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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered its eight-episode-long first season globally on Prime Video on September 2, 2022.
Developed by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the show will feature an ensemble cast of both familiar and new characters, with one of them being the mighty Elf-ruler, Elrond.
The series is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before the events of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Although the series begins at a time of relative peace, the long-feared evil soon re-emerges in Middle-earth.
The showrunners have stated:
“The Rings of Power unites all the major stories of Middle-earth’s Second Age: the forging of the rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, the epic tale of Númenor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.”
Elrond lived in Middle-earth from the First Age to the beginning of the Fourth Age. Robert Aramayo will portray young Elrond, taking over from Hugo Weaving, who portrayed the older version of the character in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
His bromance with Durin IV (played by Owain Arthur) will surely remind the audience about the bromance of Legolas and Gimli in the aforementioned trilogy.
As fans tune in to watch one of the most anticipated shows of 2022, here are five interesting facts about Elrond.
1) His illustrious ancestors were celebrated in the age before Rings of Power
Elrond’s great-grandparents, Beren and Lúthien, were one of the earliest heroes of Middle-earth as told by Tolkien in The Silmarillion.
Lúthien, an immortal Elf-maiden, fell in love with a mortal man named Beren. Together, they wrested a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown.
Beren and Lúthien's son was named Dior, whose youngest half-elven child Elwing was the mother of Elrond and his brother Elros. She married the mariner Eärendil and together they saved the world, protecting not only the Elves, but all of Middle-earth.
Elrond was born in Beleriand during the First Age. The two half-elven brothers were orphaned at a young age.
2) He was forced to choose between living as a Man and an Elf
Elwing inherited the Silmaril from her grandmother Lúthien. But Feanor's remaining sons repeatedly tried to retrieve their father's property. For a while, Elwing and her husband Eärendil tried to hide it in Galadriel’s Mirror in Lothlorien.
Finally, in an attempt to calm the wrath of Feanor's sons and save their two children, the couple risked a dangerous journey across the sea to give back the Silmaril in return for Valar's protection.
The return of the Silmaril presented the half-elven brothers with the choice between human death and elf immortality. While Elrond chose the path of the elves, his brother chose to live as a human.
Elros married a mortal woman and reigned as the first king of Númenor, home of the Kings of Men, for more than 400 years.
3) His name is in the Sindarin language
Sindarin, the language of the Elves, is one of many different languages created by Tolkien for his The Lord of the Rings novels. Sindarin is known to be a deeply poetic language in which names often reflect an individual's personal characterization and nature. Elrond translates as “Star-dome” or “Elf of the cave” in the Sindarin language.
Elrond married Celebrían, the daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel. Their twin sons and only daughter also share equally symbolic names in the Sindarin language: Elladan and Elrohir translate as “Elf-Man” and “Elf-Knight” respectively, and Arwen Undómiel translates as “Noble Maiden” and “Evenstar”.
4) He has some unique powers
Elrond was a commander in the battle against Sauron. He displayed his fighting skills during the Last Alliance of Men and Elves. He also had the power to foresee things happening across Middle-earth, despite physically being in Rivendell.
He was gifted with healing skills and helped cure Frodo Baggins' near-fatal injury from the Morgul blade in The Fellowship of the Ring.
He also had the ability of “ósanwe”, which allowed him to communicate telepathically. After the One Ring was destroyed, he telepathically communicated with Galadriel and Gandalf when they left Minas Tirith. He also helped summon a powerful flood on the River Bruinen, sweeping the Nazgûl downstream.
5) He founded Rivendell
After fighting against Sauron's forces, the Elves were forced back. They retreated towards the north, where Elrond sought out refuge and founded the magical Elvish kingdom of Rivendell near the base of the Misty Mountains. Rivendell is derived from the Sindarin name of Imladris, which means “deep valley of the cleft.”
Rivendell is a key location in Middle-earth and one of the last strongholds against Sauron towards the end of the Third Age. He holds many different councils in Rivendell, and it is in Rivendell that the Fellowship of the Ring first united together.
Don't forget to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Prime Video.
