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Elessar

The Elfstone, a great emerald-green stone, set in a silver brooch in the form of an eagle with outspread wings;

Also the name of Aragorn as a King

Details and Comments

And word went through the City: "The King is come again indeed." And they named him the Elfstone, because of the green stone that he wore, AND SO THE NAME WHICH IT WAS FORETOLD AT HIS BIRTH THAT HE SHOULD BEAR WAS CHOSEN FOR HIM BY HIS OWN PEOPLE."
RotK?

The Elfstone was elvish glass, or at least could have been derogatorily referred to as such.

The green stone given to Aragorn II by Galadriel in Lórien, and the origin of his surname, Elessar.

Then she lifted from her lap a great stone of a clear green, set in a silver brooch that was wrought in the likeness of an eagle with outspread wings; and as she held it up the gem flashed like the sun shining through the leaves of spring.

Galadriel, giving the green stone to Aragorn, said: "In this hour take the name that was foretold for you, Elessar, the Elfstone of the house of Elendil!"
FotR II 8

Perhaps the most detailed account about this precious jewel is given by Tolkien in the Unfinished Tales. There he provides two different stories.

The Elessar

There was in Gondolin a jewel-smith named Enerdhil, the greatest of that craft among the Noldor after the death of Fëanor. Enerdhil loved all green things that grew, and his greatest joy was to see the sunlight through the leaves of trees. And it came into his heart to make a jewel within which the clear light of the sun should be imprisoned, but the jewel should be green as leaves. And he made this thing, and even the Noldor marvelled at it. For it is said that those who looked through this stone saw things that were withered or burned healed again or as they were in the grace of their youth, and that the hands of one who held it brought to all that they touched healing from hurt. This gem Enerdhil gave to Idril the King's daughter, and she wore it upon her breast and so it was saved from the burning of Gondolin. And be-fore Idril set sail she said to Eärendil her son: "The Elessar I leave with thee, for there are grievous hurts to Middle-earth which thou maybe shalt heal. But to none other shalt thou deliver it." And indeed at Sirion's Haven there were many hurts to heal both of Men and Elves, and of beasts that fled thither from the horror of the North and while Eärendil dwelt there they were healed and prospered, and all things were for a while green and fair. But when Eärendil began his great voyages upon the Sea he wore the Elessar upon his breast, for amongst all his searchings the thought was always before him: that he might perhaps find Idril again; and his first memory of Middle-earth was the green stone above her breast, as she sang above his cradle while Gondolin was still in flower. So it was that the Elessar passed away, when Eärendil returned no more to Middle-earth.

In ages after there was again an Elessar, and of this two things are said, though which is true only those Wise could say who now are gone. For some say that the second was indeed only the first returned, by the grace of the Valar; and that Olórin (who was known in Middle-earth as Mithrandir) brought it with him out of the West. And on a time Olórin came to Galadriel, who dwelt now under the trees of Green-wood the Great and they had long speech together. For the years of her exile began to lie heavy on the Lady of the Noldor, and she longed for news of her kin and for the blessed land of her birth, and yet was unwilling to forsake Middle-earth [this sentence was changed to read: but was not permitted yet to forsake Middle-earth]. And when Olórin had told her many tidings she sighed, and said: "I grieve in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade; and my heart yearns, remembering trees and grass that do not die. I would have these in my home." Then Olórin said: "Would you then have the Elessar?" And Galadriel said: "Where now is the Stone of Eärendil? And Enerdhil is gone who made it." "Who knows?" said Olórin. "Surely," said Galadriel, "they have passed over Sea as almost all fair things beside. And must Middle-earth then fade and perish for ever?" "That is its fate," said Olórin. "Yet for a little while that might be amended, if the Elessar should return. For a little until the Days of Men are come." "If – and yet how could that be," said Galadriel. "For surely the Valar are now removed and Middle-earth is far from their thought, and all who cling to it are under a shadow."

"It is not so," said Olórin. "Their eyes are not dimmed nor their hearts hardened. In token of which look upon this!" And he held before her the Elessar, and she looked on it and wondered. And Olórin said: "This I bring to you from Yavanna. Use it as you may, and for a while you shall make the land of your dwelling the fairest place in Middle-earth. But it is not for you to possess. You shall hand it on when the time comes. For before you grow weary, and at last forsake Mid-dle-earth one shall come who is to receive it, and his name shall be that of the stone: Elessar he shall be called."

Unfinished Tales

The other tale runs so: that long ago, ere Sauron deluded the smiths of Eregion, Galadriel came there, and she said to Celebrimbor, the chief of the Elven-smiths: "I am grieved in Middle-earth, for leaves fall and flowers fade that I have loved, so that the land of my dwelling is filled with regret that no Spring can redress."

"How otherwise can it be for the Eldar, if they cling to Middle-earth?" said Celebrimbor. "Will you then pass over Sea?"

"Nay," she said. "Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin's children I am the last. 20 But my heart is still proud. What wrong did the golden house of Finarfin do that I should ask the pardon of the Valar, or be content with an isle in the sea whose native land was Aman the Blessed? Here I am mightier."

"What would you then?" said Celebrimbor.

"I would have trees and grass about me that do not die – here in the land that is mine," she answered. "What has be-come of the skill of the Eldar?" And Celebrimbor said: "Where now is the Stone of Eärendil? And Enerdhil who made it is gone." "They have passed over Sea," said Galadriel, "with almost all fair things else. But must then Middle-earth fade and perish for ever?"

"That is its fate, I deem," said Celebrimbor. "But you know that I love you (though you turned to Celeborn of the Trees), and for that love I will do what I can, if haply by my art your grief can be lessened." But he did not say to Gala-driel that be himself was of Gondolin long ago, and a friend of Enerdhil, though his friend in most things outrivalled him. Yet if Enerdhil had not been then Celebrimbor would have been renowned. Therefore he took thought, and began a long delicate labour, and so for Galadriel he made the great-est of his works (save the Three Rings only). And it is said that more subtle and clear was the green gem that he made than that of Enerdhil, but yet its light had less power. For whereas that of Enerdhil was lit by the Sun in its youth, already many years had passed ere Celebrimbor began his work, and nowhere in Middle-earth was the light as clear as it had been, for though Morgoth had been thrust out into the Void and could not enter again, his far shadow lay upon it. Radiant nonetheless was the Elessar of Celebrimbor; and he set it within a great brooch of silver in the likeness of an eagle rising upon outspread wings."

Wielding the Elessar all things grew fair about Galadriel, until the coming of the Shadow to the Forest. But afterwards when Nenya, chief of the Three," was sent to her by Celebrimbor, she needed it (as she thought) no more, and she gave it to Celebrían her daughter, and so it came to Arwen and to Aragorn who was called Elessar.

Unfinished Tales

Other sources also give some information about the Elfstone.

It was clearly at this point that the Elfstone first emerged, as a green gem set in a brooch worn by Galadriel and given as a parting gift to Gimli and it seems equally plain that my father immediately adopted it (or more accurately, re-adopted it) as the true name of Trotter.

Trotter had been for a while Elfstone - a name chosen for linguistic reasons that had been rejected and replaced by Ingold but now it turned out that Elfstone was after all the right name.

The Elfstone was the Lady's gift to him, not to Gimli and in giving it to him she made a play on his name.

HoMeVII

It is obvious that the Elfstone is one of special powers.

In the real world of ours, however, there are stones and minerals that are worshiped and cherished by people for simillar qualities.

Malachite gets its name from "moloche," the Greek word for the plant mallow, this because of its bright, LEAF-GREEN? COLOUR. The stone is born of the process of water and air acting on the metal, copper. Calcium carbonate and other carbonates are put down by ancient seas as layers of sediment that become limestone. Water percolates through this stone picking up the carbonates and, when it encounters ore veins, reacts with copper sulfides. These elements unite and dissolve the copper salts. Finally malachite, an insoluble basic copper carbonate, settles out to become the beautiful stone.

Malachite is a welcome sight to prospectors because it is often found at the edge of ore deposits and portends good mining. Malachite can form crystals, but it is much more often found as nodules, or grape or kidney-shaped clusters. It is often found in association with deep blue azurite, and stones that combine both together are quite beautiful.

Relatively soft, dark green stone with swirls and stripes of lighter green, malachite's color comes from copper. Reputed to confer the ability to understand animal languages, it is also valued as a protective stone, revitalizing to the body and mind. It repels evil spirits, inspires tolerance and flexibility, opens communication, and stabilizes energy. It is an excellent stone for creating through magical manifestation, strengthening the intuition and the power of transformation. Malachite acts as a psychic mirror, amplifying the energy one projects into it and drawing one into other worlds in meditation.

And here are some interesting facts about green stones worshipped in the ancient world:

It is said that the Goddess Isis wore a large green emerald on her headband, and all that looked on this emerald would be able to conceive. (Isis was the earth mother goddess of the Egyptians).

In India the color green is the 4th energy Chakra (the heart). So, in our heart lays the 2nd kingdom of nature.

The fact seems to be that from ancient times Man has learned about the hidden powers of the minerals of the Earth and has brought up a custom to wear little pieces of such stones as Amulets.

"AMULET" is a name given to a class of objects and ornaments, and articles of dress and wearing apparel, made of various substances which were employed by the Egyptians, and later by other nations, to protect the human body, either living or dead, from baleful influences, and from the attacks of visible and invisible foes.

The word "amulet" is derived from an Arabic root meaning "to bear, to carry," hence "amulet" is "something which is carried or worn," and the name is applied broadly to any kind of talisman or ornament to which supernatural powers are ascribed. It is not clear whether the amulet was intended first of all to protect the living or the dead body, but it seems that it was originally worn to guard its owner from savage animals and from serpents. As time went on the development of religious ideas and beliefs progressed, and as a result new amulets representing new views were invented and the objects which were able to protect the living were made, by an easy transition in the minds of those who wore them, to protect the dead. Moreover, as the preservation of the corruptible body, with the number of its members complete and intact, was of the most vital importance for the life of the spiritual and incorruptible body which was believed to spring therefrom, under the influence of the new beliefs the dead body became a veritable storehouse of amulets. Each member was placed under the specific protection of some amulet, and a number of objects which were believed to protect the body generally from serpents, worms, mildew, decay and putrefaction were laid with a lavish hand in, and upon, and about it, and between the bandages with which it was swathed. When men in Egypt began to lay amulets on their dead cannot be said, and it is equally impossible to say when the belief in the efficacy of such and such an amulet sprang into being; it seems clear, however, that certain amulets represent beliefs and superstitions so old that even the Egyptians were, at times, doubtful about their origin and meaning.

Amulets are of two kinds: (1) those which are inscribed with magical formulć, and (2) those which are not. In the earliest times formulć or prayers were recited over the amulets that were worn by the living or placed on the dead by priests or men set apart to perform religious services by the community; but it was not in the power of every man to employ them, and at a comparatively early date words of magical power and prayers were cut upon the amulets, which thus became possessed of a twofold power, that is to say, the power which was thought to be inherent in the substance of which the amulet was made, and that which lay in the words inscribed upon it. The earliest name for the formulć found upon amulets is hekau, and it was so necessary for the deceased to be provided with these hekau, or "words of power," that in the XVIth Century B.C., and probably more than a thousand years earlier, a special section 1 was inserted in the Book of the Dead with the object of causing them to come to him from whatever place they were in, "swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light."

The earliest Egyptian amulets known are pieces of green schist, of various shapes, animal. and otherwise, which were laid upon the breast of the deceased; these are found in large numbers in the pre-historic or predynastic graves at several places in Egypt. It is most unlikely that they were made by the aboriginal inhabitants of Egypt, for, notwithstanding the various conjectures which have been made as to their object and use, it is pretty certain that, as M. J. de Morgan said, 2 they "belong to the cult." According to this writer their use was exceedingly widespread until the end of the neolithic period, but with the advent of the people whom we call Egyptians they become very rare. In the subsequent period the animal forms disappear, and their place is taken by plaques of schist, rectangular in shape, upon which are inscribed, in rough outline, figures of animals, etc. The theory that these objects were intended as whetstones, or as slabs upon which to rub down paint, will not hold, for the reasons which M. J. de Morgan has given. Moreover, in the green stone scarab which was laid upon the breast of the deceased in dynastic times, we probably have a survival of the green schist amulet of predynastic times in Egypt, both as regards the object with which it was made and the material. But the custom of writing hekau, or words of power, upon papyrus is almost as old as that of writing them upon stone, and we see from the inscription on the walls of the corridors and chambers of the pyramid of Unas, king of Egypt about B.C. 3300, that a "book with words of magical power" was buried with him. 1 Elsewhere 2 we are told that the book which Teta, king of Egypt about B.C. 3266, had with him "hath effect upon the heart of the gods" and there is no doubt that the object of every religious text ever written on tomb, stele, amulet, coffin, papyrus, etc., was to bring the gods under the power of the deceased, so that he might be able to compel them to do his will.

The StudyTeam


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