Marriages in Middle-earth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arwen Undómiel

Aragorn was raised in Imladris (Rivendell), the home of Elrond. One day he came upon Arwen, daughter of Elrond. When he saw her, he thought he looked at Lúthien Tinúviel, the most beautiful Elf that ever lived. She was the mother of the first Half-Elf, resulting from the union of Lúthien with Beren, a Man from the house of Bëor. Lúthien forsake her Elven heritage and choose to be counted amongst the Second Children of Ilúvatar, Men. She lived out her life with Beren in Beleriand. All Half-Elven eventually had to make a choice, to be counted as one of the Eldar (Elves), or one of Men. Elrond had chosen to remain with the Eldar while Elros chose a mortal life.

Arwen descended from Lúthien, as did Aragorn. Aragorn descended from Elrond's brother Elros. Don't worry, over 60 generations had passed between Elros and Aragorn. When Arwen, who at that point was counted amongst the Eldar, wedded Aragorn she made the choice of Lúthien and gave up her immortality and became mortal, much to the grief of Elrond.

Éowyn was the niece of Théoden, King of Rohan. She fell in love with Aragorn but her love was unrequited.

Answer: Faramir

Éowyn won great renown in the Battle of the Pelennor. With the help of Holdwine (Meriadoc the Hobbit) she slew the Witch-king of Angmar on the battlefield. She had ridden to battle in the guise of Dernhelm, a Rider of the Mark, seeking death. Her love for Aragorn was unrequited.

When she struck down the Witch-king she was wounded by the Black Breath. She was healed by Aragorn in the House of Healing in Minas Tirith. There she met Faramir, son of Denethor, the last Steward of Gondor. Slowly she fell in love. She would later marry him and move to Ithilien with him.

Boromir was Faramir's older brother who had been slain when the Fellowship of the Ring broke. He was never married. Théodred was Théoden's son and thus her cousin. He also died unmarried.

Answer: Rose

Sam's family was close with the Cotton family. Rose probably caught the attraction of Samwise early on. Sam and Rose had thirteen children, many named after friends of Samwise. The family of his daughter and eldest child Elanor would become the keepers of the Red Book of Westmarch, which formed the original source for the "The Silmarillion", "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings".

Samwise left Middle-earth for Valinor after Rose died.

Answer: Goldberry

No one knows who or what Tom Bombadil really is. He lives east of the Shire and claims he was before the world was created. He is said to be the oldest being in the world. The Elves called him Oldest and Fatherless (Iarwain Ben-adar). The One Ring has no effect on him. His wife is Goldberry, said to be a river-daughter.

The mystery of Tom Bombadil has never been revealed, not in the published works or later by Tolkien himself. Many fans speculate as to what Tom, and his wife Goldberry, might be. An Elf seems impossible as Tom was before the world came to be. Being one if the Maiar, the lesser Ainur, seems not plausible as well, as the One Ring was shown to have effect on them (in fact, Sauron himself was a Maia). Some people think that Tom might be one of the Valar living in Middle-earth incognito, which would explain why the One Ring had no effect over him. One might guess that the Valar would be able to resist the power of a device wrought by a "lesser" Ainu. This theory has problems as well and we will probably never know who Tom and Goldberry were.

Some might say he is the avatar of Eru Ilúvatar himself. However, Tolkien wrote in one of his letters that the One did not have any kind of embodiment within the world.

Answer: Yes

Treebeard told the Hobbits about the Entwives. When Treebeard was younger he had a spouse called Fimbrethil, or Wandlimb. She and the other Entwives were lost to the Ents forever when Sauron blasted the Brown Lands east of the river Anduin at the end of the Second Age. The Entwives escaped but were lost to the Ents. They haven't found the Entwives ever since.

Answer: Celeborn

Galadriel was the daughter of Finarfin, the third son of King Finwë of the Noldor and his second wife Indis, of the Vanyar. Through her she was one of the fairest amongst the Eldar. Her mother was Eärwen of the Teleri, daughter of their King Olwë, brother of Elwë Singollo (who was best known as Elu Thingol). This means that Galadriel carried the blood of all three Kindreds of the Eldar.

She set out with her father and brothers to follow Fëanor back to Middle-earth. Some say she went to Middle-earth to thwart Fëanor. Her father turned back after the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. The Teleri slain there belonged to the Kindred of his wife. Galadriel loathed Fëanor for this action and chose to continue towards Middle-earth.

She came to Doriath to King Elu Thingol, her granduncle. Thingol hold grievances against the Noldor for Kinslaying. But because of her parentage and the fact that she opposed both Fëanor and the Kinslaying she was allowed to stay. In Doriath she would meet Celeborn. He was the grandson of Elmo, brother to Elwë (Thingol) and Olwë. He eventually became her spouse and they travelled Beleriand hoping to build up a resistance to Morgoth. They played no direct part in the Wars of Beleriand as Galadriel judged that the Noldor did not have the strength to defeat their enemy. She did not return to Valinor with the host at the end of the First Age.

She and Celeborn eventually settled in Lothlórien and became Lady and Lord after Amroth, the Lord of Lórien, was lost. They had one daughter, Celebrían. She was married to Elrond and mother of Arwen.

Galadriel and Celeborn played a more active role against Sauron. Galadriel founded the White Council that opposed Dol Guldur and aided the Fellowship of the Ring when it fled from Moria. After the War of the Ring, Galadriel finally left Middle-earth and returned to Valinor. Celeborn, being one of the Sindar, remained behind.

Answer: Celebrían

Arwen's mother was Celebrían, daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn. Through Galadriel she inherited the blood of all three kindreds of the Elves. Through her father she also has the blood of two houses of the Edain and that of the Maia flowing though her.

Approximately a thousand years before the events in the "Lord of the Rings", Celebrían travelled to Lórien and was captured by Orcs. She was tormented and poisoned before she was rescued by her sons and healed by her husband. She could no longer live in Middle-earth and went into the West a year later. After the War of the Ring, Elrond would follow her, leaving their children.

Lúthien Tinúviel is one of the ancestors of Elrond, the first Elf to give up immortality because of love for a mortal. When Aragorn first saw Arwen he thought he was looking at the mythical Lúthien Tinúviel. Indis was one of the Vanyar, the first kindred of Elves. She was the second wife of Finwë and as such an ancestor of both Elrond (going down through Fingolfin, Turgon, Idril and Eärendil) and Galadriel (who was her granddaughter).

Answer: Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth

In III, 3021 Éomer took Lothíriel, daughter of Imrahil, as his wife. Éomer and Imrahil had formed a friendship during the War of the Ring when the Rohirrim came to the aid of Gondor. Imrahil led the sortie of mounted men from the city to drive the enemies from the gates and hasten to the Rohirrim. It was Imrahil who discovered that Éowyn, Éomer's sister, still lived. Imrahil and Éomer would fight together in the rest of the war.

Éomer and Lothíriel had at least one son, Elfwine, the Fair (probably referring to his Dol Amroth ancestry, as it was said the Lords of Dol Amroth were descendent from a Half Elf).

Denethor had only two sons, Boromir and Faramir. Boromir was killed when the Fellowship broke and Faramir survived the War of the Ring and married Éowyn.

Bard II was the Lord of Dale after his father Brand was killed before the gates of Erebor in the closing days of the War of the Ring. Nothing else is known about him.

Dáin II was slain with Brand. His son was Thorin III and together with Bard II he drove the Easterlings away from Erebor. Considering the fact that Thorin was a Dwarf it seems highly unlikely that his daughter, if he had one, would marry a man.

Answer: Théoden's first wife had died and he never remarried.

Théoden was born in Gondor and spent his youth there. His father Thengel had left Rohan when he came to manhood since he was estranged with his father, King Fengel. He came to Rohan when his father was recalled by the Rohirrim to become King after the death of Fengel.

Théoden married Elfhild. Nothing is known about her. She bore him one son, Théodred, but died in childbirth. Théoden never remarried. Rohan had been without a queen for 41 years when the War of the Ring broke out. Théodred was slain early in the war by Saruman's forces and Théoden was succeeded by his nephew Éomer.

Answer: He had no known spouse

Sauron was a Maia of Aulë. Early on he was corrupted by Melkor, later known as Morgoth, and his most trusted lieutenant. Sauron was greatly feared. After the overthrowing of Morgoth he was the only lieutenant of Morgoth who was left and evaded capture by the Valar. He was the enemy of Middle-earth throughout the Second and Third Age. He had no known spouse.

Ungoliant was a great spider and short-time ally of Morgoth. Shelob was one of her brood who infested Cirith Ungol in the Third Age.

Gorthaur was a name of Sauron given to him by the Sindar in the First Age. It means "terrible dread".