Life, Death, and Aging of Elves
One thing I cover with relative frequency in my online content is Elves' ages, calculating the objective and subjective ages for various prominent Elves in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion according to information gleaned from Tolkien's notes. Here's a general overview of those notes as outlined in The Nature of Middle-Earth (compiled and edited by Carl Hostetter). Detailed breakdowns for a few Elves I get frequent questions about will be in a separate blog post. Warning: there's a lot of math here! You can also scroll to the bottom for a tl;dr conversion list.
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The first thing to note when approaching this topic in Tolkien's world is the difference between objective (quantifiable) age and subjective (perceived) age. Objective Age is relatively straightforward, since it's simply a matter of counting Mortal Years and then converting them over to Elvish yéni (great-years). Subjective Age becomes far more complicated, because Elves age differently than Mortal Men in several ways. Let's cover the former so we can quickly move on to the more interesting latter!
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Objective Elven Age:
Tolkien set up the Elves to commonly use what is called the duodecimal system. This means Elves like to count things in 12s instead of multiples of 10 (aka the decimal system or Base-10 we commonly use in our world). This affinity toward multiples of 12 is apparent in the conversion ratio used for Mortal Years (coranari/löar - Quenya for "solar-rounds"/"growths") and Elvish Yéni (Quenya for "great-years"). We see these terms used in the Calendar of Imladris in Appendix D of The Lord of the Rings.
1 Yén = 144 Coranari/Löar (Mortal Years)
So if an Elf is 6,192 MY old, that converts to 43 yéni. That does not mean they are the equivalent of a 43-year-old Mortal; it's just the unit in which they measure time as a long-lived race.
This ratio of 1:144 carries across units as well, so 1 Elvish Day = 144 Mortal Days, for example. This is how I calculated the hilarious factoid that the entirety of the plot of Lord of the Rings for Legolas took place in the equivalent of an "Elvish Weekend". (Gollum escapes Mirkwood June 20th, TA 3018; the Ring is destroyed March 25th, TA 3019; total time 278 days. 2 "Elvish Days" would be 288 days. Ta-da!)
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Subjective Elven Age:
This is where things get sticky. Even in the confines of The Nature of Middle-Earth's notes, we see that Tolkien hardcore STRUGGLED with the numbers, massaging them several different ways to try to backward manufacture a system that would work for the Elves of the First Age in particular. (The events in the 1st Age all occurred in the relatively short period of just 590 MY, so Elves born in Beleriand complicated things!)
To the best of my knowledge, here is what was generally settled upon:
Growth Years vs Life Years:
1 coimen (life-year) = 144 MY = 1 yén
Another note about conception is that it is a conscious, willful act for the Elves. Pregnancies are never accidental for Elves; they are intentional. Even if both parties haven't formally discussed it prior to conception, the conception itself can only happen when both Elves put their minds and spirits into the act, not just their bodies. We'll revisit this concept in the Fading section.
Growth:
♀ in Aman -- 18 olmendi = 18 x 12 = 216 löar (MY)
Essentially, regardless of location, Elves grow up a lot faster than they generally age after that. (Remember, 288 MY is just 2 yéni!)
Youth:
In more Elvish terms, the period is defined by the hröa (body) dominating the balance with the fëa (spirit). As Elves age, the hröa is slowly overtaken by the fëa. The time when the fëa takes control over the hröa marks the end of Youth and the beginning of Fading.
Elves' Ages at End of Youth:
♂ in Aman -- "Age 96" -- 24 olmendi + 72 coimendi = (24 x 12) + (72 x 144) = 10,656 löar (MY)
♀ in Aman -- "Age 90" -- 18 olmendi + 72 coimendi = (18 x 12) + (72 x 144) = 10,584 löar (MY)
♂/♀ in Middle-Earth -- 20 quickened olmendi + 72 quickened coimendi = (20 x 10) + (72 x 100) = 7,400 löar (MY)
Fading:
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Helcaraxë -- Any Elf who had to travel over the Grinding Ice on their way to Beleriand was aged an extra 2 coimendi.
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Trauma -- Elves like Gwindor---who was captured and tortured by Morgoth/Sauron for more than a decade---are aged faster by their life experiences. The more traumatic, the more they age; the more they age, the faster their bodies relinquish control to their spirits. This is also seen in Celebrían (Arwen's mother), who never fully recovered from an Orc attack in the Third Age and sailed West to avoid succumbing to this traumatic kind of aging.
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Children -- A typical child (conception, birth, rearing, etc) ages a male Elf an extra coimen and a female Elf an extra 2 coimendi. Special children like Fëanor and Arwen age Elves even more. Fëanor's mother Míriel never recovered and gave up her body completely.
- Grief -- The loss of a close family member (or several) or a wedded mate can also push an Elf toward their Fading or death. Again, the level of trauma would vary, thus so would the impact.
Death:
In any case, the final fate of the Elves as the Firstborn Children of Ilúvatar is to last while the world lasts, which means that if their bodies are slain or given up under these extreme circumstances, their spirits do not perish but transfer to the Halls of Mandos, where they are allowed to rest and heal from their traumas under the care of Námo and his Maiar. Eventually, they are reborn into new Elvish bodies in Aman. In this way, their fëar are immortal even if their hröar are not.
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TL;DR:
Overall Objective Elf Age Ratio = 1:144 (1 yén = 144 Mortal Years)
Gestation = 9 Mortal Years (MY)
Growth is measured in olmendi (growth-years)
1 olmen = 12 MY in Aman
1 quickened olmen = 10 MY in Middle-Earth
♂ Maturity = 24 olmendi = 288 MY in Aman
♀ Maturity = 18 olmendi = 216 MY in Aman
♂/♀ Maturity = 20 quickened olmendi = 200 MY in Middle-Earth
Half-Elves are an exception (see Aging of Half-Elves blog post)
Youth is measured in coimendi (life-years)
1 coimen = 1 yén (Elvish "long-year") = 144 MY
Youth lasts 72 coimendi after Maturity is reached (aka until Age ♂96/♀90)
Coimendi are also quickened in Middle-Earth. 1:100 instead of the 1:144 ratio used in Aman.
Fading can last indefinitely. Spirit takes prevalence over body.
Trauma, grief, and children all age Elves faster.
Death = Elves can be slain or willfully give up their bodies.
Their spirits never die and are reincarnated in Valinor if their bodies perish.
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