Sundering of the Elves

{{Short description|Events in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe}} {{good article}} {{Use British English|date=May 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} In [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[legendarium]], the '''sundering of the Elves''' is the complex process in which the immortal [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] successively break up into many groups with multiple causes of dissent between them. They awoke at [[Cuiviénen]] on the continent of [[Middle-earth]], where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Seconds) and Nelyar (the Thirds). After some time, they were summoned by [[Oromë]] to live with the [[Vala (Middle-earth)|Valar]] in [[Aman (Middle-earth)|Valinor, on Aman]]. That summoning and the Great Journey that followed split the Elves into two main groups (and many minor ones), which were never fully reunited.

Tolkien stated that the stories were made to create a world for his [[Elvish languages (Middle-earth)|elvish languages]], not the reverse. The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] writes that ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' derived from the linguistic relationship between the two languages, [[Quenya]] and [[Sindarin]], of the divided Elves. The Tolkien scholar [[Verlyn Flieger]] states that Tolkien used the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] type of [[proto-language]] as his model. In her view, the sundering of the Elves reflects the progressive [[decline and fall in Middle-earth]] from its initial perfection; the highest Elves are those who deviated least from that state, meaning that in Tolkien's scheme, [[Ancestry as guide to character in Tolkien's legendarium|ancestry is a guide to character]].

== Context ==

=== Author ===

[[J. R. R. Tolkien]] (1892–1973) is best known as the author of the [[high fantasy]] works ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''. He was a professional [[philology|philologist]], an expert in the changes in words between languages.<ref name="Carpenter 1977">{{cite book |last=Carpenter |first=Humphrey |author-link=Humphrey Carpenter |title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biography]] |publisher=[[George Allen & Unwin]] |publication-place=London |date=1977 |isbn=978-0-04-928037-3 |oclc=3046822 |pages=111, 200, 266 and throughout}}</ref> He created a family of [[Constructed language|invented languages]] for [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]], carefully designing the differences between them to reflect their distance from their imaginary common origin. He stated that his languages led him to create the [[A mythology for England|invented mythology]] of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', to provide a world in which his languages could have existed. In that world, the splintering of the Elvish peoples mirrored the fragmentation of their languages.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/><ref name="Flieger 1983 Darkness"/>

=== Awakening of the Elves ===

In [[Tolkien's legendarium]], the [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elves]] awoke at [[Cuiviénen]], a bay on the eastern side of the Sea of Helcar, on the continent of [[Middle-earth]], where they were divided into three tribes: Minyar (the Firsts), Tatyar (the Seconds) and Nelyar (the Thirds). After some time, they were summoned by the [[Vala (Middle-earth)|Vala]] [[Oromë]], the huntsman, to live with him and the other Valar in [[Aman (Middle-earth)|Valinor, on Aman]]. The Eldar are those who accepted the summons. Their name, literally ''Star People'', was given to them by Oromë, in their own language, [[Primitive Quendian]].<ref name="Tyler 1980">{{cite book |last=Tyler |first=J. E. A. |title=The New Tolkien Companion |publisher=[[Avon Books]] |year=1980 |page=166 |isbn=978-0-380-46904-8}}</ref><ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> The Avari are those who refused the summons.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> Half of the Avari (the "refusers")<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.elfdict.com/w/Avari |title=Avari |website=Parf Edhellen: an Elvish Dictionary |access-date=2 October 2022}}</ref> came from the largest tribe, the Nelyar, but most of the Nelyar went on the journey.{{efn|"The proportions, out of 144, that when the March began became Avari or Eldar were approximately: ''Minyar'' 14: ''Avari'' 0, ''Eldar'' 14; ''Tatyar'' 56: ''Avari'' 28, ''Eldar'' 28; ''Nelyar'' 74: ''Avari'' 28, ''Eldar'' 46: ''Amanyar Teleri'' 20, ''Sindar and Nandor'' 26." (''Nandor'' 8 - p. 412) It can be seen that the Avari are made up of roughly equal numbers of Tatyar and Nelyar.<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/>}}<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1994|loc="Quendi and Eldar"}}</ref>

== Sundering of the Eldar ==

[[File:Elvish_Migrations_and_Kindreds.svg|thumb|center|upright=3.5|[[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]] in the [[First Age]]. The Elves awoke at Cuiviénen, on the Sea of [[Helcar]] (right) in [[Middle-earth]], and many of them (green titles for kindreds) migrated (arrows) westwards to [[Valinor]] in Aman, though some stopped in [[Beleriand]] (top), and others returned to Beleriand later (red arrows). Those who obeyed the summons to Aman were known as the Eldar; the rest, the Avari or refusers. Those who saw the light of the Two Trees of Valinor in the blessed land of Aman were called Calaquendi, Elves of Light; those who did not were called the Moriquendi, Elves of Darkness. Locations are diagrammatic.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/><ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/>]]{{-}}

The Eldar migrated westwards across the north of Middle-earth in their three groups. The Minyar became known as the Vanyar, meaning the ''Fair Elves'', with golden-blond hair.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> The Tatyar who migrated west became known as the [[Noldor]] or ''Deep Elves'', with deep knowledge of crafts and skills. The Nelyar who went west were known as the Teleri (''Those who come last'') or, as they called themselves, the Lindar or ''Singers''. They stayed on the east of Aman, in Tol Eressëa.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/>

=== Sindar ===

[[File:Sketch Map of Beleriand.svg|thumb|upright=2|Sketch map of [[Beleriand]]. Thingol's forest realm of Doriath with its [[Sindar]] Elves is in the centre; the [[Noldor]] cities of [[Gondolin]] and [[Nargothrond]] are to its northwest and southwest respectively. Ossiriand is in the southeast.]]

Those of the Teleri who reached [[Beleriand]] by the [[Belegaer|Great Sea]] but chose not to cross to Valinor were later called the Sindar (''Grey Elves''); their language was [[Sindarin]]. They stayed in the west of Middle-earth and were ruled by [[Thingol]] (Elwë).<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> Many of the Sindar chose to remain behind to look for their lord Thingol, who disappeared near the end of the journey. These later inhabited [[Doriath (Middle-earth)|Doriath]], and were named the Iathrim or ''People of the Girdle'', for the magical 'Girdle of [[Melian (Middle-earth)|Melian]]' that surrounded and protected the kingdom.<ref name="Túrin Turambar" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 21 "Of Túrin Turambar"}}</ref>

Those who came to the shores of the Great Sea of [[Belegaer]] but decided to stay there, or who arrived too late to be ferried, were called the '''Falathrim''' (''People of the [[Falas|Shore]]''). They were ruled by Círdan the Shipwright.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/>

Those who chose to remain behind and populated the lands to the north-west of Beleriand were called the Mithrim or ''Grey People'', giving their name to the region and the great lake there. Most of them later merged with the Noldor who returned to Middle-earth, especially those of [[Gondolin]].<ref group=T name="Voyage of Eärendil">{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 24 "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"}}</ref> Those who reached Aman were called ''Amanyar Teleri''; they were also called the Falmari, the ''People of the Waves'', expert with ships and the sea.<ref name="Coming of the Elves" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 3 "Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"}}</ref>

=== Nandor ===

Those of the Teleri who refused to cross the [[Misty Mountains]] and stayed in the valley of [[Anduin]] were called the Nandor (''Those [Elves] who turn back'').<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> Those of the Nandor who later entered Beleriand were called the Laiquendi (''Green Elves'' or ''Green People'', so named because their attire was often green.)<ref>{{ME-ref|CG}}</ref> "Laiquendi" was the term in Quenya, while the Sindarin version was "Laegrim". They settled in Ossiriand, an eastern region of Beleriand, and were famous for their singing. Hearing of the peaceful territories of King Thingol, Denethor, son of Lenwë, collected as many of his scattered people as he could and finally ventured westward over the Ered Luin into Ossiriand. Although in some instances the Green-elves of Ossiriand did participate in the battles and strife concerning Morgoth (the [[First Battle of Beleriand]] for example), they were for the most part a simple, peaceful, and reclusive people.<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/> The Nandor who stayed around Anduin became known as the Tawarwaith, living in [[Lothlórien]] and [[Mirkwood]]; they were also called Silvan or Wood Elves. They were joined there by those Avari who eventually decided to move to the West.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|loc="The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix A: The Silvan Elves and their Speech"}}</ref>

=== Vanyar ===

The Vanyar were the fairest and most noble of the High Elves; their name means "the Fair", as they have golden hair.<ref name="Of Maeglin" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 16 "Of Maeglin"}}</ref> Their small clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awaken at Cuiviénen, with his wife Iminyë and their twelve companions: they broadly correspond to the Minyar. Ingwë was the Vanya Elf to travel with the Vala Oromë to Valinor, and became their king. The Vanyar spoke a dialect of Quenya called Vanyarin. Since they stayed in Valinor, they played no part in the wars in Beleriand, except for the [[War of Wrath]] that brought an end to the region.<ref group=T name="Voyage of Eärendil"/>

=== Dark and Light Elves ===

[[File:August Malmström - Dancing Fairies - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|Elves were associated with light and darkness]] in [[Norse mythology]].<ref name="Shippey 2001"/> 1866 painting ''Elfplay'' by [[August Malmström]] ]]

The Vanyar, the Noldor, and those of the Teleri who reached [[Valinor]] are called the Calaquendi (''Elves of Light'') because they saw the light of the [[Two Trees of Valinor]]. In [[Quenya]], the language of the Noldor in Valinor, all other Elves were called the Moriquendi (''Elves of Darkness'') in recognition of the fact that they did not see (and did not desire) the Light of Valinor, but later the Sindar were counted among neither of these groups. Instead, ''Moriquendi'' was used for all other Elves except Noldor, Vanyar, Falmari, and Sindar.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/><ref name="Dimitra 2008">{{cite book |last=Fimi |first=Dimitra |author-link=Dimitra Fimi |title=Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits |title-link=Tolkien, Race and Cultural History |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2010 |orig-year=2008 |isbn=978-0-230-21951-9 |oclc=222251097 |page=158 }}</ref> The Sundering allowed Tolkien to explain the existence of [[Norse mythology]]'s [[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|''Dökkálfar'' and ''Ljósálfar'']], Dark and Light Elves. The Dark Elves, who lived underground in ''Svartalfheim'' ("Black Elfhome"), are rehabilitated by Tolkien as his Moriquendi. The Light Elves lived in ''Alfheim'' ("Elfhome") and correspond to his Calaquendi.<ref name="Shippey 2001">{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century]] |date=2001 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0261-10401-3 |pages=228–231}}</ref>

=== Noldorin Exiles ===

Most of the Noldor returned with [[Fëanor]] to Beleriand in Middle-earth before the raising of the Sun. Fëanor, however, sailed in haste in ships stolen from the (Telerin) Falmari. The Falmari resisted, and Fëanor's Noldor fought and killed them in the First Kinslaying, a battle of Elves upon Elves. In addition, Fëanor left behind his half-brother [[Fingolfin]]'s Noldor, who also wanted to return. Fingolfin, furious, was obliged to make the perilous journey on foot via the Helcaraxë, the Grinding Ice of the far north. These groups of Noldor became known as the Exiles. In Beleriand they became divided by their place of dwelling, namely [[Hithlum]], [[Gondolin]], [[Dorthonion]], [[Nargothrond]] and the [[March of Maedhros]].<ref name="Return of the Noldor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 13 "Of the Return of the Noldor"}}</ref><ref name="Beleriand and its Realms" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977|loc=ch. 14 "Of Beleriand and its Realms"}}</ref>

=== Merging of Noldor and Sindar ===

After the War of Wrath that ended the First Age, the greater part of the surviving Noldor and Sindar (mostly mingled into a single people) returned into the West to dwell in [[Tol Eressëa]]. The rest remained in Middle-earth throughout the [[Second Age|Second]] and [[Third Age]]s, entering the realm of [[Mirkwood]] of the Wood Elves or establishing the kingdoms of [[Lindon (Middle-earth)|Lindon]], [[Eregion]], [[Lothlórien]] and [[Rivendell]].<ref group=T name="Voyage of Eärendil"/>

== Sundering of the Avari ==

After the Separation the Avari became divided even more than the Eldar, though little of their history became known to the Elves and [[Dúnedain|Men]] of the West of Middle-earth, and they barely feature in the legendarium.<ref name="Dickerson 2013"/> At least six kindreds existed, and they continued to call themselves 'Quendi',{{efn|This name evolved into different forms in the language of each kindred: Kindi, Cuind, Hwenti, Windan, Kinn-lai and Penni.<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/>}} considering those who went away, the Eldar, as deserters. Some of these tribes later journeyed westward, intermingling with the Nandor in [[Rhovanion]], and a few even reached [[Beleriand]], though usually remaining on unfriendly terms with the Sindar.<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/>

==Analysis== {{further|Elvish languages (Middle-earth)}}

[[File:Sundering of the Elves diagram.svg|thumb|center|upright=3.5|Diagram of the Sundering of the Elves, showing Tolkien's overlapping classifications. The names Calaquendi and Moriquendi, Light-Elves and Dark-Elves, correspond to names used in [[Old Norse]], [[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|''Ljósálfar'' and ''Dökkálfar'']].<ref name="Shippey 2001"/> ]]

[[Matthew Dickerson]], writing in the ''[[J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]]'', notes the "very complicated changes, with shifting meanings assigned to the same names" as Tolkien worked on his conception of the Elves and their divisions and migrations. All the same, he notes, Tolkien kept to a consistent scheme. He states that the sundering of the Elves allowed Tolkien, a professional [[philologist]], to develop two [[Elvish languages (Middle-earth)|Elvish languages]], distinct but related, [[Quenya]] for the Eldar and [[Sindarin]] for the Sindar, citing Tolkien's own statement that the stories were made to create a world for the languages, not the reverse.<ref name="Dickerson 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Dickerson |first=Matthew |author-link=Matthew Dickerson |editor-last=Drout |editor-first=Michael D. C. |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=Elves: Kindreds and Migrations |encyclopedia=[[The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia]] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=152–154}}</ref>

Shippey suggests that the "real root" of ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' lay in the linguistic relationship, complete with sound-changes and differences of semantics, between the two languages of the divided elves. He adds that the elves are separated not by colour, despite names like light and dark, but by their history, including their migrations.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/>

[[File:Elvish Languages Mapped to Kindreds and Migrations.svg|thumb|center|upright=3.5|[[Elvish languages (Middle-earth)|Elvish Languages]] Mapped to Kindreds and Migrations: Languages (such as Quenya) are shown in Boldface Blue; examples are the words for "Elves" in those languages (such as ''"Quendi"''), shown in Italic Black. These are overlaid on a map of [[Arda (Middle-earth)|Arda]], with [[Aman (J. R. R. Tolkien)|Aman]] on the left, [[Middle-earth]] on the right, the arrows and Green labels showing the migrations of the Elvish kindreds. The highest Elves who went to Aman and saw the light of the [[Two Trees of Valinor]] spoke a single ancient language, Quenya. Those [[Noldor]] who returned from Aman to Beleriand instead adopted [[Sindarin]], a [[Telerin]] language. The lowest Elves, the Avari, fragmented into many kindreds with different languages.<ref name="Quendi and Eldar" group=T/><ref name="Dickerson 2013"/>]]

The Tolkien scholar [[Verlyn Flieger]] states that in the ''[[Lhammas]]'' and "[[The Etymologies (Tolkien)|The Etymologies]]" Tolkien used the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Indo-European]] type of [[proto-language]]s with branches and sub-branches of language families while inventing his various [[Languages invented by Tolkien|languages of Middle-earth]]. This picture of increasing separation is analogous to the progressive [[decline and fall in Middle-earth]] from its initial perfection, of which the Sundering of the Elves is a major element.<ref name="Flieger 1983 Language">{{cite book |first=Verlyn |last=Flieger |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |pages=65–87 |chapter=A Disease of Mythology |title=Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World |title-link=Splintered Light |year=1983 |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |isbn=978-0-8028-1955-0 }}</ref> In Tolkien's scheme, the highest Elves are those who deviated least from their initial state (complying with the will of the [[Vala (Middle-earth)|Valar]], travelling to Valinor, and continuing to speak the highest language, Quenya). Conversely, the lowest Elves, the Avari, fragmented into many kindreds with different languages as they eventually spread out across Middle-earth. Tolkien thus intended [[Ancestry as guide to character in Tolkien's legendarium|ancestry to be a guide to character]]; the differences between the various Elvish languages mirror both the Sundering and the events of ''The Silmarillion''.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/><ref name="Flieger 1983 Darkness">{{cite book |first=Verlyn |last=Flieger |author-link=Verlyn Flieger |pages=88–131 |chapter=Light into Darkness |title=Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien's World |title-link=Splintered Light |year=1983 |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |isbn=978-0-8028-1955-0 }}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Galadriel]]

==Notes== {{notelist}}

==References==

===Primary===

=== Secondary === {{reflist|28em}}

=== Sources ===

* {{ME-ref|Silm}} * {{ME-ref|UT}} * {{ME-ref|WJ}}

[[Category:Middle-earth Elves|Sundering]] [[Category:Middle-earth history]]