Gil-galad
| House / Order | House of Finwë (Noldor) |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | |
| Status | Deceased |
| Origin | 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 |
| Portrayed by |
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 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)