The Children of Middle-Earth: Fantastic Kids and Where to Find Them
(Before someone sends me a message having a cow over credits, scroll to the end of the article--that’s where I put them at the most available links/full credits)
Everyone is familiar with the adorable little hobbit children in Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy” but what about the “other” ones? The humans, dwarves, and most definitely elves?
Rest assured, they are there--in fact they are everywhere. The Hobbit is a children’s story (okay, so children used to be more mature back in the day with longer attention spans). But they aren’t in the books.
So, The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy put them there. Book II: The Saga of Thranduil begins with a memory of Thranduil’s earliest childhood memory--when he met his best friends for life--some that would remain with him into adulthood. More of him as a baby comes in Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen. Along with his cousin Elranduil, there’s Melros, Fëaluin, Fínduin, Elmîr, Aramír, Aramoth Sildôr, Findôl, and some of the girls: Arandil, Nínorë, Sinomë, Tínandril, Aryávë, Ardúin, Linurial and Súlthulë.
By Chapter XVI: Legolas Lasgalen, we get a in-depth look at Elven motherhood with the birth of Legolas. Even in his generation, there are elven children he grows up beside--especially in his immediate household: Tarthôn, Ardôr, Orísil, Aruilos, Elenadar and Elenatar (and if you’ve read the extended version, his little sister Isílriel, @alttkwrtrilogyend). There are more than one little girl: Ëariâth, Arlúin, Nimlúin and Arnîn.
By Chapter XXI: The Best of Sons, everyone has become acquainted with Aranduil and his cousins Nenduîl and Tárimë.
In old Book III: To Eryn Lasgalen, Chapter V: The Fall of Dol Guldur has seen the additions of Bain, son of Bard II and his wife Aurëwyn as well as dwarf child Durin*, son of Thorin III*. Durin (in Tolkien lore) would be the last Heir of Durin to rule (as Durin VII) as the only other heir of Durin would leave for the Undying Lands with Legolas* (Gimli*).
There will be far more children--on in particular I look forward to is Oropher*, father of Thranduil* (and quite possibly Celeborn* and his brother Galathil*) coming to Book I: The Epic of Eryn Galen. I am sure the question becomes, why now? I say why not?
When I began writing TKWR Trilogy in 2015, my typical modis operandi has always been to grow up a person because we didn’t come into this world as adults. Even in Tolkien, if only in passing, children are everywhere.
I became interested in giving them more of a role that shapes whom they will grow to become when I found myself working with Thranduil’s relationship with Baby Legolas--whose habit of crawling between his parents early in the morning for a play date started to become amusing. Though Legolas was Thranduil’s second experience with a child (his first was Tarthôn, the son of his best friend Melros who died during the War of the Last Alliance and made Thranduil promise to take care of him before they left for war), Thranduil became Middle-Earth’s Father of the Year quickly as children seem to find him fascinating--especially young Prince Bain and Prince Durin.
Most of us were young when we discovered the magical world of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth and for most of us, we had a child’s understanding of all the mystical and magical things going on. I thought what it would be like as an actual child--no matter the race--to live in such a world. You will notice most children will act as any child would--for example, Arlúin getting dirty helping her cousin Legolas chase his pet squirrel Lasimë under a bush or Isílriel doing her “adorable” routine to get Thranduil to take her outside for a ride around the kingdom.
In the all the events and happenings of Middle-Earth history, children learn to accept things they cannot change, ask a lot of questions about the world around them and learn from their parents and their world in all stages from childhood to adulthood. For me, it gave the Woodland Realm and other places in Endor a touch of realism. Even when a 500 year old elf thinks 2000 is old.
After all, we were children once and children makes life worthwhile and adventures come to life.--J.
“The Kingdom of the Woodland Realm Trilogy” by J.M. Miller ©2015. All Rights Reserved.
"The Lord of the Rings" by J.R.R. Tolkien. ©1987 Houghton Mifflin Company, ©2004 HarperCollinsPublishers. All rights Reserved.
Image: ©2001. Warner Brothers Pictures. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. All Rights Reserved.
Kíli and Fíli (imagined by WETA): https://www.wetanz.com All Rights Reserved.
"Unknown” by staRember (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/338192253245643764/) All Rights Reserved.
“Elf Girls” by Aegileif (http://aegileif.deviantart.com/art/Elf-girls-418531488) All Rights Reserved.
Image: ©2009 Born of Hope: The Ring of Barahir. Actors at Work Productions. All Rights Reserved.
