Archmaesterjimmie: LOTR character article, book-canon (Corvus) + portrait (Wren)

2026-06-13T15:57:25Z

LOTR character article, book-canon (Corvus) + portrait (Wren)

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{{Infobox character
| image = https://archmaester.site/portraits/lotr/legolas.jpg
| name = Legolas
| title = Legolas Greenleaf; Prince of the Woodland Realm
| house = The Fellowship; the Galadhrim of Mirkwood (Sindar)
| race = Elf (Sindar of the Woodland Realm)
| status = Departed
| region = The Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood
| born = Unknown (First or Second Age)
| died = Sailed over Sea (after F.A. 120)
| weapon = Bow of the Galadhrim; white knife; later a Lórien-bow
| fate = Founded an Elf-colony in Ithilien; sailed West after Aragorn's death, taking Gimli with him
| actor = Orlando Bloom
| quote = A red sun rises. Blood has been spilled this night.
}}

'''Legolas''' was an [[Elves|Elf]] of the [[Woodland Realm]] of northern [[Mirkwood]], son of its king [[Thranduil]], and the Elven member of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. Swift, keen-eyed, and matchless with the bow, he was among the [[Three Hunters]] who ran across [[Rohan]] in pursuit of orcs and fought in many of the great battles of the [[War of the Ring]].

He is remembered above all for the unlikely and lasting friendship he forged with [[Gimli]] the [[Dwarf]] — a bond that healed, in two persons, the ancient estrangement of their kindreds — and for being one of the few [[Sindar|Sindarin]] princes whose deeds are told in the tale of the Ring.

== Origins ==
Legolas was a [[Sindar|Sindarin]] Elf, son of [[Thranduil]] King of the [[Woodland Realm]], the wood-elf kingdom of northern [[Mirkwood]] (Greenwood the Great of old). His people were Silvan Elves ruled by a Sindarin house, less lordly than the High Elves of [[Rivendell]] or [[Lothlórien]] but deeply skilled in woodcraft and archery. He came to [[Rivendell]] as a messenger of his father, bearing the unwelcome news that the creature [[Gollum]], whom his folk had been set to guard, had escaped.

== Biography ==
=== The Council and the Fellowship ===
Present at the [[Council of Elrond]], Legolas was chosen to represent the Elves among the Nine Walkers of the [[Fellowship of the Ring]]. He brought to the company the gifts of his kind: the keenest sight of any save perhaps the Eldar of old, tirelessness on the march, the power to walk lightly upon snow that swallowed the others on [[Caradhras]], and unfailing aim. In [[Moria]] and at the [[Bridge of Khazad-dûm]] he fought beside his companions; in [[Lothlórien]] he was at last among his own kind, and there received a great bow of the [[Galadhrim]].

=== The Three Hunters ===
After the breaking of the Fellowship at [[Amon Hen]], Legolas joined [[Aragorn]] and [[Gimli]] as one of the [[Three Hunters]], chasing the [[Uruk-hai]] who had carried off [[Merry]] and [[Pippin]] across the plains of Rohan. He fought at the [[Battle of Helm's Deep]], keeping a friendly tally of slain foes with Gimli, and rode with the host through the campaigns that followed.

=== The Paths of the Dead and the sea-longing ===
Legolas dared the [[Paths of the Dead]] with Aragorn and came up the [[Anduin]] in the black ships to the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]. Near the coast, hearing for the first time the crying of the gulls, he was seized by the [[sea-longing]] — the deep Elvish yearning for the West that, once awakened, never wholly departs. He went on with the host to the [[Black Gate]] and saw the war to its end.

=== Ithilien and the last voyage ===
After the [[War of the Ring]], Legolas led a company of his folk south and founded an Elf-colony in [[Ithilien]], helping to heal the war-scarred land and to beautify the city of [[Minas Tirith]]. He and [[Gimli]] travelled together to the [[Glittering Caves]] of [[Aglarond]] and the forest of [[Fangorn]], each marvelling at what the other loved. By the tradition recorded in the Appendices, after [[Aragorn]]'s death in F.A. 120 Legolas built a grey ship and sailed down [[Anduin]] over Sea to the [[Undying Lands]] — and, alone of all his kind, took the [[Dwarf]] Gimli with him.

== Character ==
Legolas is light-hearted where his companions are grim, given to song and laughter, yet deadly in battle and tireless on any road. He embodies the grace, agelessness, and faint melancholy of the Elves — quick to wonder, slow to despair, and increasingly drawn westward as the [[Third Age]] wanes. His openness of heart, more than any other Elf's in the tale, lets him overcome the old grievances between Elves and Dwarves.

== Relationships ==
* '''[[Gimli]]''' — his dearest friend, an enmity of races turned to a love none had foreseen.
* '''[[Aragorn]]''' — his captain and comrade among the [[Three Hunters]].
* '''[[Thranduil]]''' — his father, King of the [[Woodland Realm]].
* '''[[Galadriel]]''' — Lady of [[Lothlórien]], whose gift of a bow served him through the war.
* '''[[Gandalf]]''' — leader of the Fellowship and his fellow walker.

== Appearances ==
* ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]''
* ''[[The Two Towers]]''
* ''[[The Return of the King]]''
* ''[[The Hobbit (novel)|The Hobbit]]'' (his father and people appear; Legolas himself is unnamed there)

In Peter Jackson's film trilogy (2001–2003), Legolas was portrayed by '''Orlando Bloom'''. The films greatly expand his acrobatic battle feats and add him to scenes (such as the defence of Helm's Deep set-pieces) beyond his role in the books.

== Quotes ==
<blockquote>''The wonder of the trees! For all my long years I have never thought of that.''</blockquote>
<blockquote>''Alas for the gulls! No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm.''</blockquote>

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

Legolas - Revision history

Archmaesterjimmie: LOTR character article, book-canon (Corvus) + portrait (Wren)