Quick Links
Galadriel and Celeborn [pronounced ‘keleborn’] are two fascinating characters fromThe Lord of the Ringscanon whose personal relationship remains a mystery. How did they meet? What was their marriage like? How many children did they have? WhileThe Rings of Powerseries tries to answer some of these questions on screen, lore lovers know precisely where to dig to get them.
The thing aboutThe Lord of the Ringslore is that it’s not exactly a clear-cut straight line. Author J.R.R. Tolkien wrote many drafts, made countless notes about character histories, locations, and dates. And oftentimes, even his son, Christopher Tolkien, who edited his unfinished notes into books published later, couldn’t be exactly sure why his father chose a certain direction while deciding to scrap another. Something similar happens with the story of Galadriel and Celeborn and their children.
Did Galadriel and Celeborn have any children?
Although the Peter Jackson movies don’t mention her, and it might not seem likely with Celeborn MIA inThe Rings of Power, this couple were parents to a daughter. Her name was Celebrían [pronounced ‘kelebrian’], which means ‘Silver Queen’ in Sindarin, the common Elvish language Tolkien invented. Celebrían was married to Lord Elrond of Rivendell and had three children by him: twin sons, Elladan and Elrohir, and a daughter, Arwen Undómiel, who became the wife of King Elessar. While the rest of her family features prominently in the films, Celebrían’s story doesn’t, probably because it isn’t all that happy.
ConsideringCelebrían’s lineage and the long lifespans of elves, she lived for less than six thousand years in Middle-earth before sailing to the Undying Lands. And the reason was quite dark. Roughly 50 years after the One Ring is found by Sméagol, Celebrían was journeying from Rivendell to Lórien to visit Galadriel and Celeborn when she was ambushed by Orcs from the Misty Mountains. They tortured and badly wounded her before she was rescued by her sons. But even as Elrond tried to heal her poisonous wound back in Rivendell, the ordeal had considerably weakened her mind and spirit. Celebrían, thus, chose to sail to Valinor via the Grey Havens, eons before the rest of her family, including her parents, would make the same journey.
While it seems only fair for Celebrían to not show up inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy, there’s a slim chance ofThe Rings of Powerevading her character. The time for her and Elrond’s first meeting in the story approaches; however, there’s a problem. Her father, Celeborn, has not yet appeared in the series, and there is no mention of Galadriel already having given birth to a daughter. With thetime jump expected inThe Rings of Powerseason 3, and time for elves in Middle-earth spanning millennia, we could expect Celebrían to show up in Rivendell now or in later seasons. That being said, the timeline could be jarring for fans, and it’ll be interesting to see how off-book the showrunners are willing to go with it.
Did Galadriel and Celeborn also have a son?
Speaking of off-book, there’s one version of Galadriel and Celeborn’s story in which Tolkien gives them a son and an elder brother for Celebrían—Amroth. One of the dates speculated to be Celebrían’s birth year is assigned to Amroth’s. The name ‘Amroth’ means “high climber”, which only seems apt for someone who pioneered the concept of ‘talans’ or tree dwellings that the kingdom was known for.
According to the chapter “History of Galadriel and Celeborn” in the bookUnfinished Tales, longbefore Galadriel and Celeborn dwelt in Lothlórienin the Third Age, Galadriel left her son Amroth to rule over the land. However, in another version, which is considered canon, Tolkien changed Amroth’s lineage and made him the son of Amdir, the King of Lórien, implying that Lórien was under a different rule before Galadriel and Celeborn resided there in the Third Age. Either way you look at it, though, the story of Amroth, too, is a bittersweet one.
Amroth became king after his father’s passing and was the last king of Lórien. He was in love with an elf-maiden, Nimrodel, who agreed to marry him only when he brought her to a place of peace. Since none of them were left in Middle-earth, thanks to the war between the elves and Sauron, the two decided to journey West, to the Undying Lands. Unfortunately, the lovers were separated; while Nimrodel’s fate was unknown, Amroth was said to have drowned at sea as he waited for her, and was never seen again. Their tragic love story is immortalized in many ways, especially in a song that Legolas sings inThe Fellowship of the Ringbook and movie.
Amroth, too, lives on in two important locations named after him. Dol Amroth, a cape that juts out over the Bay of Belfalas on the southern coast of Gondor, was named for this king of Lórien after he was lost at sea near it. It eventually became a principality, and its rulers were of both Númenorean and elvish descent. During the War of the Ring in the book, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth was by Aragorn’s side, fighting against Sauron’s armies in Gondor.
Similarly, the hill of Cerin Amroth in Lórien is also named after him, and translates to ‘mound of Amroth’. It was an important watchpoint for Lórien, as you could see the fortress of Dol Guldur from it, where Sauron the Necromancer took up home before returning to Mordor. But more importantly, it is here that Aragorn and Arwen promise to be with each other. And it is here that, after the death of Aragorn in the Fourth Age,Arwen gives up her mortal lifeand is laid to rest.
