QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION
QUESTION: What does Lothrin make of the diminishment of Nandor influence? For instance, what does she think of Galadriel ruling over her old homeland, or Thranduil being king over the Woodland Realm? Neither one of them are Nandor or Silvan, but rule over populations of them anyways.
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ANSWER: In short: very, very mixed feelings. This is one of the major themes of her characterization, her coming to terms with the diminishment of her culture. Pertaining particularly to Lothrin, this is one of the reasons behind her title: “the Lady of Twilight”. Throughout her life she always seems to be bound at a crossroad, whether it’s her allegiance to the race of men or to the race of elves, or her allegiance to either the Noldor and Sindar or the Silvan and Avari. This is one of the two reasons she’s estranged from her parents as well. Lothrin’s mother, Ireth was very good friends with the maiden Nimrodel and shared Nimrodel’s thoughts and opinions when it comes to the high population of Noldor and Sindar that immigrated to Lorien. You can’t imagine the pain Ireth felt at the news of the loss of Nimrodel.
Ireth felt betrayed by the choices of her daughter, her choice to leave Lorien and dwell with the Noldor and Sindar in Imladris and Lindon. Ireth continued Nimrodel’s legacy and was one of those that opposed the naming of Galadriel and Celeborn as Lorien’s rulers. Little by little nandorin was spoken no more and by the time Frodo Baggins came to Lorien, the elves there spoke Sindarin only. With Ireth being a minority, there was nothing she could do about the occupation, aside from her herself moving somewhere else. But why should she move? Lorien has been her home ever since she was born in the First Age. Lothrin’s father tried his best to support his wife, yet his thoughts were more tempered. He thought Lorien was lucky to have strong rulers who saw to the prosperity of the land. Yet, he too was saddened at the fact that Nandorin was not spoken anymore and many of the clothes and customs that he grew up with were no longer worn or performed.
Lothrin keeps her culture alive in whatever way she can. She will speak Nandorin with her parents whenever she comes home. She will bear the clothes of her childhood and don the markings. I imagine Nandor culture must be very tied to nature. They didn’t have the teachings of the Valar so they never built palaces of stone or armor of metal. I imagine they would wear flower crowns (hence Lothrin’s name), pelts, light linen and don face markings. The closest example of how I imagine the nandor would look like is the character of Tanya from Arthdal Chronicles (x) (fantastic fantasy series by the way, if you wanna give it a watch)
Lothrin mourns the loss of her culture, but at the same time she’s lived for so long in Lindon and Imladris. She cannot fault the Noldor and Sindar for seeking a safe home for themselves. She learned so much from their culture as well. She holds lady Galadriel in high esteem and understands that she was chosen as a ruler by her people, the nandor. Yet, under Galadriel’s rule the forest changes, unnaturally so. Her people change as well.
As for Thranduil, Lothrin doesn’t visit Mirkwood very often but thinks that Thranduil is a good ruler for her Silvan kindred. Thranduil seemed from the very beginning really invested in adapting to the Silvan culture as soon as possible and leaving his Sindar roots behind. Perhaps that is why the elves of Mirkwood are called “less wise and more dangerous”, as they refused to bend to the influence of the Noldor and Sindar. Thranduil really seems to care about his subjects as he organized “feasts of Starlight” often and from the narrative clues we’re given, he seemed to have kept the original culture the Silvan had.
One more point for Thranduil and against Galadriel is that in the Fourth Age, when Galadriel lost the power of Nenya, she just left for Valinor and abandoned Lorien, which withered. But Thranduil? Thranduil pressed on and not only did he usher the elves of Mirkwood into a new age of prosperity, but their perseverance created Eryn Lasgalen, the last and biggest colony of elves in Middle-earth. All the elves of Lorien went to dwell in Eryn Lasgalen and together formed a majestic and prosperous colony of Silvan and Sindar elves. The colony was so great that even Lothrin went to dwell there late in the Fourth Age. Thranduil is a ruler she truly respects, as he’s always been there for his people and put them first.