Departure of the Galadhrim

[Gorthaur the Cruel]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

I think you already have the right idea. Maybe going from rude woodland folk indistinguishable from others in Wilderland, to a highly enriched people under the influence of probably the oldest and wisest of the Eldar left in ME, Galadriel, only made the Galadhrim feel the loss of Lórien as an 'enchanted' place that much more keenly. Watching their home wither after it had withstood the ravages of time all those years would seem to be rather depressing.

But why could the Galadhrim not simply revert back to their old ways, rather than desert Lórien. They were ruled by Amroth even before Galadriel and Celeborn. And Amroth did not posses an elven ring to halt decay, yet they were content and happy. And if the loss of Galadriel's influence weighed heavily on them, why would they not follow Celeborn (who would probably rule like Galadriel), and they tranfer over to Amon Lanc and to Thranduil's kingdom (lesser than their culture)? Yet some elves still lived in Rivendell. Did they (those of Rivendell) not feel as much loss after the departure of Elrond? Or was it because Galadriel seemed to use the full powers of her ring, Nenya, that it had some profound effect on the Galadhrim compared to those in Rivendell (Elrond uses Vilya conservatively or that he couldn't tap Vilya's full power like Galadriel can with Nenya)?