The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Extant III 3018, but born much earlier than this1
Race
Division
Either Sindar or Noldor2
Culture
Settlements
Pronunciation
ga'ldorr ('rr' indicates that the final 'r' sound should be pronounced)
Meaning
Related to the Sindarin word galadh, 'tree'3
Note
Galdor of the Havens is not to be confused with Galdor son of Hador, who was the father of Húrin and Huor in the First Age; for that Man, see the entry for Galdor

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 2 August 2016
  • Updates planned: 1

Galdor

An Elf of Círdan’s people

An Elf of the Grey Havens, who was sent by his master Círdan on an errand to Elrond's house at Rivendell. He thereby entered history, as he was present at the Council of Elrond and took part in the debate that decided the fate of the One Ring.


Notes

1

We have no information at all about Galdor's birth or his age at the end of the Third Age, but his association with Círdan the Shipwright (one of the oldest Elves in Middle-earth) means that he might plausibly have been very old indeed. It is even conceivable that Galdor, like Círdan, had been part of the Great Journey, and had lived during the time before the making of the Sun and Moon.

2

Tolkien himself was uncertain on Galdor's roots, placing him alternately among those Sindar who had never left Middle-earth, or among those Noldor who returned from Aman and remained in Middle-earth after the end of the First Age.

3

The association of the name Galdor with a word for 'tree' is due to the name's history; in the earliest stories of Gondolin it belonged to the leader of the House of the Tree in Gondolin. Indeed, Tolkien pondered the possibility that this Elf of Gondolin might have been the same character we meet at Rivendell, and this is not completely impossible, but the Lost Tales explicitly describe him as crossing the Sea to dwell in Tol Eressëa.

Even in The Lord of the Rings, the name Galdor did not originally belong to the messenger of Círdan, but started out in the earliest drafts as that of a quite different Elf at the Council of Elrond. That Elf would eventually become known by the name of Legolas Greenleaf.

See also...

Council of Elrond

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 2 August 2016
  • Updates planned: 1

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2002, 2016. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Need an individual professional DISC personality test for guidance with your career? Our personal DISC profiles have you covered!
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry