Why did Celeborn stay in Middle-Earth when Galadriel went West? Was it because he could not go or chose not to go? I could find mention of what he did in ME after she left, but not why he stayed.
I have looked into this question before. I looked again recently. I have never found an answer in any book or the Letters.
Without him, we wouldn’t have any teleporno!
Celeborn wasn’t an Eldar. He was Sindarin, hadn’t ever actually seen the Light of the Trees, had a responsibility as the king of the silvan elves of Lothlorien, and had known only Middle-Earth as home for thousands of years. He COULD have gone into the West with Galadriel, but chose to stay and continue to rule the silvan elves in the southern part of the restored Greenwood (they abandoned Lothlorien, across the river, when Galadriel carried Nenya back across the Straight Road to the West.
Also, add the fact that all of his grandchildren, Elrond’s offspring, remained in Middle-Earth.
A pun made in Quenya is just as worthy of a smack as one made in English…
No good answer to this one.
My speculation:
In the books as published, Galadriel was a native of Valinor, and had met Celeborn during her exile in Middle-Earth. She was seen to lament the fading of the elves in ME, and express longing to see the Undying Lands again. And once the ban was lifted, she was gone like spit on a griddle.
Meanwhile, Celeborn was a Sindarin, a native of ME who’d never been to Valinor. Apparently he’d not yet grown tired of ME yet, and figured he could always catch up with Galadriel after he got tired of Eriador and split for the West.
And apparently he wanted to hang with his grandsons a while too. And see his great-grandkids too, for all I know.
Who knows how it would have played out if JRRT had gotten the chance to fully re-write the Galadriel legend, as he was doing late in his life.
YMMV, etc.
I just invoked your name todayin a question.
Any chance that you could please add to the language post I made?
But was she? Or did she go West as part of the great migration?
From Unfinished Tales:
Thanks.
Thanks all. We were speculating that that was the reason, but I also wondered if he was in fact not permitted to go, being Sindarin. Didn’t get in the lottery for a ticket.
I guess a few thousand years of listening to Celeborn snore and picking up after him was enough for Galadriel.
Once Morgoth was overthrown, I don’t recall offhand any ban on non-Noldorin elves sailing west.
Heck, Elrond went, and he was only 1/4 Noldor. He was also 5/16 Sindar, 3/8 mortal, and 1/16th divine.
All elves were eligible to go West, in my understanding of the situation.
Besides, at his death, JRRT was busy re-writing the story so Celeborn was a Teleri anyway. 
No, a few thousand years of listening to Galadriel drone on about how much better it used to be in Valinor in the good old days, and playing the Old Noldo all the time about what a rough crossing they had through the Helcaraxë, and staring into that damned Mirror, and waving Nenya about the place “Ooh, look at me I’m wonderful, only three of these in the whole world and they picked me to keep one!” and it was Celeborn for a century of peace and quiet, putting his feet up and slugging back the odd belt of miruvor without the old bat giving him a First-Age look, even if he did know he was in for the “Where the Outer Darkness have you been?” routine as soon as he stepped off the ship.
Wait a minute… I thought the Ban was lifted after Morgoth was defeated at the end of the First Age with a Pardon, and that most of the Noldor who stayed on in Middle Earth were like Elrond and Gil-Galad (who had been born in Exile), staying on because they had not yet “grown weary” of M-E, and in Galadriel’s case, enjoying the power trip of dominion. Only after the power of the Three Rings was broken did the weariness of time settle in on her.
I’m also not sure of Círdan’s reasons for staying. Heck, he’s of the very first generation of Eldar, who hung back a bit to look for Elwë when he disappeared after meeting Melian and ended up never even getting to Valinor. He stayed on the shore until Beleriand got flushed; floated out on the Sea for a bit and then resettled the new western shore of Middle Earth; then stuck around through two more Ages building one-way ships for Elves and Ringbearers. Was he appointed the task of “Closing The Doors And Turning Out The Lights” on the Elder Days in Middle Earth?
No, Galadriel, as one of the ‘leaders’ of the rebellion, was not permitted to go West until she demonstrated her true feelings by refusing the ruling ring.
Could be. But ever since Cirdan got one of the Palantirs to play with (at the end of the 2nd age), he seemed content to spend a lot of time on it, online with his web-buddies back at the master stone in Avalonnë. JRRT never reports how exactly he spent the time, but did say that Cirdan was the wisest elf in Middle-Earth, in part as a result of his use of the palantir.
Just to elaborate a bit more, the actual requirements for the unbanning of Galadriel were always a bit vague. And that’s because JRRT wasn’t that comfortable with the idea of her continuing ban, I suppose.
I always felt that Galadriel’s test of accepting or refusing the One Ring was a test she set herself, not one imposed by the Valar. Rather as though she did not think herself worthy to return to Valinor, because of her participation in the events of the Noldor exile. Seemed like that fit more with her character, too.
Although I’m sure that there’s fanfic out there in which her submitting to a good hard spanking is a requirement.
And after the spanking?
:o
Not going there…felt squicky enough with the first joke…