Lifespan of all Races in TES

[Assassin540]

This is a question I have always wanted to know how long is the average lifespan of each race Nords, Khajiit, Dunmer etc.

[FrostyInferno016]

I believe the Altmer live the longest, but that's more conjecture.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

They are among the longest living and intelligent races of Tamriel

Quoting the Altmer.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

This topic comes up very commonly on Elder Scrolls discussion boards. The reason there's a discussion to be had at all is that the several sources seem to be slightly contradictory.

"The Real Barenziah" mentions thousand year lifespans for Elves, but this is incomplete data and oversimplification for two reasons.

1 - There's not one race of people called "Elves" in Tamriel. We had a tribe called Aldmer long ago, one homogeneous group of Mer with the same blood, same beliefs, and presumably basically identical lifespans, but since then they've splintered a dozen times or more. Most of these splinter races have died out, merged or haven't been heard from in centuries as in the case of the Maormer. The three playable Elf/Mer races probably don't have identical lifespans. Bosmer and Dunmer are both considered to have deviated somewhat physically and spiritually from the Altmer, who perhaps rightfully consider themselves the closest to ancient Aldmeri purity. Also note that some Altmer gods like Phynaster are gods of longevity, which may lengthen their lifespans over other Elves and certainly men and beast races.

2 - There's no accounting for occupation and social status in "Elf lifespans," I would imagine a Bosmer master sorcerer from the Camoran Dynasty would outlive a common Bosmer archer or blacksmith by several decades at least. An Altmer nobleman would live much longer than a poorly fed Altmer stable boy without the access to the same level of health care and the harder lifestyle of a pauper. Yes, even in Altmer culture someone has to put shoes on horses and plant crops. And just like on Earth, medicine in Tamriel isn't free. Mastery of Sorcery and access to the finest potions and foods probably greatly lengthens one's life. Consider the Dunmer master sorcerer named Divayth Fyr who was over 4000 years old when we met him in Morrowind! I would imagine the typical Dunmer lifespan is nowhere near this. In fact there was a developer post some years back that implies a soldier type Dunmer might live to be 150 years and a nobleman perhaps 200. "The Real Barenziah" mentions "thousand year lifespans" for "Elves" but doesn't make a distinction based on actual race or occupation so it's a suspect line for the two main reasons I named.


Orsimer are of special note in lore as having slightly shorter lifespans than the Nords. Despite the Orcs' origins as Elves they are cursed with short, violent lives. Bosmer were mentioned in Varieties of Faith as having "taken Mannish wives" early on in their existence, which would make them part human in the same way Bretons are part Elf. Bretons, by the way, would have slightly longer lifespans than Nords or Imperials.

In conclusion, it's impossible to pinpoint exactly what an Elven lifespan is without considering several variables, which divides them up into sub categories based on race, lifestyle and other factors. We don't have enough numbers to really guess, and some of the ones we have wildly contradict one another.

I'd say it's safest to assume that of the races of Tamriel as a general rule of thumb, beast peoples including Orcs despite their origin have shorter lives. Humans including Bretons are middle of the road and similar to real world Humans. Elves live the longest, with Bosmer living slightly shorter lives and Altmer living longer lives than Dunmer.

[Dark Spark]

The Thalmor agents do state that they'll win, if only by the grace that the centuries will ensure they collect on the toll.

In other words, they can be patient— humans will never last long enough to provide an effective defense.

They obviously missed out on the point that humans breed much faster than elves. Of course, that can be solved by the wholesale slaughter of families instead of just war-bearing human males...

[Assassin540]

Cool guys like the input alot of stuff your saying is all new to me.

[Sloady]

A lot of the opinions stated are just that - opinions. Conjecture. We don't know a lot about the lifespan of elves, but we do know that quite a few elves have lived over 1000.

[Assassin540]

1000 what?!

[JBeata]

Why so surprised? Virtual immortality is traditional among high-fantasy elves.

[Eltee]

Well, in my opinion, the lifespans of Elves are considerably longer than maybe 150 years. In The Real Barenziah, Berry is described to he youthful and attractive well past 2000. It's important to make the distinction that they aren't just feeble and old into their later years. I do agree with the idea that different classes would likely have different lifespans, for example warriors are in constant danger of death, Vvardenfellers constantly breath ash...
So, I think, left alone by disease and violence, a Dunmer can probably live for about 5000 years, Altmer about 7000 years (a guess) and the Bosmer, probably around 3000, but due to their lifestyles usually something much, much shorter. In Skyrim, it seems that Orcs have lifespans nearly identical to humans.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

I read a book somewhere about Dunmer, and in that book it mentione something about being 150 years old and still active and stuff. This implies something.

[Assassin540]

I read a book somewhere about Dunmer, and in that book it mentione something about being 150 years old and still active and stuff. This implies something.

Im thinking an average Dunmer probably lives to be around 250

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Well, in my opinion, the lifespans of Elves are considerably longer than maybe 150 years. In The Real Barenziah, Berry is described to he youthful and attractive well past 2000. It's important to make the distinction that they aren't just feeble and old into their later years. I do agree with the idea that different classes would likely have different lifespans, for example warriors are in constant danger of death, Vvardenfellers constantly breath ash...
So, I think, left alone by disease and violence, a Dunmer can probably live for about 5000 years, Altmer about 7000 years (a guess) and the Bosmer, probably around 3000, but due to their lifestyles usually something much, much shorter. In Skyrim, it seems that Orcs have lifespans nearly identical to humans.

Those numbers seem wildly exaggerated. Divayth Fyr's age of 4000 is treated as an extreme oddity. None of the other Telvanni members come close and they're widely accused of Necromancy for having reached 1000 or more. It seems to me that if a well groomed Dunmer typically reaches the ages you suggest Divayth would not be noted for his longevity. In fact he states he's one of the oldest living Elves in all Tamriel, and was in the original Chimeri exodus from Alinor, meaning he'd have been a contemporary with Veloth himself and fought against Trinimac's armies. Again, this is severely unusual and noted as being a wholly unnatural lifespan for a Dunmer.

[AddictedtoMorrowind]

True, but those Dunmer are in Vvardenfell. The conditions are harsh. If the background was more peaceful, then they might have a chance of living to that age.

[Assassin540]

How long do you guy's think Khajiit live anyone know? Or have an estimate?

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I'm guessing the Khajiit and Argonians have lifespans comparable to humans or lower. I seem to recall there being evidence for this at some point but I can't recall where. It's safer to say we don't know as for right now.

Again, with the Elves, we don't have any solid numbers other than much higher than humans, but usually not anywhere near 4000 as it's noteworthy. It's implied sorcerers of any race might live much longer than non sorcerers. A common rumor in Cyrodill was that the Count of Skingrad was nearly 200 years old due to sorcery. We find out he's actually a vampire, but nobody seems to question him still being alive. That leads me to believe a powerful human sorcerer could live to be hundreds of years old without raising many eyebrows.

[Assassin540]

Im kind of thinking maybe Beast Folk live not as long as humans. Also what is the average life span of a Nord you think?

[Pilaf The Defiler]

This is purely conjecture on my part, but I'd say somewhere between 50 and 70 for a well to do Nord, and varying degrees of lower for the poorest. Slightly higher for Imperials. Kinda like a modern Western life expectancy in our own world for them. Redguards would be roughly in the same ballpark, again depending on lifestyle. Bretons maybe a little higher due to more natural magic in their blood. At least one source mentions a man having a higher than average human lifespan (but lower than average Elven) due to "aging like a Breton". That's a strong hint that Bretons and other people of mixed ancestry age roughly between their two parent species, and lean more heavily towards one or the other depending on the balance of blood. This is why I say Bosmer have slightly shorter than average Elven lifespans. They're almost 100% an Elven species but early on in their history they took "Mannish wives." This is almost certainly Altmer propaganda but rings with a hint of truth.

[Assassin540]

Oh ok thank's is there any evidence to say how old Argonians or Khajiit are?

[OPMarty]

Oh ok thank's is there any evidence to say how old Argonians or Khajiit are?

I sure hope so, I really want this to get set straight.

[Assassin540]

Same here...

[Knows-Many-Secrets]

I'm inclined to agree with Sir Pilaf on the aging bit. We have seemingly conflicting amounts from the Real barenziah giving elves a 1,000 year lifespan. But another source, that interview, that states elves rarely get older than 200. And can be considered old around 100-130. I'd assume it's entirely dependent on the amount of healthcare they can get and their living conditions. That soldiers poor family only lived to about 130-150 likely because they didn't have a lot of healthcare. While Barenziah I know lived multiple centuries and from what I understand didn't look too bad off either. Likely because she was a well to do noble who was cared for most of her life.

And men have lived over 200 years before the Count. At least Tiber Septim did. I'm fairly sure he lived past 240 years and there was a rumor that his healers were using magic to keep him alive. So magic and personal power does seem to naturally increase one's lifespan. And didn't Uriel Septim VII live to be over 90? Of course he was trapped in another dimension for a while... But still. Even at that age he was spry enough to wield a sword and fight.

On the subject of argonian and khajiit age... I always assumed they had human lifespans. Though you could theoretically say khajiit have slightly shorter lifespans because we know they have a higher metabolism, which as a general rule means a shorter lifespan. Meanwhile a reptilian race like argonians could be longer lived, as many reptiles have unnaturally long lifespans if left to their own devices. Alligators can live upward 75 years, and tortoises can live around 150 under good conditions. Of course this isn't a definite rule as komodo dragons are only estimated to have a lifespan of 30 years. Ultimately though, we can only guess. As we've not been told even a single bit of information concerning beast race age.

I kinda hope Bethesda releases some sort of source book with information like this. It'd be very interesting to be able to learn all the little statistics of the world.

[Feanor]

I'm inclined to agree with Sir Pilaf on the aging bit. We have seemingly conflicting amounts from the Real barenziah giving elves a 1,000 year lifespan. But another source, that interview, that states elves rarely get older than 200.

About the elves (particularly the Altmer) this sentence bothers me on the lore page:

They are among the longest living and intelligent races of Tamriel, and they often become powerful magic users, having centuries in which to practice their art.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

Is that line cited? I like the wiki but its biggest downfall is uncited claims or citations that don't actually state what the articles claim.

[Feanor]

Is that line cited? I like the wiki but its biggest downfall is uncited claims or citations that don't actually state what the articles claim.

No, it's not. That's why it cannot be used as a real source, although maybe the article writer used the Real Barenziah as backup.