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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
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Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
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===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
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:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
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Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
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===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
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When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
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After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
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After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
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Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
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They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
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After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
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In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
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===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
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It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
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==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
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Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
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Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
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In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
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In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
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He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
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He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
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Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
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Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
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Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
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<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
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Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
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Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
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==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
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The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
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<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
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In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
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<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
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If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
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However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
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It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
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<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
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<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
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Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
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===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
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<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
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According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
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===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
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==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
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There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
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Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
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<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
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The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
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==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
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==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20703Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-19T00:09:45Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
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Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
{| border="1"<br />
|+ Description<br />
|-<br />
| name=Legolas Greenleaf || othernames=Legolas<br />
|-<br />
|birth=?<br />
|death=Went into the West<br />
|race=Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves<br />
|gender=Male<br />
|height=?<br />
|hair=Blond? Dark?<br />
|eyes=?<br />
|}<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
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===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
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:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
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Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
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===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
<br />
When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
<br />
After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
<br />
After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
<br />
Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
<br />
They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
<br />
After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
<br />
In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
<br />
===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
<br />
It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
<br />
==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
<br />
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
<br />
In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
<br />
He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
<br />
Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
<br />
Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
<br />
Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
<br />
Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
<br />
==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
<br />
The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
<br />
In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
<br />
If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
<br />
However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
<br />
It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
<br />
Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
<br />
===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
<br />
According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
<br />
===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
<br />
==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
<br />
There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
<br />
Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
<br />
The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
<br />
==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20702Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-19T00:05:59Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
<br />
Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
<br />
==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
{|<br />
|+Description<br />
|-<br />
name=Legolas Greenleaf<br />
|-<br />
othernames=Legolas<br />
|-<br />
birth=?<br />
|-<br />
death=Went into the West<br />
|-<br />
race=Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves<br />
|-<br />
gender=Male<br />
|-<br />
height=?<br />
|-<br />
hair=Blond? Dark?<br />
|-<br />
eyes=?<br />
|}<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
<br />
===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
<br />
:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
<br />
Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
<br />
===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
<br />
When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
<br />
After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
<br />
After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
<br />
Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
<br />
They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
<br />
After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
<br />
In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
<br />
===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
<br />
It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
<br />
==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
<br />
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
<br />
In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
<br />
He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
<br />
Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
<br />
Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
<br />
Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
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<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
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Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
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Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
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==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
<br />
The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
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<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
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In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
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<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
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If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
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However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
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It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
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<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
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<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
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Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
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===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
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<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
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According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
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===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
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==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
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There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
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Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
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<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
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The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
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==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
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==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20701Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-19T00:01:29Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
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Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
<table>name=Legolas Greenleaf|<br />
othernames=Legolas|<br />
birth=?|<br />
death=Went into the West|<br />
race=Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves|<br />
gender=Male|<br />
height=?|<br />
hair=Blond? Dark?|<br />
eyes=?|</table><br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
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===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
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:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
<br />
Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
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===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
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When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
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After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
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After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
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Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
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They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
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After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
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In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
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===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
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It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
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==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
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Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
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In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
<br />
In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
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He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
<br />
Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
<br />
Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
<br />
Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
<br />
Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
<br />
==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
<br />
The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
<br />
In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
<br />
If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
<br />
However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
<br />
It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
<br />
Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
<br />
===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
<br />
According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
<br />
===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
<br />
==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
<br />
There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
<br />
Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
<br />
The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
<br />
==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20700Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-18T23:58:10Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
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Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
[[|name=Legolas Greenleaf|<br />
othernames=Legolas|<br />
birth=?|<br />
death=Went into the West|<br />
race=[[Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves]]|<br />
gender=Male|<br />
height=?|<br />
hair=Blond? Dark?|<br />
eyes=?|]]<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
<br />
===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
<br />
:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
<br />
Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
<br />
===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
<br />
When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
<br />
After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
<br />
After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
<br />
Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
<br />
They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
<br />
After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
<br />
In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
<br />
===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
<br />
It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
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==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
<br />
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
<br />
In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
<br />
He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
<br />
Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
<br />
Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
<br />
Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
<br />
Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
<br />
==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
<br />
The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
<br />
In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
<br />
If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
<br />
However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
<br />
It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
<br />
Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
<br />
===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
<br />
According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
<br />
===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
<br />
==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
<br />
There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
<br />
Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
<br />
The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
<br />
==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20699Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-18T23:57:49Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
<br />
Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
|name=Legolas Greenleaf|<br />
othernames=Legolas|<br />
birth=?|<br />
death=Went into the West|<br />
race=[[Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves]]|<br />
gender=Male|<br />
height=?|<br />
hair=Blond? Dark?|<br />
eyes=?|<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
<br />
===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
<br />
:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
<br />
Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
<br />
===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
<br />
When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
<br />
After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
<br />
After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
<br />
Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
<br />
They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
<br />
After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
<br />
In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
<br />
===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
<br />
It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
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==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
<br />
In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
<br />
In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
<br />
He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
<br />
He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
<br />
Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
<br />
Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
<br />
Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
<br />
Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
<br />
Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
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==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
<br />
The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
<br />
In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
<br />
If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
<br />
However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
<br />
It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
<br />
<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
<br />
<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
<br />
However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
<br />
Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
<br />
===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
<br />
<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
<br />
According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
<br />
===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
<br />
==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
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There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
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Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
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<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
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The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
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==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
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==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Legolas_of_Mirkwood&diff=20698Legolas of Mirkwood2006-05-18T23:57:16Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Legolas Greenleaf''' is an [[Elves|Elf]], a [[Sindar|Sinda]] prince who becomes a member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. With his superior Elven eyesight and hearing, together with excellent skill at arms, particularly archery, Legolas is a valuable resource to the other eight members of the Fellowship. In ''[[Unfinished Tales]]'', however, Tolkien states that in comparison to the rest, Legolas accomplishes the least of the nine members of the Fellowship.<br />
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Legolas serves as a link to the earlier story, ''[[The Hobbit]]'', because he (like [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]]) is the son of a character from the previous tale. <br />
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==Biography==<br />
[[Image:Legolas at Amon Hen.jpg|thumb|250px|''Legolas'' at [[Amon Hen]] in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]].]]<br />
name=Legolas Greenleaf|<br />
othernames=Legolas|<br />
birth=?|<br />
death=Went into the West|<br />
race=[[Silvan or maybe Sindar? Elves]]|<br />
gender=Male|<br />
height=?|<br />
hair=Blond? Dark?|<br />
eyes=?<br />
Legolas is the son of King [[Thranduil]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of Northern [[Mirkwood]], who appears as "the Elvenking" in ''[[The Hobbit]]''; his father rules over the [[Silvan Elves]] who dwell there. Although he lived among them, was exposed to their culture, and inferred that he considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly ''not'' one of the Silvan Elves ([[Wood-elves]]). His father Thranduil had originally come from [[Doriath]]; he and his son were actually [[Sindar]] (singular ''Sinda'' - "[[Sindarin]]" is their language). A small minority of Sindar ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm, a minority which Thranduil headed. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been more noble and wise than the Silvan Elves, can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after [[Morgoth]] was defeated and all of the grand Elf-kingdoms of [[Beleriand]] were destroyed, they can be seen as going back to "a simpler time" in their culture. The realm of [[Lothlórien]] is similar to the Woodland Realm in that a community of Silvan Elves is ruled by non-Silvan ones, i.e. [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]].<br />
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===Pre-War of the Ring===<br />
Though his father and his kingdom appear in ''The Hobbit'', he does not appear himself. Of course, his character had not been created yet (though his name had; see below). However, some have theorized that he may well have fought in the [[Battle of Five Armies]]. The events in ''The Hobbit'' take place less than one hundred years before the Quest of Mount Doom. Unlike Men, the Eldar (which included the Sindar) reached adulthood on or before they reached a hundred years of age. <br />
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:''Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some a hundred years would pass before they were full-grown.'' — from the essay ''Laws and Customs Among the Eldar'', found in ''[[Morgoth's Ring]]'', part of ''[[The History of Middle-earth]]''. <br />
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Legolas is older than Aragorn and Gimli, who are, according to their birthdates in the Appendices, 87 and 139 respectively at the time of the War of the Ring; he even calls them "children" (see Age discussion below). Thus, he must have been alive during the events of ''The Hobbit''. Logically, as a retcon he could quite conceivably have been present in his father's halls at the time, and may have even fought at Erebor.<br />
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===[[War of the Ring]]===<br />
He is introduced in the first part of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', at the council of [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]], where he comes as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of [[Gollum]] from their guard. Tolkien describes him as "''a strange Elf, clad in green and brown''". Legolas volunteers or is chosen to become one of the members of the Fellowship that sets out to destroy the [[One Ring]]. He accompanies the others in their travels from Rivendell to [[Amon Hen]]. <br />
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When the Fellowship is snowed down while crossing [[Caradhras]], he scouts ahead to find the Sun, while [[Aragorn]] and [[Boromir]] drive a path through the snow. Unlike them, he is little affected by the blowing winds and snow; he does not even wear boots, only light shoes, and his feet scarcely make imprints on the snow. <br />
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After their attempt to cross Caradhras is foiled, their leader [[Gandalf]] takes them on an underground journey through [[Moria]], an ancient Dwarf-kingdom, though some (including Legolas) do not wish to go there. Before they reach Moria, however, Legolas helps fend off an attack of Sauron's wolves in [[Hollin]]. Once in Moria, he helps fight off the Orcs whom they encounter there, and recognizes [[Durin's Bane]] as a [[Balrogs|Balrog]] of [[Morgoth]].<br />
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After Gandalf is lost while facing the Balrog, Aragorn takes charge of the Fellowship and leads them to the Elven realm of [[Lothlórien]], the Golden Wood. Legolas serves as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the [[Galadhrim]], whom he considers close kin.<br />
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Within the Fellowship, there is friction between Legolas and the [[Dwarves|Dwarf]] [[Gimli]], because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves after the destruction of [[Doriath]] in the [[First Age]], and also because his father, Thranduil, once threw Gimli's father, [[Glóin]], in prison (as described in ''[[The Hobbit]]''). Legolas and Gimli become friends, however, when Gimli greets the [[Galadriel|Lady of the Golden Wood]] with gentle words.<br />
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They take leave of Lothlórien, but not before receiving several gifts. There, he receives a new longbow from the [[Galadhrim]], along with the other gifts that [[Galadriel]] and [[Celeborn]] give him and the rest of the Fellowship, such as special cloaks and ''[[lembas]]''. While the Fellowship is travelling over the River [[Anduin]], he shoots down a nearby [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] with one shot.<br />
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After Boromir is killed and [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] are captured by Orcs in ''The Two Towers'', he, Aragorn and Gimli set forth in pursuit of the two ([[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] the [[Ring-bearer]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] had gone ahead on the road to Mordor). They meet the revived Gandalf and the [[Rohirrim]], fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], and witness [[Saruman]]'s (partial) downfall at Isengard, where they are reunited with the two abducted hobbits. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in an [[Orcs|Orc]]-slaying contest (Gimli wins by one, killing 42 to Legolas's 41, but the real result is stronger mutual respect).<br />
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In ''The Return of the King'', he and Gimli accompany Aragorn on the [[Paths of the Dead]], along with the [[Rangers of the North|Grey Company]]. After Aragorn summons the [[Army of the Dead|Dead Men]] of [[Dunharrow]] to fight for him, he watches them scare away the [[Corsairs of Umbar]] from their ships at [[Pelargir]]. He fights in the Battles of the [[Pelennor Fields]] and the [[Morannon]], and watches as [[Sauron]] is defeated and [[Barad-dûr]] collapses.<br />
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===Post-War of the Ring===<br />
After the destruction of the [[One Ring]], he stays in [[Minas Tirith]] for some time, as Aragorn is crowned King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] as King [[Elessar]] and marries his love Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli go off travelling together through [[Fangorn Forest]]. Eventually, Legolas comes to [[Ithilien]] with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in [[Middle-earth]] helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. <br />
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It is told in the Red Book (first written by [[Bilbo Baggins]], continued by [[Frodo Baggins]] and supposedly finished by [[Samwise Gamgee]]) that after the death of [[Aragorn|King Elessar]], Legolas builds a grey ship in [[Ithilien]], and leaves Middle-earth to go over the Sea to [[Valinor]], the Blessed Realm, and Gimli the Dwarf goes with him.<br />
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==Portrayal in adaptations==<br />
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Legolas was voiced by [[Anthony Daniels]] (who had played the droid C3-PO of ''Star Wars'' fame) in [[Ralph Bakshi]]'s 1978 animated version of ''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]''. In the film, he takes [[Glorfindel]]'s place in the Flight to the Ford sequence; he meets Strider and the hobbits on their way to [[Rivendell]], and sets Frodo on his horse before he is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of [[Bruinen]] (In Peter Jackson's version, [[Arwen]] takes Glorfindel's place and rides to the Ford herself with Frodo). Here, he is apparently from Rivendell, because he answers to [[Elrond]]; he is not identified as a Wood-elf.<br />
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Legolas was voiced by [[David Collings]] in the [[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)|1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation]]. <br />
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In [[Peter Jackson]]'s [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings|''Lord of the Rings'' movie trilogy]] (2001&ndash;2003), Legolas was portrayed by [[Orlando Bloom]]. <br />
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In the "official movie guide" for ''The Lord of the Rings'', a birthdate for Legolas is set to 87 of the [[Third Age]]. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the [[War of the Ring]]. This date for Legolas' birth was made up by the movie writers, as in the books there are no known dates concerning Legolas before T.A. 3018. Curiously, the year 2931 of the [[Third Age]] is the year Aragorn was born; the writers may have picked the number at random from the ''Tale of Years'' (the timeline) in the Appendices. <br />
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He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, arguably to the point of stealing the show; he performs show-stopping yet implausible stunts in battle scenes. For example, in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]], he slides down a staircase using a shield, shooting arrows all the while, and in the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]], he takes down an [[Oliphaunts|Oliphaunt]] all by himself. However, in the books Legolas's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. Aside from shooting the fell beast, he undertakes no major actions other than to make peace with Gimli, overcoming their longstanding mutual racial animosity — he and Gimli are followers, rather than leaders. The film-makers later stated that the entire scene of Legolas killing the Oliphaunt and its entire crew was filmed during pick-ups (months after original filming) to insert a major action scene showcasing him, because at that point they realized that he simply doesn't get to do much in the third part of the trilogy.<br />
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He wears green and grey clothes and uses boots, in contrast to Tolkien's green and ''brown'' clothes and "light shoes". It is notable that in the extended DVD edition of The Fellowship of the Ring, a scene in Lothlorien is included in which Legolas is wearing a different costume than his normal. This was in fact his original costume, which was later changed due to the filmmaker's dissatisfaction with it. Fans have come up with several explanations for this seeming inconsistency. Two possibilities stand above the rest as the most likely: (1) Legolas brought an extra tunic and jerkin from Mirkwood and decided to wear it at this moment, (2) The elves of Lothlorien, under the leadership of Haldir, gave Legolas a new tunic of their own make (or one they had traded with other elves) for him to wear. The most common explanation for why he would change his tunic is that his other one was dirty from the long trek up to that point and he wanted to have it washed in the clean waters of the Nimrodel.<br />
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Legolas bears two long knives, while in the book he bears only one. Another, more trivial change, was the number of Orcs he and Gimli kill at Helm's Deep: 42 and 43, respectively. This brings up an interesting possibility that could further illuminate the playful antagonism between the two characters. Legolas might give his count as "42" but secretly tells an untruth and really has only killed 41 Uruk-hai, but wants to make sure he has more than Gimli. Gimli, who has only killed 42 gives his answer as "43", to make sure he bests the elf. It is not clear, however, whether this was an intentional change on the part of the filmmakers, though it seems likely that it was, since the original numbers were so clear in Tolkien's own text.<br />
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Due to technical mishaps involving Orlando Bloom's contact lenses, in the films Legolas' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. This was justified by the notion that Elves' eyes change colour with their mood. This idea subsequently spread to fanfiction; however, it is pure fanon, and is nowhere to be found in Tolkien's writings, and is often simply meant as a joke; in any case, his eye color was probably grey; see [[Elves#Eye color|here]] for more details. Another common explanation for Legolas' changing eye color is the obvious fact that light reflects off objects differently in different conditions and that, therefore, the elf's eyes "seem" to change color in different lighting environments.<br />
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Playing Legolas in the trilogy was Orlando Bloom's breakout route to superstardom. His handsome features and Legolas' "coolness", so to speak, as depicted in the film, have led to the character becoming a unprecedented fan favorite with both fangirls and fanboys, not to mention other Tolkien fans. Although the disproportionate popular reaction to Legolas met with mixed reactions from fans, many debaters on the Internet during earlier stages of production were worried, that a film portrayal of Legolas might render him as far too effeminate for popular consumption, but later many felt that Bloom was able to avoid this entirely. [[Christopher Tolkien]] recounts that his father wrote the following "wrathful" comment protesting against a "pretty" or "ladylike" depiction of Legolas: <br />
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<blockquote>''"He was tall as a young tree, lithe, immensely strong, able swiftly to draw a great war-bow and shoot down a Nazgûl, endowed with the tremendous vitality of Elvish bodies, so hard and resistant to hurt that he went only in light shoes over rock or through snow, the most tireless of all the Fellowship."'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2) </blockquote><br />
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Despite Bloom's popularity, many viewers have found his performance wooden, in agreement with his status as a "Wood"-elf.<br />
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Legolas is absent from the [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|1980 animated version of ''The Return of the King]].<br />
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==Frequently disputed issues==<br />
===Age===<br />
While Legolas' age is never given in Tolkien's writings, some [[Tolkienist|Tolkien scholars]] have estimated he is at the most 800&ndash;900 years old by the time of the War of the Ring, and at least 500, though probably more; however, many others disagree on the maximum figure. Without any direct mention to the contrary, he could also have been born as early as the First Age. At the very least, we know he is over 139 years old, because he is older than Gimli (see below).<br />
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The figure of 500 years minimum was derived from the following — at one point in ''The Two Towers'', he says that the leaves have fallen in Mirkwood 500 times since [[Meduseld]] was built, and he appears to be describing it as if he actually experienced this: <br />
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<blockquote>"''Seven mounds upon the left, and nine upon the right," said Aragorn. "Many long lives of men it is since the [[Meduseld|golden hall]] was built.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then," said Legolas, "and but a little while does that seem to us.''"</blockquote><br />
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<blockquote>"''But to the Riders of the Mark it seems so long ago," said Aragorn, "that the raising of this house is but a memory of song, and the years before are lost in the mist of time.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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To see their reasoning for an age of 800-900 years, see the articles referred to [[#external links|below]].<br />
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In ''Laws and Customs among the Eldar'', Tolkien states that the mental development of elf-children is much quicker than those of human children. By their first year, elf-children can already walk, speak, and even dance.<br />
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<blockquote>''The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people.'' (Laws and Customs among the Eldar) </blockquote><br />
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If we are to infer that Elves can have concrete memories at a younger age than humans do, Legolas could conceivably have remembered the last 500 autumns that have passed, starting when he was very young. <br />
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However, he could be merely commenting on the contrasting viewpoints of Men and Elves on time ("''and but a little while does that seem to us"''); more importantly, 500 years is here clearly ''the time elapsed since Meduseld was built''. At face value, his statement says ''nothing'' about his age - to go further would only be speculation.<br />
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It is certainly possible that he was older than what many fans imagine him to be, at least (probably due to the influence of Bloom and his portrayal). In ''The Two Towers'', he calls Aragorn (born 2931 T.A., 87 years old in 3018 T.A., 88 at the end of the War some months later) and Gimli (born 2879 T.A., 139 years old in 3018 T.A) "children" while in [[Fangorn Forest]], and says that he does not ''feel'' young:<br />
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<blockquote> "''It'' (the forest) ''is old, very old," said the Elf. "So old that almost I feel young '''again''', as I have not felt since I journeyed with you children. It is old and full of memory. I could have been happy here, if I had come in days of peace.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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Also, he speaks of watching oaks grow from acorns to "ruinous age", suggesting that he is in fact old, though possibly young for Elves (some kinds of oak can live for a very long time):<br />
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<blockquote>"''These are the strangest trees that I ever saw,''" [Legolas] ''said; "and I have seen many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age. I wish that there were leisure now to walk among them: they have voices, and in time I might come to understand their thought.''" (The Two Towers, "The White Rider")</blockquote><br />
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However, even the minimum figure of 500 can still apply here, since Tolkien could have had the English oak in mind, and it can live up to about 500 years. <br />
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Also, some readers point out that his birthdate is not recorded in the Appendices. For them, this might be a sign that he was born in the [[First Age]], since the Appendices only record dates from the [[Second Age]] onwards.<br />
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===Hair color===<br />
His father Thranduil was blond, so many assume that Legolas must have been blond also (Indeed, both [[Ralph Bakshi]] and [[Peter Jackson]] make him blond). However, Tolkien describes his head as "dark" when he shoots down a [[Ringwraiths|Ringwraith]]'s [[Fell beasts|Fell beast]] in ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' in the following quote, suggesting the contrary to some: <br />
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<blockquote>'' 'Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.' '' (The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Great River")</blockquote><br />
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According to this camp, his hair must be either dark brown or black, as was the norm for the Sindar. (Blond hair was mostly exclusive to the [[Vanyar]].) However, the "blond" camp points out that the above quote takes place ''at night'', and opines that his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows, rather than his actual hair color.<br />
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===Birth order===<br />
Some assume that he is an only child; however, he could be only one of Thranduil's children. Thranduil did let him leave Mirkwood to find a new elf-community in Ithilien, suggesting to some that he was not his heir; but then others opine that given the longevity of Elves and the relative safety of Middle-earth after Sauron's downfall, Thranduil could go on ruling the Woodland Realm as long as he liked or until he felt the sea-longing. No definitive evidence is given, either way.<br />
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==Name==<br />
The name '''Legolas''' is a [[Silvan]] dialect form of pure [[Sindarin]] ''Laegolas'', which means Greenleaf (thus, '''''Greenleaf''''' is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like ''[[Thorin Oakenshield|Oakenshield]]''), but a translation of his name). It consists of the [[Sindarin]] words ''laeg'', green; and ''golas'', a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of ''las(s)'', leaf). The [[Quenya]] form (mentioned in the ''Book of Lost Tales'' in the context of another character of that name) is ''Laiqualassë''.<br />
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There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: ''laeg'' is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by ''calen'' (cf. ''Calenhad'', mutated ''Parth Galen'' and plural ''Pinnath Gelin'') and is otherwise almost only preserved in ''Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim'' (Sindarin form of Quenya [[Laiquendi]]), the ''Green Elves'' of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son ''Legolas'' to at least in part refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves, the people Thranduil ruled and to whom - very likely - Thranduil's wife belonged.<br />
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Apparently, only Hobbits (and the Men of Bree) used surnames (like [[Baggins]] or [[Gamgee]]), as recorded in the Red Book. Men and Elves alike used the patronymic (''son of'') formula. In English, therefore, a fuller name would be "Legolas son of Thranduil" or "Legolas Thranduil's son". In Sindarin, that would be ''Legolas Thranduilion'', -''ion'' meaning "scion of".<br />
===Legolas of Gondolin===<br />
The name ''Legolas Greenleaf'' first appeared in ''[[The Fall of Gondolin]]'', one of the "[[The Book of Lost Tales|Lost Tales]]", circa 1917. The character is mentioned only once and is unrelated to the character discussed above. As the Lost Tales were the first embodiment of Tolkien's mythology, and by the time ''The Lord of the Rings'' was written much had changed, this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and he was not included in the published ''[[Silmarillion]]''.<br />
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<blockquote>''But the others, led by one '''Legolas Greenleaf''' of the house of the Tree, who knew all that plain by day or by dark, and was night-sighted, made much speed over the vale for all their weariness, and halted only after a great march.'' (''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]'' Volume 2, "The Fall of Gondolin")</blockquote><br />
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The Legolas of [[Gondolin]], who Tolkien would likely have renamed, has a different etymology. His name (''Laiqalassë'' in its pure form) comes from the primitive [[Quenya]] (''Qenya'') words ''laica'', green, and ''lassë'', leaf. The names are very similar, but the characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was possibly a [[Noldor]]in Exile, of the House (kindred) of the Tree. However, the published '' Silmarillion'', in describing Turgon's founding of Gondolin, states that Turgon took with him up to a third of the people under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Ñoldorin or Sindarin descent is debatable.<br />
<br />
==Sources==<br />
*[http://www.istad.org/tolkien/legolas.html Legolas of Mirkwood: Prince Among Equals] - An Essay by Ellen Brundige <br />
*[http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/36517 "Speaking of Legolas..."] by Michael Martinez, SUITE101.com, 2004 <br />
*[http://forums.theonering.com/viewtopic.php?t=12604 Discussion on Legolas' age, from the '''theonering.com''' messageboards]<br />
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==External links ==<br />
* [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/l/legolas.html Legolas Greenleaf] at the Encyclopedia of Arda <br />
* [http://www.tuckborough.net/legolas.html Legolas] at The Thain's Book<br />
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[[Category:Elves]]<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Frodo_Baggins&diff=15835Frodo Baggins2006-04-18T20:59:25Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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{{Hobbit infobox|<br />
image=[[Image:John Howe - Frodo.jpg|225px]]|<br />
name=Frodo Baggins|<br />
othernames=Frodo|<br />
birth=September 22, 2968 [[Third Age|T.A.]]|<br />
death=Not known|<br />
race=[[Hobbits]]|<br />
gender=Male|<br />
height=|<br />
hair=Brown|<br />
eyes=Blue<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''Frodo Baggins''' is a [[Hobbits|Hobbit]] (or halfling), born on September 22 of the year 2968 of the [[Third Age]] (T.A.) to [[Drogo Baggins]] and [[Primula Brandybuck]]. <br />
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In 2980 of the Third Age (T.A.), Frodo lost both his parents in a boating accident. Being a young minor of twelve he was taken in by his mother's family, the Brandybucks. In 2989, Frodo came under the guardianship of [[Bilbo Baggins]], whom he thinks of as his ''uncle'' (though Frodo was actually his first ''and'' second cousin once removed, since his mother is Bilbo's first cousin, and his father is Bilbo's second cousin). Frodo was 21 years old at the time, still far short of his coming of adult age at 33. The childless Bilbo chose Frodo as his adoptive heir, and brought him to live at [[Bag End]]. <br />
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Bilbo and Frodo share a common birthday on September 22 but Bilbo is 78 years Frodo's senior. At the opening of ''The Lord of the Rings'', Frodo and Bilbo are celebrating their 33rd and 111th birthdays, respectively, on September 22, T.A. 3001.<br />
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[[Image:Igor Kordej - Hobbit.jpg|thumb|left|275px|''Hobbit'' by [[Igor Kordej]].]]<br />
Frodo was entrusted with the keeping of the [[One Ring]] when Bilbo left for [[Rivendell]] after the celebration. [[Gandalf]] warned Frodo that the Ring must never be used and should be kept secret. (At the time, he was not yet certain that it was a [[Rings of Power|Ring of Power]].) Frodo kept the Ring hidden for seventeen years, until T.A. 3018, when Gandalf returned to confirm that it was indeed the [[One Ring]]. Gandalf sent him away with [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam Gamgee]], who was Frodo's gardener and eventually his dearest friend. Together with [[Peregrin I Took|Peregrin Took]], [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] and later [[Aragorn|Strider]], they made it to the [[Rivendell|House of Elrond]]. There, at Elrond's Council, it was decided that the Ring must be destroyed by casting it into the [[Crack of Doom]]. A [[Fellowship of the Ring|Fellowship]] was formed to protect Frodo as the [[Ring-bearer]]. His quest to destroy the Ring forms a large portion of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''.<br />
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Frodo carried a small Elven sword (actually a dagger) called [[Sting]] and wore a coat of Dwarven chainmail made of [[Mithril]] under his clothes, both given to him by Bilbo. At [[Lothlórien]], [[Galadriel]] gave him an Elven cloak and a phial carrying the light of the star [[Eärendil]] to aid him on his quest. <br />
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Two years after the Ring was destroyed, still troubled by the wounds he received during the War of the Ring, Frodo and Bilbo as Ring-bearers were given the right to travel to [[Valinor]] where, though remaining mortal, they might rest and be healed, together with [[Gandalf]], [[Elrond]] and [[Galadriel]]. They boarded a ship from the [[Grey Havens]] and passed over the sea on September 29, T.A. 3021. Having no children of his own, Frodo left his estate and passed on the [[Red Book of Westmarch|Red Book]] to [[Samwise Gamgee]] who followed Frodo across the sea 61 years later, following the death of his wife [[Rose Cotton|Rose (nee) Cotton]].<br />
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The name ''Frodo Baggins'' is an English translation of his [[Westron]] name '''Maura Labingi'''. The name ''Maura'' has the element ''maur-'' (wise, experienced), which Tolkien equivalated to the Germanic element ''frod-'' of the same meaning. Frodo's name in [[Sindarin]] was '''''Iorhael''''' ("old-wise").<br />
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In the German translation he is called ''Frodo Beutlin'', in Spanish, ''Frodo Bolsón'', in French, ''Frodon Sacquet'', in Norwegian, ''Frodo Lommelun'', in Danish, ''Frodo Sækker'', in Faroese, ''Fróði Pjøkin'' in Finnish, ''Frodo Reppuli'' and in Dutch, ''Frodo Balings''. In one of three Polish translations he is called ''Frodo Bagosz'', but he keeps his original name in the other two.<br />
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In the [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] by [[New Line Cinema]], Frodo is played by American actor [[Elijah Wood]]. In an earlier BBC radio version, Frodo was played by British actor [[Ian Holm]], who also took on the role of Frodo's uncle [[Bilbo Baggins]] in the movie.<br />
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==The Line of Frodo==<br />
<br />
<code><br />
[[Balbo Baggins]] = [[Berylla Boffin]]<br />
|<br />
------------------------ <br />
| |<br />
Mungo Largo [[Baggins Family|Baggins]] = [[Tanta Hornblower]]<br />
(grandfather of Bilbo) |<br />
[[Fosco Baggins|Fosco]] = [[Ruby Bolger]]<br />
|<br />
--------------------------------------------<br />
| | |<br />
[[Dora]] [[Drogo]] = [[Primula Brandybuck]] [[Dudo]] <br />
| |<br />
'''Frodo''' [[Daisy]] = [[Griffo Boffin]]<br />
</code><br />
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{{fellowship}}<br />
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[[Category:Baggins]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Bucca_of_the_Marish&diff=15687Bucca of the Marish2006-04-17T00:57:51Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Bucca of the Marish'''. The end of the second millennium of the [[Third Age]] was a time of crisis for the [[Hobbits]] of the [[Shire]]. The northern lands of [[Middle-earth]] were aflame with war. The armies of [[Angmar]], of [[Arthedain]], of [[Cardolan]], [[Rhudaur]] and latterly [[Gondor]] marched across the lands that had been the northern realm of [[Arnor]]. Most of the Shire-hobbits went into hiding, though some few marched to the service of [[Arthedain]], within whose borders the Shire lay, but they never returned.<br />
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At last, peace returned: the kingdoms of the [[Dúnedain]] fell one by one, and then the victorious [[Witch-king of Angmar]] was himself defeated by a revenging army of Gondor. The Hobbits returned to their old lives, but the loss of [[Arvedui]], the last king of Arthedain, left them leaderless.<br />
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After four years had passed since the end of the great wars, the Hobbits decided to take a leader for themselves. They chose one Bucca of the Marish, who was granted the title [[Thain]] of the Shire, and led the Shire-hobbits to peace and prosperity.<br />
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No more is known of Bucca's life, but his legacy remained until the time of the [[War of the Ring]] and beyond. At that time, more than twelve hundred years after his Thainship, the [[Master of Buckland|Masters of Buckland]] still proudly claimed descent from Bucca the first Thain.</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Silmari%C3%ABn&diff=15683Silmariën2006-04-17T00:39:04Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Silmarien''' was born in [[Second Age|S.A.]] 521 to [[Tar-Elendil]], the fourth King of [[Númenor]] and elder sister of [[Tar-Meneldur]]. She did not succeed her father (though later changes to the laws of [[Númenor]] would have made her Ruling Queen). Instead, she founded the line of the [[:Category:Lords of Andúnië|Lords of Andúnië]] from which the [[Kings of Gondor]] and [[Kings of Arnor|Arnor]] were descended. Silmariën married [[Elatan]] of [[Andúnië]]; their son [[Valandil]] became the first [[Lord of Andúnië]]. She was given the [[Ring of Barahir]] by her father, and through her descendents this ring came to [[Elendil]] and his heirs. <br />
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[[Category:Characters]]<br />
[[Category:Men]]<br />
[[Category:Dúnedain]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=N%C3%BAmenor&diff=15680Númenor2006-04-17T00:33:41Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Númenórë.''' From the [[Quenya]] '''''Númenórë''''': "West-land", which Tolkien translated as '''''Westernesse''''' (it was '''''Anadûnê''''' in the [[Adûnaic|Númenórean language]]).<br />
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==Geography==<br />
Númenor was a rather large island in the middle of the Western Sea. The island itself was in the shape of a 5-point star, each point having its own unique geological and physical features. Each point, therefore, was considered a separate region of Númenor and had separate names:<br />
*Forostar (''Northlands'')<br />
*Andustar (''Westlands'')<br />
*Hyarnustar (''Southwestlands'')<br />
*Hyarrostar (''Southeastlands'')<br />
*Orrostar ("Eastlands")<br />
*Mittalmar (''Inlands'')<br />
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The island had a mountain in the center known as [[Meneltarma]]; it is suggested that the island itself is of volcanic origin. Meneltarma is the highest location on the entire island and was considered sacred by the Númenóreans as a shrine of God, [[Eru|Eru Ilúvatar]]. Only the [[Rulers of Númenor|Kings]] of Númenor were allowed to speak on the summit. It was said that on a clear day the 'far-sighted' might see [[Tol Eressëa]], the island east of Valinor proper which along with it comprised the Undying Lands.<br />
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Meneltarma itself was a tall mountain in the centre of the island (in the region of [[Mittalmar]]) that, when translated, means ''Pillar of the Heavens''. The lower slopes of the mountain were gentle grass-covered, however, near the summit the slopes became more vertical and could not be ascended easily. The kings later built a spiraling road to the peak, beginning at the southern tip of the mountain and winding up to the lip of the summit in the north. The summit, however, was unique in that it was flattened and somewhat depressed, and was said to be able to "contain a great multitude". It was considered the most sacred spot of Númenor; no one ever set foot there and nothing was ever built throughout the entire history of the island. <br />
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The island itself was tilted southward and a little westward; the southern coasts were all steep sea cliffs.<br />
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==Culture==<br />
The population of Númenor chiefly consisted of Men (the [[Edain]]); although before the Shadow fell on the island the westernmost cities such as [[Andúnië]] contained a small population of Elves because of the frequent visits from Tol Eressëa. They were known as the Númenóreans, or rather, ''Kings among Men''.<br />
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The Númenóreans were extremely skilled in arts and craft, with the forging of weapons and armour; but the Númenóreans were not warmongers, hence the chief art on the island became that of ship-building and sea-craft. The Númenóreans became great mariners, exploring the world in all directions save for the westward, where the Ban of the Valar was in force. They oft travelled to the shores of Middle-earth, teaching the men there the art and craft, and introduced farming as to improve their everyday lives.<br />
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The Númenóreans, too, became skilled in the art of husbandry, breeding great horses that roamed across the open plains in Mittalmar. Although the Númenóreans were a peaceful people, their weapons, armour, and horse-riding skills could not be contested anywhere else in [[Arda]], save for the [[Valar]].<br />
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==Plant life==<br />
Númenor contained many species of plants that could be found nowhere else in [[Middle-earth]], for many of them were given to the Númenóreans from the [[Valar]] in [[Aman]]. Most important of these was the [[White Tree]] that dwelt in the King's Palace at [[Armenelos]]; it was the symbol of Men thereafter, in both Númenor, [[Arnor]], and [[Gondor]]. <br />
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The other parts of Númenor contained many types of plants, many unique to each of the promontories of the island. [[Andustar]] contained great forests of beech and birch at the higher ground, and oak and elm forests are lower altitudes. <br />
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The greatest delight of the Númenóreans, however, were the flowers given to them by the [[Eldar]]. They grew mostly in the Western portion (Andustar). They are oft remembered in song and lore, and few have flowered east of Númenor. <br />
*[[Ololairë]]<br />
*[[Lairelossë]]<br />
*[[Nessamelda]]<br />
*[[Vardarianna]]<br />
*[[Taniquelassë]]<br />
*[[Yavannamíre]]<br />
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Because of the diversity of wildlife in Andustar, it was soon called Nisimaldar, or ''the Fragrant Trees''. Also only in Andustar could the Golden Tree be found, [[Malinornë]]. <br />
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In [[Hyarrostar]] grew the tree [[Laurinquë]], which the Númenorans loved because of their flowers. They believed that it came from the Great Tree of Valinor, [[Laurelin]].<br />
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==History==<br />
Númenor was the kingdom of the [[Dúnedain]], located on an island in the [[Belegaer|Great Sea]], between Middle-earth and [[Aman]]. The land was brought up from the sea as a gift to [[Men]]. It was also called '''''Elenna''''' ("'''Starwards'''") because the Dúnedain were led to it by the star of [[Eärendil]], and because the island was in the shape of a five-pointed star. At the center of the island was a mountain named Meneltarma, which the Dúnedain used as a temple to [[Ilúvatar]]. The largest city and capital of Númenor was [[Armenelos]].<br />
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Númenor had only two rivers: [[Siril]] which began at Meneltarma and ended in a small delta near the city of [[Nindamos]], and the [[Nunduinë]], which reached the sea in the [[Bay of Eldanna]] near the haven [[Eldalondë]].<br />
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[[Elros]] son of Eärendil was the first King of Númenor, taking the name of [[Tar-Minyatur]] ("First King"). Under his rule (year 32 to 442 of the [[Second Age]]), and those of his descendants, Men rose to become a powerful race. The first ships sailed from Númenor to Middle-earth in the year 600 of the Second Age.<br />
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The Númenóreans were forbidden by the Valar from sailing so far westward that Númenor was no longer visible, for fear that they would come upon the [[Undying Lands]], to which Men could not come. Over time the Númenóreans came to resent the Ban of the Valar and to rebel against their authority, seeking the everlasting life that they believed was begrudged them. They tried to compensate this by going eastward and colonizing large parts of Middle-earth, first in a friendly way, but later as tyrants. Soon the Númenóreans came to rule a great but terrorizing maritime empire that had no rival. Few (the "Faithful") remained loyal to the Valar and friendly to the [[Elves]].<br />
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In the year 3255 of the Second Age, the 25th king, [[Ar-Pharazôn]], sailed to Middle-earth. Seeing the might of Númenor, [[Sauron]] agreed to be the king's captive, and he was brought back to Númenor. Sauron soon became an advisor to the King and promised the Númenóreans eternal life if they worshipped [[Melkor]]. With Sauron as his advisor, Ar-Pharazôn had a 500 foot tall temple to Melkor erected, in which he offered human sacrifices to Melkor. <br />
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During this time, the white tree [[Nimloth the Fair]], whose fate was said to be tied to the line of kings, was chopped down and burned as a sacrifice to Melkor. [[Isildur]] rescued a fruit of the tree which became the [[White Tree]] of [[Gondor]], preserving the ancient line of trees.<br />
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Prompted by Sauron and fearing death and old age, Ar-Pharazôn built a great armada and set sail into the west to make war upon the Valar and seize the Undying Lands. Sauron remained behind. In the year 3319 of the Second Age, Ar-Pharazôn landed on Aman and marched to the city of [[Valimar]]. [[Manwë]], chief of the angelic Valar, called upon [[Ilúvatar]], who broke and changed the world, taking Aman and Tol Eressëa from the world forever, changing the world's shape from flat to round, sinking Númenor and killing its inhabitants, including the body of Sauron who was thereby robbed of his ability to assume fair and charming forms.<br />
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[[Elendil]], son of the leader of the Faithful during the reign of Ar-Pharazôn, his sons and his followers had foreseen the disaster that was to befall Númenor, and they had set sail in nine ships before the island fell. They landed in Middle-earth, and founded the kingdoms of [[Arnor]] and Gondor.<br />
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After its fall Númenor was called '''''Atalantë''''', meaning "the Downfallen", in the Quenya language. (The similarity with Atlantis is obvious, although Tolkien described his invention of the name as a happy accident when he realised that the Quenya root meaning "fallen" could be incorporated into a name referring to Númenor.) Other names after the Downfall include '''''Mar-nu-Falmar''''' ("Land under the Waves") and '''''Akallabêth''''' ("the Downfallen" in Adûnaic).<br />
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The story of the rise and downfall of Númenor is told in the [[Akallabêth]].<br />
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'''Notes:''' <br />
*The cartoon series Ulysses 31 includes a character called Numinor, whose name may be derivative of Númenor.<br />
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*[[C.S. Lewis]]'s novel That Hideous Strength makes reference to "Numinor [sic] and the True West", which Lewis credits as a then-unpublished creation of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]. This is one of many examples of cross-overs between the novels of Lewis and Tolkien, both of whom were members of the [[Inklings]], a literary discussion group at [[Oxford University]].<br />
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'''See also:''' [[Rulers of Númenor]]<br />
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==External links==<br />
*[http://members.ozemail.com.au/~sdgeard/hccnum.html A History and Complete Chronology of Númenor] - A detailed chronology of Númenor, its successor states and their rulers.<br />
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[[Category:Númenor]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Lord_of_And%C3%BAni%C3%AB&diff=15675Lord of Andúnië2006-04-17T00:28:24Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Lord of Andúnië'''. The title of the lords of the shoreland region of [[Andúnië]] in western [[Númenor]]; descended from [[Tar-Elendil]], the fourth King of [[Númenor]], and ancestors of the Kings of [[Gondor]] and of [[Arnor]]. <br />
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[[Category:Rulers of Númenor]]</div>Mapmanhttps://tolkiengateway.net/w/index.php?title=Lord_of_And%C3%BAni%C3%AB&diff=15673Lord of Andúnië2006-04-17T00:28:06Z<p>Mapman: </p>
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<div>'''Andúnië'''. The title of the lords of the shoreland region of [[Andúnië]] in western [[Númenor]]; descended from [[Tar-Elendil]], the fourth King of [[Númenor]], and ancestors of the Kings of [[Gondor]] and of [[Arnor]]. <br />
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[[Category:Rulers of Númenor]]</div>Mapman