Galadriel is one of J. R. R. Tolkien’s best characters. The Elven royal plays a critical role in “The Lord of the Rings,” and when you read Tolkien’s material about older Middle-earth history, it’s easy to see that he considered her a major player in the larger story of his world. The only thing is that the author didn’t actually write down a lot of the details of Galadriel’s deeds over the course of her immortal life. Our best dose of Galadriel’s backstory comes in the book “Unfinished Tales,” and it’s brief and often contradictory.
For instance, in one version of the story, Celebrimbor revolts against Galadriel and Celeborn, forcing the former to leave Eregion. Critically, this encourages her to pass through nearby Khazad-dûm to the other side of the Misty Mountains, where she pays what appears to be an extended visit to her future realm of Lothlórien.
Before Sauron attacks Eregion to claim the Rings of Power, Celebrimbor goes to Galadriel (not the other way around) to decide what to do with the Three Elven Rings that his enemy wants to take from him. One line, in particular, stands out from the “Unfinished Tales” text here. It says that Galadriel counsels that the Three Elven Rings “should be hidden, never used, and dispersed, far from Eregion where Sauron believed them to be.”
So, while Galadriel’s specific activities aren’t reported in detail, we know that she’s in Lothlórien when the Three Rings are hidden. After that, we don’t really hear about her until long after the events of the war are over. But wait. There’s more. We do get one more tidbit, not about Galadriel but about the Elves of Lóthorien, whom she has joined forces with.
