Glorfindel
Encyclopedia
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien
, Glorfindel is a name used twice for an Elf
appearing in the tales of Middle-earth
. He is introduced in various material relating to the First Age
of Middle-earth, including The Silmarillion
. The second instance is for a character of The Lord of the Rings
, which takes place in Middle-earth's Third Age
. In later writings, Tolkien states they were one and the same, though this is not evident from The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings.
The character and his name (meaning "blond, golden-haired") were among the first created, when Tolkien first conceived of what would become his Middle-earth legendarium
in 1916–17.
. It was the first part of The Book of Lost Tales
to be written, in 1916–17. As his ideas evolved, Tolkien wrote about this event various times, and it appears in compressed form in The Silmarillion, when many of Tolkien's original ideas had been superseded or abandoned.
From the beginning, Glorfindel appears as a noble lord, known as one of King Turgon
's chief lieutenants. In the original Fall of Gondolin
, he is called the chief of the House of the Golden Flower. After fighting in the city's defence, Glorfindel escapes together with Tuor
, Idril
, Eärendil
and many others. The survivors pass through the Encircling Mountains above Gondolin. However, they are ambushed by enemies, including a Balrog
demon. Glorfindel duels and kills the Balrog, but is himself killed. His body is buried under a mound of stones, set there by the great eagle Thorondor, who lifted him up from the abyss. The Fall of Gondolin relates that "Glorfindel and the Balrog" became an Elven proverb to describe great skill and courage in battle.
In The Fall of Gondolin Tolkien writes that his name "meaneth Goldtress for his hair was golden". Editor Christopher Tolkien comments that "this was from the beginning the meaning of his name", as the character is called "yellow-haired Glorfindel" in The Silmarillion.
In The Silmarillion Glorfindel appears as one of Turgon's captains who oversaw his retreat during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
, written many years after The Fall of Gondolin and usually published in three volumes. He figures in the main story of The Lord of the Rings, about the hobbit Frodo Baggins
and the One Ring
of the Dark Lord Sauron
(himself a servant of Morgoth).
One of the Appendices usually published with the third volume, The Return of the King
, relates that during the Third Age
, Glorfindel leads the Elvish forces of Rivendell, the Grey Havens, and Lothlórien against Angmar
in the Battle of Fornost. There he fights alongside Eärnur, the future king of Gondor
, along with the remnants of Gondor's sister kingdom Arnor
. When the Witch-king of Angmar
, Lord of the Ringwraiths (Nazgûl
) and chief servant of Sauron, rides out to defend his ruling seat at the captured Fornost, his presence spooks Eärnur's horse and sends the prince backwards, and the Witch-king mocks him for this. Glorfindel confronts the Witch-king, who flees into the night. Eärnur wishes to pursue him, but Glorfindel bids him not to and prophesies the Witch-king will fall in the far future, but not by "the hand of man". Many years later, Éowyn
(a woman) kills the Witch-king during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, assisted by Meriadoc Brandybuck
(a hobbit
). Prior to this event, the prophecy had been interpreted to mean mankind in general, not a man in the sense of gender.
As told in the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring
, Glorfindel is sent by Elrond
of Rivendell many years later to help the hobbit Frodo
reach Rivendell as he is pursued by the Nazgûl
. He sets Frodo on his horse, Asfaloth, and Frodo rides ahead to the other side of the Ford of Bruinen, where he defies his pursuers. He is nearly captured, but Glorfindel, Strider
and Frodo's hobbit companions come from behind and drive the Nazgûl into the water, where they are swept away by a wave of water resembling charging horses (an enchantment of Elrond's and Gandalf's). Strider and the hobbits bear torches, but Glorfindel reveals himself as a mighty Elf-lord terrible in his wrath; Frodo sees him as a shining figure.
Later, when Frodo asks about the safety of Imladris from Sauron's forces, Gandalf explains:
Gandalf points to Glorfindel as one of these, saying he is "one of the mighty of the Firstborn," "an Elf-lord of a house of princes." While enjoying the hospitality of the Elves, Frodo finds that his Wizard friend spoke true:
In the very first draft of the Council of Elrond of what was to become The Fellowship of the Ring, there was a crucial difference in the members of the Fellowship. The Nine Walkers were to comprise Frodo, Gandalf
, Trotter (later Strider/Aragorn
), Glorfindel, Durin
son of Balin
(who became Gimli
son of Glóin), Sam
, Merry
and Pippin
. Boromir
and Legolas
did not come in until much later.
Legolas replaced Glorfindel as the representation of the Elven people in later drafts, but this did not take away from the power that Tolkien attributed to Glorfindel. He sits in honour next to Elrond and Gandalf in the Hall of Fire in Rivendell, and is one of the few Elves of Imladris who was known to be strong enough to stand against the Ringwraiths and be sent out to guide Frodo to safety from them. Glorfindel is the strongest of these few, as he is sent in the direction that the Nazgûl are most likely to come from, and even holds the Bridge of Mitheithel against some of the Nazgûl
single-handedly. Glorfindel is noted for his great power and strength, so much so that Gandalf refers to him in relation to the difficulty of the task of destroying the Ring, though in a rather unusual way. When Elrond seeks to fill the last two spots in the Fellowship with folk of his own house, Gandalf supports Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took by saying:
states that some time after the publication of The Lord of the Rings
, his father "gave a great deal of thought to the matter of Glorfindel" in the book, and decided that it was a "somewhat random use" of a name from The Silmarillion
that would probably have been changed, had it been noticed sooner.
The problem lay in Tolkien's conception of the spirits of dead Elves being re-embodied in their old bodies after a Purgatory
-like period in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor
, the home of Tolkien's "gods", the Valar
and Maiar
(more akin to angel
s, though rulers and overseers), where Elves previously lived before (re)migrating to Middle-earth. After being re-embodied, previously dead Elves stayed in Valinor. Tolkien decided that each Elf's name should be unique, and therefore the two Glorfindels should be one and the same.
Tolkien had a well-documented (and confusing) habit of inventing and changing character names while writing drafts, so this is not too surprising. On the other hand, early notes for the Council of Elrond state "Glorfindel tells of his ancestry in Gondolin", indicating that the character was early on already intended to be the same Elf. This may be reconciled by the fact that Tolkien was known for being disorganized, misplacing his notes and having to work from memory alone on several occasions. Nevertheless, seeing that the reintroduction of the name had been made, and that it would require some explanation, Tolkien devised a solution. He would, at the end of his life, devote his last writings to the issue of Glorfindel and some related topics, as detailed in The Peoples of Middle-earth
.
Tolkien wrote that Glorfindel is sent back to Middle-earth by the Valar
during the Second Age
circa 1600, when Barad-dûr
was completed and Sauron
forged the One Ring
, and while Númenor
was still friendly with the Elves under Tar-Minastir. He is sent as a kind of predecessor to the Istari
(Wizards), or in a different version, together with the Blue Wizards
. At one point he was even considered as a possibility for the identity of one of them, though this was immediately rejected since the Eldar were not initially conceived as possibilities for the Wizards, and he had come to the conclusion that they were exclusively Maiar
.
Conceivably the problem of Glorfindel's resurrection
could easily have been resolved by changing the name of Glorfindel of Gondolin to another name, but Tolkien was unwilling to do this, as he now associated the name with the character.
In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version
, his role and lines are given to Legolas
, who is apparently not a Wood-elf here.
In Peter Jackson's live-action The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), his role is given to Arwen
, who even takes Frodo to the Ford herself and summons the flood through an incantation. In the book the water is a flooding curse that was previously set up by Elrond, as explained to Frodo in Chapter 13. The horses and riders are enchantments added by Gandalf, in both the book and the movie.
In the musical stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
, which ran from June 2007 to July 2008 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End, the character of "Glorfindel" is female and was played by Alma Ferovic.
, based on the Jackson films.
Glorfindel is also playable in the older Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
. Here he is one of the most powerful characters outside the circle of the Wizards and Haven-elves (Elrond, Galadriel and Círdan).
He also is a playable hero unit in the real-time strategy game, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
, also based on the Jackson films, where his hair is silver-blond (as opposed to his eponymous colour golden-blond) (see image). There he is depicted as one of the heroes available on the Elvish faction and is able to mount his steed Asfaloth.
The good campaign of the game begins shortly after the Council of Elrond and has Glorfindel and Glóin fight their way west, slaying Gorkil the Goblin king and Drogoth the Dragon Lord (two invented villains) and saving the Grey Havens from a naval assault. Then, they travel east in time to break the siege of Erebor and participate in the destruction of Dol Guldur.
In the popular mod The Last Days for the independent game Mount&Blade
, Glorfindel is the most powerful recruitable hero from Lothlórien, who is available to the player only after having accumulated a great amount of influence.
Glorfindel can also be found in the Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), as a non player character (NPC) giving several quests to the players that visit him. In the game he is in a white robe with purple belt, his hair is blonde, and he gives hope to the players around him.
The Games Workshop tabletop strategy battle game of The Lord of the Rings features two versions of Glorfindel: In one form, he is dressed in armour and named as 'Glorfindel, Lord of the West' (a possible reference to his elf lordship). The other is Glorfindel clad in robes (alluding to his description in The Fellowship of the Ring)
(High Elves) and one of the Noldor
, one of the three groups of the Eldar. As his name indicates, he was blond
. The Noldor were dark-haired, so this must mean he was related somehow to the Vanyar
, Eldar who were blond. His blond hair is considered a mark of his distinction.
Blond hair was also found in the Noldor royal family (House of Finwë), among the descendants of Indis of the Vanyar
, second wife of their High King Finwë
— namely in the Golden House of Finarfin
, his third son, which included Galadriel
, who appears in The Lord of the Rings. Both the Vanyar and the Noldor kindreds lived in the fair city of Tirion
upon the hill of Túna
in Valinor
for a time, and in other parts of the royal family tree it has been shown that other Vanyar married in, so it is conceivable that the two groups mingled in more than just the royal line.
We know that he cannot be fully Vanyar for it is stated in The Silmarillion that 'no full Vanyar left Aman
' or rather c.f. Turgon
's wife Elenwë reached Middle-earth.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
, Glorfindel is a name used twice for an Elf
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
appearing in the tales of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. He is introduced in various material relating to the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
of Middle-earth, including The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. The second instance is for a character of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, which takes place in Middle-earth's Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. In later writings, Tolkien states they were one and the same, though this is not evident from The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings.
The character and his name (meaning "blond, golden-haired") were among the first created, when Tolkien first conceived of what would become his Middle-earth legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
in 1916–17.
Origins
Glorfindel first appears in Tolkien's fantasy in The Fall of Gondolin about the conquest of the Elven city Gondolin by the Dark Lord MorgothMorgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
. It was the first part of The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales
The Book of Lost Tales is the title of a collection of early stories by J. R. R. Tolkien, and of the first two volumes of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume series The History of Middle-earth, in which he presents and analyses the manuscripts of those stories, which were the earliest form of the...
to be written, in 1916–17. As his ideas evolved, Tolkien wrote about this event various times, and it appears in compressed form in The Silmarillion, when many of Tolkien's original ideas had been superseded or abandoned.
From the beginning, Glorfindel appears as a noble lord, known as one of King Turgon
Turgon
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Turgon "the Wise" is an Elven king of the Noldor, second son of Fingolfin, brother to Fingon, Aredhel and Argon, and ruler of the hidden city of Gondolin....
's chief lieutenants. In the original Fall of Gondolin
Fall of Gondolin
In the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, the "Fall of Gondolin" is the name of one of the original Lost Tales which formed the basis for a section in his later work, The Silmarillion....
, he is called the chief of the House of the Golden Flower. After fighting in the city's defence, Glorfindel escapes together with Tuor
Tuor
Tuor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is the grandfather of Elrond Half-elven and one of the most renowned ancestors of the Men of Númenor and of the King of the Reunited Kingdom Aragorn Elessar...
, Idril
Idril
Idril Celebrindal is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of English author J. R. R. Tolkien. She appears in one of his chief works of literature, The Silmarillion, published posthumously by Christopher Tolkien.-Character Overview:...
, Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
and many others. The survivors pass through the Encircling Mountains above Gondolin. However, they are ambushed by enemies, including a Balrog
Balrog
Balrogs are fictional demonic beings who appear in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Such creatures first appeared in print in his novel The Lord of the Rings, though they figured in earlier writings that posthumously appeared in The Silmarillion and other books.Balrogs are described as...
demon. Glorfindel duels and kills the Balrog, but is himself killed. His body is buried under a mound of stones, set there by the great eagle Thorondor, who lifted him up from the abyss. The Fall of Gondolin relates that "Glorfindel and the Balrog" became an Elven proverb to describe great skill and courage in battle.
In The Fall of Gondolin Tolkien writes that his name "meaneth Goldtress for his hair was golden". Editor Christopher Tolkien comments that "this was from the beginning the meaning of his name", as the character is called "yellow-haired Glorfindel" in The Silmarillion.
In The Silmarillion Glorfindel appears as one of Turgon's captains who oversaw his retreat during the Battle of Unnumbered Tears.
The Lord of the Rings
An Elf of the same name appears in The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, written many years after The Fall of Gondolin and usually published in three volumes. He figures in the main story of The Lord of the Rings, about the hobbit Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
and the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
of the Dark Lord Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
(himself a servant of Morgoth).
One of the Appendices usually published with the third volume, The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
, relates that during the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
, Glorfindel leads the Elvish forces of Rivendell, the Grey Havens, and Lothlórien against Angmar
Angmar
Angmar is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's continent of Middle-earth.-Synopsis:Angmar was founded in in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar"...
in the Battle of Fornost. There he fights alongside Eärnur, the future king of Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
, along with the remnants of Gondor's sister kingdom Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
. When the Witch-king of Angmar
Witch-king of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
, Lord of the Ringwraiths (Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
) and chief servant of Sauron, rides out to defend his ruling seat at the captured Fornost, his presence spooks Eärnur's horse and sends the prince backwards, and the Witch-king mocks him for this. Glorfindel confronts the Witch-king, who flees into the night. Eärnur wishes to pursue him, but Glorfindel bids him not to and prophesies the Witch-king will fall in the far future, but not by "the hand of man". Many years later, Éowyn
Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who describes herself as a "shieldmaiden".-Literature:...
(a woman) kills the Witch-king during the Battle of Pelennor Fields, assisted by Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
(a hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
). Prior to this event, the prophecy had been interpreted to mean mankind in general, not a man in the sense of gender.
As told in the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. It was originally published on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom...
, Glorfindel is sent by Elrond
Elrond
Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
of Rivendell many years later to help the hobbit Frodo
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
reach Rivendell as he is pursued by the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
. He sets Frodo on his horse, Asfaloth, and Frodo rides ahead to the other side of the Ford of Bruinen, where he defies his pursuers. He is nearly captured, but Glorfindel, Strider
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
and Frodo's hobbit companions come from behind and drive the Nazgûl into the water, where they are swept away by a wave of water resembling charging horses (an enchantment of Elrond's and Gandalf's). Strider and the hobbits bear torches, but Glorfindel reveals himself as a mighty Elf-lord terrible in his wrath; Frodo sees him as a shining figure.
Later, when Frodo asks about the safety of Imladris from Sauron's forces, Gandalf explains:
In Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.
Gandalf points to Glorfindel as one of these, saying he is "one of the mighty of the Firstborn," "an Elf-lord of a house of princes." While enjoying the hospitality of the Elves, Frodo finds that his Wizard friend spoke true:
Frodo looked at them in wonder, for he had never before seen ElrondElrondElrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is introduced in The Hobbit, and plays a supporting role in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion.-Character overview:...
, of whom so many tales spoke; and as they sat upon his right hand and his left, Glorfindel, and even Gandalf, whom he thought he knew so well, were revealed as lords of dignity and power... Glorfindel was tall and straight; his hair was of shining gold, his face fair and young and fearless and full of joy; his eyes were bright and keen, and his voice like music; on his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was strength.
In the very first draft of the Council of Elrond of what was to become The Fellowship of the Ring, there was a crucial difference in the members of the Fellowship. The Nine Walkers were to comprise Frodo, Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
, Trotter (later Strider/Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
), Glorfindel, Durin
Durin
Durin is the name of seven Kings of Dwarves in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They were held by the Dwarves to be the reincarnations of the first one, Durin the Deathless, resembling him in appearance and said to have preserved memories of their 'earlier lives'.Tolkien took the name Durin, like...
son of Balin
Balin (Middle-earth)
Balin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is an important supporting character in The Hobbit, and is mentioned in The Fellowship of the Ring.-In the books:...
(who became Gimli
Gimli (Middle-earth)
Gimli is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. A Dwarf warrior, he is the son of Glóin ....
son of Glóin), Sam
Samwise Gamgee
Samwise Gamgee, later known as Samwise Gardner and commonly as Sam, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. Samwise is one of the chief characters in Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, in which he fills an archetypical role as the sidekick of the protagonist, Frodo...
, Merry
Meriadoc Brandybuck
Meriadoc Brandybuck, usually referred to as Merry, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, featured throughout his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings....
and Pippin
Peregrin Took
Peregrin Took, more commonly known as Pippin, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. Pippin is introduced as a Hobbit who plays a major role as one of the companions of Frodo Baggins, in his quest to destroy the One Ring.Peregrin was the only son of...
. Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
and Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
did not come in until much later.
Legolas replaced Glorfindel as the representation of the Elven people in later drafts, but this did not take away from the power that Tolkien attributed to Glorfindel. He sits in honour next to Elrond and Gandalf in the Hall of Fire in Rivendell, and is one of the few Elves of Imladris who was known to be strong enough to stand against the Ringwraiths and be sent out to guide Frodo to safety from them. Glorfindel is the strongest of these few, as he is sent in the direction that the Nazgûl are most likely to come from, and even holds the Bridge of Mitheithel against some of the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
single-handedly. Glorfindel is noted for his great power and strength, so much so that Gandalf refers to him in relation to the difficulty of the task of destroying the Ring, though in a rather unusual way. When Elrond seeks to fill the last two spots in the Fellowship with folk of his own house, Gandalf supports Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took by saying:
"I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom. Even if you chose for us an elf-lord, such as Glorfindel, he could not storm the Dark Tower, nor open the road to the Fire by the power that is in him."
The special "matter of Glorfindel"
In The Return of the Shadow, Christopher TolkienChristopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
states that some time after the publication of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, his father "gave a great deal of thought to the matter of Glorfindel" in the book, and decided that it was a "somewhat random use" of a name from The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
that would probably have been changed, had it been noticed sooner.
The problem lay in Tolkien's conception of the spirits of dead Elves being re-embodied in their old bodies after a Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
-like period in the Halls of Mandos in Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
, the home of Tolkien's "gods", the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
and Maiar
Maia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
(more akin to angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s, though rulers and overseers), where Elves previously lived before (re)migrating to Middle-earth. After being re-embodied, previously dead Elves stayed in Valinor. Tolkien decided that each Elf's name should be unique, and therefore the two Glorfindels should be one and the same.
Tolkien had a well-documented (and confusing) habit of inventing and changing character names while writing drafts, so this is not too surprising. On the other hand, early notes for the Council of Elrond state "Glorfindel tells of his ancestry in Gondolin", indicating that the character was early on already intended to be the same Elf. This may be reconciled by the fact that Tolkien was known for being disorganized, misplacing his notes and having to work from memory alone on several occasions. Nevertheless, seeing that the reintroduction of the name had been made, and that it would require some explanation, Tolkien devised a solution. He would, at the end of his life, devote his last writings to the issue of Glorfindel and some related topics, as detailed in The Peoples of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
.
Tolkien wrote that Glorfindel is sent back to Middle-earth by the Valar
Vala (Middle-earth)
The Valar are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. They are first mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, but The Silmarillion develops them into the Powers of Arda or the Powers of the World...
during the Second Age
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
circa 1600, when Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr
Barad-dûr is the fortress of Sauron in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Mount Doom in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
was completed and Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
forged the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
, and while Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
was still friendly with the Elves under Tar-Minastir. He is sent as a kind of predecessor to the Istari
Wizard (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. They are also called the Istari by the Elves. The Sindarin word is Ithryn...
(Wizards), or in a different version, together with the Blue Wizards
Blue Wizards
Blue Wizards are fictional characters in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium.They are two of the five Wizards sent by angelic beings called the Valar to Middle-earth to aid in the struggle against Sauron...
. At one point he was even considered as a possibility for the identity of one of them, though this was immediately rejected since the Eldar were not initially conceived as possibilities for the Wizards, and he had come to the conclusion that they were exclusively Maiar
Maia (Middle-earth)
The Maiar are beings from J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy legendarium. They are lesser Ainur who entered Eä in the beginning of time. Tolkien uses the term Valar to refer both to all the Ainur who entered Eä, and specifically to the greatest among them, the fourteen Lords and Queens of the Valar...
.
Conceivably the problem of Glorfindel's resurrection
Fëa and hröa
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, fëa and hröa are words for "soul" and "body". The plural form of fëa is fëar and the plural form of hröa is hröar...
could easily have been resolved by changing the name of Glorfindel of Gondolin to another name, but Tolkien was unwilling to do this, as he now associated the name with the character.
Adaptations
Glorfindel is not prominently featured in film versions of The Lord of the Rings.In Ralph Bakshi's 1978 animated version
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
, his role and lines are given to Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
, who is apparently not a Wood-elf here.
In Peter Jackson's live-action The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), his role is given to Arwen
Arwen
Arwen Undómiel is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. She appears in his novel, The Lord of the Rings, usually published in three volumes. Arwen is one of the Half-elven who lived during the Third Age.-Literature:...
, who even takes Frodo to the Ford herself and summons the flood through an incantation. In the book the water is a flooding curse that was previously set up by Elrond, as explained to Frodo in Chapter 13. The horses and riders are enchantments added by Gandalf, in both the book and the movie.
In the musical stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings (theatre)
The Lord of the Rings is the most prominent of several theatre adaptations of British author J. R. R. Tolkien's epic high fantasy novel of the same name, set in his world of Middle-earth. The show includes music by A. R. Rahman, Christopher Nightingale, and the band Värttinä, with book and lyrics...
, which ran from June 2007 to July 2008 at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London's West End, the character of "Glorfindel" is female and was played by Alma Ferovic.
Other media
Glorfindel, as depicted by Benzon, appears on a trading card in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card GameThe Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game
The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game is a collectible card game produced by Decipher, Inc. Released November 2001, it is based on Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and the J. R. R. Tolkien novel on which the films were based. Decipher also have the rights to The Hobbit novel...
, based on the Jackson films.
Glorfindel is also playable in the older Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
Middle-earth Collectible Card Game
Middle-earth Collectible Card Game is a collectible card game released by Iron Crown Enterprises in late 1995. It is the first CCG based on J.R.R...
. Here he is one of the most powerful characters outside the circle of the Wizards and Haven-elves (Elrond, Galadriel and Círdan).
He also is a playable hero unit in the real-time strategy game, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, abbreviated BFMEII, is a real-time strategy video game developed and published by Electronic Arts. It is based on the fantasy novels The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien and its live-action film trilogy adaptation...
, also based on the Jackson films, where his hair is silver-blond (as opposed to his eponymous colour golden-blond) (see image). There he is depicted as one of the heroes available on the Elvish faction and is able to mount his steed Asfaloth.
The good campaign of the game begins shortly after the Council of Elrond and has Glorfindel and Glóin fight their way west, slaying Gorkil the Goblin king and Drogoth the Dragon Lord (two invented villains) and saving the Grey Havens from a naval assault. Then, they travel east in time to break the siege of Erebor and participate in the destruction of Dol Guldur.
In the popular mod The Last Days for the independent game Mount&Blade
Mount&Blade
Mount&Blade is a medieval, single-player, open-ended, action role-playing video game for Windows, developed by the Turkish company TaleWorlds, and published by Paradox Interactive. Its retail version was released on September 16, 2008, in North America, and three days later in Europe...
, Glorfindel is the most powerful recruitable hero from Lothlórien, who is available to the player only after having accumulated a great amount of influence.
Glorfindel can also be found in the Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO), as a non player character (NPC) giving several quests to the players that visit him. In the game he is in a white robe with purple belt, his hair is blonde, and he gives hope to the players around him.
The Games Workshop tabletop strategy battle game of The Lord of the Rings features two versions of Glorfindel: In one form, he is dressed in armour and named as 'Glorfindel, Lord of the West' (a possible reference to his elf lordship). The other is Glorfindel clad in robes (alluding to his description in The Fellowship of the Ring)
Characteristics
Glorfindel was one of the CalaquendiCalaquendi
In the fictional universe of J. R. R. Tolkien, Calaquendi means in Quenya "Light-folk", but was often translated "Elves of the Light". This name has a long history....
(High Elves) and one of the Noldor
Noldor
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Noldor are Elves of the Second Clan who migrated to Valinor and lived in Eldamar. The Noldor are called Golodhrim or Gódhellim in Sindarin, and Goldoi by Teleri of Tol Eressëa. The singular form of the Quenya noun is Noldo and the adjective is Noldorin...
, one of the three groups of the Eldar. As his name indicates, he was blond
Blond
Blond or blonde or fair-hair is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color...
. The Noldor were dark-haired, so this must mean he was related somehow to the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
, Eldar who were blond. His blond hair is considered a mark of his distinction.
Blond hair was also found in the Noldor royal family (House of Finwë), among the descendants of Indis of the Vanyar
Vanyar
In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Vanyar are the fairest and most noble of the High Elves. They are the smallest of the three clans of the Eldar, and were the first to arrive in Aman. According to legend, the clan was founded by Imin, the first Elf to awake at Cuiviénen, his wife Iminyë, and...
, second wife of their High King Finwë
Finwë
Finwë, sometimes surnamed Noldóran, is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was the first High King of the Elven Noldor to lead his people on the journey from Middle-earth to Valinor in the blessed realm of Aman. He was a great friend of Elu Thingol, the King of Doriath...
— namely in the Golden House of Finarfin
Finarfin
Finarfin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Silmarillion.-Personality:Unlike the warlike Fëanor and Fingolfin, Finarfin was something of a pacifist...
, his third son, which included Galadriel
Galadriel
Galadriel is a character created by J.R.R. Tolkien, appearing in his Middle-earth legendarium. She appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
, who appears in The Lord of the Rings. Both the Vanyar and the Noldor kindreds lived in the fair city of Tirion
Tirion
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Tirion upon Túna was the city of the Noldor in Valinor...
upon the hill of Túna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
in Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
for a time, and in other parts of the royal family tree it has been shown that other Vanyar married in, so it is conceivable that the two groups mingled in more than just the royal line.
We know that he cannot be fully Vanyar for it is stated in The Silmarillion that 'no full Vanyar left Aman
Aman
-External links:*...
' or rather c.f. Turgon
Turgon
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Turgon "the Wise" is an Elven king of the Noldor, second son of Fingolfin, brother to Fingon, Aredhel and Argon, and ruler of the hidden city of Gondolin....
's wife Elenwë reached Middle-earth.