#celeborn

[celedrielarchive]

pity those who only watched the trilogy and based their impression of Galadriel and Celeborn solely on it. In the wider legendarium they have several versions of their meeting and story and all of them are extremely romantic and beautiful.

I love them falling in love in Doriath, and Galadriel leaving everything and everyone behind and staying there and even in Middle-earth first and foremost to be with him, and him later leaving everyone and everything he knows behind to travel with her.

I adore the version where they met in Valinor too, i think this one would make for an amazing on-screen adaptation. Elvendom in Valinor is in a crisis and falling apart, Galadriel of the Noldor is ready to push back against Feanorians, and suddenly she comes across a Telerin prince Celeborn who shares her convictions wholeheartedly. They fall in love and become a team, fighting together, then deciding to leave for Middle-earth together. Celeborn builds her a boat and they both sail to Middle-earth not caring for anything they left behind, or if the Valar would disapprove of their departure. And again, since then they are a team, a united front, and a constant for each other amidst the ever-changing world around them, “fighting the long defeat” together.

Can’t wait for Rings of Power to bring this beautiful dynamic to life on screen once Celeborn makes his debut at last!

[oliver-do-the-twist]

Ok TRoP has really grown on me, I actually love it now. Im genuinely okay with the creative liberties and cruching of the timeline of the SA (although I have no idea how theyre going to incorporate Celeborn and Celabrian at this point but we'll see). But one thing I can't get over is the elves short hair (though don't get me wrong, love that Elrond's hair gets curly and the implication that he canonically uses a straightener).

So I headcanon that for males, elven hair is a sign of their strength of heart. Also that elven hair grows very slowly back, given their long lives. When something devastating happens they cut their hair off. The War of Wrath led to many Elven men adopting shorter hair styles, as is the case with Celebrimbor, Arondir, and other various elves that have short hair.

For Elrond, he's pretty young by elf standards at this point. His hair hasn't gotten the chance to grow out fully. I think it whatever growth it did have he cut it in solidarity at the end of the FA. Because my boy has a LOT to grieve. Also I can imagine a tiny Elrond asking Meadhros why everyone is cutting their hair after the war and deciding that he also has a reason to, even though he's so young :'(

Also somewhat the same case for Finrod, he's pretty young when we first see him in Valinor. And he probably kept it short because of the subsequent shenanigans that the Noldor got into that plunged Beleraind into hundreds of years of war.

However for Gil-Galad, given that at the end of the FA he's now the high king of the Noldor he chose to keep his hair long as a symbol for hope and strength for his people. He's saying that yes, we have lost much but we have a good future, and the leader of the Noldor is strong enough to bear this weight. Long hair for a male elven leader in middle earth became a symbol for enduring strength and hope for the people because of him. Thus Elrond takes up this new tradition when he becomes leader too.

Anyway that's my deep dive into what was probably only a stylistic choice by the producers to cater to a younger and wider audience, but I like it better this way.

[conundrumoftime]

"NO DWARVES IN MY FOREST 😡"

"Your wife is hot."

"...THIS ONE DWARF WITH IMPECCABLE TASTE CAN STAY"

[unavidas]

A young Celeborn and Galadriel, sometime during the first age

[sakasakiii]

elrond through the ages based on one glorious panel from chapter 95 of Black Butler (hopefully i got that right....). in the context of this sequence, i always thought it was sad to think abt how many people elrond has lost throughout his life alongside how remarkable he is to remain "as kind as summer" still by the time the hobbit rolls around 🥺

i redrew elrond's poses based on ciel's in the original panels BUT i forgot what page exactly the original panel sequence is... however!! if you scroll down to the middle half of this blog post you can find the original reference pic :D warning that it includes heavy spoilers for the black butler manga so u could just alternatively google 'ciel phantomhive running' and it'd probably be one of the first results that pop up haha

[sapphoismymuse]

shoutout to the og wife guy j.r.r. tolkien for making all of his male characters wife guys:

tom bombadil

aragorn

faramir

thranduil (okay the gem thing was a movie thing but still!!)

elrond

celeborn (i had to double check his name that’s how wife guy he is)

legolas gets honorary wife guy privileges (he snuck his “very good friend” into elf heaven i mean c’mon)

[afanofmanyhats]

One of my favorite things about Tolkien's writing is that he has a very specific, recurring trope. For lack of a better term, I'm dubbing this the Tolkien Wife-Guy.

This is mainly obvious in the Silmarillion, but Tolkien loves to write couples where the man is a notable individual- nobility, commits a great deed, or both- but the wife is at least equally notable, if not more beloved or powerful. Manwe is the king of the Valar and Eru's main representative in Arda? Everyone loves Varda more, and Melkor fears her more than his own brother. Elu Thingol is the king of the Silvan Elves? His wife is Melian, whose Girdle is the magic that keeps Morgoth's forces at bay. Beren is a chief among the Edain, who befriends animals and survives one of the most nightmarish places in Beleriand? His wife is Luthien.

Even in Lord of the Rings we see this occur, though the couples are on more even footing. Tom Bombadil is... Tom Bombadil, but Goldberry is the River-daughter, and Tom adores her above everything else, and the hobbits are completely taken in with her when she's their host. Similarly, while Celeborn is a mighty lord among Elves, Galadriel is one of the only Noldor in Middle-earth who saw the Two Trees, and her hair inspired Feanor to make the Silmarils, not to mention her own accomplishments in the war against Morgoth. Aragorn is the king of Gondor and Arnor, but Arwen is the Evenstar of the Elves, the descendant of three(?) different royal Elven lines. And Faramir becomes the Steward of Gondor and is one of the noblest men alive, but Eowyn killed the Witch-king, so you know. She got the grander moment for the saga.

But with (most) of these couples, we never get the impression that the man views his wife as Less-Than, or as a junior partner. Thingol is the main exception to this in how he dismisses Melian's counsel, and that's made out to be his foolishness within the text. Otherwise, Manwe treats Varda as his co-ruler, Beren never tries to downplay Luthien's achievements, and I'm pretty sure most of Tom Bombadil's dialogue is about how gorgeous Goldberry is. It's really sweet.

All of these examples really testify to how much Tolkien loved his wife. People rightly point to Beren and Luthien as the prime example of that, but I think you can find it in these other couples too. Even though Edith is mainly known to history as Mrs. Tolkien, it's evident to me that Jirt saw her as a whole person worthy of admiration outside of being his wife.

[cottoncandiescupcakes]

'Elves are gay'

Yes but NOTHING is as gay. I repeat, nothing is as gay as Celeborn chosing to not go to the undying lands WITH HIS WIFE GALADRIEL, who instead went with Elrond but instead

Get this

Deciding to hang out in the woods WITH KING THRANDUIL for literal years

Sorry but what. Your wife is like 'I am going to Valinor darling please join me so we can be reunited with our daughter. Elrond is also coming to be with his wife'

But he's like, sorry entire family, I'm going to hang out in the woods with King Thranduil to merge our Kingdoms together, not like through marrying our sons and daughters but just two middle-aged men frolicking in the meadows and then presumably leaving on the last ship to Valinor together

????????????????????????????? All the 'cheating' Galadriel did doesn't compare to this honestly that's fully insane lol also this is actually canon as in Tolkien wrote this

[dagordagorath]

17 January: The Fellowship arrives at Caras Galadhon

[velvet4510]

I don’t think any of us should ever overlook Celeborn’s love for Galadriel, because it’s really something.

Usually in Tolkien’s texts, it’s the girl following the guy. Lúthien followed Beren to Tol-in-Gaurhoth and Angband and later into death itself, Níniel followed Turambar to Cabed-en-Aras, Elwing followed Eärendil to Valinor, Éowyn followed Faramir to Ithilien, Arwen followed Aragorn to Gondor and later into death itself, etc. Not that this is a bad thing, not at all. (It should never be deemed disempowering for a woman to follow a man she loves and who loves her and treats her right, if that is her choice.) But overall, considering the wide variety of couples in Middle-earth, it does get repetitive sometimes.

Yet with these two, it’s the opposite. Celeborn always followed Galadriel.

When Galadriel departed Doriath, Celeborn went with her. He left all his kin behind to be with her. We don’t know for sure how his kin reacted to his relationship with a Noldo, but it could very well be that they eloped. She was just that important to him.

Then for the next 2 ages, they endured all sorts of trials and tribulations together across Middle-earth and eventually settled down in Lothlórien. There, Celeborn never tried to make Galadriel subservient to him. She had as much say in how things were run as he himself did. They were true co-rulers, equals in every way.

Then finally, Celeborn temporarily let Galadriel go. He was alright with her leaving on the White Ship to see their daughter and her parents and brothers again, while he stayed behind to finish what needed to be finished. He didn’t force her to stay with him when he himself could not (yet) leave. He didn’t hold her back from reuniting with people she loved and had lost so long ago.

And ultimately, Celeborn followed Galadriel once again. Though he was a Sinda born and bred, and never before had any desire to cross the Sea, he left his own homeland behind forever to reunite with her in her homeland. She still was just that important to him.

This guy was down bad for this girl. He lived his whole life drunk on wifeguy juice. Respect Celeborn.

[thesummerestsolstice]

Broke: Celeborn is a calming presence; Galadriel is much less intense after marrying him.

Woke: Celeborn is a horrible enabler who supports Galadriel's rights, and more importantly, Galadriel's wrongs. She could commit murder and he wouldn't bat eyelash.

Bespoke: Celeborn is also secretly the "cause problems on purpose type" and he and Galadriel enable each other. Their relationship is wonderful for them! Slightly worrying for the rest of Middle-Earth though.

[marybeatriceofmodena]

"Celeborn will be a calming influence on Galadriel" You fools. YOU ABSOLUTE FOOLS. YOU HAVE MISREAD THE WIFEGUY MANUAL. HE WILL BE 10/10 DOWN FOR THE UNHINGINESS. HE WILL BE GIL-GALAD'S SECOND HEADACHE. PREPARE FOR THE LESLIE KNOPE AND BEN WYATT OF MIDDLE-EARTH.

[cheesy-cryptid]

“The war seemed so very far away then”

[glorf1ndel]

On January 16, the Fellowship of the Ring passes through Lothlórien, where they meet Galadriel and Celeborn. It's their day! Your Honor, whether you like it or not, they are married. Deal with it.

[unavidas]

a soft celedriel moment 🌿

[braxix]

Galadriel definitely pulls the "I'm older than the sun and the moon" card and everyone else hates it.

Elrond loves to pull the "In some sense the sun and the moon are my distant cousins" back at her and it sends everyone younger than him into a state of shock every time, they hate it.

Celeborn would pull the "My great uncle was the king" card if it wouldn't make people realize he could be in line for the throne. He's seen the amount of work Galadriel and Elrond put into not having to be queen or king and he isn't risking it. He's staying out of this.

Cirdan is older than all of them, but just wants to go to Valinor so he stays out of their way. He also has the "older than the sun and moon" card, but he also has the "I'm only here cause I'm loyal" card, no one knows who he's loyal to anymore so it worries them greatly when he pulls that card out.

Gandalf tries to hide his cards behind a smoke screen, but the previous four already know what his cards are. It's not hard to figure out, he declared all of his intentions upfront when he got to these shores.

Saruman has his cards up his sleeves and lies about everything. No one believes him anymore except Gandalf.