Thranduil

Thranduil, son of the Sindarin King, Oropher, was the ruler of the Woodland Realm from the Second to the Third Age. Despite his cautious nature, he led his kingdom to join the fight against Sauron during the last great war. He fathered Legolas, Mirkwood’s Elven prince, who was a part of the Fellowship of the Ring. In Tolkien’s The Hobbit, Thranduil is only referred to as the Elvenking.​

Thranduil [1] was fathered by Oropher, the previous Woodland Realm’s King. He was born before the Second Kingslaying in the First Age and resided in Doriath. When the Second Age began, the Sindar, his people, went eastward, and Oropher founded their capital, Greenwood the Great. Both father and son took part in the War of the Last Alliance (Dagorlad) in SA 3434. Oropher was killed along with roughly two-thirds of his army. Thranduil and the other survivors returned to their capital and claimed his title and inheritance as King of the Woodland Realm. Thranduil's reign began with his kingdom’s reach covering the entirety of Greenwood, also called by the Woodland Realm. However, its territory began to shrink when the Necromancer’s shadow advanced. The portions of Greenwood where his influence became strong turned dark and dangerous, which many later called Mirkwood. It was infested with giant spiders and Orcs, while its original Wood-elf inhabitants dwindled and were forced to retreat north of the wood. During the events of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the Elvenking’s title became King of Northern Mirkwood. Thranduil’s people spoke both Silvan and Sindarin Elvish, with the latter being less spoken in the Woodland.​

Thorin Oakenshield, along with his Company, entered the northern part of Mirkwood, and they were met with visions of elves feasting in the woods, which unbeknownst to them was the Elvenking’s court. The party tried searching for what they saw in their visions, but to no avail. With each attempt, they were merely enveloped in darkness and fell into deep slumbers. At some point, Thorin was separated from the rest of his Company and was captured by the Elvenking. He was interrogated but gave no information, and Thranduil had him sent to the cave dungeon.

Shortly after Thorin’s imprisonment, the whole Company was captured as well. They were interrogated and was also uncooperative. The Elvenking accused them of visiting his realm without leave, aggravating the spiders, and interrupting their festivities. They were sent to the cave dungeon, but they were still unaware that Thorin was also captured. After Smaug, the Dragon, was slain, Thranduil supported Bard’s claim of having a portion of the dwarven treasure recovered by Thorin’s Company from Erebor. This decision was because of Bard's family heritage, as he was a direct descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale.

The town had treasure stolen by Smaug and taken to Erebor. Thranduil called his people to arms once more for the Battle of the Five Armies. His army, which was the first to lead the attack, was position on the Mountain’s southern side. The battle ended with Thorin’s death, and Thranduil laid Orcrist upon his tomb. The treasure hoard was split among Men and Elves and the Elvenking received the famed Girion’s emeralds. Bilbo, with Beorn and Gandalf, returned to Mirkwood with the elves but didn’t stay for long, despite the Elvenking’s request. As Gandalf and Bilbo bade each other farewell, Bilbo gifted Thranduil with a silver necklace studded with pearls. Likewise, the Elvenking gave Bilbo a new title “elf-friend” and joined his people among the halls.​

During this period, Thranduil sent Legolas, his son, to Rivendell with a small host of Elves to report the escape of Gollum from Mirkwood. Gimli and Legolas’ unlikely friendship later helped with the Woodland Elves reconciliation with the Dwarves. Evil forces came forth from Dol Guldur and attacked Mirkwood, but the Woodland Elves retaliated and were victorious. Thranduil leads another defense and combined forces with the Men of Dale and the Dwarves against the invading Easterlings who came from the east. Afterward, he and Celeborn agreed that Southern Mirkwood will be a part of Lorien (East Lorien), but the northern regions remained his territory. And this reached as far as the mountains. The forest between East Lorien and Mirkwood was later given to the Beorning race. It was also at this time that the Elvenking gave Mirkwood a new name, "Eryn Lasgalen” or the Wood of the Greenleaves.​

When Sauron fell, Thranduil strengthened his realm’s southern boundary and dubbed it the Mirkwood Mountains. His realm prospered and remained at peace during this age. His current whereabouts are unknown. He might have remained in Middle Earth as the Elvenking or departed to Aman (the Undying Lands.)​

Thranduil comes from the Sindarin words Tharan (vigorous) and Ethuil (spring.) It’s also mentioned that “Thranduil” comes from the Lemberin language (also known as Telerian or Avarin.) This is also true with other names of Sindarin origin, such as Nimrodel, Amroth, and Legolas, among others.​

Thranduil’s first appearance is in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, but he was not named and only referred to as the King or the elf-king. He is also mentioned with his title’s King of the Wood and the Elves as well as the Elvenking. His actual name, Thranduil, only appears in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, where he was titled as the King of the Northern Mirkwood Elves. He’s also named as King of the Woodland Realm in Tolkien’s other writings. And he inherited this title from Oropher, his father.​

Thranduil is played by Lee Pace and is seen as an elf with pale blond hair, wearing long robes and a crown of twigs and leaves in Peter Jackson’s film adaptation. He is a major character in the second film of the trilogy. As the Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain flee for their lives after Smaug’s invasion, Thranduil arrives with the elven host riding an elk. Thorin spots them and pleads for aid, but the Elvenking decided to refuse as he saw that it would only lead to the deaths of his kin. This decision caused Thorin to grown a strong hatred for the Elves. A brief history between the Woodland Elves and the Lonely Mountain Dwarves was added to the film’s extended version. Thranduil’s gems were stolen by the Dwarven King Thrór, who then proceeded to demand payment for their return. This even leads to the goodwill between the two kingdoms lessen. In the second film, Thranduil sits on the Elven throne and converses with Thorin. He makes an offer to release Thorin and his Company and aid them to recapture Lonely Mountain in exchange for his stolen gems. However, Thorin refuses as he remembers the time he called on Thranduil for help during Smaug’s siege. As the dwarf recounts his story, Thranduil responds angrily, saying that Thorin shouldn’t mention anything about dragon fire as he has faced and witnessed its effects.

Briefly, his face changes (either from removing or creating an illusion) into one that’s covered in severe burn marks and torn flesh. He further asserts that Thrór's greed was the cause of the dragon’s attack. Thranduil then orders Thorin to be taken away and imprisoned. Thranduil then orders Tauriel, that as the current guard captain, she has to drive the Giant Spiders away from their borders. She tells the Elven King that new hosts of spiders keep entering their kingdom after they’ve wiped out the previous ones. And she suggests that they should destroy the source of spiders in the Dol Guldur Boundaries. Thranduil dismissed this idea quickly because of his isolationist attitude. When she shows concern for other neighboring lands which might be attacked next, Thranduil replies with indifference, saying that he doesn’t care for any people but his own. He mentions his son (Legolas) has a growing fondness for her, but she should stay away from him since she’s part of the common caste while Legolas is the King’s son. Thranduil makes another appearance when Tauriel and Legolas return from their excursion with Narzug, their Orc hostage. The elves interrogate him, but he refuses to give answers and even mocks Tauriel about a certain dwarf’s impending death. Thranduil orders Tauriel to leave after she starts to shout death threats at Narzug, saying that he feels indifferent about one dwarf’s death. Narzug then proceeds to mock the Elvenking about the coming war, proudly saying that his master is under The One’s servitude. Thranduil decapitates his captive with a swift slash of his sword, clearly affected by the orc’s omen. Legolas notices this and asks why he killed the orc when he could have revealed more. Thranduil replies that there was nothing more he could have said that was important. And his promise of freeing the orc was held when he "freed his head from his shoulders."

He orders his people to close off all the gates to his territory, as he knew knows the coming dangers of the great war. He states that no one is allowed to enter the kingdom, and no one leaves it. In the last film of the trilogy, Thranduil makes an appearance and dons himself in silvery armor. He arrives in Dale, riding a large Elven elk, and provides supplies for the townspeople who lost their possessions from the dragon fire. Bard gives thanks, but Thranduil reveals his true motive of reclaiming his stolen jeweled necklace (Lasgalen’s White Gems) in the dwarf’s possession. It’s revealed that it was a remembrance from his departed wife, who was killed by the Witch-king of Angmar. Bard is surprised at the elf’s prospect of risking his people’s life for jewelry, but Thranduil doubts that a Dwarf can listen to reason. With that said, he allows Bard one chance to speak to Thorin and convince him to surrender, but Bard failed. Thranduil ordered the elven host to march. In a scene with Tauriel and Legolas, the latter reveals that his mother was imprisoned in Gundabad, the place where she fell. His father never mentioned her again, as if she hadn’t existed in the first place. Gandalf arrives and urges the Elvenking [2] and Brad halt their attack on Erebor. He informs them of Sauron’s plans to take over the Mountain, which was a part of his scheme to dominate and destroy the whole of Middle-earth. Thranduil doubts Gandalf and accuses him of sparking the enmity of his people and the Dwarves by instructing Thorin with his Company to undertake their quest. Even when Bilbo retrieved the Arkenstone and gave it to them to try and stop the fighting, a war almost broke out.

But with Dain’s departure and Azog’s arrival, they had to deal with the incoming horde of Orcs. Thranduil was reluctant to join the fray, but when Gandalf urges him to see reason, he realizes that it was a better decision to fight the Orcish army. He sends his swordsmen to battle and instructs his archers to shoot, while he skillfully takes out the enemy with his broadsword. Azog realizes that the opposing armies can’t fight for two fronts, so he sends his army to the city and cuts them off. This forces Thranduil to order a retreat into Dale along with Bilbo, Bard, and Gandalf. And the Dwarves are left to fend the attacks themselves. As he enters the city, he was violently dismounted from his elk and was surrounded, but he easily kills the assailants and continues to participate in the battle. He ends up aghast when he sees so much of his people’s blood spilled to defend Dwarven territory. Instead of helping Dain or warning Thorin, he takes the brief respite as an opportunity to pull his people out of the battle. He encounters Tauriel, who declares that he should not depart since the Dwarves will die if they do so. But he responds with indifference and tells her that it matters not if they died since they were mortal, to begin with.

Tauriel draws her bow in anger and accuses him of being loveless as well as someone who regards his own life, having more value than another’s. Thranduil retaliates and slices her bow, telling her that her feelings for Kili weren’t real, and asks her if she can die for her love. Tauriel is reduced to tears, and before Thranduil has a chance to strike her, Legolas intervenes and clashes with Thranduil’s sword. Legolas tells his father that if he wanted to kill Tauriel, he would have to kill him first. Tauriel and Legolas leave for Ravenhill, and Thranduil is left in a state of shock. In one deleted scene, Gandalf reminds Thranduil that gems weren’t the only thing that his wife left him; she also left him a son. Gandalf asks him what his wife would want him to value more. This causes Thranduil to go into a deeper state of grief and shock. It was never stated if Thranduil changed his mind and aided the Dwarves. After the fighting ended, he went into Ravenhill and found Tauriel and Legolas. He confesses to Legolas that he can’t go back home with him. He advises his son to find a person called the Dunedain, where he should meet a certain ranger. Thranduil knows the ranger’s father, Arathorn, to be a good man, and it’s foreseen that the ranger himself will become great as well. He explains to Legolas that the ranger is called "Strider," but didn't reveal his real name for it was something that Legolas should learn himself. He confides in his son that his departed mother had loved him more than anyone or anything in the world. They share a gesture of affection and farewell, and Thranduil accepts Legolas’ choice to depart from his homeland. As Legolas leaves for the Northern lands, Thranduil finds Tauriel weeping and holding Kili’s corpse. As she sees him, Tauriel asks why it hurts so much. Thranduil is touched by this sight and remembers his own wife’s death. He explains that it was real, and agrees with her plans to give Kili a proper burial. He doesn’t make any more appearances, but it’s safe to assume that he retreated to Mirkwood after the burials and the funerals.

The Hobbit (Animated Version)

Thranduil Makes An Appearance In The Hobbit (1997)

In this animated version, Thranduil is voiced by the director, Otto Preminger. This version shows a Thranduil with green skin and a balding, golden-haired head. Unlike the Peter Jackson films, the woodland elves in this version barely resembled humans. Much like in the book, Thranduil captures Thorin and his Company after he mistakes their arrival as an attack. Despite trying to convince him otherwise, he refuses to believe and imprisons all of them. He, along with Bard, join forces afterward to recapture the Lonely Mountain. He also joins forces with the Dwarven host after they see the approaching Goblin horde.​