Lothlórien, a land of the Elves, was one of two lands, the other being Rivendell, where the bliss and beauty of the Elves remained strong in the Third Age – as Galadriel and Elrond had the Three Rings.
The first people in Lóthlórien would be the group of Nandor who abandoned the march of the Elves.
The Silvan Elves (Tawarwaith) were in origin Teleri, and hid themselves far beyond the Misty Mountains which would not be distinguish from the Avari or ‘the unwilling.’
Names and Language
Lothlórien was formerly called Lórien, though it is not to be confused with the name of the dwelling place in Valinor of the Vala Irmo or Lórien. However, it was alluded to the form of this Quenya name.
Lórien was an alteration of a lost name, though earlier it would be called Lórinand.
Sindarin was their main language because most of the Elves of Lórien were either Noldor or Sindarin in origin. Many dwellers were survivors of Eregion.
However some names like Amroth and Nimrodel can’t be fully explained in Sindarin or directly translated, but they seem to take its form.
In LOTR, Frodo would point out that the “speech of the Silvan folk that they used among themselves was unlike that of the West – [though it is] not of course [known then]” (Unfinished Tales, “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn, App. A”) But how different, it is unknown. For he would not be well acquainted with the purer Sindarin, as Lórien was isolated from the outside world for a long time.
Legolas would sing the Song of Nimrodel, which is “a fair song in [their] woodland tongue; but this is how it runs in the Westron Speech, as some in Rivendell now sing it” (FOTR, “Lothlorien”)
Second Age
Elves such as Galadriel, Celeborn and Thranduil (the father of Legolas) moved east instead of passing over the Sea in the beginning of the Second Age. Sindarin became the language of the people there, though they differed from the dialect of Beleriand.
Before the building of Barad-dúr, Thranduil, king in the north of Greenwood the Great (now Mirkwood) was one of the Silvan Elves who went east in the Second Age. His realm was said to have:
“Extended into the woods surrounding the Lonely Mountain and growing along the west shores of the Long Lake, before the coming of the Dwarves exiled from Moria and the invasion of the Dragon. The Elvish folk of this realm had migrated from the south, being the kin and neighbors of the Elves of Lórien; but they had dwelt in Greenwood the Great east of Anduin.” (UT, “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn”)
Thranduil’s father, Oropher, was the king and he withdrew northward beyond the Gladden Fields in order to be free from the growing power of the Dwarves in Moria. He also resented the intrusions of Celeborn and Galadriel into Lórien – though there was little to fear until the War of the Last Alliance.
Oropher knew that unless Sauron was overcome, there would be no peace in Doriath, so he assembled a great army, joining the Malgalad of Lórien with the more hardy and valiant Silvan Elves.
However, even the Silvan Elves did not have as much armor or weapons as the Elves of the West. They suffered a grievous loss, where more than half of Malgalad and his people have perished – in the great Battle of Daglorad – including Oropher, who was slain in the first assault upon Mordor, and Amdir father of Amroth.
There was a long peace which followed in the Silvan Elves, as their numbers grew again. However, the Silvan Elves were quiet and anxious, as they were feeling the changes of the world of the Third Age with the eventual downfall of Elves and the dominion of Men, especially the Númenóreans.
The Noldorin Elves, however, “wished indeed to become Silvan folk and to return, as they said, to the simple life natural to the Elves before the invitation of the Valar had disturbed it.” (UT, “The History of Galadriel and Celeborn”)
Third Age/LOTR (Galadriel and Celeborn)
During the Third Age, the fading years of the Eldar, Celeborn and Galadriel went to Lórien, and stayed there with Amroth, to learn about Mirkwood and the dark stronghold in Dol Guldur. They dwelt there after the disaster of Moria, they didn’t take any title of King and Queen and were guardians.
However, they were called the Lord and Lady of Lothlórien after Amroth perished in T.A. 1981.
Lothlórien received the Fellowship of the Ring with various travelers on the quest in T.A. 3019, during the War of the Ring.
Aragorn: the sword Andruil and a silver broach
Gimli: Three locks of her hair
Legolas: a bow that the Galadhrim used, strung with a string of elf-hair
Sam: plain grey wood with a silver rune for his garden
Frodo: crystal phial of Eärendil’s star
Nenya was held by Galadriel, and is also known as the “Ring of Adamant.” It was also called the White Ring. She had received it from Celebrimbor when she counseled the Elves to keep the Rings – especially the Three Rings – far from Eregion.
It held a great power among her, which was the ability to conceal all evils, though it later increased her desire for the Sea, causing her to gradually lose the joy she had in remaining in Middle-earth.
While Sauron posed as an emissary in Eregion, he perceived Galadriel to be his chief adversary and obstacle. She scorned him – while there was no explanation of why she did, it can be implied it was because she was able to perceive his true nature. But she permitted him to remain in Eregion.
However, Sauron formed a society, or a brotherhood in secret unbeknownst to Galadriel and her husband Celeborn, in order to further seize his own power. Galadriel left Eregion and was able to defend against Sauron and take up rule in Lorinand.
Sauron left, and Galadriel received Nenya from Celebrimbor after she counseled him asking him to keep the Three Rings as far away from Eregion as possible. This was also around the time when Vilya was given to Elrond.
Galadriel was able to use the Ring in Lóthlorien to conceal evils though it is not normally visible. However it was visible to the bearer of the One Ring, while Sam mainly saw a star through Galadriel’s fingers.
“Frodo gazed at the ring with awe; for suddenly it seemed to him that he understood. ‘Yes,’ [said Galadriel], divining his thought, ‘it is not permitted to speak of it, and Elrond could not do so. But it cannot be hidden from the Ring-bearer, and one who has seen the Eye. Verily it is in the land of Lórien upon the finger of Galadriel that one of the Three remains. This is Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and I am its keeper.’”
JRR Tolkien, Fellowship of the Ring, “The Mirror of Galadriel”
Borders
The heart of Lóthlórien had always been “in the angle between Silverlode and Anduin where Caras Galadhon stood.” (UT, “The History of Celeborn and Galadriel”)
Celebrant (Silverlode) was within the borders of the realm of Lórien and Limlight is the effective bounds of the Kingdom of Gondor in the north west of Anduin. This region is known as Parth Celebrant.
Gondor had built a bridge over Limelight in the later days, and often occupied the lower Limelight and Anduin as part of its eastern defenses, later named Parth Celebrant. During the War of the Ring, Parth Celebrant was only used in the great battle where Eorl the Young destroyed the invaders of Gondor.
However, it had no clearly defined borders northward and southward. Galadhrim had claimed to govern the woods as far as Silverlode, where Frodo was bathed, and further southward in Fangorn Forest where there is more woodland of smaller trees.