When Glorfindel of Gondolin was slain his spirit would
according to the laws established by the One be obliged at once
to return to the land of the Valar. Then he would go to Mandos
and be judged, and would then remain in the 'Halls of Waiting'
until Manwe granted him release. Elves were destined to be
'immortal', that is not to die within the unknown limits decreed
by the One, which at the most could be until the end of the life
of the Earth as a habitable realm. Their death - by any injury to
their bodies so severe that it could not be healed - and the dis-
embodiment of their spirits was an 'unnatural' and grievous
matter. It was therefore the duty of the Valar, by command of
the One, to restore them to incarnate life, if they desired it. But
this 'restoration' could be delayed (

by Manwe, if the fea while
alive had done evil deeds and refused to repent of them, or
still harboured any malice against any other person among the
living.
Now Glorfindel of Gondolin was one of the exiled Noldor,
rebels against the authority of Manwe, and they were all under
a ban imposed by him: they could not return in bodily form to
the Blessed Realm. Manwe, however, was not bound by his own
ordinances, and being still the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of
Arda could set them aside, when he saw fit. From what is said
of Glorfindel in The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings it is
evident that he was an Elda of high and noble spirit: and it can
be assumed that, though he left Valinor in the host of Turgon,
and so incurred the ban, he did so reluctantly because of kinship
with Turgon and allegiance to him, and had no part in the
kinslaying of Alqualonde.(9)
More important: Glorfindel had sacrificed his life in defend-
ing the fugitives from the wreck of Gondolin against a Demon
out of Thangorodrim,(10) and so enabling Tuor and Idril daughter
of Turgon and their child Earendil to escape, and seek refuge
at the Mouths of Sirion. Though he cannot have known the
importance of this (and would have defended them even had
they been fugitives of any rank), this deed was of vital import-
ance to the designs of the Valar.(11) It is therefore entirely in keep-
ing with the general design of The Silmarillion to describe the
subsequent history of Glorfindel thus. After his purging of any
guilt that he had incurred in the rebellion, he was released from
Mandos, and Manwe restored him.(12) He then became again a
living incarnate person, but was permitted to dwell in the
Blessed Realm; for he had regained the primitive innocence and
grace of the Eldar. For long years he remained in Valinor, in
reunion with the Eldar who had not rebelled, and in the com-
panionship of the Maiar. To these he had now become almost
an equal, for though he was an incarnate (to whom a bodily
form not made or chosen by himself was necessary) his spiritual
power had been greatly enhanced by his self-sacrifice. At some
time, probably early in his sojourn in Valinor, he became a
follower, and a friend, of Olorin (Gandalf), who as is said in The
Silmarillion had an especial love and concern for the Children
of Eru.(13) That Olorin, as was possible for one of the Maiar, had
already visited Middle-earth and had become acquainted not
only with the Sindarin Elves and others deeper in Middle-earth,
but also with Men, is likely, but nothing is [> has yet been] said
of this.
Glorfindel remained in the Blessed Realm, no doubt at first by
his own choice: Gondolin was destroyed, and all his kin had
perished, and were still in the Halls of Waiting unapproachable
by the living. But his long sojourn during the last years of the
First Age, and at least far into the Second Age, no doubt was
also in accord with the wishes and designs of Manwe.
When did Glorfindel return to Middle-earth? This must prob-
ably have occurred before the end of the Second Age, and the
'Change of the World' and the Drowning of Numenor, after
which no living embodied creature, 'humane' or of lesser kinds,
could return from the Blessed Realm which had been 'removed
from the Circles of the World'. This was according to a general
ordinance proceeding from Eru Himself; and though, until the
end of the Third Age, when Eru decreed that the Dominion of
Men must begin, Manwe could be supposed to have received
the permission of Eru to make an exception in his case, and to
have devised some means for the transportation of Glorfindel
to Middle-earth, this is improbable and would make Glorfindel
of greater power and importance than seems fitting.
We may then best suppose that Glorfindel returned during the
Second Age, before the 'shadow' fell on Numenor, and while the
Numenoreans were welcomed by the Eldar as powerful allies.
His return must have been for the purpose of strengthening Gil-
galad and Elrond, when the growing evil of the intentions of
Sauron were at last perceived by them. It might, therefore, have
been as early as Second Age 1200, when Sauron came in person
to Lindon, and attempted to deceive Gil-galad, but was rejected
and dismissed.(14) But it may have been, perhaps more probably,
as late as c.1600, the Year of Dread, when Barad-dur was
completed and the One Ring forged, and Celebrimbor at last
became aware of the trap into which he had fallen. For in 1200,
though he was filled with anxiety, Gil-galad still felt strong
and able to treat Sauron with contempt.(15) Also at that time his
Numenorean allies were beginning to make strong permanent
havens for their great ships, and also many of them had actually
begun to dwell there permanently. In 1600 it became clear to all
the leaders of Elves and Men (and Dwarves) that war was
inevitable against Sauron, now unmasked as a new Dark Lord.
They therefore began to prepare for his assault; and no doubt
urgent messages and prayers asking for help were received in
Numenor (and in Valinor).