And now the sabers of rationalization begin to rattle in their sheathes. "Oh,
but he doesn't actually do anything in the book!" his detractors say. Like,
Galadriel gets off her royal duff and does something? Sorry. That Warg won't
howl. Neither character accomplishes much in the story. They both accomplish
a great deal in the background: Galadriel helps Gandalf and Celeborn helps
overthrow Dol Guldur's forces. Together, they lead the Elves of Lorien.

The chief complaint people seem to raise against Galadriel is to ask what she
is doing with such a loser like Celeborn. Frankly, in my book, anyone who can
marry a Galadriel is a winner, but that's just my opinion. Call it an
interpretation of the text. Say I'm reading something into the text which
isn't there. It's not like no one else has ever done that.

The real problem with Celeborn is that Tolkien never made up his mind about
the guy. For example, Tolkien called him "Celeborn the Wise". And people have
asked "Why"? Robert Foster's only comment on the subject in The Complete
Guide to Middle-earth is to say that Celeborn does not seem especially bright
in The Lord of the Rings. Well, who does? Is someone going to argue that
Samwise Gamgee (whose first name means "half-wit") is a paragon of
intellectual development? Or how about Gimli, Dwarf-philosopher that he is,
extolling the virtues of stone?

The smartest character in the Fellowship, Gandalf, can't even figure out that
Saruman has betrayed him. When was the last time Celeborn was captured by
agents of the Enemy? Okay, maybe that's not fair to Gandalf. After all,
someone has to be captured, and he is a convenient prisoner-type. He's all
shifty-eyed and secretive -- it's a wonder Saruman didn't lock him up a
thousand years earlier.

Of course, Tolkien's definition of "Wise" seems to differ from the definitions
most people use today. Tolkien didn't mean "Celeborn the Wise-guy". When the
Fellowship shows up in Lorien, they aren't blind-folded, gagged, and
hog-tied, thrown into the trunk of a Lincoln Town Car, driven around for
three hours, and then forced to confront the surly Elf-lord in a darkened
warehouse. "If youse guys think you're gonna git some help from us, youse got
another ting commin' to ya! Oh, crud. Here comes da wife. Everyone pick up a
harp and act ELF-like!"

Nor did Tolkien mean "Celeborn the Wise-cracker". "Hey, Gimli! How many
Dwarves does it take to change a light-bulb?"

But when people speak of "The Wise", they often leave me with the impression
that they feel "The Wise" were the smartest Elves around. Yet what is the
justification for that belief? Feanor was the smartest Noldo in his day, and
look where his brains got him. Does possessing intelligence confer some sort
of wisdom? Absolutely not. In fact, intelligent people often make the most
foolish or stupid mistakes. History is addled with the errors of the
brilliant.

Wisdom is a combination of knowledge, experience, and intuition. And Tolkien's
Elves all possess knowledge, experience, and intuition. Even Legolas, who
seems to be a bit young for an Elf (probably being no more than a few hundred
years old), possesses knowledge, experience, and intuition. He is wise beyond
the years of any mortal being, certainly. But is he one of the Elven-wise?
Apparently not. After all. He signs up to go on the Quest of Mount Doom and
ends up meeting his doom by the sea. Good-bye, Middle-earth. Hello, forced
retirement in Aman.

Some people seem to feel that good deductive reasoning skills are an aspect of
wisdom. After all, a wise person would pick up on all the clues and figure
out that Moriarty is really the bad guy. But Celeborn is no Sherlock Holmes,
my dear Watson. Nor should he be. After all, Celeborn understands who his
enemy is. He isn't riddled with grave doubts and temptations like his wife.
He has a pretty solid personality in that respect.

Celeborn's credibility as a wise person is usually questioned on three points:
why is he rebuked by Galadriel in front of their court and the Fellowship;
why isn't he on the White Council; and why doesn't he want the One Ring? Of
course, the reason why he is rebuked is that Tolkien wants to convey
something to the reader. And what is the author trying to tell us?

Celeborn is as astonished as everyone else at the (premature) news of
Gandalf's death. When Celeborn says, "And if it were possible, one would say
that at the last Gandalf fell from wisdom into folly, going needlessly into
the net of Moria," many readers get their hackles up. Hey, don't be dissin'
our favorite Wizard, dude!

But Celeborn's reservation is a necessary restatement of Aragorn's previous
warning to Gandalf not to enter Moria. Gandalf's credibility as one of the
Wise has been severely weakened. He could not find a way around the obstacles
in his path, and when push came to shove he was outwitted by the Balrog
(which dragged him down into the abyss). Many people assume the Balrog was
after the One Ring. And yet, where are we told that it even knew about the
One Ring? I think Gandalf had one ticked off Balrog on his hands, and that
was about all. The old boy had blithely dropped part of the mountain on top
of the Balrog when he couldn't think of what else to do. I'm pretty sure that
Balrogs, being the flame-filled critters that they are, don't appreciate
having mountains dropped on them.

My point is that readers often get too focused on the main point of the story.
Tolkien introduced a personal conflict for Gandalf so that he could be
conveniently removed from the action. Gandalf's loss in Moria is really no
different a literary device from his urgent business away south in The
Hobbit. He is too powerful a character for the author to keep him with the
Fellowship, so he has to go.

But getting rid of Gandalf undermines his credibility. Hence, someone who (so
far) has not seemed weak and foolish has to restore Gandalf's credibility.
Now, we can all agree that Galadriel restores Gandalf's reputation by
refuting a challenge to Gandalf's decisions. But she cannot answer just
anyone's challenge. She must answer a respectable challenge. Someone must
risk his own credibility in order to put Galadriel in a position to defend
Gandalf.

The expression of doubt would not sound right coming from Aragorn or any
member of the Fellowship. Nor would it be appropriate for one of the lesser
Elves in the room to speak up and say, "Gee, Gandalf sure pulled a boner dis
time, boss!" The reader's concerns about Gandalf's wisdom and the
appropriateness of his choices must come from someone with authority. And
Celeborn has the proper authority.

By sacrificing Celeborn's credibility (temporarily), Tolkien offers the reader
a way out of a literary conundrum. No one has to criticize poor old Gandalf
for making what seems like a stupid decision. After all, the Fellowship could
have just crossed over the High Pass above Rivendell, which was protected by
the Beornings, and traveled south through Orc-threatened lands in the Vales
of Anduin, right? Or they could have snuck through the Gap of Rohan when all
the Orcs were napping in the sunlight. The weakest part of the story is
Tolkien's assertion (through Gandalf) that the only way to get out of Eriador
(and Hollin) with the Ring is to go through Moria to Lorien.

Gandalf, of course, wanted to reach Lorien. He knew he would get help there.
So going through the Gap of Rohan really makes no sense, in retrospect. It's
good that Gandalf didn't waste time arguing with Boromir over the value of
taking the Ring to Gondor. In fact, one appreciates Gandalf's wisdom a little
bit more when one considers the fact that Gandalf put that argument on a
backburner.

Of course, another complaint against Celeborn rears its ugly head from time to
time. People view his retraction of his welcome to Gimli (and all who go with
Gimli -- that is, the entire Fellowship) as a sign of stupidity. One must
wonder about the reasoning behind such a judgement, though. After all,
Celeborn admits that he (and, presumably, Galadriel) had long suspected some
powerful and terrible thing dwelt in Moria. Now his greatest fear has been
confirmed, and he finds his little realm is not only threatened by Dol
Guldur, but also by the power in Moria. And it's not just any power, it's a
Balrog.

People look at The Silmarillion and think, "Gee, Elves killed Balrogs right
and left. So why should Celeborn be concerned about one?" Well, The
Silmarillion is misleading. The only tale where Elves kill Balrogs is the
story about Tuor and the fall of Gondolin, and Christopher Tolkien had to
summarize a very early, pre-Silmarillion story from The Book of Lost Tales to
create that chapter. Realistically, had J.R.R. Tolkien lived long enough to
rewrite that story for The Silmarillion, he probably would not have had so
many Balrog kills. He might have retained Glorfindel's heroic sacrifice and
that would have been it.

Celeborn had to worry about keeping Lothlorien on the map for as long as
possible. The odds stacked against Lothlorien's further long-term survival
were, in fact, rather overwhelming. So why should any wise person (especially
one of the Elven Wise, who have their own concerns anyway) not be a little
concerned upon learning that a Balrog lives next door? Galadriel's heart must
skipped a beat as well, and she was spared having to express her concern by
Celeborn's outburst.

In fact, Celeborn's retraction showed that he and Galadriel were not always of
one mind. His quick apology to Gimli, following upon her gentle admonition,
demonstrates a strength of character that Galadriel did not see in herself.
Celeborn was able to change horses in the middle of the stream. He was not
compelled by his past choices toward a single course of action. Galadriel, on
the other hand, had trapped herself in Middle-earth through her own choices
(or so we are led to believe in The Road Goes Ever On). Celeborn's
temperament is flexible and open to persuasion.

Nonetheless, he is also knowledgeable about the outer world. When Aragorn
reveals that he has not decided which way the Fellowship will go, Celeborn
buys him a little time by giving the Fellowship a few boats. The boats allow
Aragorn to keep his options open. But they also speed the group on their way
toward the inevitable choices they must make. Aragorn doesn't realize that,
since he loses track of how fast they proceed down river.

When Celeborn summons the Fellowship one last time before they depart, he
tells them: "For we are come now to the edge of doom. Here those who wish may
await the oncoming of the hour till either the ways of the world lie open
again, or we summon them to the last need of Lorien." There is a sense of
urgency in his words which is buried beneath Aragorn's doubt and Celeborn's
adept handling of that doubt. While Celeborn refrains from making choices for
the Fellowship, he wisely limits those choices.

Let's suppose that the Fellowship were to leave Lothlorien on foot. Where
would they go? Celeborn warns them to avoid Fangorn forest. So they would
either have to return to the mountains and try to slip past Isengard, or they
would have to follow the river -- perhaps even try to cross the river at the
Undeeps. The gift of the boats steers the Fellowship away from the mountains
and from crossing the river too soon. The vital crossing will be made in the
south as a consequence of Celeborn's decision.

Of course, given how things turn out with Fangorn Forest, it is natural to ask
why Celeborn should warn the Fellowship to stay away from the woodlands. In
fact, when Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are reunited with Gandalf, it is under
the eaves of Fangorn Forest. Merry and Pippin, after meeting old Treebeard
himself, ask him why Celeborn warned them not to enter the forest. For his
part, Treebeard replies, "And I might have said much the same, if you had
been going the other way." He acknowledges that both his land and Celeborn's
are very dangerous for outsiders. Gandalf hints at something similar, too,
when he tells Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli that each of them is dangerous in
his own way, just as Treebeard and the Ents are dangerous.

Celeborn's warning is sufficient to instill caution in the travelers. He
cannot prevent them from entering Fangorn Forest, nor compel them to do so.
But in the face of Boromir's doubts concerning the old wives' tales, Celeborn
reminds the travelers that "oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory
word of things that once were needful for the wise to know."

His remark is curiously reflected in Tolkien's own epitaph to the legacy of
Celeborn, given in the Prologue: "but there is no record of the day when at
last [Celeborn] sought the Grey Havens, and with him went the last living
memory of the Elder Days in Middle-earth." When Celeborn the Wise left
Middle-earth, much that was once needful for the wise to know went with him.
In a way, Tolkien was admonishing the reader not to take Celeborn for
granted. He was a gold mine of experience and knowledge, and therefore
wisdom. He was very shrewd and could read the current of the river as well as
anyone.

Hence, when saying "Farewell" to Aragorn, Celeborn conceded that he would soon
be parted from Galadriel. He was willing to accept the separation, knowing
that in time he would follow her over Sea. People often ask why Celeborn
should have allowed Galadriel to leave him like that. But I think Tolkien
explained Celeborn's reasons well enough in various places.

For one thing, Galadriel probably needed to undergo some healing. She had not
only been a Keeper of one of the Rings of Power, and therefore subject to the
power of the One Ring (albeit indirectly), she was the last living leader of
the rebellious Noldor of the First Age. Galadriel had grown weary of her
exile with the long years, which regret she had expressed in the song she
made for the Fellowship as they left Lothlorien. She most likely needed some
time to readjust to being in rapport with the Valar. For she and Elrond were
also the last Elven Ring-keepers, and the Rings of Power were originally a
second act of Elvish rebellion. Galadriel therefore had to absolve herself of
guilt over two "Fall" events. No other living Elf needed that kind of
healing.

The separation from Galadriel would thus be Celeborn's opportunity to say
farewell to Middle-earth. He was emotionally invested in the land in ways
Galadriel could not be. Now, there are people who believe fervently that
Celeborn came from Aman just as Galadriel had. After all, in the last year of
his life, Tolkien himself made this point. But by that time, Tolkien had
forgotten much which he had written, which would have been needful for him to
know. In Unfinished Tales, Christopher tells us:

    Thus, at the outset, it is certain that the earlier conception was that
Galadriel went east over the mountains from Beleriand alone, before the end
of the First Age, and met Celeborn in his own land of Lorien; this is
explicitly stated in unpublished writing, and the same idea underlies
Galadriel's words to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring II 7, where she says
of Celeborn that 'He has dwelt in the West since the days of dawn, and I have
dwelt with him years uncounted; for ere the fall of Nargothrond or Gondolin I
passed over the mountains, and together through ages of the world we have
fought the long defeat.' In all probability Celeborn was in this conception a
Nandorin Elf (that is, one of the Teleri who refused to cross the Misty
Mountains on the Great Journey from Cuivienen).

Remember how I said above that Tolkien couldn't seem to make up his mind about
Celeborn? The Nandorin origin for Celeborn didn't last long. Eventually, he
became a Sindarin prince -- related to Thingol Greycloak -- who at one time
dwelt in Doriath, and later in Harlindon as lord of the Sindar under
Gil-galad. That transition was made sometime in the years 1956 to 1965, and
probably occurred in the year 1965 itself, when Tolkien modified The Lord of
the Rings to stipulate the Sindarin tradition.

The changes Tolkien introduced in 1965 for the Second Edition of The Lord of
the Rings must be accepted as canon, superseding what had been set down in
the First Edition (just as the Second Edition of The Hobbit brought that
story into Middle-earth). Celeborn is therefore indisputably a Sindarin Elf.
But Galadriel's words really don't make any sense, unless one invents a
rather incredible backstory for Celeborn, or broadly interprets her statement
to Frodo as either an uncorrected passage or as implying that both she and
Celeborn traveled over the mountains together.

There is, of course, some support for the latter interpretation. In the
unpublished histories for Galadriel and Celeborn, they do enter Eriador
together. But there things become complicated. Tolkien leaves Celeborn's role
in Eregion in doubt, and he is not sure of when Celeborn made it to
Lothlorien, or how, or why. For by making Celeborn an Elf of Doriath, Tolkien
creates a reason to make Celeborn unfriendly to Dwarves. Celeborn remembers
the sack of Doriath and the death of Thingol (now his close relative).

Celeborn is not especially hostile to Dwarves in The Lord of the Rings. But if
one accepts Tolkien's view that Celeborn is not fond of them, then the
ancient law Celeborn sets aside to allow Gimli to walk freely in Lothlorien
makes sense. Amroth, former king of Lothlorien, appears to have been friendly
with the Dwarves. He and his father were undoubtedly allied with the
Longbeard Dwarves of Khazad-dum. But when the Dwarves awoke the Balrog and
fled, they inspired great fear in Amroth's people. His kingdom effectively
came to an end in the year 1981.

Galadriel and Celeborn then settled in Lothlorien and sought to restore some
stability to the Elven realm. Because Lothlorien's population had been
greatly diminished by the exodus, they instituted new policies. Lothlorien
ceased nearly all interaction with outside peoples. They even stopped
communicating with Thranduil's realm in northern Mirkwood. They remained
friendly only with Rivendell, possibly Cirdan at the Havens, and maybe with
the lords of Gondor. Seeing that the Dwarves had caused the exodus, Celeborn
could have decided that they should no longer be welcomed in Lothlorien as a
means of limiting contact with whatever they had awakened.

Thus, his decision to set aside the ancient law when the Fellowship arrived
was another sign of Celeborn's flexible nature. The times had changed, and
the needs of his people were different from those of a thousand years before.
Lothlorien had undoubtedly increased its population, and it was obvious at
this point that the Dwarves really posed no threat to Lothlorien. Celeborn
could therefore afford to be generous. His sudden doubt, upon learning that a
Balrog dwelt in Moria, is understandable. He had just changed the status quo.
Gimli might be the first of many Dwarves to return to Lothlorien after a
thousand years or more of isolation. The news of the Balrog was a poor
confirmation of the decision Celeborn had just made.

It is thus to his credit that Celeborn could listen with his heart to
Galadriel's admonition against retracting his welcome to Gimli. Celeborn was
wise enough to realize that his were not the only concerns in the world.
Galadriel is credited with being sympathetic to the Dwarves because of her
Noldorin ancestry. Her people had been friendlier with Dwarves than
Celeborn's people (either Nandor or Sindar) had. But Celeborn was resolute
and guided by necessity. The Balrog had been let out of the bag, so to speak.
Barring Gimli and all who went with him would really serve no purpose.
Celeborn needed to focus on the needs of the day, and Galadriel's words
reminded him that those needs were so important because the Elves and their
allies were striving to preserve everything they cherished.

Galadriel had shown him very subtly how to find a rapport with Gimli: "If our
folk had been exiled long and far from Lothlorien, who of the Galadhrim, even
Celeborn the Wise, would pass nigh and would not wish to look upon their
ancient home, though it had become an abode of dragons?"

These are very prophetic words, and Celeborn must have reflected upon their
relevance to his own future. The day was coming when Galadriel would leave
him, and eventually that would be followed by the day when he would leave
Middle-earth. Longing for the past and regret were feelings that Elves, all
Elves, could easily understand and accept. Galadriel spoke to Celeborn, Elf
to Elf, and asked him exactly the type of question an Elf would agree with.
He understood what she was saying without hesitation, and his conciliatory
words show that he was willing to accept that rapport with Gimli.

Of all the Elven lords mentioned in the book, Celeborn seems to be the least
rattled by anything. Gildor Inglorion refrains from helping Frodo directly
against the Nazgul. He probably fears that openly defying Sauron's agents
will attract too much attention. He does communicate with Bombadil, Aragorn,
and Rivendell on Frodo's behalf -- and yet people all too often ask what good
Gildor accomplishes for Frodo. Celeborn helps Frodo readily, almost eagerly.
He lives on the frontier and knows what is at stake.

But Gildor was also probably one of the lords of Eregion, or perhaps a lord of
Lindon, who had become deeply embroiled in the politics of the Rings. The
Noldor, for all their wisdom and friendliness toward other races, had
nonetheless sinned greatly by creating the Rings of Power and failing to
disclose all the facts about the Rings. Celeborn, though probably knowing
Galadriel had a Ring of Power, was guiltless for the most part. Whereas
Elrond was almost paralyzed with fear of the One Ring, Celeborn made his
choices quickly and easily. Yes, we'll help the Ringbearer. Yes, we'll stand
up to Dol Guldur and anything else Sauron throws at us.

If the only doubt Celeborn expresses concerns his warm welcome to Gimli, a
doubt easily set aside with encouragement from Galadriel, then he is easily
the strongest-willed Elf-lord in the book. Even Legolas seems a bit
wishy-washy at times. Elrond, for all his wisdom, cannot seem to figure out
what to do with Frodo. It's only after Frodo offers to take the Ring to
Mordor that Elrond puts all the clues together and sees that is the task
appointed to the Hobbit. Celeborn, on the other hand, seeing how everyone
else is scratching their head over what to do next, figures out a way to help
people move closer to their goal while leaving their options open.

Of course, there is another passage where Celeborn seems a little doubtful.
And that is toward the end of the book, when he and Galadriel are speaking
with Treebeard. "I do not think we shall meet again," Treebeard says to them.
"I do not know, Eldest," Celeborn says respectfully. Frankly, I think it's a
bit more tactful than respectful. That is, Celeborn probably understands the
three of them will never be together again. People point to Galadriel's
flowery "in the willow-meads of Tasarinan" reply as if it bridges the gap
between idiocy and Einsteinian physics.

For me, the greatest significance of this passage is that the reader is being
treated to yet another glimpse of one of those stories Tolkien never found
the time to tell. If you go back and reread Treebeard's remarks to Merry and
Pippin concerning Fangorn Forest and Lothlorien, and then look at his
bittersweet farewell to them in "Many Partings", it becomes obvious that
Celeborn, Treebeard, and Galadriel have a history. What have they done in
past ages? How many times have they been together?

When Tolkien translated Treebeard's Elvish salutation to Celeborn and
Galadriel (A vanimar vanimalion nostari!), he wrote: "Treebeard's greeting to
Celeborn and Galadriel meant 'O beautiful ones, parents of beautiful
children.'" While it's common knowledge that Celebrian was the daughter of
Galadriel and Celeborn, it's not so well known that -- for a while -- Tolkien
envisioned Amroth as their son, too. Amroth eventually became the son of
Amdir (or Malgalad), but Treebeard's words imply that he knew (and loved) the
children of Galadriel and Celeborn. Clearly, there was more to the Treebeard/
Galadriel/Celeborn connection than Tolkien revealed in The Lord of the Rings.

And the same is true of Celeborn himself. We see only brief flashes from
Celeborn's many facets. He is not a diamond in the rough so much as a
glittering jewel lying half-buried amid other jewels, some brighter or less
covered up. As Tolkien himself could have said, there is no record of the
full tale of Celeborn, for his tale was bound up in Tolkien's heart, and when
Tolkien at last sought the Grey Havens in his own way, with him went the last
unrevealed memories of Celeborn's days in Middle-earth.

    Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth, which may be
purchased directly from Xlibris Corp. or through any online bookstore. You
may also special order it from your local bookstore. The ISBN is
0-7388-3408-4.

    And be sure to download your free copy of Parma Endorion: Essays on
Middle-earth, 3rd edition at Free-eBooks.Net!