Of the Dwellings of the Eldar Among Men the true nature of the elven dwellings has passed into legend and been forgotten by all save a few. This has happened despite the fact that it was from the Eldar that the Edain first learned the craft of building. Ours were the first hands of Ilúvatar's children to work the materials of Arda into houses and cities, and it was by the Valar themselves that we were taught these skills. Few monuments of mortal Men even in the days of their glory could match the beauty and strength of the homes of the Firstborn. Of the Noldor Most skilled of all the Eldar in the craft of building were the Noldor, and it was to us that the other kindreds looked for aid in the construction of their cities and havens. Ours were the greatest and most famous of all the dwellings of the Elves, and the longest to endure in fact and in legend. We loved best the hills and mountains and open lands, where the wind could be freely felt and the stars burned undimmed, and there we built our dwellings. Towers were our delight, and we raised many – both alone as watch posts, and as part of larger settlements. Because of the constant threat of war, first with Morgoth and then with Sauron his servant, we dwelt chiefly in walled cities, well fortified with strong gates and towers. The most famous of these was Gondolin, where Turgon son of Fingolfin reigned as king in the First Age of the Sun. Its construction took two and fifty years under the hands of the most skilled of Turgon's craftsmen, and in size, strength, and beauty it was unsurpassed by any realm in the Great Lands, save only Menegroth. There were some, like Finrod Felagund, who chose to make their abodes in underground caverns after the manner of the Dwarves. In those days strength and secrecy were of chief importance, and few places better served these needs than a fortress beneath the earth. But even before we left Aman we had begun to use such dwellings. The stronghold of Formenos, built by Fëanor and his people after their banishment from Tirion, was delved in the hillsides of a rocky dale. Such subterranean chambers were no mere rough-hewn caves, however, but high and vast, vaulted and pillared with stone and lit with countless lamps and torches. Only those of the Noldor who abode in Lórien lived in houses amid the branches of trees. Such dwellings were unusual even for the Silvan folk, and to us they seemed stranger still. For we favoured stone above all other materials, and of stone were our cities and towers made. Marble in white, green, and yellow was used most often, and of such were Tirion and Gondolin. Much use was also made of metals, especially in the fashioning of gates: bronze, copper, iron and steel, as well as silver and gold. But our copper did not tarnish, nor did our steel rust, such was the skill we possessed. Wood we seldom used, save in adornments, preferring materials that would endure even as Arda endured. But our skill with it was no less for that, as is shown by the First Gate of Gondolin and by Elrond's house in Imladris, both of which were wrought partly of wood. Yet think not that our homes were plain or bare, even those beneath the earth. For like all the Eldar the Noldor love beauty, and this is nowhere more clearly evident than in the adornments of our dwellings. The stone and wood of our houses and cities was marvellously carved into intricate shapes, and the iron of our gates wrought into countless forms: trees and flowers, birds and beasts, or visions out of Valinor. Runes were cut upon the walls, and tales unfolded in murals of stone embellished with gold and silver, crystal, glass, ivory, and many gems and precious stones: amber, malachite, diamonds white and yellow, green beryl, topaz, garnet, and pearls out of Balar, the finest in the world. Paintings adorned the walls of houses, and in the great halls were hung fine tapestries and embroidered banners woven by the daughters of the Noldor. Such was the manner of the dwellings of the Noldor of old, when Beleriand yet stood and our strength was in its flower. Little now remains of our monuments in Middle-earth, save tumbled stones amid the tall grass. But upon the isle of Tol Eressëa one may still behold a glimpse of our former glory in the shining city and tall white tower of Avallónë, the last haven of the Eldar. Of the Teleri Next in skill to the Noldor were the Teleri, but their skill was with wood rather than with stone, and they were in general better builders of ships than they were of cities. Those that made the Great Journey to Aman had their first abodes in caves upon Tol Eressëa, then in huts upon the beaches of Valinor, until at last the Noldor built for them a city and haven. There they dwelt together by the sea, and came never back to the Great Lands. The Teleri of Middle-earth, being Moriquendi, were in great part wanderers, living in small, scattered bands, and some never adapted to houses. In the course of time their tribe became much sundered, each branch developing their own preferences, but all shared a love of the wild lands, of woods and forests and running waters. Their dwellings were mostly in the form of huts or small houses amid the trees, and were often built beside waterfalls or streams. These dwellings were on the ground rather than in the branches, any elevated abodes being used chiefly as watch-posts. A little wooden house high in the branches of a beech tree was built for Lúthien, daughter of Elwë Thingol, but this was designed to prevent her escape rather than being the usual practice among the Elves of Doriath. In Mirkwood the huts of the Silvan Elves were near the edges of the forest, from whence the people of Thranduil might ride forth to hunt in the open lands. Yet whether upon the ground or in the trees, all such houses were well hidden. In the forests of Ossiriand, where dwelt the Laiquendi, one could pass from end to end without seeing any abodes. Those that came to the sea became enamoured of it, and desired always to dwell near it. Their coastal harbours and cities both in Aman and in Middle-earth were built with the aid of the Noldor, and thus reflected Noldorin preferences in style and architecture. Alqualondë, the chief city and haven of the Teleri in Aman, was of stone with great mansions of pearl. The harbours of Brithombar and Eglarest on the western coast of Beleriand were also of stone, and had great walls behind which the Falathrim dwelt in fair towns. The Teleri did not delve in the ground or build with stone, except at great need. It is said by some that at Cuiviénen, the Water of Awakening, they dwelt in caves. Furthermore, caves were their first dwellings on the isle of Eressëa. Similar abodes continued to be used in later days, especially among the wild Avari, but chiefly as places of refuge against the threat of Morgoth; such were the caves of Androth in Hithlum, where Tuor was raised by the Sindar. These were simple, natural caverns, however, not great vaulted halls like those of the Noldor. They were sparingly adorned with shells or other gifts of Arda according to their location. The one notable exception was the fortress of Menegroth, the Thousand Caves, stronghold of Elwë Thingol in Doriath. The Sindar of that realm were the most skilled in Middle-earth, for they were guided by Melian the Maiar, but in the planning and construction of Menegroth Thingol had also the aid of the Dwarves of Belegost. Thus it became the fairest dwelling of any king east of the sea, surpassing even Gondolin. Its vast underground chambers were vaulted and pillared with stone, and adorned with gold, silver, marble, ivory, and numerous gems. The floors were paved with many-coloured stones, and upon the walls and pillars were wrought out the visions of Melian. Adorning the great halls were carvings of wood and many woven hangings, and lamps of varied hues that captured a divine light. In the Second Age the Sindarin king Thranduil built a similar stronghold in the mountains of Mirkwood, but it was lesser in size and beauty than Menegroth as the skill of his people was also less. He also had not wealth to match Thingol's, nor the aid of the Dwarves of Belegost. Menegroth and the halls of Thranduil served chiefly as fortresses against attack, palaces for the kings, and strong places where they might keep their treasures, arms, and prisoners. Only a small portion of the populations of the realms abode therein, and some of the Teleri were unwilling to dwell in halls of stone even in the face of peril. As has been told, the practice of dwelling in trees was long held strange even among the Teleri, the lovers of trees. It was in Lothlórien that this custom was first begun, because of the nature of the land and of the mellyrn. These trees were of unusually great height and girth, with strong, straight branches that grew far above the earth, and were thus ideally suited to the bearing of telain. Such wooden platforms, or flets as they are named among Men, might be built either about the trunk of the tree, or in the branches upon either side. They were in origin outlook posts and refuges in the event of attack; their conversion to permanent dwellings happened later, and was not universal even in Lórien. Some say that the maiden Nimrodel was the first to live in such a house, fearing to remain upon the ground as the servants of Sauron multiplied, and that from her Amroth, the Silvan lord of Lórien, adopted the idea. Be that as it may, such dwellings were numerous only in the city of Caras Galadhon, which was itself a fortress and home to only a part of the Galadhrim. Within the city wooden houses were built on the telain, and in size and grandeur some approached halls of Men. Such was the audience chamber of Celeborn and Galadriel. The talan upon which it stood was like the deck of a great ship, and the chamber itself was of oval shape, roofed with gold and walled with green and silver. Of the Vanyar Of the Vanyar there is little to tell, for they came not back to Middle-earth save once, and then they did not remain. In Valinor they dwelt first with the Noldor in the city of Tirion upon the green hill of Túna, and they had a part in its building. But after a time they forsook it, desiring the inner lands of Valinor and the full light of the Two Trees. Upon the mountain of Manwë they now dwell, and about the plains and woods of Valinor, but the Exiles of the Noldor do not speak of the fashion of their dwellings. By Morfindel Research Back to the top