Elladan and Elrohir

"Elladan and Elrohir are the twin sons of Elrond, the Half-elven and Celebrían of Rivendell and were noted for their close friendship and cooperation with the Dúnedain of the North, Rangers of the North and Men in general, and for their deeds during the War of the Ring."

Third Age


Elladan and Elrohir were born in TA 130 and they have a younger sister Arwen. Through their mother Celebrían, they are the only grandsons of Lady Galadriel and Lord Celeborn of Lothlórien.

In TA 2509, the brothers rescued their mother from her imprisonment with the Orcs. Although she was physically healed by Elrond, after fear and torment, she soon departed for the Grey Havens the next year. Due to this, the twins harbored great hatred for Orcs.

By the year TA 2933, Elladan and Elrohir went riding against Orcs with Arathorn II, father of Aragorn. There Arathorn was slain and his wife and son went to dwell in Imladris, where Elrond received Aragorn as his foster-son, naming him Estel.

War of the Ring
When the Fellowship arrived in Rivendell, the twin's role was to scout the lands and prepare the way for the Fellowship. Later, they traveled along with Halbarad and the Grey Company. They delivered a message from their father concerning the Paths of the Dead and followed Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli there. Elladan traveled behind the company, the Dead following after him. They battled in the Fields of Pelennor "with stars bound to their brows".

During the last council, Elladan and Elrohir seconded Mithrandir's decision to throw the remaining troops of Gondor and Rohan at the Morannon, saying that Elrond had sent them with that same counsel from Rivendell.

After the War
After the war, Elladan and Elrohir met the escort of Arwen in Lothlorien, and together, they travel to Edoras. The brothers arrived first and carried a banner of silver. They were followed by Glorfindel and Erestor.

Fourth Age
When their father already departed to the West, the brothers stayed in Rivendell. In time their grandfather Celeborn came to live with them in a short while before passing into the Grey Havens.

It is unclear whether they eventually joined their parents and grandparents in Valinor, or chose to remain in Middle-earth.

Etymology
The name Elladan is Sindarin for "Elf-Man" or "Elf-Dúnadan", referring to his dual descent from both Elves and Edain (a house of Men from Beleriand). It comes from the words el ("elf or star") and adan, singular of Edain. On the other hand, Elrohir means "Elf-knight", but rochir also means "horse-lord".

Character
Though Tolkien never specifically states that Elrohir and Elladan were twins, it is suspected that they were for four reasons: first, they are described as "So much alike were they, the sons of Elrond, that few could tell them apart: dark-haired, grey-eyed, and their faces elven-fair, clad alike in bright mail beneath cloaks of silver-grey" (Tolkien 761). Secondly, one is rarely mentioned without the other, and their names are only separated when they are speaking. Thirdly, they were both born in the same year, and elven pregnancies last a full year. Fourthly, the birth of twins was not a rare occurrence in their family history (Amrod and Amras, Eluréd and Elurín, Elrond and Elros).

The brethren were friends and companions-in-arms of the Rangers of the North, and helped defend the remnants of Arnor from evil after the fall of the northern kingdom. They held a special grudge against orcs because of their mother's suffering at their hands.

Like their sister, father, and uncle, they could make a choice between mortality and immortality, expressed by whether they would follow their father to Valinor at the time of his own departure at the end of the Third Age. Since they are explicitly described as remaining in Rivendell for a time after their father's departure, some fans speculated that they had also chosen mortality. However, J.R.R. Tolkien himself noted that the twins were allowed to "delay" their choices.

Other versions of the legendarium
In early writings, Elladan and Elrohir were named "Elboron and Elbereth". These were the same early names for the twins Eluréd and Elurín, who were the uncles of Elrond. They also had a younger sister named Finduilas, who was later renamed Arwen. In this version, Elladan and Elrohir's birth date was TA 2349.

Appearances in the Books

 * The Fellowship of the Ring  (Mentioned only)
 * The Return of the King

Fan Work


Elladan and Elrohir also appear in the fan-made film, Born of Hope and were played by the twin brother actors Sam Kennard and Matt Kennard.

Video games
They also appeared in the Lord of the Rings: War in the North video game. They are seen in the first level at Fornost by the three main characters of the game: Eradan (ranger), Farin (champion), and Andriel. They leave behind them many dead orcs and goblins. When Elladan and Elrohir meet the three heroes, just after the heroes have finished fighting a troll, they decide to work together to reach the City's citadel. When they arrive at the citadel, Elrohir and Elladan go after the leader of the dark forces here in Fornost, also the main villain of the game: Agandaur. They are seen dueling him atop the citadel. Their duel with him is finished after Eradan, Andriel, and Farin arrive - after killing some of Agandaur's orcs and his chieftain Tharzog - forcing Agandaur to retreat on a fell beast. The Great Eagle Beleram goes after Agandaur, who loses the Eagle by creating a storm with his dark sorcery. With their job done in Fornost, Elladan and Elrohir returned to Rivendell, while the other three went back to Sarn Ford, and Beleram went back to report to Gwaihir the Eagle Lord.

They are seen again in Rivendell as characters that you can speak to.