Celeborn Unplugged - Page 7
© Michael Martinez
The changes Tolkien introduced in 1965 for the Second Edition of The Lord of the Rings must be accepted as canon, superseding what had been set down in the First Edition (just as the Second Edition of The Hobbit brought that story into Middle-earth). Celeborn is therefore indisputably a Sindarin Elf. But Galadriel's words really don't make any sense, unless one invents a rather incredible backstory for Celeborn, or broadly interprets her statement to Frodo as either an uncorrected passage or as implying that both she and Celeborn traveled over the mountains together.
There is, of course, some support for the latter interpretation. In the unpublished histories for Galadriel and Celeborn, they do enter Eriador together. But there things become complicated. Tolkien leaves Celeborn's role in Eregion in doubt, and he is not sure of when Celeborn made it to Lothlorien, or how, or why. For by making Celeborn an Elf of Doriath, Tolkien creates a reason to make Celeborn unfriendly to Dwarves. Celeborn remembers the sack of Doriath and the death of Thingol (now his close relative).
Celeborn is not especially hostile to Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings. But if one accepts Tolkien's view that Celeborn is not fond of them, then the ancient law Celeborn sets aside to allow Gimli to walk freely in Lothlorien makes sense. Amroth, former king of Lothlorien, appears to have been friendly with the Dwarves. He and his father were undoubtedly allied with the Longbeard Dwarves of Khazad-dum. But when the Dwarves awoke the Balrog and fled, they inspired great fear in Amroth's people. His kingdom effectively came to an end in the year 1981.
Galadriel and Celeborn then settled in Lothlorien and sought to restore some stability to the Elven realm. Because Lothlorien's population had been greatly diminished by the exodus, they instituted new policies. Lothlorien ceased nearly all interaction with outside peoples. They even stopped communicating with Thranduil's realm in northern Mirkwood. They remained friendly only with Rivendell, possibly Cirdan at the Havens, and maybe with the lords of Gondor. Seeing that the Dwarves had caused the exodus, Celeborn could have decided that they should no longer be welcomed in Lothlorien as a means of limiting contact with whatever they had awakened.
Thus, his decision to set aside the ancient law when the Fellowship arrived was another sign of Celeborn's flexible nature. The times had changed, and the needs of his people were different from those of a thousand years before. Lothlorien had undoubtedly increased its population, and it was obvious at this point that the Dwarves really posed no threat to Lothlorien. Celeborn could therefore afford to be generous. His sudden doubt, upon learning that a Balrog dwelt in Moria, is understandable. He had just changed the status quo. Gimli might be the first of many Dwarves to return to Lothlorien after a thousand years or more of isolation. The news of the Balrog was a poor confirmation of the decision Celeborn had just made.
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