How did a mortal man become the light of the elven people?

In recent episodes of Rings of Power, it has come to light that Elrond’s father is legendary among their people. At this time, the young elf is under severe pressure to save their race from the darkness infecting the Lindon trees, by using the Mithril that the dwarves have just begun mining in Khazad-Dum. And with this pressure comes the reminder that Elrond’s father was someone great. He achieved the impossible, and therefore it now falls to his son to do the same.

But with so much on the line, can Elrond live up to the legacy of his bloodline? Who was his father, and what incredible actions made him a hero of such magnitude among the elves? It all has to do with the Silmaril’s, the beautiful creations of Feanor, and the bravery of this one man to stand up to insurmountable evil.

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Earendil, Elrond’s father, was a half-elf, half-man. He married a half-elf, half-man maiden named Elwing, from the line of Beren and Luthien. Back when the Silmarils were originally made, they were so pure and precious that every being in the world coveted them, including Morgoth. In one of the worst days the elves had ever seen, Morgoth, with the help of Ungoliant the giant spider demon, slew the trees of Valinor and stole the Silmarils, taking their heavenly light out of the world. Beren is a famous mortal himself because he went deep into the lair of the enemy and stole back one of the Silmarils, after much battling and torment. He then passed the precious stone down to his descendants. As such, it thus found its way to Elwing and Earendil, who vowed to protect it with their lives. The couple lived in peace with their two sons Elrond and Elros, until the sons of Feanor came to retrieve the stone that was stolen from them long ago.

Earendil was a sea-farer and was away at the time of the attack, which left Elwing no choice but to flee into the water with the precious gem. Elrond and his brother were both captured, but when Earendil heard of his family’s fate, he scoured the oceans to find his wife and rescue her from the waters. And together, they made their way to Valinor, becoming the first ever mortals to set foot on the holy land. In the fifth episode of the Rings of Power series, Celebrimbor tells the young Elrond:

“I was there Elrond, the night your father set sail. A mortal man, who believed he could convince the very gods to come to war in our aid. I heard your mother pleading with him not to go, asking him, imploring him, why must it be him? And do you know what he said? Because he was the only one who could do it.”

And that is exactly what they did. They sailed across the most treacherous of seas to help their people, to a place that none had ever dared venture to before. As a peace offering, and as a sign of their respect for the Valar, they offered up the Silmaril, the only worthy possession they had to their names.

But that's not the end of Earendil's story, as Elrond himself tells us. After Prince Durin the 4th has a spat with his own father, Elrond quells his anger by telling him:

“My father single-handedly sailed to Valinor and convinced the valar to join the war and vanquish Morgoth. So great were his deeds that the valar lifted him beyond the bounds of this world, to forever carry the evening star across the sky. […] Would he be proud of what I’d accomplished with his legacy? Or disappointed by the countless ways I had failed to live up to it.”

Earendil, Elrond and Elros’ father, was so valiant and brave that he did indeed convince the valar to fight alongside them. Thanks to his actions, Morgoth was defeated, as a reward for their actions, the valar granted them the gift of choice They could become immortal elves, and one day return to the Undying Lands, welcomed with open arms; or they could choose to remain mortal and return to Middle Earth.

This choice later fell to their sons. Elrond chose immortality, where Elros chose to be a mortal man, and became the first king of Numenor. This is the image depicted in the tapestry of the Numenorian archives, where Galadriel and Elendil go to seek information of Sauron’s whereabouts, before the she-elf and the queen Miriel become allies. After a few more years, Earendil was given the task of sailing the skies to guard the son and the moon from darkness, to protect the only remaining light from evil corruption. With him, he took the Silmaril, and became a star in the sky, watching always for his sons in the world below. It is this star that is most beloved among the elves, and the one whose light is given to Frodo in a vial by Galadriel in the Lord of the Rings, over 1000 years after the events of the Rings of Power take place.

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Alice is a Lord of the Rings enthusiast who grew up with Tolkien's tales. She loves all kinds of writing, from articles to stories to her debut novel, which she is seeking literary representation for. Outside of her writing passions, she is a passionate conservationist, trained Bee-keeper, archery dabbler and dog lover.