The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Lórinand was founded at the time of the Great Journey during the Years of the Trees; the name Lórinand had fallen out of use by the later Third Age1
Location
The land later known as Lórien, on the banks of the river Celebrant to the southeast of Khazad-dûm
Origins
Elves who abandoned the Great Journey into the West to settle in the Vales of Anduin
Race
Division
Pronunciation
Lórinand is pronounced 'lo'rinand'
Meaning
Other names

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  • Updated 16 June 2026
  • This entry is complete

Elves of Lórinand

The people of the land later called Lórien

The Silvan people who inhabited the woods between the Mountains of Moria and the Great River. This was the land that would become far better known as Lórien after the coming of Galadriel and Celeborn, but before the middle of the Third Age its name was Lórinand, and its people were therefore known as the Elves of Lórinand. These people played their part in the historic events of the Second and Third Ages. In the War of the Elves and Sauron, their prince Amroth led them against Sauron's forces and rescued Elrond from near-certain defeat. Later, many of them fought in the War of the Last Alliance, and it was there that their lord, Amroth's father, was slain.


Notes

1

There is no doubt that Lórinand was an older name for Lórien, but we have relatively little information about when it was used or when it fell out of use. The last recorded use of the name comes from accounts relating to the fall of Eregion and founding of Rivendell, which would date it to about II 1697, but it may have continued in use for some time after this. The fact that it means 'Valley of Gold' suggests a later use, apparently referring to the golden mallorn trees of the land (which, in the middle of the Second Age, had yet to be planted there by Galadriel). Indeed, this reference to the valley being 'golden' might be taken to imply that it was a later name for the land, applied historically, rather than a contemporary name.

Though the name of the land changed through history, the Silvan Elves who dwelt there remained the same people. Indeed, given the immortality of the Eldar, there were presumably Elves living in Lórien in the later Third Age who had been among those who settled there millennia in the past, and had seen the entire history of the land.

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About this entry:

  • Updated 16 June 2026
  • This entry is complete

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