Today's Date in the Shire
0 1 Yule
T.A. 3018: The Fellowship of the Ring travels south along the western edge of the Misty Mountains.
Middle-Earth Quotes
Support
the
Downs


The Books
Middle-earth FAQ
Encyclopedia
The Books
Book List
Articles
Tengwar Scriptor
Chronology
Talking Tolkien

Name Generators
All-in-One

Fun and Games
Middle-earth
Magnets

Personality Test
Gaffer's Proverbs
Crosswords
Grave Matters
Quizzes
Walk to Rivendell
Location Finder
Mad Libs
Malbeth the Seer
LotF
Barrow-Comics
Hanghobbit
Oh! Behave!

Past Contests
Scavenger Hunt
Essay Contest
Missing Story
T-Shirt Contest
Comic Contest
Haiku Contest
Judges Haikus

Discussions
Forum
Forum Index
Chat




Círdan the Shipwright's Beard
Based on Barrow-Downs Forum material compiled by Legolas
Any errors of spelling or grammar have been corrected silently.


"I've been wondering this for the longest time: Does Círdan have a beard? I know I've read somewhere that elves don't have facial hair, but then what's the explaination for Círdan?" (-Lothiriel Silmarien)

"Círdan is an elf, right? Then why is he is described as appearing old and with a beard in The Return of the King?" (-Rust Ayokae)

Elves' lives are divided into three periods. Some elves grow beards during the third division; there are rare exceptions where an elf will have a beard in the second. Círdan is presumed to be quite old, in this third period at the time of the War of the Ring.*

"Círdan does have a beard. It is considered part of the aging process elves go through. There are three levels and Círdan is probably in the third one since he has been alive so long. Staying in Middle-Earth didn't help with his aging either.
Here is where it says he has a beard in The Lord of the Rings:

As they came to the gates Círdan the Shipwright came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said: 'All is now ready.'

Círdan was not the only elf to have a beard either. This is from the Vinyar Tengwar:

A note elsewhere in the papers associated with this essay reads: "Elves did not have beards until they entered their third cycle of life. Nerdanel's father [cf. XII:365-66 n.61] was exceptional, being only early in his second."

So you see elves could grow beard, they just have to be really old." (-Durelen)

"We also have a pretty bearded Beleg in the old painting by the Prof first entitled 'Beleg finds Gwindor [by then still Flindling, actually] in Taur-Nu-Fuin', later entitled 'Mirkwood'." (-Sharkű)

Primary sources:
Vinyar Tengwar #41
The Return of the King

Forum resources:
On Círdan's Beard I*
On Círdan's Beard II
On Elven Aging



What's New??
Middle-earth
Magnets

Site News

Themes
All Themes
Random

Readers' Section
Fan Fiction
Signs

This Site
Welcome Page
Site News
Contact Us
Our Team


More ...
Tolkien Links


Barrow-Downs asserts no claim to art or works of fiction posted on this site. If the artist, author, owner or rights-holder of any content posted herein objects to the inclusion of such content on this site, please contact us at webmaster@barrowdowns.com and such content will be removed. The opinions, statements and text posted in the forum and guestbook are those of the persons posting and not of the Barrow-Downs or its operators.