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In the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, the Teleri (meaning Those who come last, singular Teler) were the third of the Elf clans who came to Aman. They were the ancestors of the Valinorean Teleri, and the Sindar, Laiquendi, and Nandor of Middle-earth.

The third clan was the largest of the three houses of the Elves, and most of the Avari originally belonged to this clan.

In ancient times they named themselves Lindar, or "Singers", because they were known for their fair voices. They were also called Nelyar ("The Third").

The Sindar of Beleriand called themselves simply Edhil, which means Elves, and is related to the Quenya word Eldar of the same meaning.

According to legend, the Teleri were descended from Enel, the third Elf to awake in Cuivienen, his spouse Enelyë and their 72 companions, but it was Elwë, the first of the Teleri to come to Valinor, who became their king.

The Teleri were sundered from the first two clans, the Vanyar and the Ñoldor, because they tarried behind searching for their lost king Elwë (later known as Thingol), and the first two clans were ferried across to Valinor on a huge island before the Teleri arrived in Beleriand. The MaiaThe Maiar are a fictional race from J. Tolkien's universe, Middle-earth. The Maiar are those spirits which descended to Arda to help the Valar to shape the World. Singular is Maia . There were supposed to be numerous, yet not many were named. Their chiefs OssëMiddle-earth Maiar In the works of J. Tolkien, Oss (from the Valarin OSoSai OSSai was a Maia associated with Ulmo. A spirit of the sea in the service of Ulmo, he guarded the waters around Middle-earth. Uinen was his wife, and he was a friend of Cirdan the kept them company while they waited, and became their friend. Later when UlmoMiddle-earth Valar Ulmo is a fictional character from J. Tolkien's universe, Middle-earth. Ulmo (from the Valarin Uluboz Ulluboz is a Vala, and lord of the seas. Ulmo is a title, which means He who pours''. He is also known as King of the Sea and Lord of returned with the island ferry, the Teleri had grown to love the sea, and Ossë convinced Ulmo to anchor the island in the bay of EldamarIn the works of J. Tolkien, Eldamar is the region of Aman east of the Pelori Mountains where the Elves live. It includes the Calacirya and stretches far to the north and around the east-slopes of Taniquetil. Realms of Middle-earth., off the shores of Aman. The Teleri long remained on this Lonely IsleTolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Tol Eressea is a large island, where the mallorn trees come from. Its name may be translated from Elvish as the Lonely Island for it lay originally in the middle of the Belegaer, far from any other landmasses. Ulmo pushed, and their language changed in different ways from that of the Vanyar and Ñoldor. Much later the Teleri learned to build ships, and finally made it to Aman.

The Teleri refused to join the Ñoldor in leaving Valinor, and many of them were cruelly slain in the KinslayingThe Kinslaying at Alqualonde is an episode related to J. Tolkien's Middle-earth. When Feanor left Valinor he needed ships to get to Middle-earth without great loss, but the Noldor possessed no ships, and Feanor feared that any delay in their departure wou at their chief city of AlqualondëIn the works of J. Tolkien, Alqualond is the chief city of the Teleri on the shores of Valinor. Olwe, brother of Thingol, lived in Alqualonde. The city is said to be north and east of Tirion between the Calacirya and Araman in northern Eldamar. It is perh, or Swan Harbour. For this reason few or none of the Teleri joined the host of the ValarTolkien's fantasy universe, Middle-earth, the Valar are the Powers of Arda who live on the Western continent of Aman. The Valar were the fourteen powerful spirits of the race of the Ainur who entered Arda after its creation to give order to the world and which set out to capture Morgoth for good. It is recounted that the Teleri eventually forgave the Ñoldor for the Kinslaying, and the two kindreds were at peace again.

Their tongue, known as Telerin or Lindalambë (tongue of the Lindar), was considered by some to be a dialect of Quenya, but the Teleri themselves considered it to be an independent language. It was much more conservative than Quenya, and was the closest to Common Telerin (from which Sindarin and Nandorin were also derived), and even to Common Eldarin of the later Elvish languages.