earth circa S.A.1700, might seem to clarify the matter. Thus: divine tuition –> “power” of the type specified in ‘Many Meetings’, i.e. spiritual (but handy for spiritually zapping Black Riders; wisdom isn’t mentioned at all) –> signature member of Elven-wise. However the pattern is different with Cirdan: divinely instilled vision (of the ship Vingilot) –> “wisdom” in the form of foresight –> cements aeons-long career in naval architecture.
Perhaps it is unfair to single out these writings, among his last, in which JRRT seems concerned to spell out, one might say over-explain, matters which in the primary composition work spendidly as verbal suggestion. Regardless, I’d like to add a thought on the “leader-follower bond”. This is how the original Elf-lords got their start: after the chaining of Melkor Orome chooses as ambassadors to the Valar Ingwe, Finwe and Olwe, “who afterwards were kings” [5]. The phrase allows, perhaps, their elevation to monarchy to be the result of constitutional process; but divine approval would seem be a strong argument in their favour. (On a slightly variant note, it’s possible a model here is the cautious career management of the early Anglo-Saxon kings, who were also leaders of migrations. For example Cerdic, leader of the West Saxons, waited twenty-four years after his arrival in Britain, AD 495 to 509, before claiming the title of King.)
I hope these remarks aren’t too pointed. They are meant to be sincere, and “the cat’s away!”
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[1] ‘Many Meetings’
[2] ‘The Peoples of Middle-Earth’, ‘Tale of Years of the Third Age’ draft T4, entry for circa T.A.1100
[3] PoME, ‘Glorfindel’
[4] PoME, ‘Cirdan’
[5] Silmarillion, Chapter 3
The whole concept of monarchical right in Tolkien’s fiction deserves its own 7-volume work, in my opinion. Much of his mythology is bound up in the royal sub-mythology (if I may call it that) which some have compared to the Divine Right of Kings (which, if I recall correctly, is not exactly the medieval concept some have said it was). Determining the exact nature of the Wise leads to many questions and is one of the more interesting intellectual challenges in analyzing Tolkien’s scheme of things, in my opinion.
For example, would Gwindor and Gelmir, and their father Guilin, have been considered among the “Wise” since they were (apparently) princes (from Nargothrond) even if not from the House of Finwë?
Yes, in England the divine right of kings is usually associated with the early Stuarts James I and Charles I. According to Shippey, Tolkien has a dig at them with Boromir’s “How many hundreds of years needs it to make a steward a king” (‘The Window on the West’); the Stuarts had been hereditary High Stewards of Scotland. In general though, divinely ordained monarchy seems a concept so obvious that it scarcely needs defending. As Plato recounts in the Critias Atlantis had such a monarchy, chosen by Poseidon. Like Numenor its people strayed from the path of righteousness before it was inundated.
The concept of the Wise seems to belong mainly to the Third Age, being developed as LOTR progressed. The idea that the Exiles are specially “wise” is present in The Hobbit: “There [Faerie in the West] the Light-Elves and the Deep-Elves and the Sea-Elves went and lived for ages, and grew fairer and wiser and more learned” (‘Flies and Spiders’). So I’d hazard the Elven-wise began as the Exiles in general. “Lords of the Eldar” is an emphasiser meaning they are lords among those who did not go over sea, like the Numenoreans being “kings of Men”. Of course some, like Glorfindel, may be of greater stature than others.
As I’ve pointed out before, Platonic thought runs through JRRT’s work. The original name for the Noldor, “Gnomes”, is linked to “gnosis”, which means “knowledge” but of the Platonic kind i.e. direct mental vision of the Ideals (originally the Good, the True, the Beautiful, etc.) which to Plato were “reality”. The defining characteristic of the Elven-wise is spelled out thus: “those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power” (‘Many Meetings’). It is a fusing of the Celtic “Otherworld”, the fairy hills far away, with the sunlit world beyond the Platonic shadow-cave – adding a nod to “Other Side” suburban spiritualism.
A problem for the sceptic how this “wisdom” actually plays out. As with Plato, empirical investigation is viewed with mistrust (Republic 530-531). Gandalf scorns Saruman’s pioneering spectroscopy: He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom – ‘The Council of Elrond’ rather in the way that Goethe rubbished Newton’s prism experiments. For those of a suspicious disposition, “what it is” may suggest a special Platonic is-ness of the kind exemplified by C.S.Lewis:
EUSTACE: ‘In our world a star is a huge ball of flaming gas.’ RAMANDU: ‘Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of.’
– The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
The concept of the “Wise” doesn’t figure much in the Silmarillion or to put it another way, was never retrospectively applied to it. In the instance you refer to, the Wise of Tol Eressea, they are referred to as contemporaries. To be sure, the likes of Melian and Luthien have spiritual “power”. In Luthien’s case this is vaguely explained as “descended from of old from divine race” (‘Of Luthien and Beren’).