A noble Elf of Doriath, the son of Elmo and thus the nephew of Thingol himself. Little is known of him, except for the fact that he was father to two sons: Celeborn and Galathil. Galadriel dwelt in Doriath for a while, and it seems to be here that she met Galadhon's son Celeborn (though accounts of their history are somewhat confused). Long afterwards, Celeborn and Galadriel dwelt together in the city of Caras Galadhon in Lórien. That name is translatable as 'fortress of trees', but the reappearance of Galadhon here may not be coincidence: it was conceivably chosen by Celeborn as an echo of his father's name.
Notes
1 |
The details of Galadhon's life are almost completely unknown, and we have no specific account of his birth or death. He belonged to broadly the same generation of Elves as Lúthien, so it is assumed that, like Lúthien, Galadhon was born during the Years of the Trees. The timeline above shows Galadhon perishing during the Ruin of Doriath. There is no direct evidence to corroborate that date, but the absence of any later reference to Galadhon hints that he died at some point before the end of the First Age. |
2 |
In earlier versions of Tolkien's work, Galaðon is a name or title given to the Vala Oromë, later abandoned in favour of Aldaron, 'Lord of Trees'. Apart from the obvious 'tree' connection, this seems to be mere coincidence. |
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- Updated 24 November 2011
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