The Lady of Dol Amroth
 

I don't know too much about Lothiriel, Lady of Dol Amroth, Eomer's wife. Is she elvish?

Lothíriel, wife of Éomer of Rohan, was the daughter of Imrahil, Prince of Belfalas.

She was not Elvish per se, though the House of Dol Amroth was held to have elven-blood in its line.

In what Christopher Tolkien describes as an early manuscript of the Tale of Years, Tolkien wrote an account of the origin of the Line of Dol Amroth:

"Mithrellas, one of the companions of Nimrodel, is lost in the woods of Belfalas, and is harboured by Imrazôr the Númenórean, who takes her to wife (according to the legends and traditions of Dol Amroth); though after a few years she vanishes, whether to wander in the woods or seek the havens. The son of the union of Mithrellas and Imrazôr received the elven-name of Galador; from him the lords of Dol Amroth traced their descent" (The Peoples of Middle Earth, p. 222.

It may well be that the "legends and traditions" of Dol Amroth were true. Among some of the Elves, at least, it appears that the tradition was assumed to have historical basis:

"At length they came to the Prince Imrahil, and Legolas looked at him and bowed low; for he saw that here indeed was one who had elven-blood in his veins. 'Hail, lord!' he said. 'It is long since the people of Nimrodel left the woodlands of Lórien, and yet still one may see that not all sailed from Amroth's haven west over water.'

'So it is said in the lore of my land,' said the Prince, 'yet never has one of the fair folk been seen there for years beyond count'..." (The Return of the King, pp. 181-2).

I've always admired the character of Prince Imrahil, scion of one of the noblest houses of Gondor in whom ran strong the blood of Mithrellas and of the high Númenóreans.

So have I, and I have always been a little disappointed at not being able to find out more about him and about Dol Amroth. Can you tellm e anything else of him?

Oh, gosh, I never realized that Eomer got married. Good for him! I guess I have not been reading my books carefully enough [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

But that is interesting. From hearing that name I would have guessed that she would be elven.

So the people of Prince Imrahil are like Aragorn [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

What I have long wondered was ... what *did* happen to Prince Imrahil's ancestress after she so conveniently wandered off? :-)

And it *was* convenient to the storyline. Imagine poor Imrahil with his Elvish ancestress still hanging around Dol Amroth voicing her opinion(g).

Haha. Now that would indeed be inconvenient.


I think the most plausible explanation is that Mithrellas sailed West over the Sea. I don't think she would have left for any other reason.

I think Tolkien was here nodding at the many folkloric stories of the 'fairy-wife': other-worldly ancestresses who one day vanish from their husband and children. The Angevin/Plantagenet dynasty (ancestors of the British royal family) have the fairy Melusine in their ancestry as one such example.

There was some strange explanation in the ICE roleplaying modules about the fate of Mithrellas (that she was heartbroken when her child decided to take the gift of Men and she just runned away or something like that).

Lost One, right on! Tolkien used many of the obscurer medieval legends in his mythos, and I daresay that the fairy-ancestress theme appears more than once. Don't forget, one of the ancestors of the Tooks was said to have taken a fairy wife, in The Hobbit, which would explain the love for adventure, in that adventuresome family.

I don't think that we can use any Role-Playing Games as definitive sources, because they have a history of making things up. Mithrellas' children couldn't possibly have received the "Choice of the Half-elven" because only Earendil's children were given that choice, because of their parents' great deed (sailing to Valinor). All other children of half-elven unions would be mortal, according to Iluvatar.

Obviusly RPG have an history of making things up. However, the marriage of Mithrellas is one of the most confusing points in all the universe of Middle Earth.
Trying to conclude without proofs that the choice of the half elven only ruled for the sons of Earendil seems pretty weak in my opinion.

In mine too. Here are links to some proofs:

Legolas' FAQ entry

A somewhat redundant reiteration by yours truly