LegoLas

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 Elvesor "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 of 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 is 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.[5] 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. Legolas and Gimli became 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 Dunharrowto 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 throughFangorn 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.[18] It was told in the Red Book of Westmarch (first written by Bilbo Baggins, continued by Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgeeand 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[edit]

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.[18] 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.