Disclaimer

This site contains content of an adult nature, both in written and graphical versions. If you are under the age of consent in your city, state, country, or province, please click here and exit the site.

Site Map

home lotr fanfiction elvish rants inspiration artwork links

Section Links

Canon vs AU/Non-Canon Children and Music The Civil War Debunking Evil!Thranduil Elven Haircolor 101 Elvish Names 101 Elvish Names Continued Elven Population Elven Rebirth Fanon, Part One Free Speech Independence Day Bullshit Musings On The Movie "Supersize Me" The Mysterious Glorfindel Nazi Germany Symbols and Words Voting Rights Act Who Is Gildor Inglorion? Why Gay Christian Is Not An Oxymoron

Essays

elven hair color 101

Elven hair color really isn't as fluid as some people like to think. A lot of people seem to think that any race of Elves could have any hair color, and that just doesn't ring true. Tolkien was very specific as to which hair colors dominated which race of Elves.

By my understanding, the odds are strongly in favor of a blond Legolas. We know from The Hobbit that Thranduil had golden hair. We also know that Oropher was not a fan of the Noldor -- the only Elves with predominantly dark hair -- and would likely have passed that emnity on to his son. So, Thranduil would most likely have married a blonde Sinda like himself, or a silver-haired Nando from Greenwood.

(Of course, it is possible that there were dark-haired Sindar -- they would simply be Noldor that did not complete the journey to Aman, but I don't think it likely that Thranduil would have made the distinction. In the Silm, when the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they were easily noticed and distinguished, which implies to me that the majority of the Elves that were already in Middle-earth were not dark-haired. If the majority of the Elves were dark-haired, the sudden arrival of a host of dark-haired Elves wouldn't necessarily have been noticed as definitively.)

We know that dark hair almost always dominates silver and gold -- so, if Thranduil has golden hair, it is most likely that Oropher and his wife both had golden hair. Now, human men are statistically likely to marry women who are reminiscent of their own mothers (kind of Norman-Bates-creepy, but true). If we attribute some typical human nature to the Elves, we can figure that Thranduil would also be likely to marry a blonde woman like his mother.

We also know from Galadriel that silver and gold can be co-recessive (her hair was golden-silver, according to Tolkien), so if Legolas' mom were silver-haired, then Legolas could be golden-silver like Galadriel, but that's unlikely because Galadriel's hair color was mentioned to be extremely rare. It is also unlikely (IMO) that Legolas would be silver-haired because of the reference in LOTR: "Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the 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." (FotR, p.403)

A lot of people have taken this to mean that Legolas had dark hair. However, the statement was made at night, with the stars backlighting Legolas, so the reference could simply mean that Frodo was seeing the silhouette. If this is the case, then, it is likely that his hair is golden, not silver, since silver hair would be more likely to reflect the moonlight and appear as light.

So, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to support a blond Legolas.

Also, Thranduil did indeed have golden hair. :) In The Hobbit, pg. 154 it says: "... and at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair...".

As for the Nandor of Thranduil's woods... I am not sure why one would think them dark haired. The Noldor were dark haired, and the Nandor of Greenwood were descendents of the Teleri and the Teleri were silver haired, not dark.

The references to those Elves being 'Dark Elves' (Moriquendi) referred to the fact that they never saw the Light of the Two Trees, unlike the Light Elves (the Calaquendi). It did not refer to their hair color, and JRR and Christopher both tried to make that clear. In the Sundering of the Elves, it is made clear that the Nandor are an off-shoot of the Teleri... so the people of Thranduil's woods would have more than likely been light haired.

As for Peredhil -- Tolkien made it clear that all Peredhil were dark haired and grey eyed. So, one could not write any of the Peredhil as blond. :)


	Disclaimer This site contains content of an adult nature, both in written and graphical versions. If you are under the age of consent in your city, state, country, or province, please click here and exit the site. Site Map home lotr fanfiction elvish rants inspiration artwork links Section Links Canon vs AU/Non-Canon Children and Music The Civil War Debunking Evil!Thranduil Elven Haircolor 101 Elvish Names 101 Elvish Names Continued Elven Population Elven Rebirth Fanon, Part One Free Speech Independence Day Bullshit Musings On The Movie "Supersize Me" The Mysterious Glorfindel Nazi Germany Symbols and Words Voting Rights Act Who Is Gildor Inglorion? Why Gay Christian Is Not An Oxymoron		Essays elven hair color 101 Elven hair color really isn't as fluid as some people like to think. A lot of people seem to think that any race of Elves could have any hair color, and that just doesn't ring true. Tolkien was very specific as to which hair colors dominated which race of Elves. By my understanding, the odds are strongly in favor of a blond Legolas. We know from The Hobbit that Thranduil had golden hair. We also know that Oropher was not a fan of the Noldor -- the only Elves with predominantly dark hair -- and would likely have passed that emnity on to his son. So, Thranduil would most likely have married a blonde Sinda like himself, or a silver-haired Nando from Greenwood. (Of course, it is possible that there were dark-haired Sindar -- they would simply be Noldor that did not complete the journey to Aman, but I don't think it likely that Thranduil would have made the distinction. In the Silm, when the Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they were easily noticed and distinguished, which implies to me that the majority of the Elves that were already in Middle-earth were not dark-haired. If the majority of the Elves were dark-haired, the sudden arrival of a host of dark-haired Elves wouldn't necessarily have been noticed as definitively.) We know that dark hair almost always dominates silver and gold -- so, if Thranduil has golden hair, it is most likely that Oropher and his wife both had golden hair. Now, human men are statistically likely to marry women who are reminiscent of their own mothers (kind of Norman-Bates-creepy, but true). If we attribute some typical human nature to the Elves, we can figure that Thranduil would also be likely to marry a blonde woman like his mother. We also know from Galadriel that silver and gold can be co-recessive (her hair was golden-silver, according to Tolkien), so if Legolas' mom were silver-haired, then Legolas could be golden-silver like Galadriel, but that's unlikely because Galadriel's hair color was mentioned to be extremely rare. It is also unlikely (IMO) that Legolas would be silver-haired because of the reference in LOTR: "Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the 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." (FotR, p.403) A lot of people have taken this to mean that Legolas had dark hair. However, the statement was made at night, with the stars backlighting Legolas, so the reference could simply mean that Frodo was seeing the silhouette. If this is the case, then, it is likely that his hair is golden, not silver, since silver hair would be more likely to reflect the moonlight and appear as light. So, there is a lot of circumstantial evidence to support a blond Legolas. Also, Thranduil did indeed have golden hair. :) In The Hobbit, pg. 154 it says: "... and at the head of a long line of feasters sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair...". As for the Nandor of Thranduil's woods... I am not sure why one would think them dark haired. The Noldor were dark haired, and the Nandor of Greenwood were descendents of the Teleri and the Teleri were silver haired, not dark. The references to those Elves being 'Dark Elves' (Moriquendi) referred to the fact that they never saw the Light of the Two Trees, unlike the Light Elves (the Calaquendi). It did not refer to their hair color, and JRR and Christopher both tried to make that clear. In the Sundering of the Elves, it is made clear that the Nandor are an off-shoot of the Teleri... so the people of Thranduil's woods would have more than likely been light haired. As for Peredhil -- Tolkien made it clear that all Peredhil were dark haired and grey eyed. So, one could not write any of the Peredhil as blond. :)