| Legolas | |
|---|---|
| The Lord of the Rings character | |
| In-universe information | |
| Aliases | Greenleaf (Legolas translated into English) |
| Race | SindarElf |
| Gender | Male |
| Affiliation | Company of the Ring |
| Home | Mirkwood |
| Book(s) | The Lord of the Rings |
Legolas (Sindarin:[ˈlɛɡɔlas]) is a fictional character inJ. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings. He is a SindarElf of theWoodland Realm and son of its king, Thranduil, becoming one of the nine members of theFellowship who set out to destroy theOne Ring. Though Dwarves and Elves are traditionally rivals, he and theDwarfGimli form 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 farther than anyone else inRohan and sensing the memory of a long-lost Elvish civilisation in the stones ofHollin.
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 theSindar or "Grey Elves",[T 3] ruled over the Silvan Elves or "Wood-elves" of Mirkwood.[T 1]
Legolas is introduced at theCouncil of Elrond inRivendell, 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 toldAragorn andBoromir that 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.Gandalf then led the fellowship on a journey underground throughMoria.[T 5] In Moria, Legolas helped fight offOrcs and 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-sentries there 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 greetedGaladriel respectfully.[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 Brandybuck andPippin Took byorcs, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli set out acrossRohan in pursuit of the two capturedhobbits.[T 10] In the forest ofFangorn Legolas 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:
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 Company on thePaths of the Dead.[T 13] After Aragorn summoned the Dead of Dunharrow to fight for him, Legolas saw them terrify theCorsairs of Umbar from their ships atPelargir. Galadriel'sprophecy 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-dûr collapsed.[T 17]
After the destruction of the One Ring, Legolas remained inMinas Tirith for Aragorn's coronation and marriage toArwen. Later, Legolas and Gimli travelled together throughFangorn forest 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]
The nameLegolas Greenleaf first 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 Tolkien scholarChristina Scull calls Legolas's friendship with the Dwarf Gimli "the greatest reconciliation theme in the book", given the distrust between their races since theFirst Age, when as she notes the Dwarves sackedMenegroth. Scull notes the tension when Legolas speaks of the "sorrow" after the Dwarves awakened evil in the Misty Mountains; and again when Gimli refuses a blindfold, and Legolas curses the "stiff necks" of the Dwarves. From there, the reconciliation forms a sharp contrast, after the Elf-lady Galadriel grants Gimli a strand of her hair; and Legolas finally accepts that Gimli has bested him in speech with his praise for the glittering Caves of Aglarond.[1] Christina Casagrande comments that the friendship is fully mutual, as on occasion it is Gimli that follows Legolas, and on occasion the reverse; and the pattern is repeated by other pairs of characters, as in Mark Brian's words "Casagrande delightfully points out that even Sam is temporarily exalted to the office of 'master' [normally Frodo's role in the relationship] betweenShelob's cave and the storming ofCirith Ungol."[2]
Hannah Mendro notes of the friendship of Legolas and Gimli that "one of the last notes in theRed Book" describes it as "greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it. But it is said that Gimli went also out of desire to see again the beauty of Galadriel; and it may be that she, being mighty among the Eldar, obtained this grace for him. More cannot be said of this matter".[3] Mendro comments that the friendship is "both strange and comforting, intensely intimate and oddly private, deeply committed and yet riddled with gaps. All of this makes them perfect candidates fora queer reading".[3] Mendro observes that the friendship comes into being largely out of sight, as Legolas and Gimli often walk together in the forest of Lothlórien, to the surprise of the rest ofthe Company.[3] The relationship is evidently close, and kept private.[3] Mendro comments that the pair are in a way "the least significant members" of the Company, without the leadership role of Gandalf, the kingly destiny of Aragorn, or the Sauron-defeating roles of the Hobbits. They are, she writes, present at one event after another, but responding mainly to each other. This creates "both the queer potential and the queer deniability" of their relationship.[3]
The medievalistsStuart D. Lee andElizabeth Solopova note 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 English poemThe Ruin.[4] The Tolkien criticPaul Kocher writes 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.[5]
The Tolkien scholarTom Shippey observes that Legolas, describing the great hall ofMeduseld in 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][6][7]
Legolas was voiced byAnthony Daniels inRalph Bakshi's1978 animated version ofThe Lord of the Rings.[8] 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.[9]
Legolas was voiced byDavid Collings in the1981 BBC Radio 4 adaptation.[10] In the 1993 FinnishminiseriesHobitit he was portrayed byVille Virtanen.[11]
InPeter Jackson'sLord of the Rings movie trilogy (2001–2003), Legolas was portrayed byOrlando Bloom. He was presented as an unstoppable fighter, performing dramatic feats of battle.[12] Bloom reprised this role in Jackson's 2013 releaseThe Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug[13] and again for the 2014 follow-upThe Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Legolas's role inThe Hobbit films is an addition, as he did not appear in the novel. He is attracted to the non-canon elf-womanTauriel.[14]
In theWest End musical,The Lord of the Rings: The Musical, Legolas was portrayed by Michael Rouse.[15] Legolas appeared as a playable character inLego Dimensions as an expansion character, bundled with an arrow launcher.[16]
Virtanen on näytellyt rikospoliisi Miettistä tv-sarjassa "Kylmäverisesti sinun", Legolasia fantasiaseikkailussa "Hobitit" ja nuivaa aviomiestä komediassa "Ei kiitos".
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