Lothlórien is a Sindar-based realm, with a solid and ancient Sindarin 'ruling class', of which the Prince Celeborn is the apex.
So, taking for granted that the kingdom of Doriath is definitely the most famous and legendary Sindarin realm in this woodland kin's History, a Sindarin Horn might be the wisest and most conceptual choice, in my opinion.
This one caught my interest though.
What is the source for Lothlorien having a Sindarin ruling class in the Third Age? I don't remember specifically reading of other (blonde) Elvenlords of Lothlorien, besides Celeborn and Galadriel. Are they appearing as characters in the Lord of the Rings?
I always thought of Galadriel and Celeborn as being the only fair Elves in Lorien.
While, although a Noldorin Horn for Galadriel could be logically legitimate, it would infer, I guess, that Galadriel is a 'common' political and military ruler of Lórien, as the other Elven Lords, and that the Noldorin warfare tradition is particularly strong and still present in Lothlórien.
Therefore, as I wrote above, Galadriel is indeed the leader of Lothlórien, but she's a very special exception.
The 'Angelic Exception' I explained above
Galadriel not being Loriens common political ruler though is something I definetly don't see in the Lore, Val.
I mean: Is there EVER a moment in the books where Celeborn is asked something that didn't go through Galadriel first?
Also is Lothlorien ever mentioned without Galadriel as its center?
You said yourself some time ago, that Galadriel is the only thing that keeps Lorien shielded against Sauron. She is actively fighting, even if it's not physically.
Also Galadriel is in the White Council, THE most politicial group in Middle-earth. Celeborns membership is not so sure, and not as relevant.
You might have mixed them up with Thingol and Melian. There I see exactly what you described: The man actively ruling and the woman being the wise, divine power in the background.
Galadriel and Celeborn are very different from that though, because Galadriel is taking the Action and doing Stuff, while Celeborn... not so much.
So while I think you are right with the assumption that Celeborn was the military commander of Lothlorien, the political supreme rule and the image of Lorien are definetly tightly in Galadriels hands.
Ok, I think that it's time to give the poor Adamin the answer he longed for pretty much time
1. My usage of the expression 'ruling class' meant that the leading figures of Lothlórien (and thus the oldest and most experienced ones of the lore of Arda, as it often happens in the Elven society) were mainly Sindarin, to reach eventually the apex with Celeborn (a Sindarin Prince of Doriath) and our Lady Galadriel (a Noldorin Princess of Tirion).
There are certainly other Sindar in Lothlórien apart from Celeborn and Galadriel (even though she is technically half Telerin, but not Sindarin as this is a subgroup of the Teleri).
Since I'm not as good and efficient as you in finding the exact quotations from the direct source, and since I don't feel like scrolling down pages and pages, I will rely on my memory and head canon
In the Silmarillion, I remember (and it's a quite reliable memory) Tolkien says that, after the Destruction of Doriath, a branch of the refugees of Doriath didn't follow the majority in their flight to the Havens of Sirion, they chose instead to pass through the Blue Mountains and leave Beleriand for the wild yet safer lands of the East, which had been previously populated by the Nandor that had left the main group of the Teleri already in the Years of the Trees, along with some Avari that decided to move to western territories from the ancestral Cuiviénen.
Galadriel and Celeborn led this branch of refugees and reached the green lands of the ancient Eriador, and some went even beyond.
At this point, Tolkien explains that these Sindar merged with the already-existing communities of Nandor to create culturally-mixed 'realms', in which, though, the Sindarin minority always took (with no violence at all or wicked intentions) a leading role, because the Nandor were fascinated by the more 'advanced' knowledge of Doriath and the legendary prestige of the royal members of the Court of Elwë and Melian; the Silvan Elves voluntarily opted for a pacific renunciation of their complete independence to form with those higher Elves realms that would have been remembered in the lore of Middle Earth (as if the Eldar were naturally attracted to any High Elf and desired its company or, better, ruling authority).This is a recurrent phenomenon that we can clearly see if we consider the Kings and the royal Courts of the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood or Lothlórien itself.
Both these realms were ruled by Sindarin royal families that had established themselves upon the previous Silvan cultures and had their roots in Doriath; in these two cases, Oropher and his son Thranduil, Amdír and Amroth.
So that the arrival of Celeborn and Galadriel in Lothlórien could be seen as one of the last examples of this consolidated 'tradition'.
2. Regarding Galadriel, maybe I didn't explain myself in the best way possible, but what I wanted to point out is that, as I wrote, she is not the common political leader of the kind which we can see in other realities in Middle Earth like Gondor or Rohan.
But, saying that doesn't absolutely mean that she is not a key political figure at all; it's quite an intricate matter, since she is an exception concerning many aspects of hers and her realm.
The common military/political leader I referred to could be characterised by certain actions that aren't actually really conformed to Galadriel.
In fact, it's Celeborn himself who led the army of Lothlórien across the Anduin and took Dol Guldur after the assaults of the same dark fortress (and this is the military aspect); or when Celeborn again met with Thranduil in the deep and eventually purified Mirkwood, renaming the realm and dividing it between themselves (a very 'political' action).
What Galadriel does, I believe, is really exceptional, on another level; with definitely deeper meanings and intentions, as her ethereal nature often hints at in the books via descriptions of unreadable thoughts in her sensational mind or visions that she has while she recalls ancient memories or tries to foresee what will be.
This can be obviously linked to her powers.
Yes, I wrote that (even though it's Tolkien himself who stated it
) she was the source and the reason of Lothlórien's endurance through Time and perils, and I would never question that.
I think that my reasoning about political roles doesn't contradict this at all; Galadriel defended too her realm as many other political leaders, but she did it in a deeply different way.
To put it in simple words: she did everything pretty much on her sole own As she explains to Frodo, the bows of the brave Galadhrim could have never shielded Lórien from such an evil malice (soldiers and weapons, the common 'arsenal' of the average political leaders).
She assured alone the integrity her realm with her Magic and Nenya (easing obviously the work of her soldiers), just like she walked and made the walls of Dol Guldur crumble in front of her Majesty and purified it, after the army of Celeborn had secured the area.
Just like Melian created alone all the magical defences of Doriath, and doomed the realm's fate after her departure from Middle Earth.
Regarding exactly Thingol and Melian, my comparison was basically meant to underline the analogies between those two ruling couples.
Especially, both Melian and Galadriel theoretically don't belong by nature to their own realms (though deeply they could be bound to them), since a Princess of Tirion and even a Maia from Valinor are something beyond the Sindarin core that Thingol and Celeborn embody in Doriath and Lothlórien.
That's why I think that Melian and Galadriel are an exception in their own environments, like two Angels (and Melian is truly an Angel) among 'mortals'; they thus protect and 'rule' their realms in a much more wider and deeper meaning compared to other characters, and they don't naturally belong to the cultural background of the place which they live in.
Last, I would say that I wouldn't give the White Council a so 'active' role and importance in the geopolitics of Middle Earth.
Let me explain: I know for sure that the White Council kept a watchful eye on Middle Earth for centuries, and that it was even forced to use military power too once, in the attack of Dul Guldur.
But, linking this to the main theme of my previous considerations, can we really consider the White Council a common political agent, entitled to maintain an actual order in Arda with a broadly recognised role and authority?
It was the ensemble of the wisest and most powerful beings in the World at that time, but it was also definitely 'elitist' and a bit 'aristocratic', since it indeed had the purpose of preserving the order of the World, but it clearly didn't have the active and leading role of Gondor as the paladin of the Free People against Sauron; secrecy was in fact an important element of the Council, even though we must also say that the 'elites' in Middle Earth are really elites, since they are superior beings by nature (there isn't thus any negative connotation in the word 'elitist', if we refer to the inner majesty and authority of Galadriel, Elrond or the Istari).
Therefore, the role of the White Council was probably more spiritual and symbolic rather than actual, since it was not able (also because it didn't practically have the possibilities and the needed strength) to prevent the return of Sauron and of other hostile characters, and, not unsurprisingly, there was not any representation in itself of neither Gondor nor Rohan, although we know that they were exactly the Humans who would have had the 'duty' to defeat the Evil and take control of the future of the Middle Earth, while the Elves would have ineluctably faded away if they had sailed to Aman or had hidden themselves in remote places throughout the World.
But, I don't obviously want to undermine or question the great importance and authority that the White Council had in the Third Age.
I'm just very interested into possible speculations or insightful opinions that can be gathered about geopolitics, Authority and leading figures of Arda.
It seems that almost everything regarding Arda can be an open question or debate
I'm looking forward to your or others' opinions
Long live long lore discussions