Death and the Fate of the Fëa In order to talk of Elves, their death and their re-incarnation, one has to first distinguish between their hroa, their bodies, and their fëar, their spirits. The Elven bodies were long-lived enough to be called immortal by Men, and yet they were made of stuff of Arda, and could be destroyed (unlike their spirits, which were “imperishable within the life of Arda, and that its fate was to inhabit Arda to its end” at the very least. Life of an Elf as an incarnate was possible through the union of their body of their and spirit, and the result of the dissolution of this union would be called death: “If then the hrondo [> hroa] be destroyed, or so hurt that it ceases to have health, sooner or later it 'dies'. That is: it becomes painful for the fëa to dwell in it, being neither a help to life and will nor a delight to use, so that the fëa departs from it, and its function being at an end its coherence is unloosed, and it returns again to the general hron [> orma] of Arda.(26) Then the fëa is, as it were, houseless, and it becomes invisible to bodily eyes (though clearly perceptible by direct awareness to other fëar).“ The destruction of the hroa is the dominant mode of death experienced by the Elves – this was the fate of multitude of Elves who perished during the wars with Morgoth and his lieutenants, the wars which claimed the majority of the House of Finwë. This is well described by Finrod Felagund, the King of Nargothrond: 'We too may die, Andreth; and we have died. My father's father was cruelly slain, and many have followed him, exiles in the night, in the cruel ice, in the insatiable sea. And in Middle-earth we have died, by fire and by smoke, by venom and the cruel blades of battle.’ There were other ways, however, that a fëa could abandon its hroa: ”Elves could die, and did die, by their will; as for example because of great grief or bereavement, or because of the frustration of their dominant desires and purposes .”. This was the fate of Miriel, the Elven woman who put all of her strength into bearing Fëanor. This was also the fate of Luthien, who gave up her life upon the first death of Beren: “But the spirit of Luthien fell down into darkness, and at the last it fled, and her body lay like a flower that is suddenly cut off and lies for while unwithered on the grass.” It should also be mentioned that Luthien is the only true Elf who was able to choose mortality, and leave the circles of the world after her second death. The fëar of Elves, however, are particularly strong, and are not as apt to be separated from the body as easily as that of a mortal. It is because of this strong fëa that many wounds that would be mortal to a man are healed because the fëa is often far stronger then the body protecting it from sickness and wounds. The physical body of an Elf may, however, be dissolved through the power of the Elven spirit itself: “As ages passed the dominance of their fëar ever increased, 'consuming' their bodies. The end of this process is their 'fading', as Men have called it; for the body becomes at last, as it were, a mere memory held by the fëa.” What happened to their spirits after death has not always been clear to the Elves. An early, and an incorrect, belief that they held was that the fëa was removed from the world but to where none could tell, though some said “they passed into ‘the realm of night’”. The true tale, however, is different. The true tale is that the spirit is summoned to the Hall of Mandos, and thus doesn’t leave Arda since every Elven fëa will remain in it until Arda is destroyed and the end of all days comes. If it so chooses this path, then this fëa will be judged and then wait to be reborn, if Lord Mandos allows it. Though it has been told by those that have returned after their waiting in the Hall that some might after such a judgement as they were given would refuse to return to life and many others that are still waiting. However the spirit does not have to go to the Hall of Mandos for it can not be commanded nor can it be forced, some have been thought to remain in Middle Earth where they might haunt familiar grounds, such as a river, spring or tree. Should this be the path chosen then the fëa would not have the chance of being reborn. Why a fëa would choose such a path is still a mystery to many but it is believed that the fëa may not want to submit to the judgment. It is said there are those among these that refuse the judgement that are wicked and will try to take bodies and over power it from the fëa that inhabits that body, these are said to speak again the Valar and some against Eru. There are also those that are named the Lingerers. These spirits no longer wish for a body and do not interact with those about them nor do they wish to take a body. They are only ever known because they might reveal themselves to men in a vision. The biggest issue that would block a fëa from being reborn is the judgement of Mandos for it is this judgement, though it comes from Manwë. Some things that may affect this judgement are that a fëa may have been married before and their spouse has wedded again – this was the case of Finwë and Míriel. The main reason for a fëa not to be reborn, however, is the evil deeds committed by the Elf during life. “The Elves were destined to be by nature 'immortal', within the unknown limits of the life of the Earth as a habitable realm, and their disembodiment was a grievous thing. It was the duty, therefore, of the Valar to restore them, if they were slain, to incarnate life, if they desired it – unless for some grave (and rare) reason: such as deeds of great evil, or any works of malice of which they remained obdurately unrepentant.” The Elf who suffered from such fate is Fëanor, the greatest of Noldor. It should be noted that once the fëa spends a proper time in waiting and is restored to life, the Elf is restored to his old hroa. You might still find men, however, who believe that Elves were reborn in a child from, building his or her body a new. This, however, is erroneous, and not the truth about rebirth. By Fuin Elda Quotes taken from: 1. Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion 2. Morgoth’s Ring, of the Laws and Customs Among the Eldar. 3. Morgoth’s Ring, Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth 4. Morgoth’s Ring, Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth 5. Silmarillion, Of Beren and Lúthien 6. Morgoth's Ring, The Later Quenta Silmarillion 7. Morgoth’s Ring, of the Laws and Customs Among the Eldar 8. Last Writings, History of Middle Earth Volume 12 Research Back to the top