Legolas - wikipedia Legolas This article relies too much on references to primary sources. Please improve this by adding secondary or tertiary sources. ( August 2014 ) Legolas Tolkien 's legendarium character Aliases Greenleaf, ( Legolas translated into English ) Race Sindar Elf Gender Male Book ( s ) The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King Legolas ( pronounced ( ˈlɛɡɔlas ) ) is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien 's legendarium. He is a Sindarin Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Contents 1 Literature 1.1 Characteristics 2 Concept and creation 3 Adaptations 4 References 5 External links Literature Legolas was the son of Thranduil, King of the Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood, who appears as `` the Elvenking '' in The Hobbit. Thranduil ruled over the Silvan Elves or `` Wood - elves '' of Mirkwood. Although he lived among the Silvan Elves, Legolas was not one himself. His father Thranduil had originally come from Lindon ; he and his son were actually Sindar, or `` Grey Elves '', called in the singular Sinda ; `` Sindarin '' was their language. Thranduil himself was the son of Oropher. Legolas 's mother is never mentioned ; the Elves of Mirkwood have no Queen at the time of The Hobbit. Legolas was introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring, at the Council of Elrond in Rivendell, where he came as a messenger from his father to discuss Gollum 's escape from their guard. Legolas was chosen to be a member of the Fellowship of the Ring, charged with destroying the One Ring. He accompanied the other members in their travels from Rivendell to Amon Hen, serving as the group 's archer. When the fellowship was trapped by a snowstorm while crossing the dangerous mountain Caradhras, Legolas scouted ahead, and told Aragorn and Boromir that the thick snow they were trying to push through was only a narrow wall, and below it the snow was more shallow. When the attempt to cross Caradhras failed, Gandalf led the fellowship on a journey underground through Moria, an ancient Dwarf - kingdom, though some ( including Legolas ) did not wish to travel there. Before they reached Moria, Legolas helped fend off an attack by wolves in Hollin. In Moria, he helped fight off orcs and recognized `` Durin 's Bane '' as a Balrog of Morgoth. After Gandalf was lost, Aragorn took charge of the fellowship and led them to the Elven realm of Lothlórien, the Golden Wood. Legolas served as the initial spokesperson for the company, speaking with the inhabitants, the Galadhrim, whom he considered close kin. There was initially friction between Legolas and the dwarf Gimli, because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves arising from the destruction of Doriath in the First Age ; and also because Thranduil once imprisoned Gimli 's father Glóin. Moreover, the dwarves of Erebor disliked Thranduil ever since he refused to pay them for crafting his raw metals. However Legolas and Gimli began to become friends when Gimli greeted the Elven queen Galadriel respectfully. When the fellowship left Lothlórien, Galadriel and Celeborn gave the members gifts ; Legolas received a new longbow. Legolas used the bow to bring down a `` fell beast '' in the dark with one shot. After Boromir was killed and Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took were captured by orcs in The Two Towers, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli set forth across Rohan in pursuit of the two captured hobbits. In the forest of Fangorn Legolas and his companions met Gandalf, resurrected as `` Gandalf the White, '' who delivered a message to Legolas from Galadriel -- which Legolas interprets as foretelling his death : `` Legolas Greenleaf long under the tree, In joy thou hast lived, Beware the Sea ! If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore, Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more. '' The three met with the Rohirrim, fought in the Battle of the Hornburg, and witnessed Saruman 's downfall at Isengard together with Gandalf, where they were reunited with Merry and Pippin. In the Battle of the Hornburg, Legolas and Gimli kept count of the orcs they kill, a contest which Gimli won by one, killing forty - two to Legolas 's forty - one, but the real result was stronger mutual respect. In The Return of the King, Legolas and Gimli accompanied Aragorn and the Grey Company on the Paths of the Dead. After Aragorn summoned the Dead Men of Dunharrow to fight for him, Legolas saw them frighten the Corsairs of Umbar from their ships at Pelargir. Galadriel 's prophecy was fulfilled : as Legolas heard the cries of seagulls, he began to experience the Sea - longing -- the desire to sail west to Valinor, the `` Blessed Realm '', which was latent among the Sindar. He fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and of the Morannon and watched as Sauron was defeated and Barad - dûr collapsed. After the destruction of the One Ring, Legolas remained in Minas Tirith for Aragorn 's crowning and marriage to Arwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli travelled together through Fangorn forest and to the Glittering Caves of Helm 's Deep, as Legolas had promised Gimli. Eventually, Legolas founded an Elf - colony in Ithilien and spent his remaining time helping to restore the devastated forests there. It was told in the Red Book of Westmarch ( first written by Bilbo Baggins, continued by Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee and finally passed down through the Gamgee family ), that after Aragorn 's death in the year 120 of the Fourth Age, Legolas built a grey ship and left Middle - earth to go over the Sea to Valinor, and that Gimli went with him. Characteristics Tolkien first describes Legolas in The Fellowship of the Ring as `` a strange Elf, clad in green and brown ''. As part of the Fellowship of the Ring, Legolas is armed with a bow and arrows and one `` long white knife '' which hangs by his side. When the fellowship attempts to cross Caradhras, Legolas alone remains light - hearted. 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. As Legolas, Aragorn and Gimli chase after Merry and Pippin in The Two Towers, Legolas is the only one of the three who does not tire from days of constant running, and does not sleep when Aragorn and Gimli have to stop for a night. When the Company journey through the Paths of the Dead, all are chilled by the murmurs and whispers of the dead save Legolas, who states, `` the shades of Men hold no terror for Elves ''. Legolas can see and hear at great distance, attributes referred to throughout the story. He is also lithe and slender, with bright, keen eyes and ears, and is fair of face, as all Elves are. He is an unrivalled archer and Gandalf calls him a dangerous warrior. His keen eyes, ears and fighting skills are of immense use to the fellowship, but his friendship and loyalty to Aragorn, Gimli and Frodo make him an even more important member. Legolas 's hair colour is not definitively stated. Both Ralph Bakshi and Peter Jackson make him blond in their respective film adaptations ( see below ). This is supported by the fact that Thranduil, Legolas 's father and a Sindarin elf, is described in The Hobbit as having golden hair. In a musical version of The Lord of the Rings, Legolas is dark - haired. In the real - time strategy game The Lord of the Rings : War of the Ring, his hair is white or silver. Though neither Legolas 's age nor his birthdate are directly given in Tolkien 's writings, some passages indicate that he is far older than Aragorn and Gimli. For instance, he calls them `` children '' and says he has seen `` many an oak grow from acorn to ruinous age ''. The Appendices to The Lord of the Rings do give Gimli 's and Aragorn 's birthdates : at the time of the War of the Ring, they are 139 and 87 respectively. Though his father and his kingdom appear in The Hobbit, Legolas does not appear himself, as his character had not yet been created. Being older than Gimli, he must have been alive during the events of The Hobbit, which take place less than a century before the Quest of Mount Doom. Concept and creation The name Legolas Greenleaf first appeared in the book `` The Fall of Gondolin '', one of the `` Lost Tales '', circa 1917. The character, who guides some survivors of the sack of the city to safety, is mentioned only once and is likely unrelated to the character discussed above. The Lost Tales were the first versions of what would become Tolkien 's `` Middle - earth '' writings, and by the time The Lord of the Rings was written much had changed ; hence this in all likelihood is not the same elf, and this early character was not included in the published Silmarillion. The Legolas of Gondolin, whom 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 Noldorin 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 Noldor under Fingolfin, but an even larger number of the Sindar. Thus, whether Legolas of Gondolin was of Noldorin or Sindarin descent is unclear. Adaptations Legolas was voiced by Anthony Daniels in Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated version of The Lord of the Rings. In the film, he takes Glorfindel 's place in the `` Flight to the Ford '' ; he meets Aragorn and the hobbits on their way to Rivendell and sets Frodo on his horse before Frodo is chased by the Nazgûl to the ford of Bruinen. Here he answers to Elrond and is not explicitly identified as a Wood - elf. Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Peter Jackson 's The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers. Legolas is absent from the 1980 animated version of The Return of the King, but was voiced by David Collings in the 1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation. In the 1993 Finnish miniseries Hobitit he was portrayed by Ville Virtanen. In Peter Jackson 's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy ( 2001 -- 2003 ), Legolas was portrayed by Orlando Bloom. He is presented as an unstoppable fighter, performing various feats or stunts in battle scenes ; in the book Legolas 's exploits in battle are not presented in great detail. The character 's relationship with Gimli is shown to have moved from brief hostility as seen in The Fellowship of the Ring to respect and friendship in The Two Towers. This is first seen when Éomer tells Gimli that he would cut off the dwarf 's head `` if it but stood a little higher off the ground ''. Legolas drew an arrow on Éomer immediately afterwards, claiming, `` You would die before your stroke fell. '' During the battle of Helm 's Deep, the two engage in a contest to see who can slay the most enemies, as they do in the novel, though the films depict Legolas constantly being at least one kill ahead of Gimli. In The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King, Legolas and Gimli continue their friendly competition, which usually ( and comically ) leaves Gimli on the losing side. Due to technical mishaps involving Bloom 's contact lenses, in the films Legolas ' eye colour sometimes changes between brown, purple, and blue. ( In the director 's commentary of the Extended Edition, Peter Jackson admitted that they forgot to put Bloom 's contacts in several times. ) Legolas in Ralph Bakshi 's animated version of The Lord of the Rings. Merchandise for the live - action film trilogy includes two non-canonical figures for the character 's age. In an official film guidebook, a birthdate for Legolas is set to year 87 of the Third Age. This would make him 2931 years old at the time of the War of the Ring. Coincidentally or not, the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings give Aragorn 's year of birth as T.A. 2931. Another invented figure appears in Top Trumps cards for The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers : the card for Legolas gives his age as 7000. Bloom reprised his role as Legolas in Jackson 's 2013 release The Hobbit : The Desolation of Smaug. Legolas is here seen interacting with his father, King Thranduil. He figures prominently in many of the fight sequences, displaying his superhuman agility as an elf. He is attracted to the elf Tauriel ( a character created for the film trilogy ), but Thranduil disapproves of her as a proper match for his son. Following the capture of Thorin 's band in Mirkwood, Legolas gains possession of Thorin 's Elven - forged sword Orcrist, which he wields for the rest of the film and the larger part of The Battle of the Five Armies ( in which Gandalf addresses him at one point as `` Legolas Greenleaf '' ). In the latter film, he kills Bolg before Bolg can kill Tauriel, and is afterwards sent by his father to track down the Dúnedan ranger named `` Strider ''. Legolas mentions in The Battle of the Five Armies that his mother died in previous wars against the Orcs of Angmar at Mount Gundabad. Tolkien never mentions Legolas 's mother ; the film addressed this absence simply by saying that she died in a previous war. In the West End musical, The Lord of the Rings : The Musical, Legolas was portrayed by Michael Rouse. Legolas appears as a playable character in Lego Dimensions as an expansion character, bundled with an arrow launcher. Orlando Bloom reprises the role to voice the character. References ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), The Council of Elrond, ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ `` Legolas Greenleaf ''. Encyclopedia of Arda. Mark Fisher. 27 August 2006. ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1937 ), Douglas A. Anderson, ed., The Annotated Hobbit, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 2002 ), ISBN 0 - 618 - 13470 - 0 ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Ring Goes South '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Bridge of Khazad - dûm, ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` Lothlórien '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` Farewell to Lórien '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Great River '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Departure of Boromir '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The White Rider '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` Helm 's Deep '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Passing of the Grey Company '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Last Debate '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Battle of the Pelennor Fields '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Black Gate Opens '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` The Field of Cormallen '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` Many Partings '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 ^ Jump up to : Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1955 ), The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), Appendices, ISBN 0 - 395 - 08256 - 0 Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1954 ), The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings, Boston : Houghton Mifflin ( published 1987 ), `` Many Meetings '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 08254 - 4 Jump up ^ J.R.R. Tolkien. `` The White Rider ''. The Two Towers. The Lord of the Rings. HarperCollins. p. 488. Jump up ^ Tolkien, J.R.R. ( 1984 ), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The Book of Lost Tales, 2, Boston : Houghton Mifflin, `` The Fall of Gondolin '', ISBN 0 - 395 - 36614 - 3 Jump up ^ Sibley, Brian ( 2001 ). The Lord of the Rings Official Movie Guide. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 44. ISBN 978 - 0 - 618 - 15402 - 9. Jump up ^ `` # NNO19 - Legolas ''. tradingcarddb.com. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 28. Jump up ^ Ward, Kate ( 27 May 2011 ). `` Orlando Bloom joins ' Hobbit, ' has not aged, according to Peter Jackson ''. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 June 2011. Middle - earth portal Fictional characters portal External links `` Legolas ''. Tolkien Gateway. Legolas Greenleaf at the Encyclopedia of Arda Legolas at The Thain 's Book Legolas on IMDb J.R.R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring film soundtrack game The Two Towers film soundtrack game The Return of the King film soundtrack game Production and reception Composition Themes Influences Translations Reception Fandom Study Related works The Hobbit The Adventures of Tom Bombadil The Road Goes Ever On The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The History of Middle - earth The History of The Lord of the Rings Bilbo 's Last Song The Children of Húrin The History of The Hobbit The Tale of Beren and Lúthien Characters Aragorn Arwen Bilbo Boromir Butterbur Celeborn Ceorl Denethor Elladan and Elrohir Elrond Éomer Éowyn Faramir Frodo Galadriel Gandalf Gildor Gimli Glorfindel Gollum Legolas Merry Mouth of Sauron Old Man Willow Pippin Radagast Sam Saruman Sauron Shelob Théoden Tom Bombadil Treebeard Witch - king Wormtongue Adaptations and other derivative works Books Bored of the Rings ( 1969 ) The Last Ringbearer ( 1999 ) Muddle Earth ( 2003 ) Theatre Fellowship ! ( 2005 ) Lord of the Rings ( 2006 ) Radio The Lord of the Rings ( 1955 ) The Lord of the Rings ( 1979 ) Hordes of the Things ( 1980 ) The Lord of the Rings ( 1981 ) Der Herr der Ringe ( 1992 ) Film Animated The Lord of the Rings ( 1978 ) The Return of the King ( 1980 ) Peter Jackson trilogy The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring ( 2001 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers ( 2002 ) The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King ( 2003 ) Fan - made The Hunt for Gollum ( 2009 ) Born of Hope ( 2009 ) Video games Journey to Rivendell Game One Game Two : Shadows of Mordor War in Middle Earth Vol. I ( 1990 ) Vol. I ( SNES ) Riders of Rohan Elendor Volume II Kingdom O ' Magic The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King War of the Ring The Third Age The Battle for Middle - earth Tactics The Battle for Middle - earth II The Rise of the Witch - king The Lord of the Rings Online Mines of Moria Siege of Mirkwood Rise of Isengard Riders of Rohan Helm 's Deep Conquest Aragorn 's Quest War in the North Lego The Lord of the Rings Guardians of Middle - earth Middle - earth : Shadow of Mordor Middle - earth : Shadow of War Tabletop role - playing games The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game Middle - earth Role Playing The One Ring Roleplaying Game Board games Middle Earth Lord of the Rings Risk : The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Edition War of the Ring Other games The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game The Lord of the Rings : The Card Game The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game Middle - earth Collectible Card Game Toys Middle - earth Lego sets Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Legolas&oldid=806875893 '' Categories : Grey Elves Teleri Fictional archers Fictional elves The Lord of the Rings characters Fictional characters introduced in 1954 Hidden categories : Articles lacking reliable references from August 2014 All articles lacking reliable references Articles using Infobox character with multiple unlabeled fields All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from December 2013 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская Български Bosanski Brezhoneg Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Latina Magyar Македонски Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Norsk nynorsk Polski Português Română Русский Slovenščina Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Zazaki 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 24 October 2017, at 18 : 08. 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Question: when does legolas appear in lord of the rings
Answer: The Hobbit.