[Mithalwen]

Morth, again Laws and customs of the Eldar make it clear that that kind of childhood arrangement is not possible for the elves, though they may choose each other as children but for elves although they do make vows the act of sexual union constitutes marriage. Again I say that elves were not physically mature until at least fifty and tended to marry soon after. So by this yardstick it is clear that Dior and Elwing and Earendil were on a mortal timetable marrying in young adulthood ( very young mortal women maybe capable of childbearing in early adolescence but it isn't a great idea for health reasons, also the average age of menarche has got progressively earlier) . I concede HoME wasn't. Published in Tolkien's lifetime but then neither was the Silmarillion and it seems more valid to use a coherent Tolkien essay on the subject than to extrapolate from medeaeval history. Lace indicates that men reach mortals reach maturity two to two and a half times quicker than elves.