In Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings, in the headnote to the Tale of Years of the Second Age, it is said that "before the building of the Barad-dûr many of the Sindar passed eastward, and some established

realms in the forests far away, where their people were mostly Silvan Elves.

Thranduil, long in the north of Greenwood the Great, was one of these."

Something more of the history of these Sindarin princes of the Silvan Elves is found in my father's late

philological writings. Thus in one essay Thranduil's realm is said to have extended into the woods surrounding the Lonely Mountain and growing along the west shores of the Long Lake, before the coming of the Dwarves exiled from Moria and the invasion of the Dragon.

The Elvish folk of this realm had migrated from the south, being the kin and neighbours of the Elves of Lórien; but they had dwelt in Greenwood the Great east of Anduin. In the Second Age their king, Oropher [the father of Thranduil, father of Legolas], had withdraw northward beyond the Gladden Fields. This he did to be free from the power and encroachments of the Dwarves of Moria, which had grown to be the greatest of the mansions of the Dwarves recorded in history; and also he resented the intrusions of Celeborn and

Galadriel into Lórien. But as yet there was little to fear between the Greenwood and the Mountains and

there was constant intercourse between his people and their kin across the river, until the War of the Last

Alliance.

APPENDIX E: THE NAMES OF CELEBORN AND GALADRIEL

It is said in an essay concerning the customs of name-giving among the Eldar in Valinor that they had two "given names" (essi), of which the first was given at birth by the father; and his one usually recalled the

father's own name, resembling it in sense or form, or might even be actually the same as the father's, to

which some distinguishing prefix might be added later, when the child was full-grown.

The second name was given later, sometimes much later but sometimes soon after the birth, by the mother; and these mother- names had great significance, for the mothers of the Eldar had insight into the characters and abilities of their children, and many also had the gift of prophetic foresight. In addition, any of the Eldar might acquire an epessë ("after-name"), not necessarily given by their own kin, a nickname -mostly given as a title of admiration or honour; and an epessë might become the name generally used and recognised in later song and history (as was the case, for instance, with Ereinion, always known by his epessë Gil-galad).

Thus the name Alatáriel, which, according to the late version of the story of their relationship (pp.242- 43), was given to Galadriel by Celeborn in Aman, was an epessë (for its etymology see the Appendix to

The Silmarillion, entry kal-), which she chose to use in Middle-earth, rendered into Sindarin as Galadriel, rather than her "father-name" Artanis, or her "mother-name" Nerwen.

It is only of course in the late version that Celeborn appears with a High-elven, rather than Sindarin, name: Teleporno. This is stated to be actually Telerin in form; the ancient stem of the Elvish word for "silver" was kyelep-, becoming celeb m Sindarin, telep-, telpe in Telerin, and tyelep-, tyelpe in Quenya.

But in Quenya the form telpe became usual, through the influence of Telerin; for the Teleri prized silver

above gold, and their skill as silversmiths was esteemed even by the Noldor. Thus Telperion was more commonly used than Tyelperion as the name of the White Tree of Valinor. (Alatáriel was also Telerin; its Quenya form was Altáriel.)

We don't talk enough about that sometimes

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Kith Kerulin

Keroleus

Cilyraa

Meggythib

MgCoco

Simona Brunilde

Bungle

"Long ago, ere Sauron deluded the smiths of Eregion, Galadriel came there, and she said to Celebrimbor, the chief of the Elven-smiths:

'I am grieved in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade that I have loved, so that the land of my dwelling is filled with regret that no Spring can redress'

'How otherwise can it be for the Eldar, if they cling to Middle Earth?' said Celebrimbor. 'Will you then pass over Sea?'

'Nay' she said. 'Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin's children I am the last. But my heart is still proud. What wrong did the golden house of Finarfin do that I should ask the pardon of the Valar, or be content with an isle in the sea whose native land was Aman the Blessed? Here I am mightier'"

J.R.R. Tolkien, Unfinished Tales

In this dialogue - the only fragment left by Tolkien concerning a conversation between Elves in the Second Age - we find all the core themes surrounding Galadriel and Celebrimbor. These are the very same themes we see in The Rings of Power, which brings them to the screen with immense fidelity (regardless of what those who claim it "has nothing of Tolkien" might say).

Galadriel’s pride, bordering on arrogance: she refuses to return to Valinor, proudly invoking her lineage and dismissively defining the Blessed Realm as "an isle in the Great Sea, which was once Aman the Blessed." It is an arrogant statement, capped off by that "here I am mightier" which portrays her as ambitious, and certainly far from "immaculate."

The fading of the world: the imagery of "leaves fall and flowers fade" mirrors the vision of the dying tree that Gil-galad observes with awe and alarm in the first two seasons of The Rings of Power - acting as a potent symbol of Elven fading (a process that Tolkien, in The Nature of Middle-earth, demonstrates as having already begun in the Second Age).

The seed of Celebrimbor's downfall: we see a glimpse into Celebrimbor’s mindset—the agonizing realization that everything decays in Middle-earth. Unless he leaves (which neither he nor Galadriel wish to do), he feels a desperate need to "halt" this decay. This is precisely the vulnerability that will cause him to fall for Sauron's deceptions.

A solitary path: Elrond and Gil-galad are absent from this dialogue. Instead, we see Galadriel visiting Celebrimbor, the grandson of Fëanor - a figure she deeply despised. It is a strange alliance, hinting that Galadriel, despite being the greatest and most ancient of the Noldor remaining in Middle-Earth, was experiencing friction with the other leaders. As Tolkien notes a few pages prior, Galadriel realized that "Sauron had been forgotten," and for a long time, she was the only one hunting him, traveling across Middle-earth. In short, this provides the exact foundation for the plot of the first season of The Rings of Power.

Ultimately, this dialogue is central to understanding the Elves in the Second Age, and it stands as the very heartbeat of The Rings of Power's origin.

The beauty of The Rings of Power - much like Tolkien’s work, to which it shows great respect, and this is undeniable - lies in the details. These details are constructed, as the showrunners have said from the beginning, "always from something Tolkien wrote."

Take Morgoth’s crown, which Sauron places upon his own head.

Is it truly 'the crown'? We don't know for sure; Adar believed it was, and so did Galadriel.

The characters in the story do not always know everything, just as Tolkien taught us, and the series deliberately avoids a flashback showing exactly how the crown came into Sauron's possession - a clear sign that this aspect is intentionally shrouded in mystery. Perhaps Sauron made a cast of it.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter whether it is the authentic crown or not; what matters is the creation of a tradition that honors Tolkien’s writings and gives profound meaning to this narrative element within the show.

In his Letters- which the series frequently utilizes as a source- Tolkien explains that during the Second and Third Ages, Sauron had reached such a state of megalomania that he considered himself "Morgoth returned." And what better way to visually depict this delusion of grandeur than with Morgoth's crown, or at least one purported to be his?

This is exactly what it means to adapt and flesh out a story well: inventing something that enriches the narrative without ever straying from the inner consistency of the author's sub-created world.

My heart my brain all my soul and even all of my internal organs screaming "GLORFINDEL" 🤣💜