Elves and cities

[Michael Martinez]

Edhellond was not inhabited by Imrazor's people. The Elf-haven lay on the north side of the Ringlo river (where the Morthond joined it). The Princes of Dol Amroth had their fortress on the heights overlooking the bay from the south.

The Lord of the Rings glosses over a huge departure of Elves from Middle-earth in the last years before the War of the Ring. Sam speaks of the migration wistfully in "The Shadow of the Past" when he says they are "sailing, sailing, sailing over the Sea".

Mithlond was probably chiefly the abode of Sindarin Elves, although in one place Tolkien seems to hint that those Noldor who remained in Middle-earth after Gil-galad's fall were rulded either by Cirdan at Mithlond or Elrond at Imladris.

Gildor and his folk did not spend all their time wandering. They were actually returning from a special pilgrimage when they met Frodo, Sam, and Pippin in the Shire. They told the Hobbits they had better food in their halls, which (according to The Road Goes Ever On) stood in or near Rivendell (which was a pretty large valley, running up into the Misty Mountains).

There was probably a large Elven population throughout Lindon and in the vicinity of Rivendell until just before the War of the Ring. So, when the Council of Elrond met, the point was made that neither Rivendell nor Lindon/Mithlond any longer had sufficient numbers to field an army. The only Elvish armies left were those of northern Mirkwood and Lothlorien. Gandalf says Rivendell would have withstood a siege for a brief time before falling to Sauron's forces. Although that makes it sound like Elrond could have mustered some sort of force, it's still a pretty hopeless assessment.

Elrond and Galadriel left Middle-earth with Gildor's company and probably other Elves from Rivendell and Lothlorien. There may have been several hundred in their party, but Tolkien doesn't really say. Elves remained at Rivendell with Elladan and Elrohir and at Mithlond (Sam was able to take ship years later).