Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. She appears in the novel The Lord of the Rings, usually published in three volumes. Arwen is one of the half-elven (Peredhil) who lived during the Third Age.
Literature
Arwen was the youngest child of Elrond and Celebrían. Her elder brothers were the twins Elladan and Elrohir. Her name, Ar-wen, means 'noble maiden'. She bore the sobriquet"Evenstar" (or Evening Star), as the most beautiful of the last generation of High Elvesin Middle-earth.
Arwen said: "Dark is the Shadow, and yet my heart rejoices; for you, Estel, shall be among the great whose valour will destroy it."
But Aragorn answered: "Alas! I cannot foresee it, and how it may come to pass is hidden from me. Yet with your hope I will hope. And the Shadow I utterly reject. But neither, lady, is the Twilight for me; for I am mortal, and if you will cleave to me, Evenstar, then the Twilight you must also renounce."
And she stood then as still as a white tree, looking into the West, and at last she said: "I will cleave to you, Dúnadan, and turn from the Twilight. Yet there lies the land of my people and the long home of all my kin." She loved her father dearly.
As told in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen",[1]Aragorn in his twentieth year met Arwen for the first time in Rivendell, where he lived under Elrond's protection. Arwen, then over 2700 years old, had recently returned to her father's home after living for a while with her grandmother Lady Galadriel in Lórien. Aragorn fell in love with Arwen at first sight. Some thirty years later, the two were reunited in Lórien. Arwen reciprocated Aragorn's love, and on the mound of Cerin Amroth they committed themselves to marry each other. In making that choice, Arwen gave up the Elvish immortality available to her as a daughter of Elrond and agreed to remain in Middle-earth instead of traveling to the Undying Lands.
Arwen first appears in the text of The Lord of the Rings in Rivendell, shortly after Frodo Baggins awoke in the House of Elrond: she sat beside her father at the celebratory feast. When the Fellowship of the Ring came to Lothlórien, Aragorn remembered their earlier meeting and paused in reverence on Cerin Amroth.
Shortly before Aragorn took the Paths of the Dead, he was joined by a group of Dúnedainfrom the North, accompanied by Arwen's brothers, Elladan and Elrohir, who brought him as a gift from Arwen: a banner of black cloth. The banner was unfurled at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields to reveal the emblem of Elendil figured in mithril, gems, and gold; this became the first triumphant public announcement of the King's return.
After the War of the Ring, Aragorn became king of Arnor and Gondor. Arwen arrived at Minas Tirith, and they were married. She gave Frodo a necklace with a white stone, to aid him when his injuries troubled him.
Arwen is a minor character in The Lord of the Rings, but she serves as inspiration and motivation for Aragorn, who must become King of both Arnor and Gondor before Elrond would allow her to marry him.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen relates that Aragorn and Arwen had a son, Eldarion, and at least two unnamed daughters. In F.A. 121, one year after Aragorn's death, Arwen passed away at the age of 2,901 at Cerin Amroth.
Background
Through her father, Elrond, Arwen was the granddaughter of Eärendil the Mariner (the second of the Half-elven), great-granddaughter of Tuor of Gondolin, and therefore a direct descendant of the ancient House of Hador. Through her great-grandmother, Idril, Arwen was also a descendant of King Turgon of the Noldor. Through her mother, she was the granddaughter of Lady Galadriel and the great-granddaughter of Finarfin. Éomer of Rohan said that the Lady Arwen was more fair than the Lady Galadriel of Lórien, but Gimli son of Glóin thought differently. Through both of her parents Arwen was a direct descendant of the ancient Elven House of Finwë. Furthermore, Arwen was a descendant of Beren and Lúthien Tinúviel, whose storyresembled hers. Indeed, Arwen was held to be the reappearance in likeness of her ancestor Lúthien, fairest of all the Elves, who was called Nightingale (Tinúviel).
Arwen was a very distant relative of her husband Aragorn. Aragorn's ancestor, Elros Tar-Minyatur, the first King of Númenor, was her father Elrond's brother, who chose to live as a Man rather than as one of the Eldar. Arwen eventually became Queen of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor when she married Aragorn, who was of the line of the Kings of Arnor. By Arwen and Aragorn's marriage, the long-sundered lines of the Half-elven were joined. Their union also served to unite and preserve the bloodlines of the Three Kings of the High Elves (Ingwë, Finwë, and the brothers Olwë and Elwë) as well as the only line with Maiarin blood through Arwen's great-great-great grandmother, Melian, Queen of Doriath, and also on Aragorn's side, through the line of kings of Arnor and Númenor to Elros, Elrond's brother, whose great-great-grandmother was also Melian.
Concept and creation
Adaptations
Namesakes
The International Astronomical Union names all colles (small hills) on Saturn's moon Titanafter characters in Tolkien's work.[14] In 2012, they named a hilly area "Arwen Colles" after Arwen.[15]
