Elves in Middle-earth
The Elves (always spelt such, never "Elfs") are one of the races that appear in the work of J. R. R. Tolkien. Their complex history is described in full only in The Silmarillion, and it is mentioned tangentially in The Lord of the Rings. Elves were the first inhabitants of Middle-earth who were able to speak. They are sometimes called the Firstborn or the Elder Kindred (as opposed to Men, the Second Ones). The Elves named themselves Quendi ("the Speakers"), in honor of the fact that, when they were created, they were the only living things able to speak. (This name is no accident — Tolkien was a linguist.) Oromë was the first who called them the Eldar ("Star People") because they were born under the stars, but the name is generally considered to exclude the Avari.
Elves are described as the fairest of all creatures in Middle-earth, lovers of art (particularly songs, which they sing in beautiful voices). Many Elves are also stronger than Men and have far sharper senses. The Ñoldorin Elves in particular possess skills and knowledge which to Men appear to be "magic." Their memories and dreams are as vivid as real life.
Tolkien's Elves were a representation of what human beings might have become, had they not committed the original sin. While this made them mostly morally just (no Elves willingly joined Morgoth or Sauron, the Enemies, although they could be deceived. For example Maeglin betrayed Gondolin to save his life and for the love of Idril, his cousin), as well as invulnerable to diseases and they could recover from wounds which would kill a Man, it also made them less able than the mortal Men to adjust to an otherwise fallen, ever-changing world.
It should be noted that Tolkien's Elves differ greatly from elves of older folklore, as well as most modern fantasy elves. His Elves were very much human, if Unfallen. (A reference to the Fall of Man.)
Aside from being equal or greater in stature to Men, the now clichéd special affinity with nature and bows is largely an accident, resulting from the fact that the most prominent Elven character in The Lord of the Rings, Legolas, is a Wood-elven archer. The trip to Lórien furthers the perception that most Elves live in trees and carry bows, while we learn from Tolkien's other writings that his Elves were just as likely to live in caves (Nargothrond) or mountain fortresses (Gondolin), and the Ñoldor are more often known for their mighty swords.
In addition, there are no explicit references to "pointy ears" in The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion. We know that the Quendi did, in fact, have pointed ears only because of a passage in the Etymologies (published in The Lost Road and Other Writings), where Tolkien states that, "the Quendian [Elvish] ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human]." However, practical considerations, including a number of occasions where Men are mistaken for Elves, suggest that the points must have been subtle, quite different from the large ears of Elfquest or the extremely long, narrow elf-ears in some anime such as Record of the Lodoss War.
The stories of the First Age mostly deal with Elves, who dwell mostly in the various kingdoms of Beleriand, and Men only appear in the later stories. Elves are here in their youth, and are powerful enough to actually challenge Melkor, a being of angelic might. After the end of the First Age, the Elves of Middle-earth are still powerful enough to hold off Sauron, and create Rings of Power which can actually slow down time. However, by the Third Age (the time of The Lord of the Rings), the importance of Elves in affairs of the world is diminishing, and only a few of them are left in the refuges of Rivendell, Lothlórien, and Mirkwood. Many of them can be seen walking west, towards the Grey Havens, to leave Middle-earth forever, and those who stay in the meanwhile know that it is their fate to "diminish and go West". Therefore few of them are to remain in Middle-earth after the end of the Fourth Age, and those that do remain behind are doomed to "fade".
Some important Elves:
- Imin, Tata, and Enel - the first Elves that awoke in Cuiviénen
- Iminyë, Tatië, and Enelyë - the wives of Imin, Tata, and Enel respectively
- Ingwë (High King of the Vanyar and High King of all the Elves)
- Elwë (called Elu Thingol, King of Doriath and High King of the Sindar)
- Olwë (Brother of Thingol, King of Alqualondë and High King of the Teleri)
- Finwë (First High King of the Ñoldor)
- Fëanor (Crafter of the Silmarils, second High King of the Ñoldor, greatest of the Elves)
- Finrod Felagund (King of Nargothrond, elder brother of...)
- Galadriel (Lady of Lórien, greatest Lady of the Ñoldor)
- Celeborn (Lord of Lórien)
- Celebrimbor (forger of the Rings of Power)
- Gil-galad (High King of the Ñoldor during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men)
- Círdan (wisest of the Sindar)
- Legolas (also called Greenleaf, one of the Nine Walkers)
- Lúthien (daughter of Thingol, wife of the Man Beren, fairest of all Children of Ilúvatar)