Speaking of Legolas...

Top 26. Feb 2, 2002 9:45 AM

» OrLaNdO_ObSeSsEd - ORLANDO BLOOM IS MINE, HERE THAT?

HEY NAT HERE, I JUST WANTED TO SAY: Just cuz Legolas/Orlando kicked some orc-ass, y'all think ur his biggest fan, well I got news for U: HE'S MINE SO BACK OFF! I've been like his biggest fan ever since Wilde and now all these ditzy girls act like they've known Orlando forever and if you think thats obsession, you dont know what is!
nat

-- posted by OrLaNdO_ObSeSsEd

Top 27. Feb 3, 2002 5:49 AM

» Michael_Martinez - Re: ORLANDO BLOOM IS MINE, HERE THAT?

In response to message posted by OrLaNdO_ObSeSsEd:

I don't think we need to get into any biggest fan competitions. There can be no losers in such a competition.

-- posted by Michael_Martinez

Top 28. Feb 3, 2002 5:34 PM

» kristen02 - wats up with u all??????

ok, i'll admit, Orlando Bloom is realy sort-of cute. but dont you think that you all guys are obsessed completely with some one whose comepletely out of your reach? guys , get real! i'm not saying that i dont think he's hott or that i wouldn't love to meet him, but dont you think that your acting completely stupid.
ok heres it, i need some pics of him. my friend is making a scrap book with him in it.i'd realy appreciate it. thanks,
kirsten

-- posted by kristen02

Top 29. Feb 3, 2002 8:23 PM

» Ithildin - Silvan culture

Mr. Martinez,

I very much enjoyed your article “Speaking of Legolas...” I tend to agree with your theory about his age. It makes a lot of sense to me and nicely explains many of the small inconsistencies in the character’s behavior. Truly, I could not envision Elrond or Celeborn competing over Orc tallies or abruptly turning aside in the midst of a mission to check out the trees with eyes. When I read the books I couldn’t help but think of Legolas as youthful – and it just didn’t coincide with the concept of his being several thousand years old. Whether Tolkien himself envisioned Legolas as a young Elf or not, I think a youthful sense of wonder is the only explanation that truly fits the way the character acts. The fact that he had never traveled widely before would only amplify his sometimes slightly boyish reactions.

But I am wondering if cultural differences might have had an influence also. After reading The Hobbit, the description of the lifestyle of the Wood-elves of Thranduil’s kingdom in the Northern Mirkwood makes me think that such behavior might not seem so out of place there. Though Sindarin by descent, the culture Legolas would have grown up in and been surrounded by was Silvan. Seldom traveling beyond Mirkwood, he would have spent a lot of time with the Silvan Elves. Little is said about the specifics of the Wood-elves’ lifestyle, but the implication I get from Tolkien’s writings is that it would not have been as sophisticated or refined – and their attitudes, therefore, were probably not as reserved or polished – as those of the Eldar.

Though descriptions of life in Lorien, Rivendell and Northern Mirkwood (as given in LOTR and The Hobbit) are sketchy at best, it seems to me that perhaps Thranduil and his Sindarin companions, as they lived among the Wood-elves, more-or-less adopted the Silvan way of life. I get the feeling, however, that the Eldarin ways may have been dominant in Lorien – or at least the Eldar there held themselves more aloof from the ways of any Silvan folk that lived there. Though evidence is scanty, Thranduil just seems to enter into the life of his people and doesn’t strike me as being quite as aristocratic as Elrond, Galadriel and Celeborn.

To me it also seems unlikely that Legolas would have been his father’s only or oldest son, judging primarily from the very fact that Elrond assigned him to the Fellowship of the Ring. Even if Legolas did not comprehend the magnitude of the approaching war or the fact that it would probably involve his father’s kingdom in Mirkwood, Elrond undoubtedly did. If Legolas were Thranduil’s eldest son, I would think he would have a very important position in the Wood-elves’ defense organization. He would be sorely missed when the kingdom was attacked. His place would have been at his father’s side. Elrond would not purposely have caused Legolas to be unavailable to Thranduil in his time of need. Gimli was not able to fight at his father’s side either, but neither was Gloin King Under the Mountain.

Conversely, you could say that desperate times call for desperate measures, and the Quest was certainly of the utmost importance. Still, I can’t believe that Elrond would deprive Thranduil of his eldest son’s support at such a critical time when there were plenty of capable Elves who could have gone in his stead. Why Elrond chose Legolas over the likes of Glorfindel, Elladan or Elrohir is another subject entirely – but I am glad he did! It added a lot to the story to see the wonders of Middle-earth through Legolas’ bright, curious eyes.

Tolkien’s concept of the Elves and their way of life clearly developed over time and a lot of that evolution apparently occurred after The Hobbit was written. (Am I mistaken or is Thranduil – the Elvenking – never mentioned by name in The Hobbit?) Seems to me that many of the “inconsistencies” may be the result of that developmental process. I’m sure the story was intended to simply be read and enjoyed the way a painting is meant to be viewed from across a room. When such a work is examined with a magnifying glass you may find many “inconsistencies.” But in this case, it is just so much fun to study every microscopic detail!

-- posted by Ithildin

Top 30. Feb 3, 2002 9:53 PM

» lbc88roxyahoo - Re: Lord of the rings :D

Is legolas the same character in Silmerlin as the Lord Of The Rings?

-- posted by lbc88roxyahoo

Top 31. Feb 4, 2002 12:36 AM

» Michael_Martinez - Re: Re: Lord of the rings :D

Thranduil is never named in The Hobbit. He is simply called the Elvenking. In fact, the Wood-elves of The Hobbit are extrapolated to a certain degree from folklore. Hence, you have a classic Elven hunt through the woods, for example.

As for the two Legolas characters, they are separate and distinct. The first Legolas was a lord of Gondolin and he would have been a Gnome (who were eventually replaced by the Noldor as the mythologies evolved). The second Legolas (of The Lord of the Rings) has no connection to Gondolin.

Contrary to a very popular misconception, Tolkien reused Elven names more than once. The only reservation he ever expressed about reusing an Elven name concerned Glorfindel. He wrote, in an essay about Glorfindel, that he felt so striking a name would not have been reused among the Eldar, because of the great sacrifice Glorfindel had made on behalf of the people of Gondolin.

-- posted by Michael_Martinez

Top 32. Feb 4, 2002 1:25 PM

» desertblue - why send Legolas in the first place?

I have often wondered why Elrond never sent Glorfindel or his sons on the Fellowship instead of Legolas. Maybe he was sensitive about his sons (the way he was with Arwen), even though the brethren did join the southern wars later.

I thought maybe because Glorfindel lived also in the spirit world, that he would be too visible to Sauron and the wraiths? But the line of "such others from my household" whom he might see fit to send...why Legolas, a relatively untested unknown wood-elf who'd never been to Lorien?

jill

-- posted by desertblue

Top 33. Feb 5, 2002 1:10 PM

» Michael_Martinez - Re: why send Legolas in the first place?

In response to message posted by desertblue:

But why not Legolas? Just because he was from Mirkwood doesn't mean he wasn't up to the task of making the journey. And it was a symbolic way of including an Elf from a distant land.

-- posted by Michael_Martinez

Top 34. Feb 5, 2002 2:38 PM

» desertblue - Re: Re: why send Legolas in the first place?

In response to message posted by Michael_Martinez:

I'm not dissing Legolas. He's a great character. Sorry if I came across wrong.

jill

-- posted by desertblue