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Elves in Faerie

quote:

Originally posted by Elanor Gamgee
Although Tolkien never mentioned Legolas' hair colour (and thus gave all of us this wonderful opportunity to discuss it over and over again ) he did provide a description of Legolas. I think it should be posted, together with Christopher's comments.
[b]
The Book of Lost Tales, II, The History of Eriol or Aelfwine, Ballantine Books, 1992, p.333

Morgan: Thankyou Elanor,
I am certain that we are all envisioning something very close to your quote. The imagery this conjures up is completely in keeping with my interpretation of the Elves from the Silmarillion, who for me, are everything Elves should be. And in support of the "original" denizens of the Realm of Faerie, they also fall into this catagory. There was a passage I read a long time ago, (unfortunately I no longer have the book and it has been too long to quote accurately from memory) about Gwydion, High King of Gwynedd and the King of Faerie, that described him as something very akin to Elrond at the height of his power.
He was regarded by mortals as being uncommonly beautiful, dark-haired, with very fair, almost luminescent skin, startling, piercing grey eyes of such brilliance, that few could hold their gaze. He was very tall, taller than most men, and though slender in build, he posessed tremendous strength and vigour, accompanied by great skill with arms. Yet he was also wise and compassionate. And interestingly enough, he also had a younger brother, who was like him in both appearance and temperament.
As you know, Tolkien was well versed in ancient Welsh history and I am wondering how much of this legend he incorporated into his stories.