Ando Eldarinwa
The Leaves

A star shines on the hour of our meeting

Legolas Greenleaf

Elen Sila Lúmenn' Omentielvo!

Photoshop is such a wondeful program

Legolas' Song of the Sea

'To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling.
Grey ship, grey ship, do you here them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years are failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressea, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people for ever!'

JRR Tolkien.  The Return of the King. referenced in index 1. Songs and verses (p. 234)hardcover edition

May it Be - Enya

The Lord of the Rings Soundtrack

 

Courtesy of:
http://www.dapslyrics.com

May it be
An evening star
Shines down
Upon you

May it be
When darkness falls
Your heart
Will be true

You walk along a road
Oh how far you are from home

Mornië utúlië [Quenya: 'Darkness has come']
Believe and you
Will find your way

Mornië alantië [Quenya: 'Darkness has fallen']
A promise lives
Within you now

May it be
The shadow's call
Will fly away

May it be
A journey on
To light the day

When the night is all gone
You may rise
To find the sun

Mornië utúlië [Quenya: 'Darkness has come']
Believe and you
Will find your way

Mornië alantië [Quenya: 'Darkness has fallen']
A promise lives
Within you now

A promise lives
Within you now...

Are High Elves Finno-Ugric?

                                   my dream come true!!

Elven Realities

Orb Divider

Legolas in clouds

Is he perfect?

for was Legolas fair of face beyond the measure of men, and he sang an elven-song in a clear voice as he walked in the morning.. JRR Tolkien, The Return of the King

The Tragic Flaw
 
'And now Legolas fell silent, while the others talked, and he looked out against the sun, and as he gazed he saw white sea-birds beating up the River.
    "Look!" he cried.  "Gulls!  They are flying far inland.  A wonder they are to me and a trouble to my heart.  Never in all my life had I met them, until we came to Pelargir, and there I heard them crying in the air as we rode to the battle of the ships.  Then I stood still, forgetting war in Middle-earth; for their wailing voices spoke to me of the Sea.  The Sea! Alas! I have not yet beheld it.  But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir.  Alas! for the gulls.  No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm."
(later)
Legolas paused and sighed, and turning his eyes southward softly he sang:
    Silver flows the streams from Celos to Erui
   In the green feilds of Lebennin!
  Tall grows the grass there.  In the wind  from the Sea
 The white lillies sway,
And the golden bells are shaken of mallos and alfirin
In the gree fields of Lebennin,
In the wind from the Sea!
 
"Green are those fields in the songs of my people; but they were dark then, grey wastes in the blackness before us.  And over the wide land, trampling unheeded the grass and the flowers, we hunted our foes through a day and a night, until we came to the end of the Great River at last."
    "Then I thought in my heart that we drew near to the Sea; for wide was the water in the darkness, and the sea-birds innumerable cried on its shores.  Alas for the wailing of the gulls! Did not the Lady tell me to beware of them? And now I cannot forget them."
 
Source: JRR Tolkien The Return of the King
    
      how incredibly sad.......
 
Oh and by the way this is the LAMENT FOR GANDALF
rights to LOTR, howard shore, whoever
 
verse one is in quenya and verses 2&3 are in sindarin
 
A Olorin i yaresse
Mentaner i Numeherui
Tirien i Romenori
Maiaron i Oiosaila
Manan elye etevanne
Norie i melanelye
 
Mithrandir, Mithrandir, A Randir Vithren
u-reniathach i amar galen
I reniad lin ne mor, nuithannen
In gwidh ristennin, i fae narchannen
I ;ach Anor ed ardhon qwannen
Cales veleg, ethuiannen.
 
It translates as:
 
Olorin, who once was...
Sent by the Lords of the West
To gaurd the lands of the East
Wisest of all Maiar
What drove you to leave?
That which you loved?
 
Mithrandir, Mithrandir O Pilgrim Grey
No more will you wander the green fields of this earth
Your journey has ended in darkness.
The bonds cut, the spirit broken
The Flame of Anor has left this World
A great light, has gone out
 
A beautiful, touching song...I can see why he couldn't translate it

There is a ton of information and speculation out there on Legolas so I'll try not to repeat the obvious like he's a silvan elf from mirkwood.
 
  • Though Tolien never specifies his age, in the movie Jackson puts him at 2931, though it doesn't really matter since he's immortal...no one knows the date of his death either because he passes beyond the sea and isn't heard from again.

  He was tall, fair..(in this case we are assuming this means extremely handsome, and not that he necessarily had blonde hair.  Though his skin might have been lightish...) and had bright eyes ( meaning alive full of curiosity..again tolkien can not always be taken in the literal sense).  As an elf he is probably (stress this word) slim and able to move very quietly and quickly.  Legolas wore the colors of his race, brown and green, which as they lived in a forest would make very good camoflauge colors.  This makes it seem the elves are a very private people who don't necessarily welcome outsiders.  They are quiet and let others carry on with their rashness and tempers, while the elves remain coolheaded and objective.

On the journey Legolas is the only one who seems not to be tempted to use the ring at all.  One could argue that this is because the ring wasn't one of the ones made for the elves, but then you see how galadriel is tempted.  He seems to be having fun on the journey, especially when he is able to walk ahead of the others on top of the snow, while they slowly trudge through it.

Legolas is sensitive and caring, but is a warrior at heart, and is able to do what needs to be done. Some might see his silent ways as cold, stuck up, or uncaring, but if you look closely you can see Legolas is always watching, observing.  If he has something to contribute, he says it and no more.  He gates his point across very easily.

Its a lament to Gandalf.
What are they saying?
I do not have the heart to tell you. The grief is still too near.
- Legolas about Gandalf.

 

---it's kind of creepy how the elves sleep with their eyes open, and some people might consider this Legolas' one downside.....I don't think so!   later on in the story he never needs to stop, like the frail mortals, for rest. Just imagine how far he could travel in just a few days Wow! He can just keep on going and going and going..............didn't they pick the wrong charcter for energizers mascot?....i bet alot more people would like an elf

..apparently Legolas is supposed to be the one who accomplished the least among the Fellowship.  I beg to differ, how many times did he save the companions lives at the risk of his own.  he has an amazing talent for pushing or shoving or pulling people out of the way just in time.  I think the one who accomplished the least would probably be Boromir or Gimli.  Though EVERY single one of the Fellowship was vital to the destroying of the ring, and no one can say any of the companions wasn't important.  Aragorn was supposed  to be the top dog in the movie...and he did a great job, I just wonder how he felt about getting upstaged by a young elf?

 Excerpt from the site: Lothlorien (excellent!!!)

"Tolkien stresses 2 times that Legolas, though his name is a dialectal form of the Woodland Elves, is a Woodland Elf, yes, but also Sindarin in origin like his father, just like Galadriel is queen of the Elves of Lothlórien, but she herself is a Noldor Elf. This is an assumption, but I think Thranduil was a Sindar Elf who became ruler of the Silvan (originally Nandorin Elves). His son was born while he was already in Mirkwood and thus received a name of the Woodland Elves. "

While I believe this could be very true..there is also the fact that no one knows of what race of elf Legolas' mother was...and his name could come from her race.  Since it is stressed that he is a "woodland elf" i believe that is likely that his mother is from that race, because just being born there probably wouldn't be enough for him to belong to that race, if his father was another. 

 

 We don't know that much about this mysterious elven warrior....not when he was born, who his mother was, if he had any siblings, what his true hair color was, how tall he was (though some sources say around six feet)

 

 

 

 

The Debate:

   Was he blond or brown?      

(and does it really matter except to die hard detail crazy fans?..no offense, i know what its like!)

 

Tolkien never tells specificly.....you think he did it on purpose to drive us crazy?...but in the book (#1)  it says 

"Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind."

Source: J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring "

-even though its night, and it might be hard to tell what color hair someone has, is there was light from the stars, you would think that blond hair would appear silvirish or light, but that dark hair would remain dark...from this account it appears Legolas' hair is dark colored

i'll have more later....

This is from an excellent article by Michael Martinez entitled 'Legolas, you're just so darn...CUTE!'
      if you want to read the whole thing go here http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/88828
 
Last month I wrote about the movie starring Orlando Bloom. I forget who else appeared in that flick, but in case you missed it, he played an elf named Legolas. Okay, I know who else appeared in the movie. Orlando had a supporting cast and all, but it was his movie. I know this because starting somewhere around December 20, 2001, my email began to explode with anxious queries from young ladies about that gorgeous elf in the movie.....

When I first saw Orlando Bloom dressed as Legolas, I said to myself right then and there, "That is the DEFINITIVE Legolas." A lot of people complained about the blond hair. Why is he blond? Almost overnight, the Great Hair Color Debate raged across the Internet. What color should Legolas' hair be?

The book doesn't say and, quite frankly, I never really cared that much, although I always pictured him as being dark-haired myself. Why? No idea. That's just the way I saw him...until Orlando Bloom (who is himself dark-haired) stepped into the pointy shoes of nearly every Tolkien fan's favorite Elf (in the movies)......Legolas is an enigma. A lot of people have devoted a great deal of time to trying to figure him out. The color of his hair isn't the only question people have asked about him. How old is he? Is he married? Does he have any brothers or sisters? Was he at the Battle of Five Armies?

The answers to all these questions are: Don't know. What do you think? and Whatever you want the answer to be.

Tolkien at one point said of Legolas that, of all the members of the Fellowship, the Elf had achieved the least. Many people have disagreed with Tolkien about that assessment. After all, Gimli didn't bring down any flying Nazgul. Nor, for that matter, did Aragorn or Boromir. Even Meriadoc only earned honorable mention for sneaking up behind the Lord of the Nazgul and stabbing him in the rear of the leg. Of course, Legolas didn't kill the Nazgul (he was dead already) -- just the flying steed......Well, I knew they were trying to start an official fan club. And I had visited the Bloomin' Marvellous fan site before Angelfire shut it down for using too much bandwidth. Orly's fans are quite devoted. (NOTE: Bloomin' Marvellous is now located at www.crosswinds.net/~orlandobloomfans.)

When I wrote my review of the movie last month, I heard from a couple of flamers, as I expected, over the tobacco comment I included. But if they were hoping for a long, drawn-out exchange, they were sadly disappointed. I think I responded to one, and had to let his last message go without further reply. You see, I was too busy reassuring anxious young maidens that their beloved Elf warrior would indeed return in the next two installments of the Orlando Bloom Saga.

What, exactly, is it about Legolas which sparked such intense interest? I've thought about starting a poll, but I'm not sure the server has been built which could handle the traffic. Xenite.Org's traffic tripled in December. I have no idea of where the bandwidth will stop flowing for January, but my Web-hosting ISP has already informed me that I won't be renewing on my current contract when it runs out in February.

And I don't even have much Legolas content. I've thought about creating some. But I'm not sure I could afford the hosting fees if I did that. Legolas is an incredible phenomenon.....

The Orlando Bloom movie, "The Fellowship of the Ring", is a classic example of the "If we had only known" kind of marketing disaster that companies dread. No one, and I mean no one, had any idea of how popular this character would become. I'm not sure we'll have any clear idea for several months. Is it just Orlando-as-Legolas or will "Black Hawk Down" sell out week-after-week simply because Elf-boy is in it?......

Do people recognize him on the street? Apparently not. In a recent interview, Mr. Bloom said that, without his blond wig, he's apparently just another young guy walking down the street. People don't notice him. Well, I don't think that will last long. Orlando Bloom will probably be the Tom Cruise of the early 21st century.

And speaking of Legolas...oh, yes. Orlando plays a character named Legolas in these movies Peter Jackson put together for him. How much like Tolkien's Legolas is Peter Jackson's Legolas? I've been asked that, actually. I noted in my review how spectacular Sir Ian McKellen is as Gandalf. I think he's absolutely fantastic as Gandalf. Well, I can honestly say the same thing about Orlando Bloom. He's absolutely fantastic as Legolas.

I think he comes as close to portraying a Tolkien Legolas as any actor alive today would be capable of doing. Are there differences between the film character and the book? Yes. Legolas in the movie is not quite as reserved as Legolas in the book. The Legolas in the book is a bit playful and mischievous. The whole quest thing is almost like a holiday for him.

The movie Legolas is so darned serious. I can see why all the girls like him. They want to soothe his brow, massage his shoulders, help him relax. And yet, he moves with the grace of a cat. And that walk is something Orlando says he practiced. He put a lot of time and thought into figuring out what Legolas' movement should be like. It was time well-spent.

But let's not forget that Legolas is strong, loyal, dedicated, and he kills Orcs really, really fast.

Legolas is a very violent character in the movie. He's deadly, cold, and calculating when he confronts Orcs. But he also has some interesting reactions. One of the odder parts of the movie occurs in the council of Elrond, when all the Elves and Dwarves start yelling at each other. There is nothing like this in the book. No Tolkien Elf or Dwarf would behave that way. Not under such circumstances.

But when that little guy steps forward and offers to accompany Legolas on his heroic journey (or was it the other way around?), Gimli offers his axe. And just a that moment, you see the Look on Legolas' face. He realizes that this really isn't HIS movie. He actually seems to panic for the briefest moment.

Well, people thought it was a funny look, and obviously all the shouting was intended to give Orlando an opportunity to ham it up in his movie. I think he did a good job.

That scene, by the way, is the one I referred to when I said that Legolas gave Gimli a priceless look. I've been asked about that comment quite a bit.

I wish I did know how old Legolas was supposed to be. For the movie, they decided he was 2931 years old. Where did they come up with that age? No idea. It has no relevance to any published Tolkien text of which I am aware.

But, I doubt anyone will care much. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to answer some email.

Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth, which may be purchased directly from Xlibris Corp.

 
 

Legolas & LOTR links

adoptbar.gif

hey, if you're SERIOUSLY into learning something about Tolkien's elvish languages, and want some online reasources, see if any of these will help out:

Ardalambion

The Sindarin Dictionary

Elvish Pronunciation Guide

Resources for Tolkienian Linguistics

English Letter Tengwar Letter Tengwar Name English Letter Tengwar Letter Tengwar Name

A

Tehta A

B

Umbar

C

Calma

D

Ando

E

Tehta E

F

Fermen

G

Ungwe

H

Halla

I

Tehta I

J

Anga

K

Calma

L

Lambe

M

Malta

N

Numen

O

Tehta O

P

Parma

Q

Quesse

R

Ore

S

Silme

T

Tinco

U

Tehta U

V

Vala

W

Ure

X

Calma + Silme

Y

Yanta

Z

Aze

TH

Sule

WH

Grey Elven Hwesta

CH

Anca

PH

Aze

SH

Harma

LL

Alda

Attolma i menelessie, nai airitainiéva esselya. Nai ardalya tuluva. Nai írelya tyarniéva mardesse ve menelesse. Anta men síre ilyaurea mastalma. Ar avanta men raikalmar ve avantalme raikatyarolmain. Ar nai útukuvalye me mailenna. ná fainu me ulkallo. Amen.

Getting ready to fight!

The Elvish Language

 
Ales Bican has worked out a very substantial list of Quenya translations of common names; check it out here
 
Read "Now We All Have Elvish Names"
   *unfortunantly my name wasn't at either of those
 
Elfling - the best mailing list devoted to Tolkien's languages!
The Tengwar - download Daniel S. Smith's fonts for Tolkien's most beautiful Elvish script!
 
Visit the Ardalambion in  Finnish - the Kontu page now features the Adûnaic, Westron and Sindarin articles, translated by Vesa Piittinen
 
 
    This site is dedicated to the study of Tolkien's languages, in particular Quenya and Sindarin, and the writing systems known as tengwar and cirth.
 
    A journal of linguistic studies of fantasy linguistics, especially Elvish languages.  SUBSCRIPTION NECESSARY
 
    A society (with journal) for the study of elven languages
 
   Very brief, words used in the books
 
   Dedicated to Quenya, the language of the High Elves of Valinor, this site offers background information on the development of the Elven language.  Divided for grammar specifics
 
    This is the homepage for the Tolkien Language List. This list, also know as TolkLang, is an electronic mailing list.
 
for Translation charts NyuuMon's Tolkien Archive
for dictionary of languages J. R. R. Tolkien
for dictionary of Black Speech Tolkien Monster Enyclopdia
for Tengwar to English dictionary Tolkien Guild
 
    THE STRUCTURE OF QUENYA: A BRIEF SURVEY.
 
   Single Word Translator. Translation English To Quenya.
Phrase Translator - Coming Soon
 
   
 
 
    THE STRUCTURE OF SINDARIN.
 
    A Sindarin dictionary project, searchable online and downloadable.
 
 
 
Sindarin
    English-Sindarin Sindarin-English
 
Tengwar
    Language-specific Tengwar Symbology.
 
    The Tengwar Scribe version 1.1. This is a Windows 95+/NT 4+ utility for
those Tengwar fonts that use the key mapping invented by Daniel S. Smith
 
    Tengwar numbers are the counting system used
by the Elves in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books.
 

What is this?
someone says the 9 companions were so close outside the movie, they all got tatooed together(someone tell me where this is from)
 
Orlando says
"It was designed by Alan Lee, who illustrated all of the Lord of the Rings books. It's in Elvish script, and it's the word for nine. We all chose to put them in different places. I got mine on my forearm, because I'm an archer."

                     *a site with basic info...one comment after my own heart

Bow and Bloom: LIFE

          * an interesting site, made me laugh a couple times...

dollcopycopy1.jpg
 

dollcopycopy1.jpg

legolas with bow

aah, to hold this bow*.... (and to be held by whats holding it!) jk
 
Legolas Greenleaf

 

Why it's good to have this particular Elf around:

He's not bothered by raging snowstorms.
He can run on snow.
He can tell a sparrow from a finch a league off.
He sings.
He climbs trees.
He can fight with knives.
He loves nature.
He readies an arrow on a bow faster than the eye can follow.
He's got a killer aim.
He's royalty.
He has a way with good animals.
He's not afraid of the Dead of Men.
He's gorgeous. (written by J.R.R. Tolkien, confirmed by P. Jackson)
 
 
*i love recurves and in the movie Legolas shoots wonderfully except for one scene where he isn't HOLDING the bow right!!! i could die...

Find out which character you would be with:- Lord of the Rings Character Test

"Fallen" is the continuation of "The     Leaves" page...I decide it was getting to long and took way to much time to download...so get going, click on the link!  It contains fan writings, humor and just plain weirdness
 
OR
you can  and skip to the page with character info, elvish script ect..