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Legolas

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Legolas
The Lord of the Ringscharacter
In-universe information
AliasesGreenleaf (Legolastranslated
into English)
RaceSindarElf
GenderMale
AffiliationCompany of the Ring
HomeMirkwood
Book(s)The Lord of the Rings

Legolas(pronounced[ˈlɛɡɔlas]) is a fictional character inJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings.He is a SindarElfof theWoodland Realmand son of its king, Thranduil, becoming one of the nine members of theFellowshipwho set out to destroy theOne Ring.Though Dwarves and Elves are traditionally rivals, he and theDwarfGimliform a close friendship during their travels together.

Commentators have noted that Legolas serves as a typical Elf in the story, demonstrating more-than-human abilities such as seeing further than anyone else inRohanand sensing the memory of a long-lost Elvish civilisation in the stones ofHollin.

Fictional history

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Legolas is the son ofThranduil,King of the Woodland Realm of NorthernMirkwood,[T 1]who appeared as "the Elvenking" inThe Hobbit.[T 2]Thranduil, one of theSindaror "Grey Elves",[T 3]ruled over the Silvan Elves or "Wood-elves" of Mirkwood.[T 1]

Legolas is introduced at theCouncil of ElrondinRivendell,where he came as a messenger from his father to discussGollum's escape from their guard.[T 1]Legolas was chosen to be a member of theFellowship of the Ring,charged with destroying theOne Ring.He accompanied the other members in their travels from Rivendell toAmon Hen,[T 4]When the fellowship was trapped by a snowstorm while crossing theMisty Mountains,Legolas scouted ahead, running lightly over the snow, and toldAragornandBoromirthat the thick snow they were trying to push through was only a narrow wall.[T 4]Back in the lowlands of Hollin, Legolas helped fend off an attack bySaruman'swargs.Gandalfthen led the fellowship on a journey underground throughMoria.[T 5]In Moria, Legolas helped fight offOrcsand recognized "Durin's Bane"as aBalrog.[T 6]After Gandalf's fall, Aragorn led the Fellowship to the Elven realm ofLothlórien.Legolas spoke to the Elf-sentriesthere on behalf of the Fellowship.[T 7]

There was initially friction between Legolas and theDwarfGimli,because of the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves, rekindled by Thranduil's treatment of Gimli's father Glóin.[T 2]Legolas and Gimli became friends when Gimli greetedGaladrielrespectfully.[T 7]When the fellowship left Lothlórien, Galadriel gave the members gifts; Legolas received alongbow,[T 8]which he used to bring down aNazgûl's flying steed in the dark with one shot.[T 9]

AfterBoromir's death and the capture ofMerry BrandybuckandPippin Tookbyorcs,Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli set out acrossRohanin pursuit of the two capturedhobbits.[T 10]In the forest ofFangornLegolas and his companions met Gandalf, resurrected as "Gandalf the White", who delivered a message to Legolas from Galadriel. Legolas interpreted this as foretelling the end of his stay in Middle-earth:

Legolas Greenleaf long under tree,
In joy thou hast lived, Beware of the Sea!
If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore,
Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more.[T 11]

The three met with theRiders of Rohan,fought in theBattle of Helm's Deep,and witnessed Saruman's downfall atIsengard,where they were reunited with Merry and Pippin.[T 12]

Legolas and Gimli accompanied Aragorn and theGrey Companyon thePaths of the Dead.[T 13]After Aragorn summoned the Dead of Dunharrow to fight for him, Legolas saw them terrify theCorsairs of Umbarfrom their ships atPelargir.Galadriel's prophecy was fulfilled: as Legolas heard the cries of seagulls, he experienced the Sea-longing — the desire to sail west toValinor,the "Blessed Realm", latent among his people.[T 14]He fought in theBattle of the Pelennor Fields[T 15]andat the Black Gate,[T 16]and watched as Sauron was defeated andBarad-dûrcollapsed.[T 17]

After the destruction of the One Ring, Legolas remained inMinas Tirithfor Aragorn's coronation and marriage toArwen.Later, Legolas and Gimli travelled together throughFangornforest and to theGlittering Caves of Aglarond,as Legolas had promised Gimli.[T 18]Eventually[T 17]Legolas brought south many Silvan Elves, and they dwelt inIthilien,and it became once again the "fairest country in all the westlands."[T 19]They stayed in Ithilien for "a hundred years of Men."[T 17]After Aragorn dies, Legolas built a small ship and sailed West, reportedly taking Gimli with him.[T 19]

Concept and creation

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The nameLegolas Greenleaffirst appeared in "The Fall of Gondolin",one of the"Lost Tales",circa 1917. The character, who guides survivors of the sack of the city to safety, is mentioned only once.[T 20]

The medievalistsStuart D. LeeandElizabeth Solopovanote that Legolas's lament over the stones of the Elvish land ofHollin:"Only I hear the stones lament them:deep they delved us, fair they wrought us, high they builded us; but they are gone,"[T 4]recalls theOld EnglishpoemThe Ruin.[1] The Tolkien criticPaul Kocherwrites of the same passage that it shows how Elves such as Legolas have senses keener than mortal Men: he can see further and can even hear the stones lamenting the passing of the Elves. In Kocher's view, Legolas is an "emissary for the Elves", as Gimli is for the dwarves; he suggests that the point Tolkien was making was that Legolas was a typical young elf.[2]

The Tolkien scholarTom Shippeyobserves that Legolas, describing the great hall ofMeduseldin the capital of Rohan, too far off for any but an Elf to make out clearly, speaks a line which isa direct translation of one fromBeowulf:"The light of it shines far over the land",líxte se léoma ofer landa fela.[T 21][3][4]

Adaptations

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Legolas inRalph Bakshi's 1978 animated version ofThe Lord of the Rings

Legolas was voiced byAnthony DanielsinRalph Bakshi's1978animated version ofThe Lord of the Rings.[5]In the film, he takesGlorfindel'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 ofBruinen.[6]

Orlando Bloomas Legolas inPeter Jackson'sThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Legolas was voiced byDavid Collingsin the1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation.[7]In the 1993 FinnishminiseriesHobitithe was portrayed byVille Virtanen.[8]

InPeter Jackson'sLord of the Ringsmovie trilogy(2001–2003), Legolas was portrayed byOrlando Bloom.He was presented as an unstoppable fighter, performing dramatic feats of battle.[9]

Bloom reprised his role as Legolas in Jackson's 2013 releaseThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,[10]and again for the 2014 follow-upThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.Legolas's role in the films is an addition, as he did not appear in the novel. He is attracted to the non-canon elf-womanTauriel.[11]

In theWest Endmusical,The Lord of the Rings: The Musical,Legolas was portrayed by Michael Rouse.[12]Legolas appeared as a playable character inLego Dimensionsas an expansion character, bundled with an arrow launcher.[13]

References

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Primary

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  1. ^abcTolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 2 "The Council of Elrond"
  2. ^abTolkien 1937,ch. 8 "Flies and Spiders"
  3. ^Tolkien 1980,"The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix B: The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves"
  4. ^abcTolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 3 "The Ring Goes South"
  5. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 4 "A Journey in the Dark"
  6. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm"
  7. ^abTolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 6 "Lothlórien"
  8. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 8 "Farewell to Lórien"
  9. ^Tolkien 1954a,book 2, ch. 9 "The Great River"
  10. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 1 "The Departure of Boromir"
  11. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 5 "The White Rider"
  12. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 7 "Helm's Deep"
  13. ^Tolkien 1955,book 5, ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"
  14. ^Tolkien 1955,book 5, ch. 9 "The Last Debate"
  15. ^Tolkien 1955,book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
  16. ^Tolkien 1955,book 5, ch. 10 "The Black Gate Opens"
  17. ^abcTolkien 1955,book 6, ch. 4 "The Field of Cormallen"
  18. ^Tolkien 1955,book 6, ch. 6 "Many Partings"
  19. ^abTolkien 1955,"Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers"
  20. ^Tolkien 1984b,The Fall of Gondolin
  21. ^Tolkien 1954,book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall"

Secondary

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  1. ^Lee, Stuart D.;Solopova, Elizabeth(2005).The Keys of Middle-earth: Discovering Medieval Literature Through the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien.Palgrave.pp. 133, 140–141.ISBN978-1403946713.
  2. ^Kocher, Paul(1974) [1972].Master of Middle-earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien.Penguin Books.pp. 83–86.ISBN0140038779.
  3. ^Beowulf,line 311
  4. ^Shippey, Tom(2005) [1982].The Road to Middle-Earth(Third ed.).HarperCollins.p. 141.ISBN978-0261102750.
  5. ^"The Lord of the Rings".Ralph Bakshi.Archived fromthe originalon 23 August 2006.Retrieved7 April2020.
  6. ^Esmerelda, Jade Nicolette (17 February 2017)."Lord Of The Rings: 15 Things You Never Knew About Legolas".ScreenRant. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2022.Retrieved8 April2020.
  7. ^Sibley, Brian."THE RING GOES EVER ON: The Making of BBC Radio's The Lord of the Rings".Brian Sibley.Archivedfrom the original on 16 August 2019.Retrieved24 February2020.
  8. ^Melanen, Sini-Maria (27 January 2017)."Nyt ei tarvitse todistella enää mitään"[Now there is no need to prove anything anymore].Uljas(in Finnish).Archivedfrom the original on 5 June 2020.Retrieved5 June2020.Virtanen on näytellyt rikospoliisi Miettistä tv-sarjassa "Kylmäverisesti sinun", Legolasia fantasiaseikkailussa "Hobitit" ja nuivaa aviomiestä komediassa "Ei kiitos".
  9. ^Lane, Anthony (29 December 2003)."Full Circle: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'".The New Yorker.No. January 2004.Retrieved23 March2020.
  10. ^Ward, Kate (27 May 2011)."Orlando Bloom joins 'Hobbit,' has not aged, according to Peter Jackson".Entertainment Weekly.Archivedfrom the original on 8 June 2016.Retrieved5 June2020.
  11. ^Orange, B. Alan (18 October 2013)."Orlando Bloom Talks The Return of Legolas in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug".MovieWeb.Retrieved8 April2020.
  12. ^"Lord of the Rings cast confirmed!".London Theatre. 17 January 2007.Retrieved7 April2020.
  13. ^Acuna, Kirsten (30 September 2015)."It will cost you nearly $800 to get the full experience of the new LEGO video game".Business Insider.Retrieved7 April2020.

Sources

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