What are the grey havens exactally?

[Natulcien]

What are the grey havens exactally what happens when elves go into the west? :confused:

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by Natulcien
What are the grey havens exactally what happens when elves go into the west? :confused: The Grey Havens was a harbor, and dwelling of Cirdan the Shipwright. The Grey Havens were founded in the Second Age

In the west was the Undying Lands. Because the Elves were fading in the Fourth Age of the world, and their time in Middle-earth was over, they would travel to the Undying lands, where they would live until the world ends. This land was called Valinor, and this is the dwelling of the Valar, (angels of Iluvatar aka god) Valinor had been removed from the circles of the world, so at the end of the Third Age, the Elves, along with Frodo, Bilbo, Sam and Gimli went to the Isle of Tol Eresea, which had once been apart of Valinor and bathed in the light of the Two Trees.

[Arien the Maia]

This is kinda on topic but is Cirdan the oldest Elf in Middle Earth at the time of the WAr of the Ring? (not counting the Avari which Tolkien hardly ever wrote about.)

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by Arien the Maia
This is kinda on topic but is Cirdan the oldest Elf in Middle Earth at the time of the WAr of the Ring? (not counting the Avari which Tolkien hardly ever wrote about.) Hmmm, I would have to say yes to that. I can't think of anyone else older. Galadriel would be next wouldn't she?

[Arien the Maia]

Originally posted by Sister Golden Hair
Hmmm, I would have to say yes to that. I can't think of anyone else older. Galadriel would be next wouldn't she?

yeah, Galadriel or Celeborn I suppose

[Artanis]

Yes, don't forget Celeborn. He could very well have been older than Galadriel.

Wasn't Cirdan one of the Elves who awoke at lake Cuivenen? It's difficult to beat that. :)

[Elf Girl]

I think I read somewhere that Cirdan was the only 'original' Elf remaining in ME in the Third Age... I can't be sure, though.

[Arien the Maia]

Wouldn't the fact that Cirdan was the only elf who had a beard be proof enough that he was the oldest living elf in Middle Earth? I thought that only Elves who stayed in Middle Earth would be more suceptable to growing older faster b/c of the "mortality" in Middle Earth vs the "immortality" of Aman. so he would have to be older than Celeborn who didn't have a beard.

[Sister Golden Hair]

We're really straying from topic here, but didn't Tolkien create the three life cycles of the Elves, to explain away Cirdans beard? I think he forgot at some point that he gave him one.:)

[Dolenloteiel]

I'm pretty sure Cirdan is older that Galadriel, who was born in Aman. Celeborn was of Doriath, which consisted mainly of Dark Elves, and some elves of the House of Finwe after the Departure of the Noldo from Valinor. But I'm not sure. Does anyone know for sure if Celeborn is younger than Cirdan?

[Elf Girl]

I don't think there were any 'original' Elves in Doriath, so he would have to be, but again I can't be sure.

[Dúnedain]

By the way, for those still talking about the Oldest of Elves, there is a new thread that was created, here:

http://entmoot.tolkientrail.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9889

[aki]

...and now we can talk about the grey havens...why did gandalf, along with the elves, frodo, and bilbo sail to the grey havens? is the "time of the wizards" in middle earth also over?

[Falagar]

His enemy was Sauron and Sauron was defeated, so his time was over as well. He had to return (he was "sent back, until my task is done" as he himself put it).

[Artanis]

Falagar is right, the Istari were sent to Middle-Earth to help the people there to overthrow Sauron. When this task was accomplished Gandalf had no further reason to stay. The other Istari had strayed from their original purpose and probably remained though.

[Last Child of Ungoliant]

it was my belief that the blue wizards had passed into death?
as they went with saruman into the east, and yet saruman only came back... perhaps this was an early warning that saruman was evil?

maybe radagast passed into the west after gandalf, around same time as gimli and legolas perhaps
saruman of course, had already been 'dealt' with, and had passed into the air as nothingness, being refused passage into the west, after grima slit his throat

[Artanis]

I don't think it's said anything definite about the fate of the remaining 3 Istari. It is just my personal opinion that they remained. Radagast would prefer to stay in M-E imo, he had become enamoured by the birds and animals there. I think the Blue Wizards also forgot their original purposes and became winded up in other tasks, or they could even have become servants of Sauron. It is said, in UT iirc, that only one of the Istari remained faithful.