Posted: July 25, 2000 at 04:17:17: by Martin Read
: Ok Ok, let me get my opinions out there.: Legolas' hair color. : I've read several books that say he's a Sindar elf (Which is a group of the High Elves) And books that say he's a Silvan Elf (a race of wood elves.) those who say he's a high elf say he has blonde hair, those who say he's a wood elf says he has dark hair. : My opinion. Everything I've seen and read about Legolas leads me to believe he's a Silvan elf for some reason. I'm not one hundred percent sure about the resources who said he was a high elf. Though Some remain convinced that he is. However. Silvan or Sindar... I believe he has Blondish hair. Every book I've read researching Tolkien's Elves as well as outside of Tolkien's elves has said, Sindar High Elves have very light blond hair (Like the Legolas of the Animation) and Silvan wood elves can range from Sandy Brown hair, and Dishwater to a medium/light blonde. The only elves I've read about that all resources agree on having Dark to black hair are the Noldar High Elves and Half Elves. (Though Half elves can also have lighter hair depending.) But What I've read, both groups who have some claim on Legolas, the Sindar and Silvan in some way have blondish hair, so I say he's blonde. (But maybe not as blonde as he was in the LOTR Animation.) : As for Elf ears... I don't believe they are pointed and long like Donkey ears as I've seen some artists portray them. I believe that when the hair covers their ears, they would appear to be normal, but moving they hair away, they would come to a point. Not harshly, and dramatically as some artists have you think but obvious none the less. Something like "Vulcan ears" for Star Trek watchers out there, but maybe not even that extreme. But to me each race has a defining characteristic, and I just picture elves to have not shockingly and dramatically different ears, but normal if not a tad longer ears that come to a point. : I also picture elves to have grey to sky blue eyes, peircing in color and beautiful, and the shape of their eyes is almost asian like, but more dramatic and artistic. The shape of the wind if you will. : The reason I like Tolkien's books so far however is because he lets the artist inside of your imagination do the picturing for yourself. You can make up in your mind how these characters are suppose to look. There are no right or wrong answers with Tolkien, there is just "This is how I think he looks, and this is how I like him." Lol. That is my opinion. Meaning no offense to those who dissagree In general the colouring of elves was based by Tolkien on that of his wife Edith. She had dark brown/black hair and grey eyes. So in most cases, unless Tolkien specifically states otherwise, this colouration is the most likely. As to eye colour in elves the only one he describes in detail is a "clear grey" whatever that could mean. I don't think he describes any blue-eyed elves (I could be mistaken) though people tend to think the blonde Vanyar may have been (in parallel to the blonde blue-eyed Hadorian Edain). He does describe Maeglin as being "dark eyed" which as he was a cross between the nobility of both the Noldor and Sindar argues that either or both of these groups probably had brown-eyed members. Imrahil of Dol Amroth had Silvan Elf ancestry and he was dark haired and grey eyed - Legolas himself recognised the kinship. Which is some slight argument for Silvan Elves being dark haired. Be very wary of attaching any credence to secondary sources (role-playing games etc) as to the racial characteristics of any of Tolkien's beings, they are usually not based on any study of what Tolkien wrote, and are often demonstrably wrong.
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