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Kransha · 10-30-2004, 08:19 AM

Quenya and Sindarin are not races, they are languages. There is a division of Elves called the Sindar, but, as far as I know, Legolas Greenleaf is not one.

Legolas is not the same race as Galadriel. He is one of the Silvan Elves, as he calls himself, which is a division of th Teleri, the third clan of Elves who did not make the Great Journey to Aman (thus, Umanyar - "Those Who Did Not See the Light of Aman"). Galadriel is one of the Noldor, who did make it to Aman. She was born in Valinor, daughter of Finarfin and grandaughter of Finwe himself, King and Lord of the Noldor. Legolas's and Galadriel's Elven divisions could not be much more distinctly seperate than they are.

Actually, a lot about Legolas is unknown. Here on the Downs, such things have been widely discussed. It is thought that, since Legolas' dad, Thranduil had fair hair (and perhaps his son as well *wink*), he may be one of the golden-haired Vanyar Elves, who did not go on the Great Journey and remained in the East of Ard, but, this opinion is not legitimately determinable. Here is an interesting wealth of information regarding Legolas' referall to himself as a "Silvan Elf" in Eregion.

Legolas seems to refer to himself as a Silvan Elf: in Eregion, he says '...the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk...' (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 3, The Ring Goes South). This is confusing, because his father Thranduil is elsewhere identified as one of the Sindar. Tolkien touches on this question in his Letters, where he describes Legolas as '...a Woodland Elf, though one of royal and originally Sindarin line.' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien No 297, dated 1967. The explanation for this is found in the History of Galadriel and Celeborn (in Unfinished Tales), where there's a brief account of the arrival of Thranduil's father Oropher among the Silvan Elves of Greenwood the Great. It's made obvious there that Oropher and his small band of Sindar merged themselves completely with the Silvan people of the Wood, leaving behind their Sindarin inheritance. That's why Oropher's grandson Legolas thinks of himself as a Silvan Elf, rather than one of the Sindar.
-Excerpted from a Note on Legolas at The Encyclopedia of Arda.

I suggest you check out one of the many threads about Legolas heritage, genome, hair color, etc. by using the handy-dandy Search Function.

10-30-2004, 08:19 AM	#2
Kransha Ubiquitous Urulóki Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: The port of Mars, where Famine, Sword, and Fire, leash'd in like hounds, crouch for employment Posts: 747	Quenya and Sindarin are not races, they are languages. There is a division of Elves called the Sindar, but, as far as I know, Legolas Greenleaf is not one. Legolas is not the same race as Galadriel. He is one of the Silvan Elves, as he calls himself, which is a division of th Teleri, the third clan of Elves who did not make the Great Journey to Aman (thus, Umanyar - "Those Who Did Not See the Light of Aman"). Galadriel is one of the Noldor, who did make it to Aman. She was born in Valinor, daughter of Finarfin and grandaughter of Finwe himself, King and Lord of the Noldor. Legolas's and Galadriel's Elven divisions could not be much more distinctly seperate than they are. Actually, a lot about Legolas is unknown. Here on the Downs, such things have been widely discussed. It is thought that, since Legolas' dad, Thranduil had fair hair (and perhaps his son as well wink), he may be one of the golden-haired Vanyar Elves, who did not go on the Great Journey and remained in the East of Ard, but, this opinion is not legitimately determinable. Here is an interesting wealth of information regarding Legolas' referall to himself as a "Silvan Elf" in Eregion. Legolas seems to refer to himself as a Silvan Elf: in Eregion, he says '...the Elves of this land were of a race strange to us of the silvan folk...' (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 3, The Ring Goes South). This is confusing, because his father Thranduil is elsewhere identified as one of the Sindar. Tolkien touches on this question in his Letters, where he describes Legolas as '...a Woodland Elf, though one of royal and originally Sindarin line.' (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien No 297, dated 1967. The explanation for this is found in the History of Galadriel and Celeborn (in Unfinished Tales), where there's a brief account of the arrival of Thranduil's father Oropher among the Silvan Elves of Greenwood the Great. It's made obvious there that Oropher and his small band of Sindar merged themselves completely with the Silvan people of the Wood, leaving behind their Sindarin inheritance. That's why Oropher's grandson Legolas thinks of himself as a Silvan Elf, rather than one of the Sindar. -Excerpted from a Note on Legolas at The Encyclopedia of Arda. I suggest you check out one of the many threads about Legolas heritage, genome, hair color, etc. by using the handy-dandy Search Function. __________________ "What mortal feels not awe/Nor trembles at our name, Hearing our fate-appointed power sublime/Fixed by the eternal law. For old our office, and our fame," -Aeschylus, Song of the Furies Last edited by Kransha; 10-30-2004 at 08:28 AM. Reason: Added a nifty little note from [b]TEoA[/b]