Elven genetics

[Legolas]

Are the children of a union of an elf and a man mortal or immortal? I think it says somewhere that Aragorn and Arwen's kid was mortal.

Seems you missed the conversation altogther - Arwen was not an elf. She was half-elven - and was granted a special choice by Eru as to which race she was to share her doom with. This choice was given to seven people only - Earendil/Elwing's family, only because of Earendil's great deeds. Earendil and Elwing, their sons Elros and Elrond, and Elrond's children Elladan, Elrohir, and Arwen. They were *not* elves - they were half-elven.

This is an often discussed/confused concept, which is why this site has provided a full explanation here .

All other half-elven beings (of which we know only two other instances) are mortal by the fact that they have some mortal blood (Dior and his sons, and the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth). These are the only other occurrences.

[Saraphim]

I slept through most of Biology class. Hey, it was first period.
But I did copy my notes from my friend, so I know the basics of the basics of the basics of genetics.

First of all, I know that the term 'half-elf' is kind of a blanket term to describe beings with both human and elven blood. But technichally, Arwen was 'three-fourths-elf' (three of her grandparents were elves; only one human).

Elrond passed on dark hair, which overrides light hair something like 80% of the time. Arwen's 'midnight sheen' or whatever is just a literary description of her beauty. She may have had a sort of light sheen to her dark hair, but that's because she was the Undomiel and all of that, and supposed to be beutiful.

Most likely, Arwen would have carried her children for 9 months. Because a) He children were mortal, and b) so was she, technically. They would also, most likely, have had dark hair, because the 80% thing I mentioned earlier would be up to something like 99% with Aragorn's dark hair in the equation.

[Voralphion]

(three of her grandparents were elves; only one human).

Actually only two of her grandparents were full elves, (Galadriel and Celeborn), and her other two grandparents were half-elven, (Earendil and Elwing).

[Saraphim]

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about Elwing. So Arwen must be something like ten-twelfths-elf.

Correct me if I'm wrong (I probably am). I'm terribly bad at fractions.

[symestreem]

Saraphim, Arwen was 23/32 elvish by birth.
OK, I finally understand now. The choice had to be given to Elrond's children because they were the mortal children of an immortal (so to speak.)
So what if Elladan and Elrohir went to Valinor, married the elf next door, and had children? Would the choice have to be extended to them as well, because they had mortal blood, and to their children and grandchildren?

[Hookbill the Goomba]

Sorry to go off topic a bit,

Finwe said:

That is the closest that I could find. I don't have an English-Sindarin list, so I think that we can safely assume that, in Quenya, Elves used these terms to refer to babies or children.

Well i have a gift for thee then, in Sindarin these are possible names:

Chîn - Children (You could have guessed this as it appears in Narn i·Chîn Hurin "Tale of the Children of Hurin"

ui - Young (Or "ei ui", Too Young)

Eldar gwain - New Elf

I hope that helped.

(And now for all you others who want Elvish, Entish or Adûnaic translations, go to http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/index.html and learn the Languages!)

[Legolas]

So what if Elladan and Elrohir went to Valinor, married the elf next door, and had children? Would the choice have to be extended to them as well, because they had mortal blood, and to their children and grandchildren?

Nothing is ever stated (that I can think of) about this, but it seems logical that once in Aman, the line would immortal without question.