Lothlórien



Two places in Middle-earth are known as Lórien, and both are exceptionally beautiful. The first is the gardens of the Vala Irmo in Valinor (Irmo is sometimes called Lórien as well).

The second is a forest in Middle-earth proper, first settled by Nandorin Elves, but later enriched by Ñoldor and Sindar under Celeborn and Galadriel.

This forest, originally known by its Silvan names Laurelindórinan (Land of the Valley of Singing Gold) and Lórinand (Golden Valley), was renamed Lothlórien (Lórien of the Blossom) in memory of the Lórien the Ñoldor left behind; but the name was often shortened to Lórien ("Land of Gold", although it carried within it also the meaning of "dream"). Galadriel's magic, later revealed as the power of her Ring, enriched the land and made it a magic forest into which evil cannot enter. The only way that Lothlórien could have been conquered by the armies of Mordor is if Sauron had come there himself, for against his power the elves could not triumph. Other names given to the land include the Rohirric name Dwimordene (from dwimor "phantom", an allusion to the perceived magic of the Elves), and the Westron name The Golden Wood.

Lórien, like Mirkwood, was settled by Silvan Elves of Nandorin descent some time during the First Age. By the Second Age, Sindarin Elves had enriched its population, and they were ruled by a Sindarin lord, Amdír. The last Sindarin Lord of Lórien was Amroth, who went to Edhellond near Dol Amroth in south Gondor in search of Nimrodel, and was lost at sea. After his time the Silvan Elves of Lórien long had no lords, until Galadriel and her husband Celeborn travelled there from Eregion (Hollin).

After Galadriel left for Valinor, the Elves of Lórien were ruled by their lord Celeborn alone, and the realm was expanded with a part of southern Mirkwood, but it appears to have slowly been depopulated during the Fourth Age until all Elves were gone. In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen," the timeless Elven kingdom is depicted as being wholly abandoned by the time of King Elessar's passing; however it is difficult to reconcile this with other references to the Fate of the Elves of Middle-Earth scattered throughout Tolkien's published works. Even after the assaults on Lórien by Sauron's forces during the War of the Ring, there must have been several thousand Silvan Elves remaining in the land.

Lórien was the only place where the golden mallorn grew in Middle-earth, brought there from Valinor by Lady Galadriel. (Later, a mallorn was planted in the Shire, a gift of Galadriel to Sam Gamgee.) Like Thranduil's Kingdom of northern Mirkwood, it was a wooded homeland of the Silvan Elves. It was located on the River Celebrant, southeast of Khazad-dûm.