One of the best things about returning to Tolkien’s Middle-earth with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is that we get to explore so many characters that we only caught a glimpse of in the Peter Jackson movies. One of them is Círdan, played by Ben Daniels.
Mild spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power season 2!
There’s a running joke about calling Círdan “The Shipwright,” because the name Círdan itself means “shipwright.” So when you say Círdan the Shipwright, you’re basically saying “Shipwright the Shipwright”! Jokes aside, Círdan is one of the wisest and the eldest of the elves, and one of the oldest residents of Middle-earth that you’ll be meeting in TROP season 2, apart from Tom Bombadil.
There’s a lot of excitement for this character to be introduced this season because despite being who he is, he wasn’t a looming presence in The Lord of the Rings movies. In fact, you’ll barely notice him in the background in one of the final scenes from The Return of the King, when Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn are waiting for Gandalf and Frodo at the Grey Havens to board the ship to Valinor.
Despite his quiet presence, Círdan is not an ordinary elf—he’s quite a legendary one, easily one of the best elves in Tolkien’s work. Sure, he shaves his face with a shell razor in The Rings of Power, which is a nice quirky touch! But he is also blessed with intuitive foresight, which helps him see what the future might hold. That’s why he decides not to throw away the rings of power like Elrond wanted and explains to him that such powers can also be used for good.
Who is Círdan?
Círdan wasn’t always called that; he was born as Nowë in the First Age when the first elves awoke. He had great skill in building ships, and as the elves left Middle-earth to go to Valinor, he built many ships for his kind. There were several chances for Círdan to sail to Valinor with the other elves; however, due to his strong sense of duty and allegiance, he became occupied helping others and missed his chance of going to Valinor. As he continued building the ships and became the best, he took the name Círdan, which is the Sindarin name for “shipwright.”
When he missed the chance to sail to Valinor for the second time, and as he stood at the shores, watching sadly, he thought of building his own ship and sailing to Valinor. However, that’s when he heard the voice of the Valar in his heart that warned him that it wouldn’t work, and it wouldn’t be until many years later that a ship he built would reach Valinor. And they gifted him with foresight with which he saw that ship. Years later, Eärendil, father of Elrond, who was like a foster son to Círdan, would sail in Círdan’s ship to Valinor to request the Valar’s help against Morgoth. And they would listen.
After he stayed back with some other elves who decided not to leave Middle-earth, Círdan became their Lord. They were settled in the Havens by the Bay of Belfalas and became known as the Falathrim, and Círdan became the Lord of the Falathrim. When the Havens were attacked in the First Age, Círdan escaped with some of his people, including a young Gil-galad, who went on to become the High King of the Noldor elves. After the War of Wrath in which Morgoth was defeated, and the men who fought against Morgoth were granted the island of Númenor as a gift by the Valar, it was Círdan who built the ships that carried the Edain to Númenor in a migration that spanned some 50 years.
These are just some of the many contributions of Círdan. By the time we come to the Second Age, which is when The Rings of Power is set, Círdan is already some 8,000 years old, older than even Galadriel! As is shown in the first episode of season 2, Círdan is a ringbearer of the elven ring Narya, the Ring of Fire. In The Fellowship of the Ring’s opening prologue, you can see Círdan alongside Gil-galad and Galadriel as a ringbearer. Eventually, he even fights in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men alongside Gil-galad and Elendil.
In the Third Age, when Gandalf comes to Middle-earth from the West (Valinor), he is spotted on the shores by Círdan, whose foresight tells him this is someone critical in the war against Sauron. He gives Narya to Gandalf and promises him that he will remain at the Grey Havens, waiting there for him until the last ship has sailed.
As promised, Círdan lives through the Third Age and into the Fourth Age, where he doesn’t leave until the last of the Eldar, the ring bearers, and King Elessar (Aragorn) himself has sailed to Valinor. Círdan is easily more than 10,000 years old by the time he finally fulfills his heart’s desire to see the light of Valinor by sailing on the last elven ship to leave Middle-earth.
Isn’t it awesome that we get to see such a legendary and wise character on screen? Ben Daniels is doing a fine job of portraying him, too!
Published: Sep 1, 2024 08:00 am