From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elladan and Elrohir are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the sons of Elrond Half-elven and Celebrían and older brothers of Arwen.

They were born in T.A. 130 and they have a younger sister Arwen. Though Tolkien never specifically states that Elrohir and Elladan were twins, many clues were given to prove this possibility. First, they are described as "So much alike were they, the sons of Elrond, that few could tell them apart: dark-haired, grey-eyed, and their faces elven-fair, clad alike in bright mail beneath cloaks of silver-grey"^[1] Second, one is rarely mentioned without the other, and their names are only separated when they are speaking. Third, they were born in the same year, while most Elves wait at least ten years between children.^[2]

The brothers were friends and companions-in-arms of the Rangers of the North, and helped defend the remnants of Arnor from evil after the fracturing and fall of the Northern Kingdom. Five centuries before the War of the Ring, Celebrían was captured by Orcs and tortured. Elladan and Elrohir rescued her, slaughtering the Orcs, and their father healed her wounds, but she soon departed Middle-earth. Ever since, they held a special grudge against the Orcs because of their mother's suffering at their hands. During the War of the Ring, they fought alongside Aragorn in the battle of the Pelennor Fields in Gondor.

Like their sister, father, and uncle, they could make a choice between mortality and immortality, expressed by whether they would follow their father to Valinor at the time of his own departure at the end of the Third Age. Since they are explicitly described as remaining in Rivendell for a time after their father's departure, it is believed that they may also have chosen mortality. However, Tolkien never wrote what their choices were, but noted that they were allowed to "delay" their choices.^[3] We are not told which twin is older but every time they are mentioned as a pair Elladan is always first and many historians have accepted that Elrohir is the younger of the twins.

Elladan and Elrohir make an appearance in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, at the very end when Aragorn is crowned and they also appear in the related The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game.

Elladan's name means "Elf-Man", or rather "Elf-Dúnadan", referring to his dual descent from both Elves and Men (Edain). Elrohir means "Elf-rider", apparently in honour of his skills in horsemanship (This echoes the Dioscuri/Gemini twins of Greek and Roman mythology - among these two, Castor was a great horseman).

• Elladan and Elrohir at the Tolkien Gateway

• Elladan & Elrohir at The Thain's Book.