The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Made some time before the Fall of Gondolin in I 510; passed into the West with Eärendil in I 538; possibly returned to Middle-earth during the Third Age1
Origins
Created by either Celebrimbor or Enerdhil (sources differ)
Races
Made by an Elf, and later borne by the Half-elven Eärendil
Settlements
Created in Gondolin
Pronunciation
ele'ssarr (where rr indicates that the final 'r' sound should be distinctly pronounced)
Meaning
Other names
The Elfstone; perhaps identified with the Elessar of Aragorn
Note
This may or may not be the same Elessar presented to Aragorn by Galadriel during the War of the Ring (either possibility has support). For more on that later appearance of this (or another) Elfstone, see the alternative entry for Elessar

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About this entry:

  • Updated 17 June 2013
  • This entry is complete

Elessar of Eärendil

The first Elfstone

A fabulous green gem made in Gondolin during the First Age. Stories of its creation differ in detail: some name Enerdhil as its maker, but Celebrimbor son of Curufin was more likely to have been the jewelsmith who created it. The Elessar had the light of the Sun trapped within it, and those who looked through it were said to see the withered or aged as whole and young again. It was even claimed to have some power of healing.

This Elessar was saved from the Fall of Gondolin by Idril, who gave it to her son Eärendil, and with Eärendil it was carried across the Sea to the Blessed Realm. In the Third Age, another Elessar was seen - the Elfstone given by Galadriel to Aragorn - and some said that this was Eärendil's jewel, brought back to Middle-earth by Mithrandir. In truth, though, Aragorn's Elessar seems to have been a new stone, also made by Celebrimbor, with less power than the original jewel.


Notes

1

A green stone named the Elessar definitely existed in Middle-earth during the Third Age. Some accounts claim that this was the original Elessar of the First Age returned, while others refer to it as a replica of the original made in Eregion. To avoid confusion, the timeline for this entry only shows the Elessar during the First Age; if it did indeed return to Middle-earth out of the West, its history would resume in about the year III 1000.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 17 June 2013
  • This entry is complete

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