Although Tolkien elves come a diverse class action, fantasy & play enthusiasts tend to cite Legolwhen as the prototypal basis for the majority of modern elf stereotypes, particularly archery.

} |} Role in the story
Legolas is Prince of Mirkwood, the boy of King Thranduil, descendants from either a royal house of Sindarin elves. Legolas is considered young by Elven standards, however is at least 5 centuries old. He is introduced in the foremost a share of The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, at the council of Elrond, where he comes as a courier from either his father to discuss a escape of Gollum. Elrond picks Legolas to get one of a members of a Fellowship that sets intent on kill the One Ring.

Inside a Fellowship, Legolas & a dwarf, Gimli, clash because of a ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves when the destruction of Doriath, and besides because Legolas's father Thranduil once imprisoned Gimli's father Glóin (as described in The Hobbit). It be friends, all the same, whenever it enter Lothlórien and Gimli greets the Lady of the Golden Wood with gentle words. In the Battle of the Hornburg, he and Gimli engage in Orc-slaying contests (Gimli wins by one, however the rattling symptom is reciprocal respect).

When a destruction of the 1 Ring & of Sauron, the two last off travelling together across Fangorn Forest. Sooner or later, Legolas comes to Ithilien by using some of his population, with his father's leave, to survive out his remaining period within Middle-earth helping to restore the devastated forests of that war-ravaged land. Fallowing a demise of King Elessar, Legolas leaves Middle-earth to last overseas & Gimli's love for his friend (& a want to understand Galadriel once again) prompts him to go by using Legolas— a number one & just Dwarf to run sol.

The character
Although he lived among a babies & in their culture, Legolas was non one of the Silvan Elves. As a boy of the Elven-king Thranduil, who got originally came from either Doriath, Legolas was actually a Sindarin Elf. This is complicated per fact that the little minority of Sindarin Elves ruled the preponderantly Silvan Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood, a minority to which Legolas belonged. A Sindarin minority in this realm, world health organization should keep close at h& been other noble and caring than a Silvan Elves, may be seen when getting "gone native" at a prevent of the Number 1 Age: fallowing Morgoth was defeated and a lot of the grand Elf-kingdoms of Beleriand were destroyed, they may be seen when running back to "a simpler time" in their culture.

When Legolas' age is never given inside Tolkien's writings, Tolkien scholars have estimated he is at a virtually all 800–900 years old per instance of the War of the Ring, & even there is no less than D. To view their logical thinking, look at a articles referred to below.

Legolas's name
A title Legolas occurs as Silvan dialect form of pure Sindarin Laegolas, Greenleaf. It consists of the Sindarin words laeg, green; and golas, the collection of leaves, foliage (existence the prefixed collective form of las(s), leaf). A Quenya form (mentioned in the Book of Lost Tales in the context of a second character of that title) is Laiqualassë.

There can, nevertheless, become the certain meaning to his title: laeg occurs as super uncommon, archaic word for green, which is usually replaced by calen (cf. Calenhad, mutated Parth Galen & plural Pinnath Gelin) & is otherwise near exclusively preserved around Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim (Sindarin form of Quenya Laiquendi), the Green Elves of the Foremost Age. It can be that Thranduil known as his boy Legolas to at least around section refer to this population, world health organization were remote kin & antecedent of a down the road Silvan Elves, the population Thranduil ruled & to whom - super potential - Thranduil's married woman belonged.

Portrayal in adaptations
Legolas was voiced by Anthony Daniels in Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated film version of The Lord of the Rings, and by David Collings in the BBC Radio 4 adaptation.

Around Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (2001–2003), Legolas was portrayed by Orlando Bloom. In the "official movie guide" for The Lord of the Rings, the birthdate for Legolas is placed to 87 of the Third Age. This would produce him 2931 years old at a instance of the War of the Ring. This date for Legolas' birth wwhen mass produced higher per picture show writers, as in the books no known dates on Legolas prior to T.The. 3018. There are in point of fact various reasons to guess that Legolas was in point of fact sole two or three centuries old, & even non good deal older than Five hundred.

Due to the technical indicator mishap involving Orlando Bloom's contact, in the films Legolas' eye colour occasionally changes between dark brown, purple, & blue. (But, an explanation was provided using a claim that Legolas' eyes vary color by having his mood.)

It should likewise become noted that, whenever a viewer looks carefully plenty, Legolas may be spotted at a Endure Alliance scene of The Fellowship of the Ring after Sauron is killed.

Legolas's Weapons

Legolas has two or three weapons at his disposal. It include:

Lothlorien Bow: The bow mass produced from either an unkown wood that was blessed by Galadriel herself as a gift to the Elf Prince.

White Knives (Elf Blades): Legolas's White Knives or even Elf Blades come astir Twelve inches hanker using a hilt making higher Quadruplet inches. These weapons come an invention of the filmmakers, & don't come out inside Tolkien's novel.

Legolas of Gondolin
A title Legolas Greenleaf 1st appeared in The Fall of Gondolin, one of the "Lost Tales". A character is mentioned exclusively it used to be that & is unrelated to the character discussed above. Because Tolkien experienced reused a title inside LOTR, this Legolas was non involved in the promulgated Silmarillion.

A Legolas of Gondolin, who Tolkien would keep around belike renamed, has the different etymology. His title (Laiqalassë inside its pure form) comes from either a primitive Quenya (Qenya) words laica, green, and lassë, leaf. the list may be similar, however a characters were different: Legolas of Gondolin was a Ñoldorin Exile, head of the House of the Tree.