Gannelion was the product of an unlikely romance between a shipwright of the Havens and a Nandorin singer who had wandered westward in the company of elves seeking the Havens. Corwenn, his mother, was a clever craftswoman who has formerly disdained all suitors. Nor was his sire, Doronnon, seeking a mate. But as soon as they met, their hearts were joined and they wed with scandalous haste.

The sea-longing called Doronnon away to Eldamar before Gannelion had seen his seventh summer. His mother waited only until her child was grown, and had found an apprenticeship with the singer and scholar, Tavelorn, before she too took ship, sailing away westward to be reunited with her beloved.

Gannelion inherited his father's gift of song and his mother's skilled hands, and turned to harp-craft as much for pleasure as for employment. Far from feeling abandoned, he understands the choice his parents made to depart Middle Earth, and hopes to have a rich life full of amusing tales to share when he meets them again beyond the Sea.

Established within the household of Brethilimbar na Lhûn, Gannelion sometimes finds Tavelorn's grave ponderings to be tedious, although he respects the older elf's learning and skill. While he genuinely supports the aim of preserving the lore of bygone days and defending the ways to the havens, Gannelion seems always to find time as well for a drink and a song with chance acquaintences met along the road.