44-573: Arwen is a character from The Lord of the Rings . Arwen may also refer to: Arwen Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth legendarium . She appears in the novel The Lord of the Rings . Arwen is one of the half-elven who lived during the Third Age ; her father was Elrond half-elven, lord of the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell , while her mother
88-723: A 1964 letter that the story of Elendil began when C. S. Lewis and he agreed to write a space travel and a time travel story, respectively. Tolkien's tale was to be called Númenor, the Land in the West , with repeated father–son pairs whose names meant "Bliss-friend" and "Elf-friend" each time. It was not completed, but survives as two unfinished time-travel novels, The Lost Road and The Notion Club Papers . The Elf-friends were to be Elwin in present time; Ælfwine ( Old English ) around 918 AD; Alboin from " Lombardic legend"; and eventually Elendil of Númenor. Tolkien states that he lost interest in
132-594: A jewelled pendant called the Evenstar which Arwen gives to Aragorn as a token of their love. A similar pendant appears in Marion Zimmer Bradley 's short story The Jewel of Arwen , although in that story Arwen gives it to "the Ring-Bearer" rather than to Aragorn. In Tolkien's novel, Arwen gives Frodo "a white gem like a star...hanging upon a silver chain" before he leaves Minas Tirith, saying, "When
176-514: A scholar of literature, notes Elendil's survival of Númenor's fall, an event that recalls to him both Plato's Atlantis and the Biblical fall of man ; he notes that Tolkien called Elendil a "Noachian figure", an echo of the biblical Noah . Tolkien explains that Elendil "held off" from the Númenórean rebellion, and had kept ships ready; he "flees before the overwhelming storm of the wrath of
220-513: Is "subtly conveyed" and present throughout the novel. In Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , Arwen is played by Liv Tyler . The films give her a more prominent role than her literary counterpart. In the first film, Arwen searches for Aragorn and single-handedly rescues Frodo Baggins from the Black Riders at Bruinen , thwarting them with a sudden flood, summoned by an incantation. During this flight, Arwen wields
264-559: Is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien 's legendarium . He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings , The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales . He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, last lord of Andúnië on the island of Númenor , and having escaped its downfall by sailing to Middle-earth , became the first High King of Arnor and Gondor . In the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, Elendil and Gil-galad laid siege to
308-531: Is ironic that Jackson may have come closest to Tolkien's intentions in the prologue by representing Sauron in humanoid form, while he is a disembodied eye everywhere else in the film series. In the 2022 television series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power , Elendil is played by Lloyd Owen . The show introduces Elendil as a Númenórean nobleman, who serves as a sea captain. He is a widower with three adult children: sons Isildur and Anárion, and
352-475: Is the Twilight for me; for I am mortal, and if you will cleave to me, Evenstar, then the Twilight you must also renounce." And she stood then as still as a white tree, looking into the West, and at last she said: "I will cleave to you, Dúnadan , and turn from the Twilight. Yet there lies the land of my people and the long home of all my kin." She loved her father dearly. J.R.R. Tolkien , The Lord of
396-809: Is unfurled at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields to reveal the emblem of Elendil figured in mithril , gems, and gold; this becomes the first triumphant public announcement of the king's return. After the ring is destroyed, Aragorn becomes king of Arnor and Gondor . Arwen arrives at Minas Tirith , and they are married. She gives Frodo the Evenstar: her necklace with a white stone, to aid him when his injuries trouble him. Arwen serves as inspiration and motivation for Aragorn, who must become King of both Arnor and Gondor before Elrond will allow her to marry him. The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen , an appendix to
440-649: The Epic of Gilgamesh for the Flood and the Enuma Elish for Creation. The priest and Tolkien scholar Fleming Rutledge writes that Aragorn, narrating the Lay of Beren and Lúthien to the hobbits, tells them that Lúthien's line "shall never fail". Rutledge talks of the "kings of Númenor, that is Westernesse", and as they gaze at him, they see that the moon "climbs behind him as if to crown him", which Rutledge calls an echo of
484-647: The Elves , who was called Nightingale ( Tinúviel ). Arwen was a distant relative of her husband Aragorn. Aragorn's ancestor, Elros Tar-Minyatur, the first King of Númenor , was her father Elrond's brother, who chose to live as a Man rather than as one of the Eldar. Arwen became Queen of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor when she married Aragorn, who was of the line of the Kings of Arnor. By their marriage,
SECTION 10
#1732791176242528-600: The Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." His heir and 40th generation descendant in father-to-son line Aragorn spoke these traditional words again when he took up the crown of Gondor in The Return of the King . Elendil founded the northern realm of Arnor and its capital city of Annúminas. His sons founded the southern realm of Gondor; Anárion founded
572-539: The Transfiguration . Rutledge explains that Aragorn is of the line of Elendil and knows he will inherit "the crown of Elendil and the other Kings of vanished Númenor", just as Jesus is of the line of King David , fulfilling the prophecy that the line of Kings would not fail. Zak Cramer notes in Mallorn that Tolkien's middle name, Reuel, means "God's friend", and could be written "El's friend" with reference to
616-539: The "Celtic" imagery of John Duncan 's 1911 Pre-Raphaelite painting Riders of the Sidhe . Sauron uses the Palantír to show Aragorn a dying Arwen (a scene from the future) in the hope of weakening his resolve. The films portray Arwen as becoming human through her love for Aragorn; as in the novel, she follows the choice of her ancestor Lúthien to become a mortal woman for the love of a mortal man. The films introduce
660-662: The Dark Lord Sauron 's fortress of Barad-dûr , and fought him hand-to-hand for the One Ring . Both Elendil and Gil-galad were killed, and Elendil's son Isildur took the Ring for himself. Tolkien called Elendil a "Noachian figure", an echo of the biblical Noah . Elendil escaped from the flood that drowned Númenor , itself an echo of the myth of Atlantis , founding new Númenórean kingdoms in Middle-earth. Elendil
704-517: The Elven chorus) and "The Song of Hope Duet" (with Aragorn). In the 2009 fan film The Hunt for Gollum , Arwen is played by Rita Ramnani . The Lord of the Rings board game made use of a rendition of Arwen by Jackson's conceptual designer, the illustrator John Howe ; the work was inspired by the French actress Isabelle Adjani . Elendil Elendil ( Quenya: [ɛˈlendil] )
748-642: The Hebrew word for "God". He speculates that Elendil, "Elf-friend", may have been a wordplay on this name. The classical scholar J. K. Newman compares the myth of Elendil and the defeat of Sauron with Jason 's taking of the Golden Fleece . In both, a golden prize is taken; in both, there are evil consequences – Elendil's son Isildur is betrayed and the Ring is lost, leading to the War of the Ring and Frodo's quest; Medea murders Jason's children. Tolkien wrote in
792-639: The House of Elrond: she sits beside her father at the celebratory feast. When the Fellowship of the Ring comes to Lothlórien, Aragorn remembers his earlier meeting with Arwen and pauses in reverence. Shortly before Aragorn takes the Paths of the Dead , he is joined by a contingent of his people accompanied by Arwen's brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, who bring him a gift from Arwen: a banner of black cloth. The banner
836-583: The Jackson films is thematically faithful to or compatible with Tolkien's writings, despite the differences. In the 1981 BBC radio serialisation of The Lord of the Rings , Arwen is voiced by Sonia Fraser. In the musical theatre adaptation of Lord of the Rings , Arwen, played in London in 2007 by Rosalie Craig , sings the Prologue, and three musical numbers: "The Song of Hope", "Star of Eärendil" (with
880-482: The Last Alliance of Elves and Men. They defeated Sauron in the Battle of Dagorlad, and laid siege to his stronghold of Barad-dûr . During this long siege Anárion was killed. Finally, Sauron came out personally to do battle. Gil-galad and Elendil fought him, but both were killed, and Elendil's sword was broken beneath him. Isildur used his father's broken sword to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Nicholas Birns ,
924-459: The Ring serving to vanquish Sauron. Tolkien instructed that "Sauron should not be thought of as very terrible. The form that he took was that of a more than human stature, but not gigantic", though he "could appear as a commanding figure of great strength of body and supremely royal demeanor and countenance." Jackson chooses to make Sauron much larger than Elendil for his final battle. The scholar of English literature Robert Tally comments that it
SECTION 20
#1732791176242968-555: The Rings , Appendix A, part I (v) " The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen " As told in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", in his twentieth year Aragorn met Arwen for the first time in Rivendell , where he lived under Elrond's protection. Arwen, then over 2,700 years old, had recently returned to her father's home after living with her grandmother, Galadriel, in Lothlórien. Aragorn fell in love with Arwen at first sight. Thirty years later,
1012-504: The Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring , Elendil is portrayed by Peter McKenzie . He appears briefly in the prologue, where he is killed by Sauron. The action differs from the book, where Gil-galad and Elendil heroically defeated Sauron, at the cost of their own lives, allowing Isildur to take the Ring without difficulty. In the film, Sauron defeats Elendil, and Isildur fights Sauron, the action of cutting off his finger and
1056-401: The West [from Valinor ], and is borne high upon the towering waves that bring ruin to the west of the Middle-earth." Birns notes that Elendil, who he calls a hugely important figure in Middle-earth, must be later "in comparative time" than Noah; where Noah was a refugee, Elendil was "an imperialist, a founder of realms". However, he grants that "Noachian" implies a class of people like Noah, and
1100-460: The book a sign of his rightful kingship, is in the film something he accepts as if he was condemned to it. In the extended version, Elrond asks Arwen, in Elvish with English subtitles, to accompany him to safety in Valinor , away from Middle-earth. The Tolkien scholar Dimitra Fimi comments that the procession of Elves in the scene "Arwen's vision" in the extended version borrows visually from
1144-579: The book). Arwen was the youngest child of Elrond , lord of the Elvish sanctuary of Rivendell and leader of the High Elves remaining in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age , and Celebrían , daughter of Galadriel , ruler of the Elvish forest realm of Lothlórien . Her elder brothers were the twins Elladan and Elrohir. Her name "Ar-wen" means 'noble maiden' in Sindarin . She was given
1188-862: The city of Minas Anor (later Minas Tirith) in Anórien , and Isildur founded Minas Ithil (later Minas Morgul) in Ithilien . Elendil was the High King, ruling directly over Arnor and indirectly over Gondor, via its King. As explained in The Fellowship of the Ring , Sauron eventually returned to Middle-earth, establishing a stronghold in Mordor , which was next to Gondor. He attacked, seizing Minas Ithil. Isildur fled north to his father, leaving Anárion in charge of Gondor. Elendil and Isildur returned south, together with Gil-galad and their combined armies, in
1232-487: The deletion of what he calls "Arwen, Warrior Princess ", even though it came "at the cost of reducing her to a sort of Lady of Shallott languishing for most of the final two films". In the Mythopoeic Society 's Tolkien on Film: Essays on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings , Cathy Akers-Jordan, Victoria Gaydosik, Jane Chance , and Maureen Thum all contend that the portrayal of Arwen and other women in
1276-565: The general Elvish pattern, already established in The Silmarillion and continued in The Lord of the Rings , of retreating to safe havens. The scholar of English literature Nancy Enright wrote that Arwen, like Christ , is an immortal who voluntarily chooses mortality out of love, in her case for Aragorn. She granted that Arwen is not a conspicuous character, and unlike Éowyn does not ride into battle, but stated that her inner power
1320-548: The lines of the Half-elven were reunited. Their union served, too, to unite and preserve the bloodlines of the three kings of the high Elves (Ingwë, Finwë, and the brothers Olwë and Elwë ) as well as the only line with Maiarin blood through Arwen's great-great-great grandmother, Melian , Queen of Doriath . As related in The History of Middle-earth , Tolkien conceived the character of "Elrond's daughter" late in
1364-555: The main story, relates that Aragorn and Arwen had a son, Eldarion, and at least two unnamed daughters. One year after Aragorn's death, Arwen dies at the age of 2,901. Through her father, Elrond, Arwen was the granddaughter of Eärendil the Mariner (the second of the Half-elven ), great-granddaughter of Tuor of Gondolin , and therefore a direct descendant of the ancient House of Hador. Through her great-grandmother, Idril , Arwen
Arwen (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1408-482: The memory of the fear and the darkness troubles you...this will bring you aid". In earlier versions of the script, Arwen fought in the Battle of Helm's Deep and brought the sword Andúril to Aragorn. Some scenes of Arwen fighting in Helm's Deep were filmed before both the film's writers (with Liv Tyler's approval) reconsidered the change and deleted her from the sequence. The critic John D. Rateliff wrote approvingly of
1452-640: The mouth of the River Anduin . With them the leaders took the palantíri , the "Seeing Stones" that were given to the Lords of Andúnië by the Elves of Tol Eressëa , and a seedling of Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor. Unfinished Tales states that, upon landing in Middle-earth, Elendil proclaimed in Quenya : Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta! "Out of
1496-470: The name "Evenstar" as the most beautiful of the last generation of High Elves in Middle-earth . Arwen said: "Dark is the Shadow, and yet my heart rejoices; for you, Estel, shall be among the great whose valour will destroy it." But Aragorn answered: "Alas! I cannot foresee it, and how it may come to pass is hidden from me. Yet with your hope I will hope. And the Shadow I utterly reject. But neither, lady,
1540-477: The others, and focussed on Elendil, whose story he incorporated into his "main mythology". One of Tolkien's correspondents, the scholar of English, Rhona Beare, writes in Mythlore that Elendil is a "remote ancestor" of Alboin; when Alboin travels back in time he finds Númenor simultaneously familiar and strange, because he can see it both with Elendil's eyes and with his own. In Peter Jackson 's The Lord of
1584-669: The pardon of the Valar. Amandil was never heard of again, but on his urging, Elendil, his sons Isildur and Anárion, and their supporters fled the downfall of Númenor at the end of the Second Age , escaping to Middle-earth in nine ships. Elendil landed in Lindon, where he was befriended by Gil-galad , the Elven King. The waves carried Isildur and Anárion south to the Bay of Belfalas and
1628-535: The possibility of different kinds of flood. Birns comments that Middle-earth has its Creation and Flood myths, but not exactly a fall of man. He suggests that Tolkien, as a Catholic, may have been more comfortable working with the forces of nature seen in Creation and Flood, but preferred to leave the fall alone; he notes that both Creation and Flood are found in non-Christian tales from the Middle East, citing
1672-451: The sword Hadhafang , which according to film merchandise was once wielded by her father and had belonged to his grandmother Idril Celebrindal . In the film adaptation of The Two Towers , the injured Aragorn is revived by a dream or vision of Arwen, who kisses him and asks the Valar to protect him. In the film, Arwen does not send Aragorn the banner she has made; instead, Elrond takes
1716-500: The sword Narsil, reforged as Andúril , to Aragorn at Dunharrow , and tells him that Arwen's fate has become bound to the One Ring , and that she is dying. The Tolkien scholar Janet Brennan Croft comments that Jackson makes Arwen passive, denying her independence of mind; from being a constant support, she is a distraction, even a temptation, to Aragorn, whom Croft likens to "the American Superhero", and their marriage, in
1760-626: The two were reunited in Lothlórien. Arwen reciprocated Aragorn's love, and on the mound of Cerin Amroth they committed themselves to marrying each other. In making that choice, Arwen gave up the Elvish immortality available to her as a daughter of Elrond, and agreed to remain in Middle-earth instead of travelling to the Undying Lands . Arwen first appears in the text of The Lord of the Rings in Rivendell, shortly after Frodo Baggins wakes in
1804-464: The writing. Prior to this, he had considered having Aragorn marry Éowyn of the royal family of Rohan . Arwen is depicted as extremely beautiful; she is in Melissa Hatcher's view in Mythlore "a symbol of the unattainable, a perfect match for the unattainable Aragorn in Éowyn's eyes." Carol Leibiger wrote in the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia that Arwen's lack of involvement follows
Arwen (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1848-539: Was a descendant of King Turgon of the Noldor . Through her mother, she was the granddaughter of the Elf-queen Galadriel of Lothlórien . Through both of her parents, Arwen was a direct descendant of the ancient Elven House of Finwë . Furthermore, Arwen was a descendant of Beren and Lúthien , whose story resembled hers. Indeed, Arwen was held to be the reappearance in likeness of Lúthien, fairest of all
1892-565: Was born in Númenor , son of Amandil, Lord of Andúnië and leader of the "Faithful" (those who remained loyal to the Valar ), who maintained a strong friendship with the Elves and preserved the old ways against the practices of king Ar-Pharazôn and Sauron . His father Amandil had been a great admiral of the Númenórean fleet and a close friend to Ar-Pharazôn in their youth, but as Sauron's influence grew, he resorted to doing what their ancestor Eärendil had done: sailing to Valinor and asking for
1936-645: Was the Elf Celebrian, daughter of the Elf-queen Galadriel , ruler of Lothlórien . She marries the Man Aragorn , who becomes King of Arnor and Gondor . In Peter Jackson's film adaptation , Arwen is played by Liv Tyler . She plays a more active role in the film than in the book, personally rescuing the Hobbit Frodo from the Black Riders at the Fords of Bruinen (a role played by Glorfindel in
#241758