Elrond’s Father Had a Legendary Impact on Middle-earth — Here’s Why
The Lord of the Rings is such a rich universe, that sometimes it feels like the movies can’t help but limit everything about it. It’s not their fault, of course, and Peter Jackson indeed did an incredible job in taking Middle-earth to the big screen, but one does miss a whole universe worth of incredible stories by not going through the doors opened by these movies. One such story is the tale of Eärendil the Mariner, Elrond’s (Hugo Weaving) father — a story so beautiful and important, it actually saved the world, changed the fate of all his descendants, and added a star to the sky… Our sky.
Eärendil and Elwing Are the Only Mortals to Ever Reach Valinor
The tale of Eärendil begins in the First Age of Middle-earth, when he’s born in the hidden Elven city of Gondolin to a Man, Tuor, and an Elf, Idril. He is still a child when Morgoth`s forces are finally able to locate, sack, and destroy Gondolin, forcing Elrond and his family to flee to the city of Arvenien on the coast, where he becomes a mariner and the leader of the community. He also meets and marries Elwing, with whom he has twin sons, Elrond and Elros.
With the help of Círdan the Shipwright, Eärendil builds the ship Vingilot, with the purpose of searching for his parents, who have been missing since the fall of Gondolin. During his travels though, the Sons of Fëanor invade Arvenien looking for the Silmaril in Elwing’s possession. They slaughter everyone in the city and take Elrond and Elros hostage, but Elwing is able to escape with the Silmaril by throwing herself into the sea. With the help of the Vala Ulmo, Elwing is able to reach the Vingilot with the Silmaril.
Once Eärendil hears of what happened in Arvenien, the couple decides to sail to Valinor and plead for the Valar’s aid in the fight against Morgoth, given that everything bad that has ever happened ultimately traces back to the Dark Lord. With their Silmaril as a guide, they reach Aman, the continent where Valinor is located, and become the first Humans to ever do so, since mortals aren’t allowed there. But the Valar are impressed by the couple’s feat, reaching the Undying Lands by themselves and bearing a Silmaril, so they accept Eärendil’s plea.
They Are Also the Reason Why Arwen Gets To Choose To Become Human
Those who pay more attention to the movies or watch Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have certainly noticed how Elrond (Robert Aramayo in the series) is sometimes referred to as “Elrond Half-elven.” It’s because both Eärendil and Elwing are the descendants of the only two Human-Elf couples in Middle-earth history until then; Eärendil is the son of Tuor and Idril, while Elwing is the granddaughter of Beren and Lúthien. Because of this, everyone in their line is born Half-elven and, because of Eärendil’s feats, is granted a special privilege.
When the Valar decide to fight against Morgoth, a conflict known as the War of Wrath ensues, and Eärendil fights bravely, even slaying the greatest dragon in Morgoth’s army, Ancalagon. It’s such a bloody war, that a whole continent of Arda (the world) called Beleriand sinks in order to cleanse the world from all the evil things that are unleashed. But, ultimately, the Host of the Valar are victorious, fighting alongside the Elves and the Edain, who are Humans who chose to join the war on their side. As a gift from the Valar, the Edain are granted the star-shaped island of Númenor to settle on. As for Eärendil and Elwing, they are granted the privilege of choosing whether they want to be Elves or Humans, given their Half-elven blood. Elwing immediately chooses to become an Elf, and, although Eärendil prefers to be mortal, he chooses to become an Elf to be with Elwing.
Because of the couple’s valor, as a gesture of their gratitude, the Valar also bestow upon all their descendants the same privilege: they are all able to choose whether to be Elves or Humans. The choice is final, but one that no other beings in Middle-earth have. Elrond chooses to be an Elf, while his brother, Elros, chooses to be mortal, and goes on to become the first king of Númenor. This is why Arwen (Liv Tyler) chooses to become mortal to be with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen). She was born an Elf because both her parents are Elves, but as a descendant of Eärendil, she gets to choose.
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Eärendil Still Crosses the Sky With a Silmaril on the Brow of His Boat Everyday
In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sam (Sean Astin) uses Galadriel’s (Cate Blanchett) gift to Frodo (Elijah Wood) to defeat the spider Shelob. It’s a vial of pure white light, which he calls the Light of Eärendil. This light was captured by her fountain from the Star of Eärendil, and holds special power and significance because it comes from the Silmaril of Elwing’s family, which is now crossing the sky every day with Eärendil and, thus, known as the Star of Eärendil.
Once Eärendil chose to be counted among the Elves, the Valar lifted the Vingilot into the sky with the Silmaril upon its brow, and bound Eärendil’s fate to it. Every day, as night falls, he crosses the sky aboard the Vingilot with the Silmaril, bringing hope to the world. In J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Legendarium, that’s how Venus came into existence; since The Lord of the Rings is supposed to take place in our own world, we can see the Star of Eärendil, also known as the Evening Star, when it first appears in the sky.
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