the lord of the rings - What exactly happened to Celebrian when she was kidnapped by the orcs?

In the Lord of the Rings, it is stated that

"In 2509, Celebrían, wife of Elrond, was journeying to Lórien when she was waylaid in the Redhorn Pass, and her escort being scattered by the sudden assault of the Orcs, she was seized and carried off. She was pursued and rescued by Elladan and Elrohir, but not before she had suffered torment and had received a poisoned wound. She was brought back to Imladris and though healed in body by Elrond, lost all delight in Middle-earth, and the next year went to the Havens and passed over Sea." LotR, Appendix A (III) - Eriador, Arnor and the Heirs of Isildur

Do we know any more what what this "torment" entailed and why it was so distressing?

Answer

Tolkien didn't try his hand at writing torture porn, and I for one am thankful.

However, if you must make assumptions as to her fate, you can see the other instances where orcs took captives, starting with Frodo's time in Cirith Ungol before Sam came to rescue him. I couldn't find any references to iron maidens or the rack, but it seems the orcs went for simpler methods of torment. Here's a snippet from Return of the King, Book VI, Ch. 1 - The Tower of Cirith Ungol:

[Frodo] was naked, lying as if in a swoon on a heap of filthy rags: his arm was flung up, shielding his head, and across his side there ran an ugly whip-weal. [...] I can hardly believe it,’ said Frodo, clutching him. `There was an orc with a whip, and then it turns into Sam!

So basically it's the classic tactic of being stripped naked, thrown in a filthy cell, and occasionally whipped.

Comments

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