1. Introduction
"There was also a strange Elf clad in green and brown, Legolas, a messenger from his father, Thranduil, the King of the Elves of Northern Mirkwood. . . ." – Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; The Council of Elrond
Legolas Greenleaf: arguably the most popular Elf every created by Tolkien, thanks to the movies. However, Tolkien tells very little indeed regarding Legolas' family, bloodline, etc. It was not until after Tolkien's death that Legolas became an item of unbridled admiration; it seems that in his lifetime no one saw fit to ask Mr. Tolkien about the genealogy of Legolas Greenleaf, and Tolkien never saw fit to directly explain this matter in his writings. (This is not to say that Legolas had no fans prior to Tolkien's death, but his fanbase was greatly expanded by the movies.) And so Legolas' fans are left to endlessly debate this matter amongst themselves. To this end, this essay presents the genealogy of Legolas Greenleaf as it may be understood from what small clues Tolkien offers up in his many texts.
To fully understand the matter of Legolas' genealogy, though, one must be familiar with the vast majority of Elven genealogy, which is a complicated matter that is tied up in the very beginning of Time in Tolkien's created world. It is important to also address specifically the genealogy of the Telerin Elves, from which Legolas is directly descended. Therefore, in addition to discussing Legolas' genealogy in particular, the early history of all Elves and their basic genealogy must also be investigated, and the history and genealogy of the Telerin Elves in particular must be discussed.
Legolas Greenleaf: arguably the most popular Elf every created by Tolkien, thanks to the movies. However, Tolkien tells very little indeed regarding Legolas' family, bloodline, etc. It was not until after Tolkien's death that Legolas became an item of unbridled admiration; it seems that in his lifetime no one saw fit to ask Mr. Tolkien about the genealogy of Legolas Greenleaf, and Tolkien never saw fit to directly explain this matter in his writings. (This is not to say that Legolas had no fans prior to Tolkien's death, but his fanbase was greatly expanded by the movies.) And so Legolas' fans are left to endlessly debate this matter amongst themselves. To this end, this essay presents the genealogy of Legolas Greenleaf as it may be understood from what small clues Tolkien offers up in his many texts.
To fully understand the matter of Legolas' genealogy, though, one must be familiar with the vast majority of Elven genealogy, which is a complicated matter that is tied up in the very beginning of Time in Tolkien's created world. It is important to also address specifically the genealogy of the Telerin Elves, from which Legolas is directly descended. Therefore, in addition to discussing Legolas' genealogy in particular, the early history of all Elves and their basic genealogy must also be investigated, and the history and genealogy of the Telerin Elves in particular must be discussed.
This is a work of fan fiction, written because the author has an abiding love for the works of J R R Tolkien. The characters, settings, places, and languages used in this work are the property of the Tolkien Estate, Tolkien Enterprises, and possibly New Line Cinema, except for certain original characters who belong to the author of the said work. The author will not receive any money or other remuneration for presenting the work on this archive site. The work is the intellectual property of the author, is available solely for the enjoyment of Henneth Annûn Story Archive readers, and may not be copied or redistributed by any means without the explicit written consent of the author.
