Quote:
Originally Posted by Andsigil
There’s no evidence, to my recollection, that elves matured more slowly than men; they simply lived in their physical prime much longer.
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There is some evidence of slower bodily maturation (and so on), as already noted in the thread, but
Laws and Customs does not appear to be Tolkien's last word on the subject. From Tolkien's notes to NKE:
Quote:
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"(…) nette meant "girl approaching the adult" (in her "teens": the growth of Elvish children after birth was little if at all slower than that of the children of Men). The Common Eldarin stem (wen-ed) wendé "maiden" applied to all stages up to the fully adult (until marriage)."
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JRRT, from Vinyar Tengwar 47, texts generally dated
1967-70.
I note also ("they" are the Númenóreans):
Quote:
"Thus (as the Eldar) they grew at much the same rate as other Men, but when they had achieved "full growth" then they aged, or "wore out", very much more slowly."
JRRT Note 1, The Line of Elros, Unfinished Tales.
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Not every relevant citation, but the VT date is the latest I can did up so far.