The Magic of the Eldar I, Janowyn of Imladris, hesitated after penning the title of this essay, being uncertain that ‘magic’ was the correct term to use for the subject of which I am to write. For the Eldar do not recognise ‘magic’ as being one of their skills or attributes, or even that they use magic at all. Perhaps if one uses the term ‘The Art of Magic’ this might be more acceptable as the magic of the Eldar is seen more as an expression of ‘art’ or ‘creation’. Whereas ‘magic’ as we see it, is something used more by the Istari and certain of the servants of the Eye, and is dependant on the use of machines or implements that have had their original uses warped in some way. The Istari it is true do not generally use their magic for destruction or dominion over the wills of others except in a very minor and generally benevolent way, although recent times of course have seen at least one of their number debase their methods and produce abominations hardly less vile or cruel than the works of Sauron himself. For the Eldar, our ‘magical’ arts are mostly based on the individual’s inner abilities and motives and are thus proportionate to that person’s own limitations and power. If we do ever seek to use our arts to affect our surroundings, or imbue certain objects with ‘powers’ they would not normally have, then the source is almost invariably drawn from within ourselves and contains that person’s vision or desires in some ways, even if it also draws on other sources. Being part mortal myself however, I have some sympathy for the term ‘Elven magic’ for that is how it is seen by other races. I also think that the Eldar shy away from the term because they themselves are naturally ‘magical’ beings and so cannot understand that what is perfectly normal in them, as much as the colour of their hair, or the number of fingers on a hand, is seen quite differently by those who are not Eldar. In general So, for the purpose of this essay, most Eldarin magic is both subtle and simple. It is a part of us and who we are and therefore something we cannot avoid using all the time to some extent. Where we apply our magic externally – to our surroundings or place it within an object such as a ring or as a property of a seeing-stone for example – that is a different case as this is something that not every Elda is capable of. Even then an Elda seeking to manipulate the external world might have to rely on using an object to magnify any natural strength and power, which does come closer to how magic is used by the Istari and the mortal witches suborned by the Enemy. However, the intent with the Eldar is largely beneficial or at least employed to protect and preserve. This essay will therefore firstly deal with forms of magic of the self - the magic possessed in every Elda and which we are mostly unconscious of as it is there all the time - and then that of the kind that other races would recognise as being overtly magical and ‘visible’ in most respects and which is applied externally to affect other beings or to alter our surroundings in some way. Inner magic Of any race, the Eldar are most perfectly attuned to the natural world and its life force. We are born to it and it is something we do not have to ‘learn’ as such. We tend to live in harmony with nature and feel its rhythms and cycles instinctively. This attribute comes from within us and is something that we draw on without thinking. Our own life force (our spirit or fëa) enhances our very form and this is apparent to other peoples in our appearance and our abilities. Faces and Senses and Natural Ability We ‘glow’. Or our faces do at any rate. This is most noticeable in the High Elves, those who have been to Aman and come back to Middle Earth. But we all ‘do it’ apparently, even peredhels. With some, this brilliance of complexion is very slight and may only convey a sense of excellent good health or great beauty and serenity. With others, the fëa shines like a beacon and may cause evil creatures to shy away in fear of our light. To the more powerful servants of the Enemy, our auras blaze like small suns which they both loathe and crave. As I say this is not ‘magic’ as we see it, but simply a part of us which we do not consciously control in any way. However, with Eldar like the Lady Galadriel or Lord Glorfindel, who have lived in Aman, or been in the care of Mandos, this shining or aura can wax or wane in intensity, depending in part on their activity or if there is some kind of threat to contend with. For the most part however this glow is more a feeling of beauty and benevolence as those who are not Eldar perceive it. Our natural abilities, such as vision or movement, are also consonant with our close affinity to the natural world and can be seen as ‘magical’ in some basic sense. We can see clearly to great distances even as well as the Eagles, our hearing is excellent and we have natural grace and athletic ability, balance, fleetness of foot, agility and reactions which make us formidable fighters and physically effective to a very high degree. We have great endurance and strength and in all respects exceed our mortal kindred in terms of physical and sensory ability. And finally of course we are immortal in most respects, although we may be slain or die when grief is too much to bear. This last of course has to be seen as magical by those who are mortal. Conversing with Nature With the exception of the Ents, we are the Eldest Race and to some extent have played a part in helping to raise the other races to the higher skills of language especially (the creation of runes and alphabets, reading and writing, and verse and song), but also of building and agriculture. But our affinity with the natural world also enables us to at least understand if not reproduce the ‘language’ of animals and plant life. Our affinity with the mastery of horses and with the trees are most notable in this respect, and is in part a simple case of instinctively ‘reading’ and understanding the body language of animals and the more silent and immobile states of the trees. With trees it is more difficult of course, and I believe, in the beginning at least, the Ents were the Eldar’s careful teachers in the speech of the forests. I cannot tell you how this is done except that it is a matter of reaching out with all the senses and almost ‘smelling’ the atmosphere and emotions that pervade a woodland – it is more a question of the conversation of a community of trees, rather than a single tree, that we somehow tap into and feel, rather than ‘talking’ in its true sense. Picking up on the emotional state of a woodland perhaps? As with most things, some are better at this than others and so a Sindar or Silvan, being generally more at home in the forests, are better at sensing the speech of trees than a Noldor for instance, although this is not a hard or fast rule of course, and perhaps it is truer to say that the longer we spend in one type of environment, the easier we find it to sense the undercurrents of speech in the other life forms that also dwell there. In a similar way the ‘language’ of stone can also be understood and here the Noldor do outshine the other tribes as they have long made a study of the properties of stone, working closely with Aulë in Aman and with the dwarves in Middle Earth. They anyway delight in the properties of rare jewels and metals and of course Fëanor and his sons are perhaps the best known for their skill in shaping and creating jewels and rare metals. However, here we are straying into manipulative magic rather than that which is contained within, so I will come back to this subject later in this work. The legacy of Melian and Lúthien The Lady Melian, beloved wife to Elwë (who was known as Elu Thingol), and the mother of Lúthien Tinúviel can be said to have been the inspiration at least of the more visible and overtly powerful Elven ‘magics’. Although she took the form of the Eldar upon falling in love with Thingol, she was of course of the Maia and as such her powers were not necessarily natural ones present in the Elves. However, some skills could be and were taught to the Lady’s household, principal amongst whom was the Lady Galadriel, already powerful in her own right and an apt student to the Great Lady of Doriath. Most impressive of the arts of Melian was the Girdle that she spun around the borders of Doriath and its defence was proof against all the machinations and toils of the Great Enemy until the murder of Thingol. This was perpetrated by the Naugrim who had of course been permitted to enter Menegroth as artisans and allies, and thus not seen as foes to be repelled by the great Lady’s power. It is irresistible with the Girdle of Melian to invoke comparisons with the effects of the Three Rings of Power as latterly wielded by Galadriel, Círdan and Elrond. With the Girdle we must accept that the power of a Maia rendered it more empirical and stronger in effect than with the more subtle and preservative properties of the Three, which were more geared to passive defence than to actively repel attack and infiltrations of warlike peoples. However, I believe that it is inevitable to conclude that the defensive aspects of Melian’s Girdle must have been inspirational to Celebrimbor when he first began to think about his designs for the Three Rings that Sauron never sullied. However, Melian’s magic and then her daughter Lúthien’s, also had more gentle and domestic properties, which could nevertheless be used to fight evil and strengthen the resolve to resist enemies on a much more basic level. Before we move onto the gentler arts of magical food and clothing we must also consider another legacy of Melian’s blood to her peredhel daughter Lúthien and great-granddaughter Elwing, which seemed to survive dilution with mingled Eldar and then human heritage. The ability to shift forms or shapes. It is not known that any other of the descendants of Melian had this ability and perhaps it is also significant that all who manifested this power were female. Elwing it seems only ever used the form of a white seabird and there is also the strong indication that Ulmo played some part in her transformation, so perhaps it is fair to say that Melian’s and Lúthien’s powers of transmogrification were more powerful than Elwing’s whose changing only consisted of this single bird-form. Melian, being of the Maia, could presumably change to any form with all the powers of the Ainur, but her child Lúthien, born from her elven form and with one pureblood elven parent appears to have also been able to change her form to a bat and to simulate the vampire Thuringwethil, when she entered the dwellings of Morgoth and of Sauron. It is however unlikely that any other Eldar possessed this ability to magically change shape and so we are inevitably led to the conclusion that shape-shifting is not an ability of the Eldar, but of the Ainur only and that Lúthien and Elwing were only able to do this through their blood relationship with Melian. However, records of Lúthien’s struggle to retrieve the Silmarils from Morgoth also have her using magic of a much more Eldar-like tenor. That of weaving spells with song and weaving magical properties into hair. Again this features a unique aspect as Lúthien caused her hair to grow at a vastly increased pace and from it wove herself a dark cloak that sent all she wore it near into a deep sleep. A passage from the lay of Leithian illustrates - With elvish magic Lúthien wrought, lest raiment foul with evil fraught to dreadful madness drive their hearts; and there she wrought with elvish arts a strong defence, a binding power, singing until the midnight hour. Hair growth aside there are strong links here with Finrod Felagund’s own song of power in his fatal duel with Sauron and Lúthien’s own sung conquest of Morgoth and his vile creatures as she stole the Silmaril away. From this we must surmise that singing spells were also a magic possessed by the Eldar, even if learnt in Aman from the Ainur – and also that those of the Ainur could also fall victim to it. Lúthien’s ability to wield song magic, independently of her cloak of hair, also appears to have helped her fade from view and numb or bewitch the senses, even of Morgoth. This weaving of singing spells also connects strongly with the production of cloaks, ropes, boats and even lembas in latter day Lothlórien under the auspices of the Lady Galadriel, intimate of both Melian and Lúthien, which brings us rather neatly to our next section on the domestic uses of Elven magic Domestic (practical) magic So – as we have seen thus far, the magic of the Eldar is quite subtle and mostly drawn from within and has largely passive rather than aggressive properties. Lady Galadriel is well-known for her many powers and is arguably the most prolific and adept user of the magical elven arts in these latter days. In Lórien, the more homely of these arts, as taught to her perhaps by Melian, are manifest in the wholesome, restorative qualities of lembas, a little of which might sustain a mighty warrior for many days without other nourishment. There is also a mood-lifting property in the bread which can help restore or lift up the spirits even in the most oppressive circumstances. A subtle effect, but one that many an elf-friend can vouchsafe for, is the miraculously restorative properties of the waybread of the Elves. Regrettably lembas does not have the alternative uses of kram as used by the dwarves to eke out provisions and which, at a pinch, might be used as an offensive throwing weapon or club due to its durable and rock-like consistency, but then food as weaponry is not perhaps that important to the Eldar. Perhaps I should not make this slight humorous comment, but then it says nothing to contradict what the dwarves say themselves about their version of lembas – as kram is notoriously hard on the jaw, the digestion and the head if used as a projectile weapon. Besides, anyone who has tasted both lembas and kram, can tell you that Elven waybread is by far the more efficacious and wholesome to the senses as food. The other famous Elven ‘foodstuff’ with miraculous properties of wellbeing and the restoration of healthy attitude, is the miruvor of Imladris. With this there is more of a medicinal aspect which is probably directly attributable to Lord Elrond Peredhel’s skill as a healer. This cordial is therefore no mere tavern beverage and has a clearing effect to the head and senses rather than the reverse as found in wine or stronger spirits. In effect miruvor can bring the most darkened of spirits back to lightness and health and clear the mind of the shadows and clouding of evil influences. The power of song is used not only in the making of food and drink, but also applied to other more singularly practical articles such as ropes, boats, and the famous grey cloaks, long made in Doriath of course and relocated to Lothlórien after the fall of Beleriand. Ropes and boats perhaps owe more to physical properties and could merely be described as being supremely fit for their purpose, well-made and easy to handle and to perform well in all circumstances required of them. However there are instances of evil creatures being repelled at the merest touch of a rope fibre or boat timber and there is no doubt that some kind of affinity seems to be present in the article that allows it to be used almost intuitively by those to whom it has been freely given. For instance, with the boats, they are almost impossible to capsize or founder and are exceptionally manoeuvrable. Likewise the strength of ropes made in Lórien, though quite thin and silky to the touch, are of legendary strength and flexibility, and almost impossible to break or fray. Last, but certainly not least, the grey cloaks of the Eldar, famous since the Elder Days when Thingol first ruled in Doriath. These have many physical properties that are not ‘magical’ at all of course, being light to wear and able to keep a person warm in the cold and also give cool protection from the heat of the sun in the warmer lands. As a protection from hostile eyes however, they come into their own and can conceal the wearer from view by blending seamlessly from sight with the trees in woods or with stone in rocky terrains. If completely covered by the cloak and keeping very still the wearer will be rendered invisible, even at close quarters and to the confusion of scent in sensitive animal noses. There is very little doubt that this last quality is achieved by the weaving of song magic into the garments as the cloth is made by Galadriel’s followers, carrying on the traditions of Doriath and its Maia-derived magic. Predictive magic Once more we stay with the Noldor and again with the Lady Galadriel, but also with other notable individuals of the two noble branches descended from Finwë, such as Lord Elrond and his grand-dame Idril Celebrindal, her flawed but powerful cousin Maeglin, and also Fëanor and some of his sons, who had the gift of foretelling or the power to seek the truth no matter how secretly guarded in others. Some, like Elrond and Galadriel had both. These of course are powers that are very personal and definitely an art, coming from within the individual and to some extent governed by the limits and aims of the person directing it. Foretelling and the reading of souls It is said of Lord Elrond and Lady Galadriel in particular that their gaze was piercing, even ‘searing’, and that their ‘gift’ allowed them to see the truth deep within others, even if well hidden, and also on occasion to ‘see’ the future. As the bearers of Vilya and Nenya, a fact which in these latter days may now be made known, the Elven Rings of Air and Water, there can be no doubt that their natural powers were enhanced by those aids, although perhaps this might only be a question of extending the distance over which they could direct their wills. Foretelling is of course inexorably linked to the wisdom of the individual, and so is perhaps not quite so ‘magical’ a talent as the ability to seek out and learn the truth from another’s most innermost thoughts. Nevertheless it is one thing to reason out the outcome of some future event or requirement, but quite another to recognise that there is specific need for taking a course of action which will mitigate the worst consequences of some future catastrophe, and to then act on setting a course that will save lives or preserve and protect an object or physical surroundings. Idril Celebrindal for instance ‘foresaw’ the fall of Gondolin and also mistrusted her devious cousin Maeglin from the first, even when her father accepted his nephew without question, and, convinced of the inevitability of her vision caused a secret way out of Gondolin to be built. Events of course vindicated her foretelling though it could not actually forestall its coming to pass. The Lady Galadriel’s skill in foretelling is perhaps more accountable due to her inherent gifts as a noblewoman of the High Eldar, long-steeped in the knowledge of Aman, as well as in exile in middle Earth. In addition, her unique situation as a Noldo who was unstained by the Oath of Fëanor or the First Kinslaying, and was moreover an early ally of Doriath and a student of Melian makes her a singularly powerful political figure as much as her own legendary magical abilities. It is almost irresistible to name her as one of, if not the most important Eldar leader of the period following the War of Wrath and throughout the Second and Third Ages. If her will had been allowed to prevail and had Gandalf been appointed as leader of the White Council, a lot of suffering that resulted under Saruman in the Third Age might well have been avoided, but then that is easy to say with hindsight of course. That she was certainly fully vindicated in her opinion that Lothlórien would play a pivotal role in long keeping Sauron from passing over to the western banks of the Anduin and would become a bastion and refuge to the beleaguered Silvan population towards the end of the Second Age and into the Third is irrefutable. There is no doubt that she is far-sighted and wise, but then she has also long relied on other methods of information and tools to assist her peerless judgment and it is here that we enter fully into areas of Elven power that cannot be described as anything but magical. But before we begin to discuss ‘mechanically’ assisted power there is the last and perhaps most disturbing of the Eldar’s innate magical abilities – the power to ‘read minds’. People of other races who have experienced the arcane scrutiny of Great Ones such as Lord Elrond or Galadriel give mixed messages on this and I believe this is largely attributable to their relative ‘purity’ or guilt. So guileless halfings like the three bearers of the One Ring, Bilbo and Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee felt merely a little uncomfortable and perhaps slight unworthiness whilst Elrond or Galadriel weighed them with a mere glance. In comparison, those with less than honest motives, or warped desires such as poor doomed Boromir of Gondor, an otherwise honourable and brave captain of Men, were virtually broken and helpless with fear by scrutiny over a similarly short period. I do not know how the Eldar experience these ‘reading of souls’ but I have heard tales amongst Men and Dwarves that the Lady’s presence was felt ‘inside their heads’ as a quiet insistent voice that looked to their heart and knew them and their intent instantly. Mirror or water magic I can really only discuss the Lady Galadriel in-depth here. I am referring of course to the famous Mirror of Galadriel which, as most people know was not of glass, but of smooth reflective water in a bowl. As the bearer of Nenya which had dominion over water, Galadriel’s power over the element was very great, but she appears not to have exercised it much or at all when using her Mirror. Its primary use was similar in effect to the art of ‘scrying’ for which fire can also be used as a natural medium in which to look at things far away or close by, in the past, present or future or sometimes possible futures that may or may not come to be. The artificial method equates with the use of the palantíri, the seeing stones which we will come to later on in this discourse. Mirror magic does have some things in common with the stones – you can only see, not hear. When she allowed the last Ringbearer and his servant to see into her Mirror, Galadriel warned them not to touch the water and, that it would be best if she did not attempt to direct what either of the periannath saw, saying that ‘the Mirror will also show things that are unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things that we wish to behold’. Of the visions the two hobbits saw there can be little doubt that the Mirror ‘keyed’ into what was foremost in their minds, so Frodo, desperate for support and knowledge of how his task could be accomplished saw Mithrandir in his new guise, thinking he was Saruman and also the Eye of the Great Enemy. Sam’s worries were focussed on his family and the journey back and so he became distressed when the Mirror gave a true vision of the occupation of the Shire by Saruman after the War of the Ring had ended. The Mirror undoubtedly drew on the power of the individual and so Frodo’s visions, as bearer of the One were more vivid and terrifying and ‘locked’ him into the Eye, again in a similar way to the seeing-stones. It would seem that Sauron was aware to some degree that he was being watched and Galadriel had to intervene to the stop the ringbearer’s chain dropping into the water, where presumably the One would have wasted no time in alerting its old Master to its exact whereabouts. So as a medium the Mirror had great powers in its own rights, but was dangerously random. It would appear that Galadriel, wishing to keep the ring Nenya, the source of her power secret and her own works well hidden, preferred not to use her Ring of Power to enhance her own vision and instead relied on the reflection’s inherent properties in linking with her unspoken thoughts and concerns, thereby learning more than if she had consciously directed the Mirror and so risked exposure to other beings who might also be able to spy on her. The Lady’s wisdom in this course is impeccable, illustrating her mastery of all the forms of Elven magic. In choosing a variety of methods to gather knowledge of the Enemy’s plans she was ever careful not use more than a necessary exertion of power, tempting though it may have been to extend her abilities there was always the danger that she would be detected and therefore, once aware of her scrutiny make it even harder to gather information. Her methods had to be subtle as a necessity since Lothlórien was the nearest of the Elven realms in distance to Mordor and moreover the home of one of the Three. The consequences of Sauron gaining enough information to know for sure that Galadriel held Nenya would have endangered Lórien immeasurably and, being wise the Lady was always careful as to how she used her ring powers. Sub-creative magic I am terming this area as ‘sub-creative’ as the Eldar are not gods and so cannot ‘create’ living substances or beings as such. Even Morgoth, with all his power and knowledge could only produce parodies of life and it is well-known that his own productions, although powerful, were all flawed in some vital way. In the case of the Eldar’s sub-creative use of magic we come back to the Elves affinity with ‘life force’, and using magic as an ‘art’ to create, or perhaps ‘mould’ might be a better word, beautiful objects or to protect something precious. Works in this area almost always involve using tools to effect, manipulate or capture the spark or life that then fuels an individual’s own inherent capacity for power in some way. Applied to the Rings of Power, especially the One and the Three, this translates as ‘giving power according to stature’ or the natural abilities of the wielder. For instance, if we take the pathetic creature Gollum who ‘wielded’ the One for a very long time indeed, having no real power himself, (other than for sneaking about and using the Ring to turn himself ‘invisible’ to eyes not attuned to the ‘magical’ planes), his only other attribute was that of being a naturally long-lived mortal and so all the Ring did for him was to abnormally increase his longevity in the hope of one day finding a way of the prison the hapless Gollum built for himself inside the Misty Mountains. But I digress as there are other things than rings that we can talk about, although perhaps it would useful to talk about the Three’s capacity for preservation first, as an example of how the Elves ‘manipulate’ their surroundings generally as a defence mechanism… Natural defences and the Three I can cite at least one occasion where the Lord Elrond has used the power of the Bruinen in defence of Imladris against the Nine when they tried to pursue the last Ringbearer across the Fords. In that Elrond was assisted by Mithrandir and observers at the time reported seeing ghostly boulders, warriors and giant white horses in the great wash of floodwater that swept the Black Riders and their horses far, far away down the Bruinen. Whether it was in Elrond’s power alone to have the waters rise, or whether this power was connected to his ring is uncertain. No matter the reason for the flood, however, the event is an example of the strength of some of the Eldar. Vilya and Nenya, the Rings of Air and of Water, being wielded by Eldar, were used principally to preserve and protect Imladris and Lothórien, whilst the Third Ring, Narya, the Ring of Fire, was held by Círdan in Mithlond, being kept secret but not being wielded. Círdan of course surrendered Narya to Mithrandir when the Istari first arrived from the West and so that Ring’s defensive aspects were not so obvious, but there is reason to suppose that Mithrandir certainly used Narya to protect certain areas of Middle Earth at different times. For instance the Shire was guarded from evil eyes for a long time, so with Narya perhaps its influence as a defensive weapon became diluted to some extent as Mithrandir’s roamings spread its properties over a wider area? This is largely guesswork on my part I admit, but given that Mithrandir, being Istari and human in aspect at least, it is reasonable to suppose that his ways of using his Ring of Power was bound to be different to Elrond’s subtle methods, or even Galadriel’s as she, like the Istari, accessed and wielded her own powers from many sources. There were other powers as well of course. The Three enabled their wielders to communicate their thoughts to each other over great distances and there is no doubt that this was a great asset to maintaining the inviolability of Lothlórien and of Imladris. Also, with Mithrandir’s freer remit, in his travels all over Middle Earth, the wielders of Three were undoubtedly able to co-ordinate defence strategies and knowledge-gathering to a high degree and, luckily as turned out, independently of the White Council. Whether used independently or in concert there is no doubt that the Three Elven Rings were articles of great power, but they had limitations and their fate was still bound up with the One Ring because they were made by the same arts and so, to some extent, subject to similar restrictions inherent in the Seven and the Nine which were, of course, all subjugated under the One. Even though Sauron had no hand in their making, the Three were no match for the One and whilst it remained with him their wielders were vulnerable to Sauron’s dominating mind, and hence the Eldar refused to use the Rings while Sauron still held the One, and why they were concerned about Saruon regaining the One in the late Third Age. Once the One was lost to the Great Enemy at the end of the Second Age however, the Three were freed from such vulnerability (albeit not if Sauron regained the One) and their wielders were able to build and preserve their realms as originally intended under their own Ring’s particular set of powers and this state of affairs continued well into the Third Age. Once it became known that the One Ring had been found again, however, the Three came under threat once again. Before the One was successfully destroyed the Three Elven Rings were on borrowed time and all their power was lost as Sauron’s Ring melted out of existence in the molten fires of Orodruin. Elrond, Galadriel and Mithrandir departed from Middle Earth taking the Three with them and that was end of the ancient art of Ring-power east of the Blessed Realms. Stone magic- The Palantíri Although associated in later times with Elendil and his sons and with Westernesse, the seven ‘seeing-stones’, or palantíri, were made by Fëanor before his Exile and later given into the keeping of the Edain by the Eldar of Aman and then brought to Middle Earth after the fall of Númenor. In appearance they were all the same, being perfectly smooth and shining and made of black glass or crystal. Their size varied with the two largest sited at Amon Súl and Osgiliath, which were both of considerable weight – more than one man could carry. The lesser stones were roughly 12 inches in diameter and also quite heavy but manageable. These were at first kept in Minas Anor, Minas Ithil, Orthanc and certainly Annúminas and it is uncontestable that the Minas Ithil stone was later used by Sauron in Barad Dûr at the end of the Third Age. The magical properties of the palantíri, was, as their more common description suggests, to allow the user to view far distant places or people. Again distance was inherent to the size and power of the palantíri and it would appear that the smaller stones’ range was about five hundred miles whilst the larger ones could ‘see’ much farther. Although no sound was discernible through the palantíri, adepts with the ability and strength of will could converse by means of thought, so, had they the use of a palantír, Istari like Mithrandir or Saruman would have been able to ‘talk’ to Eldar like Galadriel or Elrond, or regrettably to a Maia like Sauron. Once again the strength of an individual’s will made it dangerous for weaker minds to use, as we see in the case of Denethor, the last Steward of Gondor, who was laid bare to the Dark Lord’s predations by his use of the Minas Tirith stone which ultimately drove the poor man to despair and madness by what Sauron forced him to watch. Finally, the palantíri had another limitation which was that although they could see ‘through’ any obstruction such as walls or mountains, they could not ‘see’ through darkness. In this way a palantír could be ‘shrouded’ or obscured from view by another by, presumably, placing it away from any light. There are obvious advantages in doing this if there is a need for secrecy or concealment, though in practice and at the outset of their use in Middle Earth this would appear not to have been much of a concern. Jewel and metal magic Aside from the Three, the Noldor were famous for their incredible gift of making jewels that contained light and other properties such as healing powers. Greatest of all of course were the Silmarils which we shall come to soon as a separate case since they were quite unique. As well as the making of jewels Celebrimbor also excelled in precious metalwork and was particularly skilled with silver, mithril or truesilver and, most delicate of all, ithildin, of which the two last were particularly prized by the Naugrim. Ithildin is a fascinating substance and is used principally for lettering, spun gossamer fine and often set in doorways. It was wrought for secrecy and only visible in starlight or moonlight, or even under certain special conditions, for instance a certain phase of the Moon. Another great jewel that Celebrimbor had a hand in making was the Elessar, or Elfstone. This green gem was in fact originally made by Enerdhil for Idril Celebrindal and took the form of an exceptionally clear green stone in which Sunlight through green leaves had been suffused into its heart. This was given in turn to Eärendil by the Princess of Gondolin and was used in the Havens at the Sirion’s mouth to heal much of the ills suffered by the refugees from Gondolin and of Doriath who came to the Sea. The Elessar was lost to Middle Earth for a time and passed into the West with Eärendil. The Elessar later returned, though few know the manner, perhaps of those who live still only Galadriel. Some say that Mithrandir brought it back as a gift of Yavanna to Galadriel to heal the hurts of Middle-earth ere she pass it on to one who should be named Elessar (the kingship of Aragorn II Elessar has given popularity to this tale), but others claim that Celebrimbor crafted a new Elessar at the bidding of Galadriel, lesser than but still peer to the first. In a different way to the Three, the Elessar’s healing properties was able to render even devastated lands back into health and youthful vigour. There can be little doubt that Galadriel used it in Lothlórien to make the Golden Wood thrive and remain beautiful even in its winter. She also had Celebrimbor set the clear green stone in a silver brooch, in the shape of an Eagle, rising on outspread wings. When Galadriel received Nenya into her keeping she passed the Elessar into the safekeeping of her daughter Celebrian and from her into Arwen Undómiel’s possession. It was indeed fitting that the Elessar thus came to dwell for some time in Imladris where so many of the Heirs of Valandil had sanctuary. That it eventually came into the hands of Aragorn Elessar, who later united the North and South Kingdoms once more, is well known of course. And so the clear green stone of the Elves finally came to be the last heirloom of the Eldar possessed by the Kings of Men when they came into their dominion of Middle Earth, and a lasting remembrance of King Elessar’s ultimate descent from Lúthien and Beren. The Silmarils The three fabled jewels made by Fëanor are without doubt the highest achievement of the Eldar’s magical arts. Their actual substance is unknown, save to Fëanor, but they are described as being similar to diamonds, yet even harder, being indestructible. What made them unique was that they all contained the blended light of the Two Trees, Telperion and Laurelin which was of such brilliance that even in complete darkness, the jewels shone with their own light like stars. The Silmarils therefore embodied a living representation of the Two Trees, so in some respects, they were themselves living things and as such they were uniquely valuable. Although Fëanor is always credited with their making, the judgment of Mandos, after Fëanor’s wholly selfish pursuit of Morgoth and Ungoliant and his hubristic insistence that they be returned to him personally, was clear that the Silmarils could not ‘belong’ to any one individual, only to Arda itself. Their priceless core value, the holy light of the two precious Trees gifted to Arda by Yavanna, that had been lost to the world, meant that the Silmarils were the last remembrance of their light and so could not belong to any one person, not even to Yavanna. The story of how the Noldor defied the Ainur and pursued the thieves at any cost, perpetrating increasingly desperate and despicable acts, racing across the Sea to Middle Earth and then embroiling Beleriand in hopeless war, strife and ultimate destruction is too well known to repeated here of course. The outcome of the sad saga did at least result in one of the Great Jewels being preserved. As a star, set in the Heavens, the Silmaril saved by Lúthien Tinúviel and Beren, then passed down to their heir, Elwing and her husband Eärendil, finally found its true place and can now shine down upon all of Arda. The last blessed brightness of Telperion and Laurelin can now be seen by all the peoples of the world. Long may it shine on us all. By Janowyn Research Back to the top