the Druid King and the River Lands: ~ Eyrie: Lothloriel~

The Kingdom of Eyrie ~ Lothloriel

Lothloriel

Early in the First Age some of the Eldar left the Great March and settled in the lands east of the Misty Mountains. These elves became known as the Nandor and later the Silvan Elves. By S.A. 1200 Galadriel had made contact with an existing Nandorin realm, Lindórinand, in the area that would later be known as Lothlórien, and planted there the golden mallorn trees which Gil-galad had received as a gift from Tar-Aldarion.

The culture and knowledge of the Silvan elves was considerably enriched by the arrival of Sindarin Elves from west of the mountains and even the Silvan language was gradually replaced by Sindarin. Amongst these arrivals was Amdír, who became their first lord, as well as Galadriel and Celeborn, who also crossed the mountains and the Anduin to join these southern Nandor after the destruction of Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron.

The Great Library of Lothloriel

Galadriel's Ring enriched the land by preserving its flora from death and decay, and in wielding it she created a powerful ward against all creatures of evil intent: in fact the only way that Galadriel's Lothlórien could have been conquered by Mordor is if Sauron himself, the master of all the Rings of Power, had come there.

Mallorn (Trees planted by Galadriel)
A huge Elven tree that grew in Tol Eressëa, Númenor and in Lothlórien. Mallorn (pl. mellyrn) is the Sindarin name of the plant, its Quenya equivalent being malinornë; both mean 'golden tree' and refer to the leaves' colour in autumn and winter.[15][23][24] The tree is most fully described in Unfinished Tales:

“ Its bark was silver and smooth, and its boughs somewhat upswept after the manner of the beech; but it never grew save with a single trunk. Its leaves, like those of the beech but greater, were pale green above and beneath were silver, glistering in the sun; in the autumn they did not fall, but turned to pale gold. In the spring it bore golden blossom in clusters like a cherry, which bloomed on during the summer; and as soon as the flowers opened the leaves fell, so that through spring and summer a grove of malinorni was carpeted and roofed with gold, but its pillars were of grey silver. Its fruit was a nut with a silver shale.

Mallorn Trees Cascade over Lothloriel, Walkways Spiral Around them and Upward

According to the same text, mellyrn originally grew upon the isle of Tol Eressëa (and likely in Valinor also), where they were accounted to be exceptionally tall. Early in the Second Age seeds were brought by the Elves to Númenor; there the trees grew only in the westward province Nísimaldar, "reaching after five centuries a height scarce less than in Eressëa itself". Later King Tar-Aldarion presented some seeds to Gil-galad, Lord of Lindon, the westernmost realm in Middle-earth; but these did not take root in his kingdom, so Gil-galad gave them instead to Galadriel. "Under her power" the mellyrn had sprouted in the land of Lothlórien, but "they did not reach the height or girth of the groves of Númenor."

Lush, Dense Forests of Lothloriel

Tolkien stated that the original name of Lothlórien, Lórinand or the "Valley of Gold", was chosen by Galadriel with a reference to the mallorn trees; The Lord of the Rings adds that the trees became the most famous property of the realm among other peoples of Middle-earth, and the land was often known as the "Golden Wood". The Elves of Lothlórien after some time began to build their houses high upon these trees, constructing around the trunk a "flet", supported by the branches. Their main city Caras Galadhon was entirely built upon the mellyrn. They were also accustomed to wrap lembas in mallorn-leaves.