Legolas Greenleaf

Origin: Lord of the Rings

Hair: Blonde
Eyes: Blue
Occupation: Ranger/Archer



Lives: Outdoors 35-13

Although he lived among them, Legolas was not fully of the Silvan Elves. As a son of the Elven-king Thranduil, who had originally come from Doriath, Legolas was at least half Sindar; his mother's identity is completely unknown. This is complicated by the fact that a small minority of Sindarin Elves ruled the predominantly Silvan Woodland Realm of Northern Mirkwood, a minority to which Legolas belonged. The Sindarin minority in that realm, who should have been nobler and wiser than the Silvan Elves can be seen as having "gone native" at the end of the First Age: after Morgoth was defeated and all grand Elf-kingdoms of Beleriand were destroyed, the Sindar nobles can be seen as having reverted to a simpler society.[20]

Like all Elves, Legolas had great respect and appreciation for nature. After the Fellowship parted from Fangorn Forest, he longed to return once more to explore its wonders more thoroughly. He was kind, caring greatly for his friends, even Gimli the Dwarf, though Elves and Dwarves almost never expressed liking for one another in Middle-earth.[1]

As an Elf, Legolas had the abilities typical of his race. He could walk silently grass and snow leaving minimal footprints, allowing him to advance unhindered. His eyes were sharper than that of Men, seeing through great distances and in the dark. He could even sleep while walking, which contributed to allowing him to travel 45 leagues in less than four days with Aragorn and Gimli. He tamed unruly horses with only a few words, without needing reins or saddles.

Legolas famously used an Elven bow, as well as a long, white knife. He would prefer to pierce his enemies from afar, but his dagger was sometimes used for close combat. In Lothlórien, he was given a long-bow of the Galadhrim, which was longer and stouter than those of the fashion of Mirkwood.[21]


Legolas was a Sindarin Elf who was part of the Fellowship of the Ring in the Third Age. Son of the Elvenking Thranduil of Mirkwood, Legolas was Mirkwood's prince, a messenger, and a master archer. With his keen eyesight, sensitive hearing, and excellent bowmanship, Legolas was valuable to the Fellowship in their journey across Middle-earth. He was well-known for becoming friends with the Dwarf Gimli, despite their long-held differences.

Legolas was the only son of Thranduil, King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. His exact date of birth and mother's name are unknown.

Legolas came to the Council of Elrond in Rivendell, the great meeting held by the Elf lord Elrond, as a messenger from his father to discuss the escape of Gollum. When the council was choosing the "Nine Walkers" to pit against the "Nine Riders," Legolas volunteered to represent the Elves, and to become one of the members of the Fellowship that would set out to destroy the One Ring.[2]

Legolas in combat with the Goblins during the Skirmish in Balin's Tomb

During their journey, Legolas would stay at the rear due to his keen eyes. On Caradhras, Legolas was able to run nimbly over the snow, leaving behind little imprint, whereas his companions struggled to plough through it.[3] When Gandalf gave his counsel, Legolas voted against passing through Moria. In the morning, the Fellowship was waylaid by Wargs and Legolas fought in their defence. After the battle, he picked up his arrows, save one which was damaged.[4]

Gimli quarreled with him in Moria (which was not unexpected considering the ancient quarrel between Elves and Dwarves) - Legolas' father Thranduil had once imprisoned Gimli's father, Glóin.[5]

He and Gimli became friends, however, when Gimli greeted the Elf, Lady Galadriel, with gentle words. Before the Fellowship departed from Lothlórien, Legolas was given a new Galadhrim longbow.[6] While the Fellowship was travelling over the River Anduin, he used his new bow to shoot an overhead Nazgûl on a Fellbeast with one masterful shot in the dark.[7]

After the breaking of the Fellowship, Legolas and Aragorn sang a song of lament for the fall of Boromir.[8] He then led the way as he, Aragorn and Gimli raced through Rohan after the Uruk-hai who had taken Merry and Pippin. During that week, he was given a grey horse named Arod, on which he and Gimli would often ride together, from Éomer and his Éored.[9]

In Fangorn Forest, Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli were reunited with Gandalf, now called Gandalf the White. Upon their meeting, Gandalf delivered the messages of Galadriel to them:

In the Battle of the Hornburg, Legolas and Gimli engaged in an Orc-slaying contest[10] that Gimli won (the score being 42 to 43, respectively), though Legolas was not jealous, stating, "You have passed my score by one but I do not grudge you the game, so glad am I to see you on your legs."[11]

In Rohan, he and Gimli followed Aragorn, Elladan and Elrohir to the Paths of the Dead. His horse, Arod, refused to enter the paths, but Legolas calmed him. Their company rode on, with Elladan as the last, but Legolas looked back and saw the Dead following the Grey Company.

Legolas fought in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields with Gimli and the sons of Elrond.[13] After the battle, he and Gimli entered Minas Tirith; Legolas sang an elven-song as he walked, and suggested that the city needed more gardens. They met Prince Imrahil and went to the Houses of Healing, at which he remembered the cries of the gulls at Pelargir and sang a song about his newly kindled sea-longing.[14]

After the destruction of the One Ring and of Sauron, Legolas stayed for the coronation of Aragorn and his marriage to Arwen. Later, he and Gimli travelled together to Helm's Deep, visiting the Glittering Caves, and then traveled through Fangorn Forest. Eventually, Legolas came to Ithilien with some of his people, with his father's leave, to live out his remaining time in Middle-earth helping to restore the woodlands that had been war-torn. After Aragorn's death, Legolas made a ship in Ithilien and left Middle-earth to go over the sea. His strong friendship with Gimli prompted Legolas to invite him to accompany him to the Undying Lands; making him the first and only Dwarf to do so. He was never seen again in Middle-earth.[15][16]

The name Legolas is a Silvan dialect form of pure Sindarin Laegolas, meaning 'green leaf'. It consists of Sindarin words laeg ("green") and golas ("a collection of leaves, foliage, being a prefixed collective form of las(s) "leaf").[17] The Quenya translation of Legolas is Laiqualassë.[18][19]

There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: laeg is a very rare, archaic word for "green", which is normally replaced by calen (cf. Calenhad, mutated Parth Galen and plural Pinnath Gelin) and is otherwise almost only preserved in Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim (Sindarin form of Quenya Laiquendi), the Green Elves of the First Age. It may be that Thranduil named his son Legolas to at least partially refer to this people, who were remote kin and ancestors of the later Silvan Elves whom Thranduil ruled.