Half-elves

The Half-elves (Peredhil in Sindarin or Pareldar in Quenya) were people of Middle-earth whose name primarily applied to Elrond and Elros in the Second and Third Age, but also to Eärendil and his wife Elwing before them. They were called so because of their mixed Edain (Mannish) and Eldarin (Elven) blood. At the end of the First Age, they were given a choice to be Elven and immortal, or to be counted as the race of Men and receive their gift, mortality and death. 
Half-elves had slow elvish maturities, prolonged youths, and extended lifespans. The first two generations were given the choice of kindred; the third generation was not, and took on the fate of their forebears. 
Others considered Half-elves were Elrond's sons, Elladan and Elrohir, and his daughter Arwen Undómiel. Like other Half-elves before them, they were given the choice between mortality and immortality.
==History==
===The First Age===
Two important marriages in the First Age of Middle-earth resulted in the mixing of Elvish and mortal Edain blood.
The first of these was between the mortal Beren of the House of Bëor and half-Elf/half-Maia Lúthien, daughter of the Elf Thingol, the King of Doriath, and Queen Melian the Maia. Beren died in the quest for the Silmaril, and in despair, Lúthien's spirit departed her body and made its way to the Halls of Mandos. Mandos allowed them a unique fate, and they were re-bodied as mortals in Middle-earth, where they dwelt until their deaths.
Their son Dior was thus one-quarter Elvish by blood, although, since he was born after their embodiment, the nature of his mortality is unclear. He died young, when the Sons of Fëanor attacked Doriath.
Dior's wife was Nimloth, a Sindarin Elf, and with her he had three children: Elwing, Eluréd, and Elurín. During the Sack of Menegroth by the Sons of Fëanor, Elwing escaped to the Mouths of Sirion while Eluréd and Elurin were seized by servants of Celegorm and abandoned in the forest to die. They were never found, and were presumed to have perished in the forest.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXII: "Of the Ruin of Doriath"
The second marriage of Men and Elves in the first age was between Tuor of the House of Hador and Idril of the Ñoldor and Vanyar.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIII: "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin" Their son was Eärendil. After the fall of Gondolin, Eärendil also escaped to the Mouths of Sirion, and married Elwing. They had two sons, Elrond 'Half-elf' and Elros.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXIV: "Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
==Choice of the Half-elves==
After the conclusion of the War of Wrath, Manwë determined that the surviving Half-elves would have their choice of fates: to be counted among Elves, and granted eternal life in the Undying Lands; or to be counted among mortals, and granted the ineffable Gift of Ilúvatar. This choice could be delayed, although not indefinitely.
Eärendil would rather have chosen the kindred of Men, but he chose the Elves for his wife Elwing's sake, who also chose the Elves. Eärendil would thereafter forever sail the heavens in his ship Vingilot, the Silmaril of Beren and Lúthien on the prow. In Middle-earth, he was seen as the evening star, and the light of his Silmaril was captured in the Phial of Galadriel. Elwing built a tower in the Shadowy Seas and often met him on his return.
Elros chose to be counted among mortals, and became Tar-Minyatur, first King of Númenor. He finally took his death at the age of five hundred years. All the heirs of Elros lived as mortal men, but their lifespans were enhanced many times that of normal (but still less than Elros'), and they had the freedom to take death when they willed. In later times the Kings of Númenor, still the descendants of Elros, regretted their forefather's choice, and this helped lead to the Downfall of Númenor.
Elrond chose to be counted among the Elves, serving the household of Gil-galad until the end of the Second Age, and founding Rivendell. He married the Elf Celebrían, daughter of Celeborn and Galadriel, and sailed into the west at the conclusion of the War of the Ring.
The children of Elrond and Celebrían were also given free choice of kindred, and therefore Arwen could choose to be counted amongst the Edain even though her father had chosen to be counted as Elven. She exercised this option, marrying Aragorn II, King of the Reunited Kingdom, and himself the sole remaining descendant of Elros, finally dying at the age of 2,901 years. Their son Eldarion and their daughters were counted as third-generation Half-elves, having prolonged youths, slow maturities and extended lifespans like the elves, while lacking the choice of kindred, thus retaining the mortal fate of mankind. 
It is unclear whether Elladan and Elrohir chose to be of the Edain, or the Eldar; this information is not given in the books. After the books were published, however, Tolkien did have this to say, "The end of his sons, Elladan and Elrohir, is not told; they delay their choice, and remain for a while". The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, #153. "Since most felt that their choice was expressed by whether they would follow their father to Valinor at the time of his own departure, and they were described as remaining in Rivendell, they are often said to have chosen the Edain". On the other hand, some believe that the twins were allowed to delay their decision for a time.
Tolkien considered giving the children of Elros, Vardamir Nólimon, Manwendil, Atanalcar, and Tindómiel, the choice of the Half-elves, so that the children of Elros would match the children of Elrond.The Nature of Middle-earth, Chapter XI-Ageing of Elves, pg 82. Whether he actually adopted this idea or not is unclear. If the children of Elros were considered Half-elves with a choice of kindred, it can be presumed that Elros' grandchildren, Tar-Amandil, Vardilmë, Aulendil and Nolondil, had a slow maturity while possessing a long yet mortal lifespan.
It was a tradition in Dol Amroth that Imrazôr the Númenórean had married an Elf, and therefore the Princes of Dol Amroth were of Elven descent. Legolas of Mirkwood believed as much upon meeting Prince Imrahil, but the matter remains unclarified.The Silmarillion, Akallabêth (The Downfall of Númenor)
==Etymology==
The Elvish form of Half-elves is Peredhil (singular Peredhel), which is a Sindarin word.The Complete Guide to Middle-earth
==Named Half-elves==
===Had choice of kindred===
*Dior Eluchíl, son of Beren and Lúthien and grandson of Melian the Maia
*Eärendil, son of Tuor and Idril
*Elwing, daughter of Dior and Nimloth, Queen of Doriath
*Eluréd and Elurín, the sons of Dior and Nimloth
*Elrond, son of Eärendil and Lord of Rivendell
*Elros, son of Eärendil, brother of Elrond, and first King of Númenor
*Possibly Vardamir Nólimon, Manwendil, Atanalcar and Tindómiel, the children of Elros
*Arwen Undómiel, or Arwen Evenstar, daughter of Elrond and Celebrían, and Queen of the Reunited Kingdom
*Elladan and Elrohir, twin sons of Elrond and Celebrían
===Did not have choice of kindred===
*Galador, son of Imrazôr and Mithrellas
*Gilmith, daughter of Imrazôr and Mithrellas
*Eldarion, son of Aragorn II and Arwen, and second High King of the Reunited Kingdom
*Tar-Amandil, Vardilmë, Aulendil and Nolondil, the children of Vardamir
==In external imagination==
Unlike in some other fantasy worlds, Tolkien's Half-elves are not a collective race of their own. In Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy role-playing games, there is a race of Half-elves (singular half-elf). Elsewhere, beings who are half-human and half-[another race] are sometimes called Halflings; the term "Halfling" in Tolkien's legendarium pertains only to Hobbits.
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Helfte-elwe
Albanian 	Kukudhët gjysmë
Arabic 	نصف-الآلف
Armenian 	Կեսը-էլֆեր
Azerbaijani 	Yarım elflər
Basque 	Erdi elfoak
Belarusian Cyrillic	Паўэльфійскі
Bengali 	অর্ধেক-পরী
Bosnian 	Poluvilenjak
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Полуелфи
Breton 	Hanter-korrigan
Catalan 	Mig-elfes
Chinese 	半精靈
Croatian 	Poluvilenjak
Czech 	Polovinaelfí
Danish 	Halv-Elver
Dutch 	Halfelfen
Esperanto 	Duono elfoj
Estonian 	Poolhaljdas
Faroese 	Hálválvarnir
Finnish 	Puolhaltiat
French 	Semi-Elfes
Galician 	Medio elfos
Georgian 	ნახევარი ელფები
German 	Halbelben
Greek 	Ήμισυ-ξωτικά
Hebrew 	(Half-elves) חצאי בני לילית
(Peredhil) פרדיל
Hindi 	आधा बौने
Hungarian 	Fele-elfek
Icelandic 	Helmingurálfar
Indonesian 	Separo-peri
Italian 	Mezzelfi
Kazakh 	Жартысы-эльфтері (Cyrillic) Jartısı-élfteri (Latin)
Korean 	하프 엘프
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Жарым райондор ?
Japanese 	ハーフエルフ
Latvian 	Pusi-alfi
Lithuanian 	Pusę-elfai
Luxembourgish 	Hallefelben
Macedonian Cyrillic	Половина џуџиња
Nepalese 	आधा-एल्व्स
Norwegian 	Halvalven
Persian 	نیمی اِلفها
Polish 	Półelfowie
Portuguese 	Meio-Elfos
Romanian 	Elfii jumătate
Russian 	Полуэльфийский
Serbian 	Полувилењаци (Cyrillic) Poluvilenjaci (Latin)
Sinhalese 	අර්ධ එල්ව්ස්
Slovak 	Polovičnáelfie
Slovenian 	Polvilini
Spanish 	Medio-elfos
Swedish 	Halvalven
Tamil 	அரை தேவதைகள்
Telugu 	హాఫ్-దయ్యములు
Thai 	ครึ่งแถน
Turkish 	Yarım elfler
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Половина-ельфи
Vietnamese 	Nửa-kẻ tinh nghịch ?
Yiddish 	האַלב-עלווז
==References==
 
de:Peredhil
es:Peredhil
fr:Peredhel
it:Mezzelfi
pl:Półelfowie
ru:Полуэльфы
Category:Hybrid peoples