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Unwritten Tales of Love and War in Middle-Earth - Page 7

© Michael Martinez

We are told only that Elrond said nothing of his love for Celebrian when he first met her. The reasons for his silence need not have included any conflict with Celeborn. In "Of the Laws and Customs of the Eldar" (Morgoth's Ring), Tolkien noted that the Eldar seldom conceived children in times of war. As Gil-galad's vice-regent in Eriador, and as the leader of the Eldarin defense of eastern Eriador, Elrond may simply have deferred his chances for marriage until a time of peace came. And the histories tell us that the Eldar never again fully knew peace until Sauron departed for Numenor many centuries later. By that time, Celebrian may have been residing elsewhere, and Elrond would have had to wait to press his suit for her love. For her part, Celebrian, too, may have repressed any feelings she might have had for Elrond. Or, perhaps, she merely didn't reciprocate his love at first. While it may seem strange that Elrond and Celebrian should have waited so long to get together, they would not necessarily have been the first Eldar to have deferred a marriage. Finduilas loved Gwindor long before she ever met Turin. But they chose not to marry, probably because of the war with Angband. That war, of course, led to their deaths. And passing in death over Sea, their spirits would have dwelled in Mandos until they had been purged of their griefs. Eventually both Finduilas and Gwindor must have been released from Mandos. If they had found the healing there which was appointed them, their love may have flourished in Aman, and they might finally have been wed in the Undying Lands. Yet, it is more romantic to imagine some barrier to Elrond's desire for Celebrian, and more in keeping with the tradition of love in Tolkien's stories. What if Elrond felt the need to earn to Celeborn's trust and appreciation? If we accept that Celeborn did indeed lead a sortie from Eregion against Sauron's forces, and that he and Elrond were driven north (as is related in one of the histories of Galadriel and Celeborn), is there reason to ask if Celeborn might have been critical of Elrond? Elrond had, after all, been raised by Maglor, a Feanorian lord and an enemy of Doriath. Would that have been sufficient reason for a conflict between the two? Elrond had also chosen to live in Lindon, and was close to Gil-galad. Although there is no indication that Celeborn had a problem with Gil-galad (who, as Orodreth's son, was another of Celeborn's relatives, both by blood and by marriage), Celeborn is said in one place to have distrusted the Dwarves, due to their part in the destruction of Doriath. Despite his being wed to a Noldorin princess, was Celeborn uncomfortable with the Noldor? And, if so, would Celeborn have deemed Gil-galad to have had closer ties to and greater sympathy for the Noldor than for the Sindar?

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