Lord Of The Rings: The History Of The Elves In Less Than 1,000 Words
The Elves are the oldest species in Middle-Earth, and they factor into nearly every story before and during The Lord Of The Rings. The events surrounding Frodo and his companions are only a small fraction of the Elves' long history. It's so long, in fact, that entire books can be (and have been) written about it.
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While novels like The Silmarillion are beautiful works that any fantasy reader should have in their library, not everybody has the time to get through these wordy tomes. If you're in a hurry, here's the abridged history of the Elves in one thousand words.
When Middle-Earth's universe was created by the supreme being Eru Ilúvatar, two species were made directly by the creator-god: Elves and humans (called Men in Middle-Earth lore). The Elves were spread across the world in mated pairs, while humans were held back until a later time. The Elves awakened and wandered the land by starlight, as the Sun and Moon had not yet been created, eventually meeting each other and inventing music, language, and poetry — in that order.
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These 144 original Elves settled in a place called Cuiviénen, living harmonious immortal lives, as the only things that will cause an Elf to die are violence and heartbreak, neither of which were present among them. The Elves' happiness caught the attention of Melkor, the first and most prideful of the Valar — lesser gods second only to Eru Ilúvatar. Melkor, who in his pride had already waged war once against the other Valar, was determined to corrupt the Elves.
The location of the Elves' awakening had not been disclosed to the Valar, and having found them first Melkor
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