[Silvae]

Hi there everyone!! I'm new here, having only recently discovered how cool LotR is, and I have a few questions about passages in the book, which I am hoping other, more knowledgable fans can answer (lol) . For a start :
- When Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli arive at Meduseld in book II, Gandalf teels Theoden "Seldom has any lord of Rohan recieved three such guests". Obviously he's referring to Aragorn and himself, but who's the third? If it's Legolas, why did he just introduce him as "Legolas the Elf" at the door? He doesn't seem that well known, or important, for that matter, in the way Men treat him. If he's talking about Gimli, does he have royal blood (I haven't read the appendices)?
- Elrond is called Halfelven, and yet he's immortal. Is the name true, which would imply he's mortal (unless the elven gene is the "predominant" one )? Or has it just got some obscure origin that hasn't got anything to do with his life-span?
-Who, or what, is Tom Bombadil, in your opinion?
Thanks a lot for all answers,
Clara

[Yavanie]

Welcome! you have certainly come to the right place to explore your obsession with LOTR. I suggest you check out the Forum and explore what's in The Lirbrary and The Books discussions. If that doesn't answer your questions before the knowlege wizards here respond, then it will at least entertain you until they do! From France? Then if English is not your first language have no fear, this is a very good place for those fortunate enough to speak more than one language, even if it isn't elf!

Again, welcome to the nuthouse!

[Hathor]

When he says "guests such as these" I think he's returning to weirdness of it all. I mean, an Elf AND a Man AND a Dwarf? At the same time? Gadzooks! Or something equally odd. Have you tried reading the Appendices? They're good for this kind of information.

Ah, the Halfelven... to try and condense the Silmarillion, Elrond's Dad was human. Elrond's Mum was an Elf. (This is a generalisation. His family tree is even more odd than this, but the Elrond fans can explain it better than me) Elrond is a Half-Elf. Elrond also had a twin by the name of Elros. The two were given a choice; stay as Elves or become human. Elrond chose Elves and Elros chose humanity. Elros went onto found Numenour. He's a very very very very very distant ancestor to Aragorn!

All horrible generalisations, I'm afraid. I can't recommend The SIlmarillion enough; it's a fabulous story and has the backstory to a lot of characters and places.

Have fun here!

[Akroma]

[NancyBrooke]

I agree that Gandalf means Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas. Not only Man, Dwarf, and Elf; each is heir to a great house, AND they have accomplished amazing things as part of the Fellowship not to mention running half-way across Middle Earth after Merry and Pippin.

[Thuriniel]

Well ... about Legolas ... we don't really know that he's the heir (and the more I read, the less likely I think he's the oldest) ... but he's definitely a prince.

I personally think it refers to the oddity of having a human, a dwarf, and an elf together. It sort of refers back to Eomer's reaction when he encounters them in the plains of Rohan.

[NancyBrooke]

[inglor]

Re Tom: people have died over that argument, no one is quite sure. There is a reference to his origins in His Letters but I can't quote it, I THINK the Prof said he was an earth spirit, not a maia or a vala, something entirely different. There are numerous threads on numerous sites refering to Tom's origins.

Here is Elronds heritage, you make up your own mind.

Elrod's Father:

Idril (elf) = Tuor (man)> Earendil

Earendil= Elwing > Elrond

Elrond's Mother:

Melian (Maia) = Thingol (Elf)> Luthien

Luthien = Beren (Man) > Dior

Dior = Nimloth (elf) > Elwing

So actually, Half Elven is not really correct either, from a strictly biological sense.

Inlgor

[Viv]

[Thuriniel]

[Silvae]

Hi!! I'm back again! (And have read up a bit since last time, too!) This time, my question is about naming in Rohan (ha!) - We've got
Thengel (+Morwen of Lossarnach)
Theodwyn+ Eo(d?)mund and Theoden (+???? that's question n°1)and non-identified other sis.
Eowyn and Eomer, cousins to Theodred.
From this much :
Are girls' names a mishmash of both parents' names?
Are boys' names a part of the father's + a traditional kind of ending (und, ed, er, el...)
needed here, my fic is sounding very weird at the moment!

[SpaceWeavil]

[Elandriel]

I’m not entirely sure what to make of it, but I would assume that the third he’s referring to is Legolas. Legolas is the only son (that we know of) of King Thranduil, but it is strange that throughout the books he is only once referred to as a prince and no mentions are made of his royal blood. He is referred to as ‘Legolas of the Woodland Realm’, ‘Legolas the Elf’ ‘Legolas, an elf from the north’ and ‘Legolas, an elf of Mirkwood’ and he himself never makes much of his noble origins. That's why he doesn't seem important to men, but perhaps he prefers to let his actions speak for themselves and be judged on the basis of his good deeds, rather than on his bloodline

(I think, because of the way he is referred to and after having read all this that he is a younger son, but that’s just my opinion!)

But Gimli is also of noble blood; his father was Gloin, who accompanied Thorin Oakenshield in 'The Hobbit' (and was imprisoned by Thranduil, no doubt a partial reason for the initial bad blood between Legolas and Gimli!) and I think he was also a descendant of Durin the Deathless, which makes him pretty important!

[Silvae]

Thanx, that would be very practical!

[SpaceWeavil]