Heights of the Taller Numenoreans and Elves
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The Men of Númenor were often confused with
the Elves by the people of
Middle-earth. The radiance of Aman that washed over the Land of Gift
prolonged their
lifespan, and made them stronger and taller and fair to look upon.
Quote from Unfinished Tales:
"Thus two rangar was often called 'man-high', which at thirty-eight
inches gives an average height
of six feet four inches; (1.93 meters) but this was at a later date,
when the
stature of the Dúnedain appears to have decreased..."
And Elendil was mentioned to be almost 2.5 rangar,
which is 7 feet, 11
inches. (2.4 meters) He was accounted as the tallest of Men who escaped
the
Downfall, which means there were most likely taller people in
Númenor's history
or among the the ones that perished.
There are taller men than eight feet in this world,
of course, but usually it is
caused by some genetic mistake or illness. The Men of Númenor
were both
tall and strong.
Elves:
The tallest of all the Children of Ilúvatar
was Elwë, and then
Turgon and also Argon,
Fingolfin's third son who is mentioned in other writings, being as tall
or nearly as tall as Turgon. So, it might be that Elu Thingol
(Elwë Singollo) was around
nine feet tall, or 'just' a bit over eight. I'd imagine he was closer
to
nine, however, since there must be many between his and Elendil's
height, such as other
Númenoreans, Elves, and perhaps even Edain. (Tuor was mentioned
to be taller than
any of the Elven guards of Gondolin)
Thingol was a High Elf, and the only Sinda who had
walked in the light of the
Two Trees; even in Middle-earth he was in the light of Melian the
Maia, whose angelic presence made Elwë's hair turn silvery. The
light of the
Trees was holy, but did it make already tall Elves grow up even more?
Tolkien has mentioned Galadriel as the tallest
female character in his
mythology. In
Unfinished Tales he mentions that Galadriel was a 'man-high'
tall, which is
six feet four inches.
Reference:
Unfinished Tales
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