Sundering of the Elves: Difference between revisions

The Vanyar, the Noldor, and those of the Teleri who reached [[Valinor]] are called the Calaquendi (''Elves of Light'') because they saw the light of the [[Two Trees of Valinor]]. In [[Quenya]], the language of the Noldor in Valinor, all other Elves were called the Moriquendi (''Elves of Darkness'') in recognition of the fact that they did not see (and did not desire) the Light of Valinor, but later the Sindar were counted among neither of these groups. Instead, ''Moriquendi'' was used for all other Elves except Noldor, Vanyar, Falmari, and Sindar.<ref name="Shippey 2001"/><ref name="Dimitra 2008">{{cite book |last=Fimi |first=Dimitra |author-link=Dimitra Fimi |title=Tolkien, Race, and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits |title-link=Tolkien, Race and Cultural History |publisher=[[Palgrave Macmillan]] |year=2010 |orig-year=2008 |isbn=978-0-230-21951-9 |oclc=222251097 |page=158 <!--Fimi quotes ''Jewels'' p. 373, a very late writing, hmm-->}}</ref> The Tolkien scholar [[Tom Shippey]] notes that the Sundering allowed Tolkien to explain the existence of [[Norse mythology]]'s [[Dökkálfar and Ljósálfar|''Dökkálfar'' and ''Ljósálfar'']], Light and Dark Elves. The Light Elves lived in ''Alfheim'' ("Elfhome") and correspond to his Calaquendi. The Dark Elves, who lived underground in ''Svartalfheim'' ("Black Elfhome"), Tolkien "rehabilitates" as his Moriquendi.<ref name="Shippey 2001">{{cite book |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |title=[[J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century]] |date=2001 |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |isbn=978-0261-10401-3 |pages=228–231}}</ref><!--more in his ''[[The Road to Middle-earth]]''-->