~ Because your Father
Said So! ~
a lesson in Elf divisions...
by ErinRua
Keep in mind a bit of history; this starts out way before the First Age and before Men, when the Elves still dwelt around Cuivienen, the lake where they first awoke. Upon realizing the threat of evil Melkor, the Valar summoned the Elves to come to Valimar where they would be (theoretically) protected from his threat. After much time and subsequent upheavals, many of the Noldor Elves who went into the West then returned to Middle Earth.
Okay, here we go, starting with the three main, original, big groups of the Eldar. I'm going to be doing a lot of page-flipping, so I shall beg your pardon for the length I'm sure this will come to, in advance.
When the Valar summoned the Elves to come West, that exodus went as follows:
VANYAR: The first host of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuivienen, led by Ingwe. [My note: these did NOT return to Middle earth.]
NOLDOR: The Deep Elves, the second host of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuivienen, led by Finwe. The name meant 'the Wise' (but wise in the sense of possessing knowledge, not in the sense of possessing sagacity, sound judgment.) [My note: Galadriel was Noldor, as was Feanor who later created the Silmarils. Melkor finally killed Finwe, leader of the Noldor, to steal the Simarils and fled to ME, and thus many of the Noldor returned to ME to make war on Melkor until he returned the Jewels.]
TELERI: The third and greatest host of the Eldar on the westward journey from Cuivienen, led by Elwe (Thingol) and Olwe. Their own name for themselves was Lindar, the Singers; the name Teleri, the Last-comers, the Hindmost, was given to them by those before them on the march. Many of the Teleri did not leave Middle Earth; the Sindar and Nandor were Teleri Elves in Origin. [My note: All the Teleri Elves started the journey west, but the Sindar and Nandor simply dropped out of the march at differing points long the way.]
SINDAR: - The Grey Elves. The name was applied to all the Elves of Telerin origin whom the returning Noldor found in Beleriand, save the Green-elves of Ossiriand. [Green Elves = Nandorin.] The Noldor may have devised this name because the first Elves of this origin whom they met were in the north, under the grey skies and mists about Lake Mithrim, or perhaps the Grey Elves were not of the Light (of Valinor) nor yet of the Dark (Avari) but were Elves of the Twilight. But it was held to refer to Elwe's name Thingol, since he was acknowledged high king of all the land and its peoples. The Sindar called themselves Edhil, plural Edhel.
So, bear in mind now that Tolkien *clearly* states that Thranduil was Sindarin. Since Legolas is his son, it would appear that Legolas was thus born into the same classification.
NANDOR: Said to mean 'those who turn back': the Nandor were those Elves from the host of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty Mountains on the westward journey from Cuivienen, but of whom a part, led by Denethor, came long afterwards over the Blue Mountains and dwelt in Ossariand (the Green Elves.)
SILVAN: Also called Woodland Elves. They appear to have been in origin those Nandorin Elves who never passed west of the Misty Mountains, but remained in the Vale of Anduin and in Greenwood the Great.
Pay attention, there: The Nandor started out on the march west, but then quit before crossing the Misty Mountains and stopped along the Anduin River, from whence Lenwe later led them to cross the Blue Mountains into Ossariand - except for the SILVAN Elves, who evidently stayed put right there around Greenwood the Great. The Sindar following Elwe/Fingol went further on the march into Beleriand, before they, too, decided boats - or Valar - weren't to their liking. Thus the division there. Geography and leadership choices seem the deciding factors, more than anything, as they were all distinctly kindred.
Okay, let's see if that helps. One, they were ALL "Eldar" in origin. However, in those ancient days before the First Age, they heard the summons of the Valar and formed themselves in 3 separate hosts, under three separate leaderships.
The first group, the Vanyar, went home like good little Elves. They pretty much disappear off the radar-scope of Middle Earth, but their leader, Ingwe, gets to be King of the Elves over there.
The Noldor also went home ... but when their leader was slain and the Silmarils stolen by Melkor, and the Trees of Valimar were killed and their light extinguished, evil was come upon Valimar and - well, things sort of went to heck. The Noldor rose against the wishes of the Valar, and they would pursue Melkor to Middle Earth, and some of them even committed the first kin-slaying to do so, putting to sword the Teleri mariners who refused to give up their ships. (If you want to know more, read the Silmarillion. <G>) So, anyhow, off they went back to ME, and it was a while before the Noldor got in good with the Valar, again.
Meanwhile, here are the third and largest group, the Teleri. Some of them are martyrs, now, some of them probably stayed faithfully in Valimar, and some Teleri ... never saw the Blessed Realm, at all. We have three sub-groups of Teleri, now. Some had quit the march and were still camped out in Middle Earth, where Thingol now ruled. Those stay-behind Teleri were now renamed the SINDAR, the "Grey Elves." There were also their brothers and cousins now renamed the Nandor who had left the march upon reaching the Anduin, then went westward over the Blue Mountains to become the "Green Elves."
And there were thirdly the Nandor now known as SILVAN Elves, who simply declined the move over the Blue Mountains to stay in Greenwood the Great, and pretty well remained right there for a long while. When Thranduil's Sindar folk moved back into the region later on, they evidently found the Silvan Elves still there, and the two groups seem to have assimilated to a certain extent, although it seems the Sindar may have been sort of the "ruling class."
Thus hopefully you can see the convolutions of relationship a bit more clearly. They started out the same people, but much like choosing to be Democrat or Republican or Whig, (to use a gross over-simplification,) they chose their leaders, alliances, and places to live, and those choices shaped their lives - and those of their children - accordingly.
There IS on fourth "great" group of Elves, but they are mostly famous for their obscurity. They were the AVARI, the Wild Elves, who refused that long-ago summons of the Valar completely, never joining the Vanyar, Noldor, or Teleri for so much as a single step. They simply never showed up, but remained hidden in the forests separate from all their other kindred. Their fate is very much a mystery, only that Tolkien hints perhaps some of these were corrupted by Melkor to become Orcs.
by lorienelwyn
Thranduil and his kin, for all that they are a sort of ruling Sindar class among the Silvan elves. In The Hobbit, Tolkien describes them: "The feasting people were Wood-elves, of course. These are not wicked folk. If they have a fault it is distrust of strangers. Thought their magic was strong, even in those days they were wary. They differed from the High Elves of the West, and were more dangerous and less wise...In the Wide World the Wood-elves lingered in the twilight of our Sun and Moon, but loved best the stars; and they wandered in the great forests that grew tall in lands that are now lost. They dwelt most often by the edges of the woods, from which they could escape at times to hunt, or to ride and run over the open lands by moonlight or starlight; and after the coming of Men they took ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk. Still elves they were and remain, and that is Good People."
more coming soon!