Teleri
Also calledThe Last-comers, Lindar (the Singers), Nelyar (the Third), Sea-elves (of the Falmari)
The Teleri are the third and largest kindred of the Eldar, the Singers and Last-comers, who lagged on the Great Journey and were divided again and again. From them descend the Sea-elves of Alqualondë, the Grey-elves of Beleriand, and the Nandor and Silvan folk of the wide lands east of the mountains.
Description
Origins
The Teleri were the third clan of the Elves at Cuiviénen, called the Nelyar, and the most numerous. Their own name for themselves was Lindar, the Singers, for they were always the most musical of the Elves. They had two lords, the brothers Elwë and Olwë, of whom Elwë had gone to Aman as one of the three ambassadors. Not all of the clan followed them: a large part of the Teleri stayed behind and became the greater share of the Avari.
The divided journey
The Teleri marched last on the Great Journey and were the slowest, being the largest host and the least eager for the Sea. Their name, the Last-comers or the Hindmost, was given them by the other kindreds. At the Misty Mountains a part of them under Lenwë refused to cross and went south down the Anduin; these were the Nandor. The rest came at last over the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, but arrived so late that Ulmo had already ferried the Vanyar and Noldor across the Sea. While they waited, Elwë walked into the wood of Nan Elmoth and met Melian, and did not come out for many years. When Ulmo returned, Olwë led the greater part of the Teleri to Aman; those who stayed to search for Elwë, and the friends of Ossë who loved the shore, remained in Beleriand as the Sindar.
Three peoples
The Teleri who reached Aman became the Falmari, the Sea-elves, who lived first on Tol Eressëa and then built Alqualondë on the coast of Eldamar. They were counted among the Calaquendi, and Olwë was their king.
The Teleri of Beleriand became the Sindar, the Grey-elves, the most numerous and important Elvish people of Middle-earth in the First Age. Elwë, now called Thingol, ruled them from Menegroth in Doriath; the coast-dwellers of the Falas under Círdan, the Falathrim, were the shipwrights of the west. The Sindar developed the Sindarin language, which in the end became the common tongue of all Elves in Middle-earth.
The Nandor spread through the vales of Anduin and beyond, and one part of them under Denethor later crossed into Ossiriand and became the Laiquendi. Those who stayed east of the mountains were the ancestors of the Silvan Elves of Greenwood and Lothlórien.
What sets them apart
The Teleri loved water above all things, whether the lake of their awakening, the rivers of the Journey or the Sea. In Aman they were the shipwrights and the friends of Ossë and Uinen, and their swan-ships were the marvel of Alqualondë. They were also the great singers; the name Lindar was their own, and the music of the Sindar of Doriath, taught to them by Melian, was accounted the fairest in Middle-earth. Their hair was often silver, especially in the house of Elwë and Olwë, or dark. They had less of the fire and pride of the Noldor and less of the devotion of the Vanyar; they were a people of the margins, of shores and woods.
The Kinslaying
The Falmari suffered the first great crime of the Elder Days. When the exiled Noldor came to Alqualondë demanding ships, Olwë refused them, and Fëanor took the ships by force. Many Teleri were slain, and the Falmari afterwards would not sail to Middle-earth in the War of Wrath but only lent their ships to be crewed by others. The Sindar of Beleriand learned of the Kinslaying long after, and it poisoned Thingol's dealings with the Noldor; when the sons of Fëanor later sacked Doriath, and the survivors' refuge at the Mouths of Sirion, the Teleri had been slain three times by the Noldor.
Relations with other peoples
The Sindar traded with the Dwarves and were the first Elves to arm themselves with dwarf-made weapons, though the murder of Thingol turned that friendship to hatred. They fought beside the Noldor against Morgoth despite old wrongs. The Teleri of Aman had little to do with any people but their own and the Valar of the Sea.
Fate
The Falmari remain in Alqualondë. The Sindar of Beleriand who survived the First Age passed into Lindon and thence into the realms of the Third Age, and most had sailed by the beginning of the Fourth. Their Nandorin and Silvan cousins stayed longest in Middle-earth, in the woods of Thranduil and in Lórien, and slowly faded.
Physical traits
The Teleri were often silver-haired, especially in the royal house of Elwë and Olwë, though dark hair was also common. They were somewhat less tall than the Noldor and had a greater love of the water, of song and of quiet places.
Culture
The Teleri were singers and shipwrights. In Aman the Falmari built the swan-ships of Alqualondë; in Beleriand the Sindar built Menegroth with dwarven aid and made the music of Doriath. The Teleri of Beleriand developed their own tongue, Sindarin, which the Noldor adopted, while the Telerin of Aman remained close to Quenya. The house of Elwë and Olwë supplied kings to both shores of the Sea.
Origins
The Teleri were the third and largest of the three clans at Cuiviénen. They set out last on the Great Journey under Elwë and Olwë, and were divided by the Misty Mountains, by the loss of Elwë in Nan Elmoth, and by the Sea.
Fate
Split into the Falmari of Aman, the Sindar of Beleriand and the Nandor and Silvan Elves of the east, the Teleri were the most widely scattered of all the kindreds. The Sindar departed with the other Eldar; the Silvan folk lingered longest.
Sub-kindreds3
- Kindred
The Falmari are the Sea-elves, the Teleri who completed the Great Journey under Olwë and built the Haven of the Swans at Alqualondë. Shipwrights and singers, they were the victims of the first Kinslaying, when the Noldor took their ships by force.
- Kindred
The Sindar, the Grey-elves, are the Teleri who stayed in Beleriand when their kin sailed to Aman, and who under Thingol and Melian became the greatest Elvish people of Middle-earth before the return of the Noldor. Their language, Sindarin, became the common speech of all Elves east of the Sea.
15 figures - Kindred
The Nandor are the Teleri who lost heart at the sight of the Misty Mountains and turned aside from the Great Journey, spreading through the vales of Anduin under Lenwë. From them descend the Green-elves of Ossiriand and the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlórien.
1 figure
Notable figures
King of the Teleri of Aman
Olwë
TeleriOlwë, brother of Elwë Thingol, led the Teleri who completed the Great Journey to Aman after his brother was lost, and became King of the Falmari at the Swanhaven of Alqualondë. He refused Fëanor the ships of his people, and the Noldor took them by force in the first Kinslaying. Through his daughter Eärwen he was the grandfather of Finrod and Galadriel.
AlqualondëLeader of the Nandor
Lenwë
TeleriLenwë was the Telerin Elf who, daunted by the Misty Mountains, turned aside from the Great Journey with a part of Olwë's host at the river Anduin. Those who followed him became the Nandor, the wood-elves of the river vales from whom the Silvan Elves of Lórien and Mirkwood descended.
The Vales of Anduin
Of the wider kindred
Prince of the Woodland Realm
Legolas
Silvan ElvesLegolas, son of Thranduil of the Woodland Realm, was the Elf of the Fellowship of the Ring. A peerless archer and tracker, he walked from Rivendell to the Black Gate beside Aragorn and Gimli, forged the first true friendship between Elf and Dwarf in an age, and after the death of the King Elessar built a ship and sailed into the West with his Dwarven friend.
The Woodland Realm, later IthilienPrincess of Doriath
Lúthien
SindarLúthien, daughter of King Thingol and the Maia Melian, was the fairest of all the Children of Ilúvatar. For love of the mortal Beren she overcame Sauron, put Morgoth himself to sleep in his own hall, and won a Silmaril from the Iron Crown; she then moved Mandos to pity and chose mortality so that she and Beren might not be parted. Every line of the Half-elven descends from her.
Doriath, later Tol GalenKing of Doriath
Thingol
SindarElwë Singollo, called Thingol, led the Teleri on the Great Journey, met the Maia Melian in Nan Elmoth and never left Middle-earth again. As King of Doriath he ruled the Sindar for the whole of the First Age, set Beren the impossible price of a Silmaril for his daughter Lúthien, and was slain in his own treasury by Dwarves over the jewel he had once demanded.
DoriathChief of the Marchwardens of Doriath
Beleg
SindarBeleg Strongbow, chief of the marchwardens of Doriath and the greatest woodsman of the Sindar, was the friend and teacher of Túrin. He followed Túrin into outlawry and into the enemy's country to save him, and died at his hand in the dark of Taur-nu-Fuin, killed by mistake with the very sword he had carried to the rescue.
DoriathLord of Lothlórien
Celeborn
SindarCeleborn, a Sindarin prince of Doriath and the husband of Galadriel, outlasted three Ages of Middle-earth as lord of the Galadhrim. He shared the rule of Lothlórien with his wife, led the host that stormed Dol Guldur at the end of the War of the Ring, held East Lórien for a season of the Fourth Age, and at last, when the Golden Wood had emptied, went to Rivendell and thence over the Sea.
LothlórienLord of the Falas
Círdan
SindarCírdan the Shipwright, a Telerin kinsman of Thingol who stayed on the shores of Middle-earth when the ships sailed West, was lord of the Falas in the First Age and of the Grey Havens through the Second and Third. He built the ships of the Elves for three Ages, bore the Ring of Fire until he gave it to Gandalf, and remained at the Havens until the last ship should sail.
The Falas; afterwards Lindon and the Grey HavensKing of the Woodland Realm
Thranduil
SindarThranduil, son of Oropher, ruled the Silvan Elves of northern Mirkwood from underground halls for the whole of the Third Age. He led the remnant of his father's host home from the Last Alliance, imprisoned Thorin's company, fought at the Battle of Five Armies, held Gollum as a prisoner, and in the War of the Ring defeated the assault of Dol Guldur under his own trees.
The Woodland Realm in northern MirkwoodKing of Lórien
Amroth
SindarAmroth, King of Lórien after Amdír, loved the Silvan maiden Nimrodel. When the Balrog woke in Moria and she fled south, he followed her to the havens of Belfalas; waiting there for her in vain, he leapt from his ship in a storm and drowned. Cerin Amroth in Lórien and Dol Amroth in Gondor bear his name.
LórienMinstrel of Doriath
Daeron
SindarDaeron, minstrel and loremaster of Thingol's court, was the greatest of all Elven singers and the deviser of the Cirth, the runes later used by Dwarves and Men. He loved Lúthien, twice betrayed her to her father out of jealousy, and after she left the world he wandered into the East lamenting her and was never heard of again.
DoriathLord of Nan Elmoth
Eöl
SindarEöl the Dark Elf, a kinsman of Thingol who chose the shadowed wood of Nan Elmoth over Doriath, was a smith of surpassing skill who forged the black swords Anglachel and Anguirel. He took Aredhel of Gondolin as his wife, fathered Maeglin, and when they escaped him he followed them to the hidden city, killed Aredhel with a poisoned javelin meant for their son, and was thrown from the walls.
Nan ElmothMarchwarden of Lothlórien
Haldir
Silvan ElvesHaldir was a marchwarden of the Galadhrim who, with his brothers Rúmil and Orophin, met the Fellowship of the Ring at the northern border of Lothlórien in January T.A. 3019, guided them across the Celebrant and through the wood to Caras Galadhon, and led them out again to the Anduin at their departure.
LothlórienCaptain of Doriath
Mablung
SindarMablung of the Heavy Hand was the chief captain of Thingol's Doriath. He cut the Silmaril from the belly of Carcharoth, fought at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, escorted Morwen and Nienor toward Nargothrond and lost them to Glaurung's malice, and died defending the Silmaril in Menegroth when the Dwarves of Nogrod sacked the Thousand Caves.
Doriath- Sindar
Nimrodel was an Elf-maiden of Lothlórien who lived beside the mountain stream that bears her name and was loved by Amroth the king. She fled the wood when the Balrog woke in Moria and was lost in the White Mountains on the way to the sea; her story became a song that Legolas sang to the Fellowship at the stream's edge.
Lothlórien King of the Silvan Elves of Greenwood the Great
Oropher
SindarOropher, a Sindarin lord of Doriath, led his people east after the drowning of Beleriand and was taken as king by the Silvan Elves of Greenwood the Great. He founded the Woodland Realm, withdrew it northward from Dwarves and Noldor alike, and died in a rash charge at the Battle of Dagorlad, leaving the crown to his son Thranduil.
Greenwood the GreatKing of Lórien
Amdír
SindarAmdír was the Sindarin king of the Silvan Elves of Lórien in the Second Age and the father of Amroth. He led his people to the Last Alliance and was slain at the Battle of Dagorlad when his lightly armed host was cut off and driven into the marshes.
LórienLord of the Laiquendi
Denethor
NandorDenethor, son of Lenwë, led part of the Nandor over the Blue Mountains into Ossiriand, where they became the Green-elves and were welcomed by Thingol as kin. He was slain on Amon Ereb in the First Battle of Beleriand before the rising of the Sun, and his people never took another king.
OssiriandQueen of Doriath
Nimloth
SindarNimloth, a Sindarin lady of the royal house of Doriath and kinswoman of Celeborn, married Dior, the son of Beren and Lúthien, and was the mother of Eluréd, Elurín and Elwing. She was slain with her husband when the sons of Fëanor sacked Menegroth in the Second Kinslaying.
DoriathCounsellor of Thingol
Saeros
SindarSaeros was an Elf of Doriath, one of Thingol's counsellors, who envied Túrin the king's favour and mocked him and the women of his people at the king's table. His taunts and the ambush he set the next morning ended with his own death in the gorge of the Esgalduin, and drove Túrin out of Doriath into outlawry.
Doriath
Relations with other peoples
- Descended fromEldar
- Enemy ofNoldor(the Kinslaying at Alqualondë, and later at Doriath and Sirion)
- Related toAvari(the greater part of the Avari were of Telerin stock)
- Allied withDwarves(trade of the Sindar with Belegost and Nogrod)
- Allied withMaiar(friends of Ossë and Uinen; Melian was Thingol's queen)
- Descended fromFalmari
- Descended fromNandor
- Descended fromSindar
Places
Homeland
- AlqualondëCitythe Falmari
- DoriathRealmthe Sindar
Settled
- AnduinRiverthe Nandor
- The FalasRegionthe Falathrim
- OssiriandRegionthe Laiquendi
- Tol EressëaIsland
Originated in
- CuiviénenLake
Timeline
- Y.T. 1050
Awakening
The Teleri awake with the other Quendi and are the largest of the three clans.
- Y.T. 1102
Elwë sees the Trees
Elwë goes to Aman as ambassador of the Teleri and returns eager to lead his people west.
- Y.T. 1105
Last host of the Great Journey
The Teleri set out last and slowest under Elwë and Olwë; many stay behind as Avari.
- Y.T. 1115
Lenwë turns aside
A part of the Teleri refuse the Misty Mountains and become the Nandor.
- Y.T. 1130
Elwë lost in Nan Elmoth
Elwë meets Melian and vanishes; the Teleri wait in Beleriand for him.
- Y.T. 1152
The Sea divides the Teleri
Olwë leads most of the Teleri to Aman; the followers of Elwë and the Falathrim remain as the Sindar.
- Y.T. 1161
Alqualondë built
The Falmari leave Tol Eressëa for the coast and build the Haven of the Swans.
- Y.T. 1350
Denethor enters Ossiriand
Nandor under Denethor cross the Blue Mountains and are welcomed by Thingol.
- Y.T. 1495
Kinslaying at Alqualondë
The Noldor take the swan-ships by force and slay many of the Falmari.
- F.A. 502
Death of Thingol
Thingol is slain by Dwarves in Menegroth and Doriath begins to fall.
- F.A. 506
Second Kinslaying
The sons of Fëanor sack Doriath.
- F.A. 587
Ships of the Falmari
The Teleri of Aman lend their ships to the host of the Valar but will not fight.
- T.A. 3021
The Sindar depart
The last Sindarin lords of the Eldar begin to leave Middle-earth; the Silvan folk remain.
Sources
- The SilmarillionQuenta Silmarillion chapters 3, 4, 5, 9, 10
- The Lord of the Rings: AppendicesAppendix F, Of the Elves
- Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earthThe History of Galadriel and Celeborn, Appendix A