About Elves

Silvan Elves

Silvan, denoting Woodland, elves are elves strayed away from the Great Journey and chose to dwell in Middle-earth around three ages before the rising of the Moon. The Silvan elves were mainly of Teleri origin and their greatest realms were Northern Mirkwood and Lorien.

Mirkwood

Located in Rhovanion, east of the Vales of Anduin, Mirkwood was the greatest of the forests of Middle-earth and lay east of the River Anduin. Originally called Greenwood the Great, the forest was named Mirkwood in III 1050 after Sauron took his abode at Dol Guldor in its southern regions in a guise of a Necromancer. Mirkwood was renamed Eryn Lasgalen in III 3019.

The Elves of Mirkwwod were a colony of Silvan Elves that stayed in Middle-earth and founded the realm of Northern Mirkwood.

The Great Journey

This was the journey of the Eldar to Valinor from Cuivienan across Middle-earth and the Great Sea to Aman to be with the Valar. During the Great Journey, many of the Teleri turned aside to stay in Middle-earth but eventually came at last to Valinor.

Teleri

Third and greatest of the Three Kindreds of elves who travelled the Great Journey. The Three Kindreds were three hosts of elves who followed the summons of the Valar and begain the Great Journey to Aman. Nandor and Sindar are the descendants of the Teleri.

Aman

Referred to as the Blessed Realm and the Undying Lands, Aman used to be a continent, where Valinor, a land with no evil, was founded, made home by the Valor that lay in the far West of Arda but, sadly, is now removed from the world. The Valar raised an immense range of mountains along the borders of Aman and filled seas eastwards with shadows and Enchanted Isles in order to protect their realm from Melkor, the first Dark Lord who sought power for himself alone and desired to bend all things to his own will. He wanted to destroy all that the Valor made. Another problem was that Men in the Second Age were envious that the elves had immortality and dreaded death because they did not know that would become of them. Some set out to seek out the Blessed Realm. The Enchanted Isles were entrapments of the western seas: a group of islands set in the Great Sea to prevent mariners from reaching Aman. In II 3310, Sauron seduced King Ar-Pharazon of Numenor into sailing on Aman with a great fleet resulting in the death of the king and his armies and also the destruction of the land of Numenor. After this, Aman was taken out of the world and only Elves could reach the Undying Land.

Thanks to the infomation provided at the Grey Havens and the Encyclopedia of Arda

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