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Elves By the Numbers - Page 2

© Michael Martinez

In the story, Imin, Tata, and Enel wake up in that order. They see laying beside them the female Elves who are destined to be their mates. The three males wake the females and they begin to speak to one another, creating the primitive Elven language as they go along. Eventually the Elves go for a walk and they come upon a group of 12 sleeping Elves. Imin, seeming a bit pretentious and arrogant, suddenly claims these 12 as his special companions and followers. The 18 Elves all get to know one another for a while before walking off again. Now they find a group of 18 Elves sleeping on the ground, and Tata follows Imin's lead and claims these 18 for his special companions. Then they find 24 Elves, whom Enel claims, and Imin decides to be clever. He sits out the next two discoveries thinking he'll end up with the largest group of Elves. So Tata recruits 36 more Elves and Enel recruits the last 48 to be awakened. And that's it. There were 144 Elves, paired in 72 couples. All Elvenkind were descended from these 144 First Elves. When comparing the information in the tale of the First Elves (as confirmed by "Quendi and Eldar") to the Silmarillion chapter "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor", one finds that several standard assumptions are challenged. For example, many readers believe (quite reasonably, I suppose, given only The Silmarillion to judge by) that Ingwe, Finwe, and Elwe may be the eldest Elves. Now, The Silmarillion doesn't actually say they are the eldest. But they are the first named Elves encountered in the narrative, and they were all alive and active when Orome needed three pigeons to take to Aman. As Christopher Tolkien published The History of Middle-earth series, the early volumes did seem to confirm the belief that the three Eldarin kings might be the eldest of the Elves. Ingwe is stated in more than one place to have awakened first. Finwe is also said in an early version of "Quenta Silmarillion" to have been a first generation Elf. Only Elwe's position is suspect, since he always seems to have had a brother Olwe through the various mythologies Tolkien devised over the years. However, as the years passed and Tolkien rewrote and recomposed and re-edited the various texts which comprised "Quenta Silmarillion" or its alleged sources, the Elven kings' histories were altered. In time the references to their having awakened at Cuivienen were obscured or completely obliterated. And the families of Ingwe and Elwe were expanded. Ingwe was given a sister, Indis, who became Finwe's second wife. But eventually she became one of "Ingwe's near kin" and finally the daughter of his sister. And both Cirdan and Eol were said to be members of Elwe (Thingol's) family.

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