The war against Sauron never shadowed the realm of Rivendell, and fans of the Lord of the Rings are curious as to how this safe haven maintained its borders as the rest of Middle Earth fell under vicious attack. The Elrond (Robert Aramayo) of Rings of Power isn’t quite the same as his older counterpart. He’s much younger, in fact, at least compared to his Dwarvish BFF Durin IV (Owain Arthur). He’s also untouched by the trauma of losing his wife or watching someone he trusts betray him before his very eyes. It’s until years later that Elrond (Hugo Weaving) gains the type of experience that would make him capable of leading a war council as he does in Fellowship of the Ring.
He’s certainly not prepared to get into a war of words with an ornery Gandalf (Ian McKellan). What he lacks in a commanding presence and long hair, though, he eventually makes up for with potential by the end of Rings of Power. Season 1, episode 8, “Alloyed” ends with Elrond, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) forging their own rings of power to ward off the evil headed their way. For Elrond, it gives him exactly what he needs to protect Rivendell from attack attempts and maintain it as a force of good as well as safety for those who need it.
Where is Rivendell located?
In Lord of the Rings, Rivendell – also known as Imladris – is located where the River Bruinen meets the Misty Mountains. It’s also smack dab between Hobbiton (home of four very heroic Hobbits) and Mirkwood (the birthplace of a very friendly Elf). No wonder it turned into the perfect meeting place for the free peoples of Middle Earth in need of figuring out their next move with the One Ring. For them, “one does not simply walk into Mordor” as Boromor so famously exclaims in LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring. It turns out, however, that the Dark Lord and his savage minions felt the same way about Rivendell. So, Elrond’s realm became the perfect location for hiding Elves under attack during the Second Age when Sauron was at the height of power.
For centuries, it lived up to its nickname of ‘The Last Homely House’ and entered the Third Age strong enough to protect Frodo Baggins from the all-seeing Dark Eye. Strategically, Rivendell is surrounded by potential allies with Mirkwood to the East as well as Rohan and Gondor to the South. The only that kept them from coming together was the sin of Isildur and how it ruined Elrond’s faith in Humans for centuries. No one holds a grudge like an Elf because they’ve got nothing but time to ruminate on the wrongs against them. Still, Rivendell has one of the most strategic locations in Middle Earth, and it’s come in handy on several occasions.
What makes Rivendell so significant?
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Once Elrond established Rivendell in the Second Age year 1697, the realm was immediately put to use as a safe haven and remained as such for many years to come. The only time Sauron came close to attacking Rivendell saw the realm protected by the Elves within its borders as well as the Númenóreans who showed up to fight beside them. Remnants of the Last Allegiance of Elves and Men later set up camp within Rivendell’s walls to forge weapons before making their way Southeast to Dagorlad.
Despite Elrond’s ill feelings toward Isildur for giving in to the One Ring’s temptations right as they were on the verge of victory, he still opened his home to the man’s son Valandil. Maybe some part of him knew that Isildur’s heir would one day turn the tides for Humans and remind the High Elf Lord why he’d believed in them in the first place. Maybe Elrond just has an innate sense of goodness that – even in the face of betrayal – just couldn’t abandon Isildur’s children. Whatever the case, Rivendell found itself under attack only one other time and that’s when the Witch-realm of Angmar was making a grab for power. Luckily, the attempt was warded off when allies showed up from Lothlórien to fight them back.
Why was Rivendell never attacked?
Unlike fans of the Lord of the Rings books, those who only saw the movie adaptations might’ve been confused as to why Sauron never successfully attacked Rivendell. The One Ring was so important to him that it left anyone in contact with it for too long creepily calling it “my precious”. So, why not just stroll up to where it was being hidden in Rivendell during the war council of Fellowship of the Ring and take it? The answer lies in the speech Galadriel (Cate Blanchett) gives while describing how three of “the Great Rings” were forged for the Elves. How Elrond came into possession of one differs depending on which story is being followed.
In the LOTR novels, the original rings were given to three powerful Elves and eventually passed on to Elrond. In Rings of Power, however, Elrond was not only one of the first Elves to receive a ring, but he was also there during their creation. Either way, this powerful ring helped him protect Rivendell from further attack. It wasn’t just faithful allies protecting the realm anymore. Sauron and his forces were physically repelled by the sheer goodness emanating from this powerful piece of jewelry. Even Frodo bringing the One Ring into its borders left Sauron doing little more than basically sending hate messages via the mind in tantrum-like protest.
The Second Age left Elves running for their lives and in desperate need of protection. With the dark forces of Sauron and Angmar rising to power, this noble race of beings found their long lives at risk of being cut short long before the events of the Lord of the Rings. Elrond created Rivendell as a realm to protect them, but also as a place from which he and his allies could fight back. The Third Age saw his home used solely for the purpose of allowing safe passage to wandering travelers. Rivendell’s ability to exist as a peaceful stronghold even as the rest of Middle Earth fell to dark attacks of Orcs and other Sauron fanatics spoke to the power it held.
However, it was also a testament to how much Elrond pulled away from the world to lick the wounds of Isildur’s betrayal. Ironically, it was the heir of that same man that inspired the High Elf Lord to help in the fight once more even if he never picked up arms again. Rivendell later became a ghost of its former self as the Elves left Middle Earth for Valinor. But its impact throughout the Lord of the Rings will never be forgotten, and Elrond will go down in history as the one who kept it safe – even if he was kind of grumpy about it.