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	{{Infobox character		{{Infobox character
			\| image = https://archmaester.site/portraits/lotr/gil-galad.jpg
	\| name = Gil-galad		\| name = Gil-galad
	\| title = High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth; Ereinion		\| title = High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth; Ereinion

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Red-link character article, book-canon (Corvus)

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{{Infobox character
| name = Gil-galad
| title = High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth; Ereinion
| house = House of Finwë (Noldor)
| race/culture = Elves (Noldor)
| status = Deceased
| region = [[Lindon]]; [[Middle-earth]]
| born = First Age
| died = Second Age 3441, on the slopes of Mount Doom
| weapon = The spear Aeglos; the Ring Vilya (one of the Three)
| fate = Slain overthrowing [[Sauron]] alongside [[Elendil]] at the end of the Second Age
| quote = Gil-galad was an Elven-king. Of him the harpers sadly sing.
}}

'''Gil-galad''', whose name in the Quenya tongue was Ereinion, "scion of kings," was the last High King of the [[Noldor]] in [[Middle-earth]]. He reigned over the Elves of [[Lindon]] through nearly the whole of the Second Age, holding back the rising power of [[Sauron]], and fell at last overthrowing the Dark Lord in the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] beside [[Elendil]].

== Background ==
Gil-galad was of the royal House of Finwë, a descendant of the Noldorin kings of the Elder Days. After the deaths of the High Kings before him in the wars against [[Morgoth]] in the First Age, the high kingship of the Noldor in Middle-earth came to Gil-galad. When the War of Wrath ended the First Age and much of the ancient land of Beleriand was drowned, Gil-galad established his realm in [[Lindon]], the surviving coastlands west of the Blue Mountains, and there he dwelt with his herald [[Elrond]] and the shipwright [[Círdan]].

== The Second Age ==
Throughout the long Second Age, Gil-galad was the chief power of the Elves in Middle-earth and a steadfast friend to the Faithful of [[Númenor]]. He grew wary of the fair-seeming stranger Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, who came among the Elven-smiths of [[Eregion]]; Gil-galad refused to deal with him, mistrusting his nature, and his caution was vindicated when Annatar was revealed as [[Sauron]] and the [[One Ring]] was forged. When Sauron made open war and overran Eregion, Gil-galad sent [[Elrond]] with a force that founded the refuge of [[Rivendell]]. He held the line in the north and received from [[Celebrimbor]], before Eregion fell, one of the Three Elven Rings, Vilya, the Ring of Air, the mightiest of the Three, which he later gave to Elrond.

== The Last Alliance ==
At the end of the Age, Gil-galad joined with [[Elendil]] the King of the [[Dúnedain]] to forge the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]], leading the greatest Elven host since the Elder Days into [[Mordor]]. After the long siege of Barad-dûr, [[Sauron]] came forth, and Gil-galad and Elendil grappled with him hand to hand upon the slopes of Mount Doom. Both kings perished, Gil-galad consumed by the heat of Sauron's grasp, but the Dark Lord was thrown down and the Ring cut from his hand by [[Isildur]]. With Gil-galad died the last High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth.

== Legacy ==
After Gil-galad's death, no Elf claimed the high kingship again in Middle-earth. His spear Aeglos and his memory passed into legend, preserved in songs such as the lay sung by [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] in the form known to the Hobbits. His herald [[Elrond]] carried the Ring Vilya and his counsel into the Third Age.

== Character ==
Gil-galad is remembered as the last great Elven-king of the wars against the Shadow, wise, valiant, and far-seeing, who alone among the lords of his age mistrusted Annatar from the first. His fall at the close of the Second Age marks the passing of the high age of Elven power in Middle-earth.

== In the films ==
In Peter Jackson's ''The Lord of the Rings'' films, Gil-galad appears silently in the prologue of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', portrayed by Mark Ferguson, leading the Elven host of the Last Alliance.

== Appearances ==
* ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' (Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' (in song and history)

[[Category:Characters]]
[[Category:Lord of the Rings]]
[[Category:Elves]]

Gil-galad - Revision history

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