Do Elves sleep?

[Raefindel]

Legolas often just folded his hands and sang to himslef as rest. So What? Do they sleep with their eyes open? Or do they not sleep at all? smilies/rolleyes.gif

[Elven-Maiden]

We elves sleep with our eyes open. I'm not exactly sure where, but in The Two Towers, it says that Legolas slept with his eyes open. smilies/smile.gif

[Gayalondiel]

it said that he rested while they were actually moving 'letting his mind wander in the strange paths of elvish dreams' or some such, i don't have it with me. That sounds like they just switch their minds to a different circuit or something.
later in the book everyone else is going to bed and legolos says that to walk in the woods/fields/something will be enough rest, perhaps nature sort of succours elves?

[Anarya SilverBranch]

The thing is, elves don't really sleep. It's more like resting. They fix their eyes on something beautiful and think about elvish things. Like in the two towers When Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are chasing after the orcs, it says that while they are running
Leoglas would rest, If sleep it would be called by men, resting his mind in the strange paths of elvish dreams, even as he walked open-eyed in the light fo this world.- The Two Towers
So you see its not really sleeping.

[avarerniliel]

After reading the Two Towers this question also sprang to my mind, but I developed a different theory. I believe that elves have a brain like a dolphin when it comes to sleeping. (I hope no one takes offense to this) Dolphins don't really sleep, they kind of drift into a sub-concious state and rest, but they don't sleep. So that they don't drown. My guess is that elves do something similar-minus the water.

[Elven-Maiden]

Originally posted by avarerniliel:
<STRONG>I believe that elves have a brain like a dolphin when it comes to sleeping.</STRONG>

Cool! I'm an elf chick who sleeps like a dolphin! Can I swim too? *Nevlachiel starts to yearn for the sea. Forget crossing in a boat-I'll swim!*

[Maeglin]

Maeglin never sleeps smilies/redface.gif

[Aralaithiel]

Yeah...we Elves just switch the circuit. Sometimes, though, we forget to switch it back! LOL!!! smilies/biggrin.gif

[Raefindel]

Thanks for all your input. I had kinda formed my own opinions already, but wanted to hear what you all thought.

[Birdland]

But...you Elves do blink every once in awhile, right? I mean, just so your eye-balls don't dry out and get stuck. smilies/frown.gif

[Raefindel]

Yeah, I guess we'd all have eyes like Sauron after a while if we didn't blink smilies/biggrin.gif

[Alchrivëwen]

*is laughing so hard tears are running down her face* well there you have it, elves don't sleep in human terms

[Gayahithwen]

oooooops...

*looks embarrased*

just remembered I wrote a fanfic about elves, and they did sleep.. I should have to get away and correct it sometime.. if I only can find it.. oh well.. That could explain why I don't want to go to bed.. Sitting in front of my computer, watching the screen and thinking of elfish things is enough for me.. ^_^
And by the way, I think goldfishes sleep in that way as well.. or something..

[avarerniliel]

Uh-oh, I hope all the elves out there don't start sleeping in the ocean now... smilies/wink.gif

[Gayahithwen]

I won't, I promise you.. ^_^ To wet for me.. Besides the valar of water (whatever his name is.. I forgot) might get angry at me and let me drown..

[Anarya SilverBranch]

Ulmo likes us elves too much to let us drown(: Anyway I wish I could do that elvish sleeping thing in school, that way the teacher would think I was listening but really I was asleep. Ai, that would be heaven!!!

[Elven-Maiden]

Originally posted by Anarya SilverBranch:
<STRONG>Anyway I wish I could do that elvish sleeping thing in school, that way the teacher would think I was listening but really I was asleep. Ai, that would be heaven!!!</STRONG>

I'm with you on that one, Anarya! I'd love to be off in La-la Land while my math teacher thinks I'm paying attention. smilies/smile.gif

[Shire_Folk]

I don't know, In "The Hobbit" when the dwarves were escaping with Bilbo from the elves of mirkwood, 2 of the elves were sleeping after they knocked back some of grandpa's cough medicine.

So maybe when Elves become "entoxicated" they sleep?

[ February 24, 2002: Message edited by: Shire_Folk ]

[Raefindel]

Good point Shire-folk! I know I can't handle my Miruvor!

[Belsirithil]

Anyone can sleep with their eyes open, but Elves do so ordinarily. It probably goes vise-versa.

[Aralaithiel]

I can do that sleeping with my eyes open at work. I love being on "autopilot"! smilies/smile.gif
Raefindel...I am NOT giving you the secret recipie for lembas if you can't handle your miruvor! We CANNOT have those silly hobbits getting it! (See "hobbits Unite" in Novices & Newcomers)

[Raefindel]

Actually, I've been putting Miruvor IN the lembas. that'll put the kids to sleep! smilies/wink.gif

[avarerniliel]

So many questions about elves sleeping, I'm glad I'm not an elf!!

[Belsirithil]

Nay, I did not mean vise-versa between the action; I meant between Elves and us. The Elves probably sleep with closed eyes sometimes.

[Raefindel]

Well, I'm an elf and I'm falling asleep, so Goodnight.

[Raefindel]

Hey, so what about Elf-babies? Do their parents ever get a break? I couldn't wait for my babies to go to sleep!

[Aralaithiel]

Good for you Raefindel! (putting miruvor in the lembas) smilies/smile.gif
I'll bet they give miruvor to those Elven babes. But then again, we Elves are so well behaved that the infants wouldn't need anything, save maybe a nice la-la land sending spell. smilies/smile.gif

[Joy]

Shire-Folk, what in the world is your pic? It looks kind of like a cross between Treebeard, an Orc and an Oliphant.

[Raefindel]

I know what that is! That's the Watcher in the Water! smilies/wink.gif

[Shire_Folk]

Originally posted by Joy:
<STRONG>Shire-Folk, what in the world is your pic? It looks kind of like a cross between Treebeard, an Orc and an Oliphant.</STRONG>


Actually my pic is the Balrog. smilies/smile.gif

[Gayahithwen]

Just remembered that elves doesn't sleep.. So thats why I dun wanna go to bed anymore.. bwahaha.. sorry people, I'm jsut tired.. Need to sit down and look at something beautiful and think elven thoughts.. ^_^

[lindil]

We of course read about legolas' sleeplesness in tTT, where he says something to the effect of - wandering in his memory while resting, i.e. he is checking out from the 'real' world to a certain degree at least.

Elves minds are like ours only stronger, w/ the dunedain falling inbetween and royalty amongst the dunedain may well have a more disciplined, powerful and trained mind than non-royal, non-valinorean elves.

Other than 'magic' Elvish[and other] minds can link mind to mind [osanwe] recall 'Arwen watching over Aragorn in her thought' Elrond saying 'all under the shadow is dark to my mind ' or some such. And the beautiful scene in the RotK of the Elven ringbearers [and gandalf and Celeborn] 'sitting looking mind to mind, remembering days that have been and were to come' [paraphrase], this property has been crystalized in the palantiri and in a way in the mirror of Galadriel.

The Maiar and Valar can use osanwe even more freely and naturally. as the connection between their minds and bodies is by nature less sullied w/ 'the flesh' or eating and procreation.

Tolkien's awesome essay 'Osanwe-Kenta' available from the journal Vinyar Tengwar [any google search should turn it up] and is a must have.

Now what does the above digression have to do with sleep of Elves [or maia or dunedain for that matter?]
Much of the majesty of Tolkien's legendarium is that he shows the capabilities of 'the mind' in a much purer form than we see in modern life. To find historical examples we must read the lives of the saints - especially the desert fathers and the eastern Orthodox saints, or look carefully into eatern religion and much more circumspectly into sources so mixed w/ the demonic that i will not name them. However what you will see is that the mind [humans that is] do not HAVE TO: sleep, comminicatre w/ words, and a whole host of what we would consider 'elvish' qualities. This however takes discipline, training and sacrifice. If you spend your time eating pizza and glued to your terminal ot tv 5 hours aday , practicing this stuff for a couple of minutes a day will do nothing.

So one of JRRT's great genius is in showing through the Valar/Eldar/Edain the possibilities of the mind.
manwe being able to communicate w/ Eru directly is I believe one of the few allegories to be found in the Legendarium. We can communicate w/ God [assuming He has anything personal to say to us!] but we must be as Manwe was ruler of an harmonious realm, ourselves. and sit quietly and humbly waiting, and when about our tasks acting 'lawfully' i.e. w/ in the bounds of the commandments , given to preserve our bodies and minds unsullied and pure.

so the not sleeping thing [ of which there are exceptions] such as the aforementioned woodelves in a drunken stupor, and I also came across Amroth in UT's history of Galadriel and Celeborn mentioning that 'as he slept a great storm came up and before he awoke the ship was carried far out too sea'. I imagine that elves would sleep in the sese we are used to when great grief or weariness was upon then that did not leave then enough energy to practice reflection.

Note that Aragorn also goes w/ out sleep for much of the journey to Rivendell and then Lorien.

So the elves in general use their minds 24/7, as do the valar and maia, Men can do this under unusual circumstances or combined w/ special heritage. sorry for the rambling nature of all of that.


lindil

[Aralaithiel]

No need to apologize, Lindil! I appreciate your enlightenment! smilies/smile.gif