Death in Tolkien's Legendarium

by Amaranth-(V)
2007

            As Tolkien himself said of  The Lord of the Rings, "The real theme for me is about
something much more permanent and dif cult: Death and Immortality: the mystery of the
love of the world in the hearts of a race 'doomed' to leave and seemingly lose it; the
anguish in the hearts of a race 'doomed' not to leave it, until its whole evil-aroused story is
complete." (Letters  246) Obviously, death is an important concept within Tolkien's
legendarium. It provides a backdrop to his stories that gives them much of their avor. For
one to properly understand Tolkien's stories, it is essential that one has a knowledge of
what death means for the peoples of Arda. Death in Arda is a complex concept and is
different for Elves and Men; it plays an important part in Tolkien's legendarium
      The peoples of Arda each have different fates. Death's meaning varies between races.
Elves are immortal, while Men are mortal. "[T]he point of view of this mythology is that
'mortality' or a short span, and 'immortality' or an inde nite span was part of what we might
call the biological and spiritual nature of the Children of God, Men and Elves (the rstborn)
respectively…" (Tolkien, Letters 204
      The peoples of Arda are made up of a fëa and a hröa that roughly correspond to soul
and body, respectively. For the Elves, the hröa is made to t the fëa and it is unnatural for
them to be separated. The  fëar  of Men, however, become separated from their  hröar  at
death, and in this case separation is natural because it is in accordance with the nature of
Men
      Ideally, Elves do not die; their lives are bound to that of the world. They are 'immortal'
but not 'eternal;' their existence is "measured by the duration in time of
Earth." (Tolkien,  Letters  204) However, with the introduction of evil into the world, death
came into the picture and marred Eru's plan for the Elves. "The Elves were not subject to
disease, but they could be 'slain': that is their bodies could be destroyed, or mutilated so
as to be un t to sustain life." (Tolkien, Letters 286) They can also die of grief--essentially,
give up on life. For the Elves, however, 'death' is not a true death; the fëa never leaves the
world. Instead, it ees to the halls of Mandos, where it may rest and nd release from the
weariness of the world
            This 'death' contradicts the intrinsic nature of the Elvish being by separating
the fëa from the hröa, which are meant to complement and complete each other. Thus, Eru
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 found a means to amend the situation. After a time of waiting in Mandos's halls, the
Elvish  fëa  may, if it chooses, be reincarnated in a  hröa  identical to the one in which
the fëa was formerly housed. The Valar were given permission and power by Eru to see to
the construction of a new hröa for the 'houseless' fëa, and they can judge that a fëa may
not be reimbodied, or at least not yet, in certain situations
           Normally, the reincarnated Elf remains in Aman. Only in special cases is the Elf sent
back to Middle-earth, generally because he has some task yet to complete there.
"Therefore, if they dwelt in Middle-earth, their bereavement of friends and kin, and the
bereavement of these, was not amended. Death was not wholly
healed." (Tolkien, Morgoth's Ring 365
      Glor ndel is an example of a reimbodied Elf. Many will recognize Glor ndel's name as
the Elf who came to the aid of Aragorn and the Hobbits on their way to Rivendell after
Frodo was stabbed at Weathertop. Frodo rode Glor ndel's horse to the safety of Rivendell
while being pursued by the Ringwraiths. Many do not know, however, that Glor ndel was
also a hero of the First Age who was killed while ghting a Balrog in Gondolin. "When
Glor ndel of Gondolin was slain his spirit would according to the laws established by the
One be obliged at once to return to the land of the Valar. Then he would go to Mandos and
be judged, and would then remain in the 'Halls of Waiting' until Manwë granted him
release." (Tolkien, The Peoples of Middle-earth 380) When reimbodied, Glor ndel dwelt for
a while in the Blessed Realm, but eventually returned to Middle-earth, most likely around
the year 1600 of the Second Age
           It is interesting to note that Tolkien had originally considered rebirth as a child in a
new  hröa  to different parents as an option for the rehabilitated Elvish  fëa. Upon further
contemplation, however, Tolkien decided there were too many problems with this idea and
eventually abandoned it
◦ A hastily written manuscript on small slips of paper, entitled 'Reincarnation of
Elves', seems to show [Tolkien's] re ection on the subject… In this discussion
he referred in rapid and elliptical expression to the dif culties at every level
(including practical and psychological) in the idea of the reincarnation of
the  fëa  as the newborn child of second parents, who as it grows up
recaptures the memory of its previous life: 'the most fatal objection' being that
'it contradicts the fundamental notion that fëa and hröa were each  tted to the
other: since  hröar  have a physical descent, the body of rebirth, having
different parents, must be different, and this must be a condition of pain to the
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 reborn fëa.


◦     He was here abandoning, and for good, the long-rooted conception… Of

rebirth as the mode by which the Elves might return to incarnate life: from his
scrutiny of the mythical idea, questioning its validity in the terms he had
adopted, it had come to seem to him a serious aw in the metaphysic of
Elvish existence. But, he said, it was a 'dilemma' for the reincarnation of the
Elves 'seems an essential element in the tales: 'The only solution,' he
decided in this discussion was the idea of the remaking in identical form of
the hröa of the Dead… (Tolkien, Morgoth's Ring 363)


           Even though Elves cannot die of old age, that does not mean they do not feel the
effects of time. After many long years of living in the world, they grow weary. "The Elves
were suf ciently longeval to be called by Man 'immortal'. But they were not unageing or
unwearying." (Tolkien, Letters 325) "This [immortality] becomes a great burden as the ages
lengthen, especially in a world in which there is malice and destruction. In fact, sometimes
the Elves would begin to wish for true death, that is, leaving the con nes of the earth, but
this desire was wrong. Indeed, it could be said that the 'fall' of the High Elves was partly
brought about by an Elf who wished to die: Míriel, the wife of Finwë and mother of Fëanor.
Míriel did die and her fëa went to the halls of Mandos, but she could not leave the world as
she desired. She nevertheless refused to be reimbodied, and her husband, who was still
young and yet desired more children, eventually wanted to remarry. Elvish law forbade any
Elf to have two spouses among the living, however. The Valar discussed Finwë's request,
and nally a new statute was made. If a married couple were separated by death, the one
still living could remarry only if the one who had died vowed never to be reimbodied.
Finwë's remarriage could be seen as an indirect cause of the Kinstrife
            Men are mortal, meaning they die of natural causes. They cannot be reimbodied
except in very special cases, like that of Beren, the only known case of a Man being sent
back from the dead. Men live in the world a very short time. They grow old quickly; their
average life span is about seventy to eighty years, though the people of the 'nobler'
houses of Men may live longer, especially the houses with an Elvish strain
            Unlike death for Elves, death for Men is a 'true death.' Their  fëar  actually do pass
beyond the con nes of the world. When a Man dies, it is thought that his fëa goes to the
halls of Mandos just as the  fëar  of the Elves, but the place it goes is separate from that
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which is prepared for the Elves. The fëa may linger for a time, but will eventually leave the
world entirely. Neither Men nor Elves know where the fëar of Men go after leaving Arda
      Death is part of Man's original nature and, therefore, is a gift of God. Tolkien's writings
are actually slightly unclear on this point, though perhaps deliberately. In one place it is
said that some Men believe that death is a result of the fall of Men, but the Elves believed
rather that the fear of death was the result of the fall. Due to the ever-changing nature of
Tolkien's views on his own mythology, one has dif culty deciding whether Tolkien was
actually changing his mind or merely presenting the views of the people within his
mythology without changing his own views. Nevertheless, the idea that death is not a
result of the fall seems to be well enough established--indeed explicitly stated in some
places--for one to assume it is the proper belief. "But the view of the myth is that Death--
the mere shortness of human life-span--is not a punishment for the Fall, but a biologically
(and therefore also spiritually, since body and spirit are integrated) inherent part of Man's
nature.... Death, in the penal sense, is viewed as a change in attitude to it: fear,
reluctance." (Tolkien, Letters 205
      Death for Men is "release from the weariness of time." (Tolkien, Letters 205) Whereas
the Elves' fate is to remain in Arda until its ending, Men leave it after a brief time. The
Elves grow weary with the long ages, but the gift of Men is to be freed from time and to be
spared the weariness that comes with it. The Elves sometimes even envied Men's gift.
"They believed that it [death for Men] meant 'liberation from the circles of the world', and
was in that respect to them enviable." (Tolkien, Letters 325
           On the other hand, Men often envied Elvish immortality and sought to capture it for
themselves. This was wrong, however. "The attempt to escape it is wicked because
'unnatural', and silly because Death in that sense is the Gift of
God…" (Tolkien, Letters 205) "[A] 'good' Man would or should die voluntarily by surrender
with trust before being compelled (as did Aragorn)." (Tolkien, Letters 286) That is death in
its purest form, the way it was meant to be. When a Man grows weary of the world, he
should accept the gift of freedom from the world and die of his own accord. His destiny is
to leave the world
◦ [A] 'mortal' Man has probably (an Elf would say) a higher if unrevealed
destiny than a longeval one. To attempt by device or 'magic' to recover
longevity is thus a supreme folly or wickedness of 'mortals'. Longevity or
counterfeit 'immortality' (true immortality is beyond Eä) is the chief bait of
Sauron--it leads the small to a Gollum, and the great to a Ringwraith.
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 (Tolkien, Letters 286)


      Aragorn, King Elessar of the reunited kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor, is an example of
voluntary death. Aragorn had lived two hundred and ten years and had reigned for one
hundred and twenty years when he felt his time had come. He informed his wife Arwen
and his son and daughters of his decision, but Arwen had dif culty accepting his choice
and tried to convince him to linger a while more. Aragorn speaks with her
◦ "'Take counsel with yourself, beloved, and ask whether you would indeed
have me wait until I wither and fall from my high seat unmanned and witless.
Nay, lady, I am the last of the Númenoreans and the latest King of the Elder
Days; and to me has been given not only a span thrice that of Men of Middle-
earth, but also the grace to go at my will, and give back the gift. Now,
therefore, I will sleep.'" (Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings 1037)


           The matter still remains of Hobbits and Dwarves. The Hobbits' fate at death may be
concluded to be identical to that of Men, for Hobbits are simply a branch of the race of
Men. "The Hobbits are, of course, really meant to be a branch of the
speci cally  human  race (not Elves or Dwarves)…" (Tolkien,  Letters  158) The fate of the
Dwarves is more dif cult to pin down. Dwarves have a myth that the spirits of the Seven
Fathers of the Dwarves--the seven Dwarves that were originally created (not including
their spouses)--are at times 'reborn.' Whether or not this is true is not known
◦ The Dwarves add that at that time Aulë gained them also this privilege that
distinguished them from Elves and Men: that the spirit of each of the Fathers
(such as Durin) should, at the end of the long span of life allotted to Dwarves,
fall asleep, but then lie in a tomb of his own body, at rest, and there its
weariness and any hurts that had befallen it should be amended. Then after
long years he should arise and take up his kingship again. (Tolkien,  The
Peoples of Middle-earth 383)


This, if true, would appear to be a rare exception; little else, or perhaps even nothing, is
said of what happens to other Dwarves at death (if indeed Tolkien himself even knew), so
one can conclude nothing for certain on the matter
      One more question must be dealt with if one desires a clear and thorough perspective
on death in Arda: the fates of the peoples of Arda at the world's end. The fate of Men is
clearly outlined. "Yet of old the Valar declared to the Elves in Valinor that Men shall join in
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the Second Music of the Ainur…" (Tolkien,  The Silmarillion  42) Unfortunately, nothing is
known of what will happen to the Elves at Arda's end. "Illúvatar has not revealed what he
purposes for the Elves after the World's end…" (Tolkien,  The Silmarillion  42) The Elves
had ideas but knew nothing for certain. "But what the end of the world portended for it or
for themselves they did not know (though they no doubt had
theories)." (Tolkien,  Letters  325) They trusted Illúvatar, however, and believed that
whatever he had planned for them would be good and would perfectly satisfy their nature
      As one can see, the complex concepts of death for the different races of Arda provide
a rich backdrop for Tolkien's stories. At rst glance, death may not seem such an integral
part of Tolkien's legendarium, but upon re ection, one can understand how important a
knowledge of these concepts is to acquiring a deeper understanding of the tales
themselves. For, as Tolkien once said, "[The Lord of the Rings] is not really about Power
and Dominion: that only sets the wheels going; it is about Death and the desire for
deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a
Man!" (Tolkien, Letters 203
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