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BlackFox
Half-elven
Dec 23 2014, 6:22pm
Post #26 of 34
(732 views)
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Enough of nitpicking for one day. 
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Loresilme
Valinor
Dec 23 2014, 6:40pm
Post #27 of 34
(859 views)
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"Your mother loved you more than anyONE"
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Can't Post
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Originally I thought Thranduil said "more than anyTHING", but on third viewing I confirmed, no he did not, he said "more than anyONE". And then continues, "more than life". So I am assuming that word 'anyone' was deliberate, leading perhaps to the idea that she died making some kind of choice to save Legolas' life. But it also adds a sort of words-hanging-unspoken in the air kind of feeling to me, as in 'loved you more than anyone .... more than she loved me', which again I'm speculating but there could be something going on there as well. It just seems there must have been a reason, because 'more than anything' seems like it would be what you'd expect to be used there.
Then, along with saying there is no grave, Legolas also says there is no memory, which among Elves must be very significant, because memory is so important to them. It would explain why he has no memory of her, especially if Thranduil would not say anything more about it.
So just mentioning all my UUTs here  in relation to your question of when did all this happen. If we assume she did die saving Legolas' life, and Legolas is supposed to be almost 3000 years old according to book timeline, is there any event or series of events that could have placed them all in Angmar at that time? I'm not familiar with the timelines but I know many posters here are . I also got the impression that the event took place a long, long time ago - as he describes it as happening 'in another age'.
Also, what would have put her in the position of having to defend Legolas to the death? Was she a warrior, perhaps? If so, does that explain why Thranduil noticed Tauriel's skills and gave her the chance he did, to be Captain of the Guard even though she was female, because his wife was a warrior Elf herself?
P.S. I did not get the impression that Legolas is 600 years old, like Tauriel. She may have grown up with him, but that doesn't mean he grew up with her. He could have been a youngish Elf but he strikes me as being older than her.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 23 2014, 8:31pm
Post #28 of 34
(782 views)
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The Age of Legolas in the Films
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P.S. I did not get the impression that Legolas is 600 years old, like Tauriel. She may have grown up with him, but that doesn't mean he grew up with her. He could have been a youngish Elf but he strikes me as being older than her.
Tolkien never specified the exact age of Legolas, but LotR film-related materials assigned TA 87 as his year of birth.
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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Loresilme
Valinor
Dec 23 2014, 8:52pm
Post #29 of 34
(740 views)
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I had his LOTR film age mixed up with book age, thanks for setting me straight!
Is there any indication at all then from the books, how old Legolas might be? Even if Tolkien never specified his age, can anything be inferred from anything he (Legolas) says that might place how far back he goes?
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Loresilme
Valinor
Dec 23 2014, 9:19pm
Post #31 of 34
(730 views)
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Maybe I am also again mixing up book and film chronology, but wasn't Arwen supposed to be comparatively young for an Elf? Because according to these articles (thanks for the links, btw!) she'd have been almost twice as old as Legolas? idk... that doesn't really make sense to me. Unless I am misunderstanding all the timelines. And Thranduil also seems to go back much further, making it seem even more like Legolas would have been born sooner. Ah well I imagine this has been debated endlessly by many others already  .
Thanks for the links Eleniel!
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Laineth
Lorien
Dec 24 2014, 12:40am
Post #33 of 34
(681 views)
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Arwen and Legolas are my two favorite characters, so I've thought about this a lot.
Appendix B tells us that Arwen was born in TA 241. She was 2,777 during LotR. That is the last birthdate given for an elf - Legolas is never mentioned.
Thranduil's birthdate is never given, but we know he survived the Sack of Doriath, along with his father, in the late First Age. They then traveled, in the early Second Age, to Greenwood. Oropher was king until he was killed in the Last Alliance. We also know that elves only have children during times of peace.
Judging from all the texts, Legolas was probably born sometime during the Watchful Peace; making him about 700 or 800 by LotR.
~*~
Now, how does this compare to the films? In the LotR Official Movie Guide, Orlando says he's 2,931. Obviously, that's not backed up by anything.
Gundabad was an orc stronghold, after Angmar was destroyed in TA 1975. When Legolas says "another age", it was really the same age - although still before his birth. "Another millennia" or "another time" would be more correct. Also, the elves of Greenwood were never involved in the war against Angmar.
Legolas only says his mother died at Gundabad, he doesn't say that it was during the reign of Angmar - it actually sounded, to me, like it was a while later. He tells Tauriel that he has no memory of his mother, making him very young when she died. When they say goodbye, Thranduil tells Legolas that his mother loved him "more than anyone" and "more than life."
So my head canon is that, sometime during Legolas's first years, his mother let herself be captured to save him.
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Otaku-sempai
Immortal
Dec 25 2014, 2:04pm
Post #34 of 34
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As others have pointed out, the most conservative age for Legolas is probably around 700 to 800 years old. However, his movie age could be pretty close to what Tolkien might have intended. It is difficult to be sure. As for Elves in general, I imagine that the Wood-elves of the North and the Avari Elves of Middle-earth would have went on making babies throughout the Third Age and possibly well into the Fourth (if not beyond).
'There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world.' - Gandalf the Grey, The Fellowship of the Ring
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