Elladan and Elrohir were 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.
Biography
Third Age
Elladan
Elladan and Elrohir were born in TA 130,[3] and had a younger sister, Arwen. Through their mother Celebrían, they were 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 from the Orcs she lost all joy from Middle-earth, and so she departed for the Grey Havens the next year. Due to this, the twins harbored great hatred for Orcs.[4]
By the year TA 2933, Elladan and Elrohir went riding against Orcs with Arathorn II, the 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.[5]
War of the Ring
When the Fellowship arrived in Rivendell, the twins' role was to scout the lands and prepare the way for the Fellowship.[6] 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.[2] They battled in the Fields of Pelennor "with stars bound to their brows."[7]
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.[8] Elladan and Elrohir also accompanied Aragorn and fought alongside him at the Black Gate.
After the War
After the war, Elladan and Elrohir met the escort of Arwen in Lothlorien, and together, they traveled to Edoras.[9] The brothers arrived first and carried a banner of silver. They were followed by Glorfindel and Erestor.[10]
Fourth Age and beyond
When their father departed to the West, the brothers stayed in Rivendell for a while. In time, their grandfather Celeborn came to live with them before passing into the Grey Havens.[11] It is unknown whether Elladan and Elrohir chose to remain in Middle-earth as mortal men or depart with the last of their kindred to Valinor.
Etymology
The name Elladan is Sindarin for "Elf-Man" or "Elf-Dúnadan," referring to his dual descent from both Elves and Edain (a name given to those descending from the three houses of Men from Beleriand).[12] It comes from the words el ("elf or star") and adan, singular of Edain.[13] On the other hand, Elrohir means "Elf-knight", but rochir also means "horse-lord".[14]
Character
Elrohir, by Magali Villeneuve
Elladan, by Magali Villeneuve
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).[2] 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,[3] and elven pregnancies last a full year.[note 1] 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.[15]
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The marriages between Elves and Men are in bold.
The Half-elves or the Peredhil are in italic.
Earlier 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.[16] They also had a younger sister named Finduilas.
Portrayal in adaptations
Fan work
Sam and Matt Kennard as Elladan and Elrohir in the fan-film Born of Hope
Elladan and Elrohir are characters 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, seen in the first level at Fornost by the three main characters of the game: Eradan, Farin and Andriel. They leave behind them many dead orcs and goblins. When Elladan and Elrohir meet the three heroes later, just after the heroes have finished fighting a troll, they decide to work together to reach Fornost's citadel.
Elladan and Elrohir in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North
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: Agandaûr. They are seen dueling him atop the citadel. Their duel with him is finished after Eradan, Andriel and Farin arrive - after killing some of Agandaûr's orcs and his chieftain Tharzog - forcing Agandaûr to retreat on a fell beast. The Great Eagle Beleram goes after Agandaûr, 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.
The two are seen again in Rivendell as characters that can be spoken to.
Translations
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Afrikaans | Elladan en Elrohir |
| Albanian | Elladan dhe Elrohir |
| Amharic | ዐልላዳን ኣንድ ዐልሮሂር |
| Arabic | ايلاندان و ايلاروهير |
| Armenian | Ելլադան անդ Ելրոհիր |
| Azerbaijani | Elladan və Elrohir |
| Basque | Elladan eta Elrohir |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Эладан і Элрахір |
| Bengali | এল্লাদান অন্দ এল্রহির |
| Bosnian | Elladan i Elrohir |
| Breton | Elladan ha Elrohir |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Еладан и Елрохир |
| Catalan | Èl·ladan i Èlrohir |
| Cebuano | Elladan ug Elrohir |
| Chichewa | Elladan ndi Elrohir |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 伊萊丹&伊羅何 |
| Croatian | Elladan i Elrohir |
| Czech | Elladan a Elrohir |
| Danish | Elladan og Elrohir |
| Dutch | Elladan en Elrohir |
| Esperanto | Eladano kaj Elrohiro |
| Estonian | Elladan ja Elrohir |
| Filipino | Elladan at Elrohir |
| Finnish | Elladan ja Elrohir |
| French | Elladan et Elrohir |
| Galician | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Georgian | ელლადან ანდ ელროჰირ |
| German | Elladan und Elrohir |
| Greek | Έλλανταν και Έλροχιρ |
| Gujarati | ઍલ્લદન અન્દ ઍલ્રોહિર |
| Haiti Creole | Elladan ak Elrohir |
| Hausa | Elladan da Elrohir |
| Hebrew | יללאדאן אנד ילרוהיר |
| Hindi | एल्लदन अन्द एल्रोहिर |
| Hungarian | Elladan és Elrohir |
| Icelandic | Elladan og Elrohir |
| Indonesian | Elladan dan Elrohir |
| Irish Gaelic | Elladan agus Elrohir |
| Italian | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Japanese | エルラダンとエルロヒア |
| Javanese | Elladan lan Elrohir |
| Kannada | ಏಲ್ಲದನ್ ಮತ್ತು ಏಲ್ರೊಹಿರ್ |
| Kazakh | Елладан анд Елроһір (Cyrillic) |
| Korean | 엘라단과엘로히르 |
| Kurdish | Elladan û Elrohir (Kurmanji Kurdish) |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Элладан анд Элроhир |
| Lao | ເອລະລາດານແລະເອະລະໂລເຮຍ |
| Latin | Elladan et Elrohir |
| Latvian | Elladan un Elrohir |
| Lithuanian | Elladan ir Elrohir |
| Luxembourgish | Elladan a Elrohir |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Елладан анд Елрохир |
| Malagasy | Elladan sy Elrohir |
| Maltese | Elladan u Elrohir |
| Malaysian | Elladan dan Elrohir |
| Manx | Elladan as Elrohir |
| Marathi | एल्लदन आणि एल्रोहिर |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Елладан анд Елроhир |
| Navajo | Elladan dóó Elrohir |
| Nepalese | एल्लदन अन्द एल्रोहिर |
| Norwegian | Elladan og Elrohir |
| Occitan | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Pashto | ېللادان اند ېلروهیر |
| Persian | الادان و الروهیر |
| Polish | Elladan i Elrohir |
| Portuguese | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Punjabi | ਏਲ੍ਲਦਨ ਅਤੇ ਏਲ੍ਰੋਹਿਰ |
| Romanian | Elladan și Elrohir |
| Romansh | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Russian | Элладан и Элрохир |
| Sanskrit | एल्लदन् अन्द् एल्रोहिर् |
| Scottish Gaelic | Elladan agus Elrohir |
| Serbian | Елладан и Елрохир (Cyrillic) Elladan i Elrohir (Latin) |
| Sesotho | Elladan le Elrohir |
| Sinhalese | ඒල්ලදන් අඳ් ඒල්රොහිර් |
| Slovak | Elladan a Elrohir |
| Slovenian | Elladan in Elrohir |
| Somalian | Elladan iyo Elrohir |
| Spanish | Elladan y Elrohir |
| Sundanese | Elladan jeung Elrohir |
| Swahili | Elladan na Elrohir |
| Swedish | Elladan och Elrohir |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Elladan ва Elrohir |
| Tamil | ஏளதந் அந்த் ஏல்ரொஹிர் |
| Telugu | ఏల్లదన అన్ద ఏల్రొహిర |
| Thai | เอลลาดาน & เอลโรเฮียร์ |
| Turkish | Elladan ve Elrohir |
| Turkmen | Elladan we Elrohir |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Елладан і Елрохір |
| Urdu | اللادان اور الروہیر |
| Uzbek | Елладан ва Элроҳир (Cyrillic) Elladan va Elrohir (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Elladan và Elrohir |
| Volapük | Elladan e Elrohir |
| Welsh | Eladan a Elrohir |
| Wymysorys | Elladan ana Elrohir |
| Xhosa | Elladan kwaye Elrohir |
| Yiddish | עללאַדאַן און עלראָהיר |
| Yoruba | Elladan ati Elrohir |
| Zulu | Elladan naElrohir |
References
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. II: "The Passing of the Grey Company" Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "passing" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iii): "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (v): "The tale of Aragorn and Arwen"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, Book Two, Ch. I: "Many Meetings"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. VI: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Five, Ch. IX: "The Last Debate"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Chief Days from the Fall of Power Door to the End of the Third Age"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, Book Six, Ch. V: "The Steward and the King"
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Prologue, V: "Note on the Shire Records"
- ↑ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211 (dated 14 October 1958)
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 211 (dated 14 October 1958)
- ↑ The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 152 (dated September 1954)
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. VIII: The War of the Ring, Part Three: Minas Tirith, chapter IV: "Many Roads Lead Eastward"