Galadriel played by Cate Blanchett in "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Galadriel is one of the characters of the Middle-Earth saga ("The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and "The Hobbit" trilogy) of film director Peter Jackson. The character was created by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Galadriel is an Elf from Arda (the fantasy planet of J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium). She was born in Valinor during the Years of the Trees, before the Ages of the Children of Iluvatar (First Age, Second Age, Third Age and Fourth Age), in the year 1362 of the Years of the Trees.
She was the daughter of Finarfin, Prince of Valinor, and the grandaughter of Finwe, High King of Noldor and one of the firstborn Elves (created solely from Eru Iluvatar, the God of the J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium) who was awakened by Eru Iluvatar.
So, she is a royal Elf of both the Noldor and the Teleri. She is one of the greatest of the Elves in Middle-Earth, and surpassed nearly all others in beauty, knowledge, and power. Tolkien thought of her, along with Gil-galad the Elven-king, as one the mightiest and fairest of the Elves left in Middle-Earth
Year of the Trees and First Age[]
Galadriel in Valinor.
Galadriel was born in Valinor, an Elves realm in Aman (the other continent of Arda along with the Middle-Earth).
Galadriel is described as having been "blessed with the ability to peer into the minds of others and she judged them so fairly. As one of the members of the royal house of Finwë and having the blood of the Vanyar from her paternal grandmother, Indis, she was often called the fairest of all Elves, either in Aman or Middle-earth.
Galadriel participates in the rebelion of the Noldor in which the Noldor begins a quest to the Middle-Earth to capture the Silmarils from the Dark Lord Melkor. She, however and on the contrary to some of her family, didn't swore any oaths against the Valar and didn't participate in the Kinslaying at Alqualinde that confronted many houses of Elves from Aman.
Galadriel was eager to see Middle-earth, having heard of it from Feanor, and she wanted to rule a realm of her own.
Galadriel arrives to the Middle-Earth with some of the Noldor. She lives in Beleriand with one of her brothers, most likely Finrod, but she spent much time at the court of Thingol and Melian, in Menegroth.There she met Celeborn, a kinsman of Thingol. She also traveled to visit her brother, Finrod, in his realm of Nargothrond multiple times. All three of her brothers were killed during various battles in the First Age.
Galadriel became friends with Melian, a Maia. She played a relatively insignificant part in the wars of the First Age against Melkor/Morgoth, as she thought that defeating Morgoth was beyond the power of the Elves, and when Morgoth was defeated by the coming of the Valar out of the West she, having played no part in the Kinslaying, was offered safe return to Valinor. But Galadriel, being prideful, chose to remain in Middle-earth.
Second Age[]
During the Second Age and after the fall of Melkor/Morgoth, Celeborn and Galadriel traveled first to Lindon, where they ruled over a group of Elves as a fiefdom under Gil-galad. Later they moved eastward and established the realm of Eregion, which they ruled under Gil-galad, the High King of the Noldor. Eregion, to the west of the Misty Mountain near Moria, was a prosperous kingdom during this time, and had open trade with the Dwarves.
Galadriel with Elrond and Celeborn
Also, during this time, they made contact with a Nandorin settlement in the valley of the Anduin, later to be known as Lothorien. Subsequently, while Celebrimbor now ruled over Eregion they left Eregion to Lorien and became the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien. In Lorien Galadriel and Celeborn had a daughter, Celebrian, who later married Elrond the Half-elven of Rivendell. They gave Galadriel two grandsons: Elladan and Elrohir, and a granddaughter, Arwen. During the Second Age, the Maia Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts", guided Celebrimbor and the other Noldor of Eregion in the creation of the Rings that will rule, aparently, the Middle-Earth. Galadriel took an immediate distrust to Annatar, and it later turned out that this mistrust was justified, as he was finally revealed to be Sauron, a former follower of Melkor/Morgoth, and that Sauron has forged to himself a master ring, the One Ring that will rule the rest of the Rings.
Galadriel, along with Gil-galad , is granted with one of the Rings
It was Galadriel who counseled Celebrimbor in the hiding of the rings from Sauron, and when Eregion was attacked by Sauron, Galadriel was entrusted with one of the Three Rings of the Elves. Her ring was Nenya, the Ring of Water.
Conscious of Sauron's power, and wishing to thwart it, she did not openly use the powers of her ring as long as the One Ring was in Sauron's hands.
After seven years of besieging the Dark Tower, the enemy was all but defeated and Sauron appeared to challenge the king of men. But, during the final battle on the slopes of Mount Doom, the man Elendil and the elf Gil-galad were both slain in combat with the Dark Lord Sauron, but Sauron's mortal form was slain as well. Isildur, son of Elendir immediately took the hilt-shard of his father's sword Narsil, which had broken beneath Elendil when he fell, and cut the One Ring of power from Sauron's hand; causing Sauron's malignant spirit to flee.
The ring was later lost in a lake and taken by the hobbit Smeagol.
Third Age[]
During the Third Age the White Council was formed to preserve the Dark Lord to arise power again. Galadriel forms part of the White Council and forth her might in opposition of Sauron. She played a pivotal role in the formation of the Council, though her counsel to put Gandalf at its head was not followed.
When they White Council discovers that Sauron is still gaining power in the fortress of Dol Guldur, Galadriel ousted him out of there, and Lorien kept vigilance over the region until the time of the War of the Ring.
Galadriel allows Frodo to look into the Mirror of Galadriel
During the War of the Ring against Sauron, Galadriel hosted the Fellowship of the Ring (Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Merry, Sam, Pippin and Frodo, the ring bearer) in Lothorien, after their escape from the mines of Moria. There Galadriel allowed Frodo to peer into the Mirror of Galadriel, enabling him to glimpse possible events of the future. She, in turn, was tested when Frodo later offered to place the One Ring in her keeping. To illustrate what would happen if she accepted, she presented an image of herself corrupted by the ring, declaring: "In place of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen! Not dark, but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Treacherous as the sea! Stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me, and despair!"
Then swiftly she returned to her original form, seemingly smaller and frailer than before, declaring, "I pass the test," refusing the Ring and accepting the fate of diminishing (as the time of the Dominion of Men had
Before the departure of the Fellowship of the Ring, Galadriel gives Frodo a magic phial.
come), and returning at last to Valinor. As the Fellowship departed, she gave each member a gift and an Elven cloak, and outfitted the party with boats and supplies. Gimli, in particular, was touched by Galadriel's lordliness and beauty, and asks for one strand of her golden hair as an heirloom of his house; she generously gave him three, which he later set in an impregnable crystal.
Apart from the strands of hair given to Gimli, she gave a Mallorn seed and a small box of earth from her garden to Sam; a green stone set in silver to Aragorn, along with a scabbard for his sword; and a belt each to Boromir, Merry and Pippin. ToLegolas she gave a short, stout bow of the Galadhrim. To Frodo she gave a magical phial, which captured the light of Eärendil's star, without which Frodo and Sam would have been unable to pass through Shelo's lair to complete their quest.
After the departure of the Fellowship, Galadriel acted to ensure the success of the quest. It was she who summoned Gwaihir to rescue Gandalf off the peak of Celebdil, and it was she who nursed him back to health, dressing him in white, symbolizing his status as the new leader of the order.
Galadriel drives back the armies of Dol Guldur during the War of the Ring. She also tores down the walls of
Galadriel destroying Dol Guldur
Dol Guldur and laid bare its pits.
She then traveled to Minas Tirith for the wedding of King Aragorn and Lady Arwen and continued living in Lórien until TA 3021 when she traveled to the Grey Havens and, with the remaining Ring-bearers, took a ship and returned at last to Valinor, in Aman whence she had come so long ago.
Personality[]
Galadriel is, along with Gil-Galad, the most powerful Elf at Middle-Earth. She is a firm defender of the forces of Good and Light and believes love knows no boundaries. She has a very kind, warmth and gentle personality, and shows a great heart and sympathy over the weakests creatures of Middle-Earth. She has such a great physical beauty and charisma that she charms elves, men, dwarves and even some maiars such as Gandalf/Mithrandil.
Yet, she never hid her pride as one of the most powerful elves from Arda. She is pretty aware of her strong
Galadriel using her powers to destroy the dark forces.
powers, and never hid her intention to rule over some land of Middle-Earth, as she did during her stay at Middle-Earth. Her reings however were characterized by peace and stability.
Through all her years, Galadriel has gained and harboured knowledge on most matters, being able to offer only the wisest of advice to those that happen upon her path with good intentions. This, added to her powers (wich include to see into the past, and sometimes even the future, which can easily be used to protect those around her of prevent that which has not happened from happening; she can also read through minds and hearts from creatures; and can use magical light and energy to attack her enemies) that can tear someone down without even blinking, turn her into someone both loved and feared by all who she meets.
However most creatures from Middle-Earth see the softer side of her more often than the the bold and angry woman, for she is seldom this side. Being one of the most powerful elves alive, most are shocked that she is so kind in her actions, and that she is relatively calm all of the time; but for one who has lived a life such as hers, and seen the things she has seen - being calm isn't something one would be shocked at. She has grown gracefully, and learned a great many thing whilst doing so.
Galadriel's biggest fear is to see the world falling into shadow and dark forces, and its effect that it would
Galadriel is worried about Frodo and his uncertain destiny.
have on those dearest to her, specially her family and husband Celeborn above all, but also to her dearest friends such as Gandalf and Frodo. Galadriel is the type of woman that would do anything for her family, and nobody would ever question her on this fact. There isn't anything in this world she wouldn't do for those she loved, even if it meant using the power of the ring for selfish purposes, but normally, selfish is so far away from what she actually is. She is loved by most, and cherished deeply by her husband, and this is more than likely what softened her heart over the years. In short, Galadriel is kind-hearted, forgiving, loving and at times, fearsome.
A little known fear of Galadriel's is her own giving into the evils of the world, should anyone she cares turn tail and fight for the dark side, Galadriel's hope in Middle Earth might fail.