Thranduil, also known as the Elvenking, was a Sindarin elf, King of the Woodland Realm, and father of Legolas. He was the leader of the wood-elves of Northern Mirkwood for more than three thousand years in Middle-earth, seeing his realm through attacks by the great spiders and the orcs. Thranduil was known for disliking the dwarves, a trait common among many of his kin. He is perhaps the most well-known of the Elvenkings among non-elves, if only because of Bilbo's exploits and tales.

Contents 1 History 1.1 First and Second Ages 1.2 Third Age 1.3 Fourth Age 2 Appearance in the Books and Films 2.1 In the books 2.2 In the Movies 3 Portrayal in Adaptations 4 References 5 External link

History

First and Second Ages

Thranduil was the only son of Oropher. He was born sometime during the end of the First Age and lived in Doriath with Thingol and Melian. At the beginning of the Second Age, Thranduil lived in Lindon with Gil-galad while his father lived in Greenwood. After Oropher died in the war of Last Alliance, Thranduil went east to claim his inheritance and sometime before TA 1000 he established a kingdom in Greenwood the Great.

Third Age

When Thorin Oakenshield and his party of Dwarves entered northern Mirkwood, they were captured by Thranduil's guards and locked up when they refused to divulge their intentions. It was revealed that Thranduil had a quarrel with Dwarves over some jewels, possibly referring to the First Age murder in Doriath of the Elf king Thingol and the theft of his Silmaril.

After the death of the dragon Smaug, Thranduil supported Bard the Bowman's claim of a share of the treasure the Dwarves recovered from the Lonely Mountain (Erebor), since Bard was a descendent of Lord Girion of Dale, and the treasure of that town had been taken by Smaug to Erebor.

Thranduil led the elven forces in the Battle of the Five Armies, and during the War of the Ring he repulsed an attack from Dol Guldur. His actions were in concert with the Dwarves and the Men of Dale against the Easterlings who attacked from the East.

The gradually-established friendship between the Dwarf Gimli and Thranduil's son Legolas later helped to reconcile Thranduil's people with the Dwarves.

Fourth Age

After the fall of Sauron, Thranduil fixed the southern boundary of his realm as the Mountains of Mirkwood, and the Woodland Realm flourished well into the Fourth Age. He may have stayed on as the king of the Great Forest or left Middle-earth.

Appearance in the Books and Films

In the books

• The Silmarillion
• The Hobbit
• The Fellowship of the Ring (mentioned only)

In the Movies

• The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• The Hobbit: There and Back Again

Portrayal in Adaptations

In the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit, Thranduil is voiced by Otto Preminger. In the 1968 BBC radio series he is voiced by Leonard Fenton. He is also one of the playable elven heroes in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II real-time strategy game. Lee Pace will portray Thranduil in Peter Jackson's adaption of The Hobbit.

References

• The Hobbit
• The Atlas of Middle-earth pg. 107
• The Lord of the Rings: Appendix B

External link

• Thranduil at Tolkien Gateway