Gil-galad

Template:Royalty infobox Ereinion Gil-galad (First Age – Second Age 3441) was the sixth and last High King of the Noldor. He was the son Orodreth of Nargothrond and the elder brother of Finduilas. Gil-galad belonged to the royal house of Finarfin. Lady Galadriel was his great-aunt.

History

In First Age 465, the Kingdom of Nargothrond was sacked by the Dragon Glaurung and both Gil-galad's father and sister were killed. Gil-galad fled to the elf-homes at the Mouths of Sirion. Fifteen years later, the Kingdom of Gondolin was destroyed and High King Turgon was slain. The Exiles of Gondolin then came to the Mouths of Sirion, and Gil-galad learned he now was King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.

After the destruction of Beleriand during the War of Wrath, Gil-galad founded a kingdom in Lindon in the far northwest of Middle-earth, between the Blue Mountains and the Great Sea. There he and his people prospered, until Sauron returned; he came first to Lindon in the form of Annatar, the "Lord of Gifts", but Gil-galad and Elrond rejected him. Soon after, the One Ring was forged, and War of the Elves and Sauron began.

After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil and his sons came to Middle-earth and formed an alliance with Gil-galad, the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. They marched on Mordor and besieged Sauron's Dark Tower. Sauron was defeated, but Gil-galad met his death in that war. According to the laws of succession, Elrond should have become the next High King of the Noldor, but he refused the crown, and Gil-galad became the last King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.

Gil-galad's weapon was the spear Aeglos.

Etymology

Gil-galad was his mother-name, meaning "Star of Radiance" in Sindarin (from gîl = "star" and galad = "radiance"). It was his preferred name in his youth. His father-name was Rodnor. As High King of the Noldor, his epessë was Ereinion, "Scion of Kings" (from erain = "kings" and ion = "scion").

Genealogy

          Finarfin = Eärwen
                   |
   ----------------|-------------------------
   |         |                    |          |
   |         |                    |          |
Finrod    Angrod = Eldalôtë    Aegnor    Galadriel
                 |
                 |
              Orodreth
                 |
          -------|--------
         |                |
         |                |
      GIL-GALAD       Finduilas

Preceded by: Turgon

6th High King of the Noldor I 510 – II 3441

Followed by: none (abandoned)

Other Versions of the Legendarium

Originally in The Silmarillion, Gil-galad was the son of Finrod Felagund. In the Grey Annals, however, Felagund had no son, leaving his wife in Tirion at the Flight of the Noldor. Eventually, as is recounted in "The Parentage of Gil-galad" in The Shibboleth of Fëanor, Tolkien decided that he was the son of Orodreth, son of Angrod, and that was the final accepted change.

Portrayals in the Movies

File:Shrunken Gil-galad.jpg

Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring

Gil-galad can be seen briefly during the prologue in Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring. He was portrayed by Mark Ferguson.

See Also

• Images of Gil-galad