Galadriel's gift to Gimli
Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2021 7:06 am
I've always been fascinated by the relationship between the Lady Galadriel and Gimli. Gimli was clearly besotted with her - not in any way that presumed to the belief of a possibility of a union, but more as an ultimate form of chivalry; a beacon he could look up to, worthy of defense unto death and yes, love in a way that goes so far beyond the physical that the two bear no relation.
For her part, Galadriel was obviously amused that she should have been the cause of such devotion - and from so unlikely a quater....... but there was also clearly a way in which she, at a deeper level, responded to it. There is no better demonstration of this than her granting of his request, when asked what gift he would require of her, of a single strand of her hair.
To the initial reading this seems almost a frivelous gesture, but it is not so. She is doing far, far more than simply granting him a meaningless (on her part) token, but rather is responding to him as her sworn protector (and him a dwarf of all things..... and her being the celebrated being she was) and saying, "I will ever be with you, as you will ever be with me."
Now this is of huge significance in itself; having bestowed such honour on a dwarf it ill became any continuance of enmity between the two races - and especially in view of the trials that lay ahead for both races. But on a smaller scale, the gift was a point of connection, a reaching out that Legolas could not ignore (not that he would have failed to see the worth of Gimli even without it), and began the bridging process that would lead to that most long standing of friendships.
But today I learned something new, something that throws the whole thing into far greater significance and makes Galadriel's gift all the more amazing. This was not the first time a single strand of hair had been requested of her. In an earlier time in Valinor (I think) Feanor, greatest of the Deep Elves had requested the same - and been refused. Thus (I learn) was the enmity between the two greatest of all the Elves born, which ultimately would lead to Feanor travelling alone out of Aman with the greater part of the Noldor, back to Middle-Earth.
Against such a hugely consequential backdrop, the granting of the gift to Gimli, her marriage to her extant husband Celeborn notwithstanding, becomes an act of staggering significance to those who witnessed it - an honour that, if it weren't enough of itself already, goes beyond the mere interactions of two mortal beings and into the levels of the Gods themselves. Gimli may often serve as the humorous foil in The Lord of the Rings - but at this point he, alongside the incomparable Galadriel, rises to the very pinnacle of the tale.
For her part, Galadriel was obviously amused that she should have been the cause of such devotion - and from so unlikely a quater....... but there was also clearly a way in which she, at a deeper level, responded to it. There is no better demonstration of this than her granting of his request, when asked what gift he would require of her, of a single strand of her hair.
To the initial reading this seems almost a frivelous gesture, but it is not so. She is doing far, far more than simply granting him a meaningless (on her part) token, but rather is responding to him as her sworn protector (and him a dwarf of all things..... and her being the celebrated being she was) and saying, "I will ever be with you, as you will ever be with me."
Now this is of huge significance in itself; having bestowed such honour on a dwarf it ill became any continuance of enmity between the two races - and especially in view of the trials that lay ahead for both races. But on a smaller scale, the gift was a point of connection, a reaching out that Legolas could not ignore (not that he would have failed to see the worth of Gimli even without it), and began the bridging process that would lead to that most long standing of friendships.
But today I learned something new, something that throws the whole thing into far greater significance and makes Galadriel's gift all the more amazing. This was not the first time a single strand of hair had been requested of her. In an earlier time in Valinor (I think) Feanor, greatest of the Deep Elves had requested the same - and been refused. Thus (I learn) was the enmity between the two greatest of all the Elves born, which ultimately would lead to Feanor travelling alone out of Aman with the greater part of the Noldor, back to Middle-Earth.
Against such a hugely consequential backdrop, the granting of the gift to Gimli, her marriage to her extant husband Celeborn notwithstanding, becomes an act of staggering significance to those who witnessed it - an honour that, if it weren't enough of itself already, goes beyond the mere interactions of two mortal beings and into the levels of the Gods themselves. Gimli may often serve as the humorous foil in The Lord of the Rings - but at this point he, alongside the incomparable Galadriel, rises to the very pinnacle of the tale.