How do Elves have children?

The bride's mother gives the groom a jewel to wear. Elves view the sexual act as special and intimate, for it leads to the birth of children. Elves cannot be forced to have sex; before that they will lose the will to endure and go to Mandos. Elves have few children, and there are long intervals between each child.

How are elves conceived?

For Elves, marriage only requires the “act of bodily union” and the invocation of the name of Eru. Marriage often occurs early in life, and frequently between childhood sweethearts. This is the case in Aman, at least. Elves avoid the conception of children in times of war, or when parents face a long separation.

At what age do elves have kids?

100 to 200 years

Though an elf reaches mental and physical maturity at the age of 25, very few elves become parents until much later in life. Elves rarely feel that they're ready to settle down and begin families before they're at least 100 years old, and most stop having children soon after reaching the age of 200.

How often do elves have kids?

Inspired by this TIL, that African elephants gestate for 22 months. And then they don't get pregnant for two or three years after giving birth, so that means elephants have at most one baby every four or five years.

Do elves make babies?

Elves typically have four children or fewer. Fëanor and Nerdanel, who had seven sons, were a notable exception. Whenever the Eldar married, whether in youth or in later life, their children were produced within a relatively short time after their wedding.

A Guide to Tolkien's Elves | Tolkien Explained

Do elves get periods?

((EDIT: Although ti's very possible - even likely, that menstruation wasn't actually a monthly cycle. Elves rarely even counted in years (preferring centuries), let alone months.)) So, long story short, I'm pretty confident that elves do menstruate.

How long are elves pregnant for?

Elves' pregnancy lasts for two years. Most elf-maidens don't make it through 2 years thus less children. Twins are more common in Elves than in humans.

Is it hard for elves to get pregnant?

human-elf interbreeding gets VERY complicated. Male elf with human wife, can breed at human rate. Male human with elven wife is pretty much a reproductive failure (he won't live long enough to breed second time).

Can elves and humans mate?

Elves and humans have held the Armlet of Strength and half-elves are capable of interbreeding with both elves and humans and continuing to produce fertile children. Interestingly, half-elves can also breed with other half-elves and have created a fairly stable half-elf race.

How long does it take for an elf to give birth?

Concerning gestation periods Races of the Wild says, "Elves have a gestation period of approximately nine months, just as humans and other similarly sized creatures do." The Complete Book of Elves says, "Following a two-year pregnancy, elf women are glad to celebrate the lightening of their burden."

What happens when an elf marries a man?

So, if an elf were to marry a mortal, their only real choices would be to live forever after their spouse dies, or to find some way to die themselves and spend the rest of time in the Halls of Mandos. Neither of which are especially pleasant, which is why such pairings are so incredibly rare.

At what age do elves get married?

Most Elves choose their spouse while they are still young – 50 to 100 years old. There are a few exceptions, and marrying late seems to be connected to ill chances or strange fates.

Why did the elves stop having children?

The Elves believe that their child-bearing process draws a heavier physical and spiritual toll on them, compared to what it does to humans. They're understandable reluctant to have a lot of kids, because what's the point in having a dozen kids if doing so might literally kill you?

Why can elves reproduce?

Elves live much longer than humans and they believe they were created, unlike humans who evolved, so they see humans as inferior to them. The physiology of elves, then, is very different from those of humans, and even though they live long lives, they are only fertile while they're young.

Can half-elves have kids?

Half-elves may mate and breed, but will always produce the offspring of the other parent (a Half-elf/elf pairing will produce elven children, while a Half elf/human pairing will result in human children). Second generation Half-elves only result if two Half-elves marry (as is the case in Aglarond).

What do you call a baby elf?

a child supposed to be left by elves, in room of one they had stolen.

How long are Tolkien elves pregnant?

But we can actually use a little “real world” experience to shed some light on the subject. So, as for the different gestation periods of elves and mortals - it's true that elves are pregnant a full year, while humans are only pregnant for 9-10 months.

What happens when an elf dies?

When elves die, their spirits travel to the Halls, where they rest for a time as disembodied shades. Most of them are then returned to corporeal form and rejoin all the other elves living in Valinor.

How old do elves live?

Age: Although elves reach physical maturity at about the same age as Humans, the elven understanding of Adulthood goes beyond physical growth to encompass worldly experience. An elf typically claims Adulthood and an adult name around the age of 100 and can live to be 750 years old.

Is an elf male or female?

During the Old English period, separate forms were used for female elves (such as ælfen, putatively from Common Germanic *ɑlβ(i)innjō), but during the Middle English period the word elf came routinely to include female beings.

Why do elves live so long?

They live considerably longer because before they were like this, they were Immortal before time even began. Once Lorkhan "tricked" the various spirits to create Mundus, they lost their immortality. So was Man. They share a common ancestor.

Do Elves only fall in love once?

Elves marry only once (with only one known, very special, exception), but there's no rule about them loving only once. For example, Finwe loved Miriel, and then he loved Indis.

Do Elves have birthdays?

Since elves live for so long it is widely believed that they do not celebrate birthdays. This could not be further from the truth. All elves celebrate birthdays, but how they are celebrated varies from culture to culture. The earliest known rites were made by the first elves, the Woodland Elves of Miyla.

Do Elves have arranged marriages?

Important Facts About Elven Marriage

The only chance of marrying twice comes if there is absolutely no way that the former spouse will be able to meet the Elf wanting to remarry, in life or death. Parents have very little say in whom their children marry. This means that an arranged marriage is highly unlikely.

Why did Arwen give up immortality?

Arwen reciprocated Aragorn's love, and on the mound of Cerin Amroth they committed themselves to marrying each other. In making that choice, Arwen gave up the Elvish immortality available to her as a daughter of Elrond, and agreed to remain in Middle-earth instead of travelling to the Undying Lands.