[cymrulady]

I have a question I'd appreciate members opinion on , please.
Do Elves sleep and if not, then do you think very young Elves would?

If you consider that sleep is an essential part of growth for a child, I find it difficult to believe that even Elf children would develop without it. (Yes, I know Elves are special, but we are talking about a fact of nature here. I would think everything needs time to regenerate and so far I have heard read many variations, eg.,
Elves sleep, but with their eyes open and Elves do not sleep.

What do you think?

Thanks

[Thuriniel]

You will find quite a bit of information on Elven sleep in "The Two Towers". Legolas is described as "sleeping" while running / walking with Aragorn and Gimli (when they're following the orcs that have Merry and Pippin). He's also described as resting on the ground, with hands folded on his chest, and eyes open.

... can you say eerie and vampire complex ?!!!!

Because of this, I've always assumed that Elves don't need much sleep, and when they do, they're really resting their mind, as if they were in a "waking dream."

As for elven children ... I'm afraid that all I've read in this subject comes from fanon rather than canon, so I cannot be of much help. But remember that Elven children don't develop the same way that human children ... and who's to say they would need their ZZZZ's as much as human children do? (all I can say is ... poor elven parents ... )

Hope this helps!

[cymrulady]

Thanks, it's a bit clearer now. Still pondering the 'littles Elves' question 'though. I suppose it may have to pass into the category of 'Things Tolkien Never Told Us' - lol!

[KhazarKhum]

Pretty much all young creatures sleep a great deal. I doubt that Elves are any different.

[Jael]

This is the very question I was going to ask myself --do elves sleep? If not, what are those beds at Rivendell for? The comfort of the guests?

I can see I need to revisit The Two Towers book. However, Legolas's sleeping behavior out in the wilderness might not be indicative of the way Elves behave in the comfort of their homes and flets. The very existence of an Elven house indicates the need for some kind of "down time." And if they don't use beds for sleeping, that brings up the question of where and how they practice their procreation. <g>

In the movie commentary, John Rhy-Davies makes a reference to Elves snoring and breaking wind -- probably just to embarrass Orlando Bloom yet again. I submit that if Elves do fart, it makes the sound of tinkling bells and has the aroma of incense. <g>

[cymrulady]

He-he! Thanks for that. The last bit really made me smile. I assume you're talking about the commentary for ROTK ext. ed. I've not listened to it yet but is it the part where Legolas and Gimli have a drinking competition? I'll have to have a listen.

As to your comments about why Elves have beds - I agree. I can't imagine ANY living thing could go for thousands of years without sleep! I also think Legolas was only 'switched off' when he ran whilst 'asleep' - sort of running on standby.

Anyway, thanks again.

[Jael]

[Shanalir]

Just had to toss this one in......

It's not all that uncommon for people to fall asleep in the middle of an activity when they're overtired. When I was in the Military in basic training, I knew people that fell asleep while marching in formation...and marched better than when they were awake! As a matter of fact, my hubby's one of them

[NancyBrooke]