The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Travelled into the West during the Years of the Trees
Location
Dwelt at first on Tol Eressëa, but later removed to the eastern coastlands of Aman
Origins
That part of the Teleri that completed the Great Journey and travelled across the Great Sea
Race
Division
Family
Ruled by Olwë the brother of Thingol
Settlements
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 3 April 2025
  • This entry is complete

Foamriders

The Teleri of Aman

"The Foam-riders,   folk of waters,
Elves of the endless   echoing beaches..."

The History of Middle-earth, volume III
The Lays of Beleriand
The Flight of the Noldoli from Valinor 52-53

A name for those Elves of the Teleri who travelled into the West. After waiting for many years on the island of Tol Eressëa, they were taught the art of ship-building by Ossë, and sailed to the shores of Aman itself. There, they dwelt on the starlit beaches of the Undying Lands and built Alqualondë, a lamplit sea-haven beneath a great rocky arch. In Elvish they were known as the Falmari, but from the skimming of their ships over the starlit waves, they also acquired the name of 'Foamriders'.

'Foamriders' is in fact an extremely old name, dating back to some of Tolkien's earliest works, but fading out of use in his later writings. It appears (often in the hyphenated form 'Foam-riders') in various older poems, including not only The Flight of the Noldoli quoted above, but also The Lay of Leithian, the story of Lúthien and Beren told in verse. A fragment of that long poem is reproduced in the published Silmarillion, and so this old name for the Teleri survived into Tolkien's better-known works.


Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 3 April 2025
  • This entry is complete

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