Legolas' Hair Colour

[Galad Aglaron]

This is a sore spot between my friend Michael and I. He insists that Legolas is blond. I say that it is dark.

Quote:

Frodo looked up at the Elf standing tall above him, as he gazed into the night, seeking a mark to shoot at. His head was dark, crowned with sharp white stars that glittered in the black pools of the sky behind.

I myself take this to mean that Legolas' hair must be either dark brown or black, like most Sindar. Others have argued that since the above takes place at night, his head may have appeared "dark" due to shadows or the darkness itself, rather than due to his actual hair colour. Tolkien, however, makes references to the night being curiously bright, making it unlikely that golden hair would appear dark:

Quote:

The stars were strangely bright.

...in the star glimmer they must have offered their cunning foes some mark.

Well? Your judgment?  

[Tears of the Siren]

Interesting, I've never thought of that before, and it could go either way. Even on the brightest nights it is possible for fair-haired people to appear to have dark hair, especially if the light source is behind them as it is here.

However, whatever Tolkien intended Legolas's hair colour to be will most likely be ignored by the vast majority of people who only read the books after seeing the movies and will forever have Orland Bloom Legolas imprinted on their minds.

Quick question, are you sure Legolas was of the Sindar? I have always thought, perhaps incorrectly, that the Elves of Mirkwood were of the Nandor or Avari.  

[Galad Aglaron]

Thranduil ruled over the Silvan Elves who dwelt in Mirkwood, but although he lived among them, was exposed to their customs, and (it may be inferred) considered himself one of them, Legolas was strictly not one of the Silvan Elves. His father Thranduil had originally come from Lindon; he and his son were actually Sindar. 3nodding  

[Dracolish]

i also concur in your thinking, legolas seems to have dark hair... but if he's the son of Thranduil we have to check the hobbit to be sure...  

[Rudhe]

In my mind it goes something like this...

Blonde
-

Quote:

Only appear dark because it was night-time.
- Father had blonde hair, thus possible that he inherited from father
- Jackson and Bakshi versions were both blonde

Brown/black
-

Quote:

literally was dark, bright sky meant night-time did not change the colour of hair.
- Sindar => commonly known to have brown or black hair
- Several of the artist impressions I've seen of Legolas shows him which black hair, by Inger Edelfeldt, Michael Kaluta.

Personally, I think Legolas is blonde.

 

[Tears of the Siren]

Where does it say that Thrandruil had blond hair? I checked through the Hobbit to see if I could find any reference to hair colour among the Elves of Mirkwood and I couldn't find anything. Did I overlook something?  

[Rudhe]

The Hobbit

...woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair

I don't think it's disputable.  

[Puddum]

From the description in the books, I'm guessing he's supposed to have dark hair, but unfortunately, the image from the films is ingrained in my mind since I saw FotR before I read the trilogy and now I have a hard time imagining him as a non-blonde. sad  

[Tears of the Siren]

Rudhheniel

The Hobbit

...woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair

I don't think it's disputable.

Thank you!  

[The_Great_White_Snark]

You guys are all wrong.

Legolas was a redhead and you know it.  

[Dracolish]

miss_phantasmagoria

You guys are all wrong.

Legolas was a redhead and you know it.

ooookay... redhead... naaahhh... whatever the color is, that little detail is not that important...  

[Galad Aglaron]

It's an academic question. It's like whether Macbeth and his Lady had children or not. A tiny, insignificant detail, but scholars argue about it for centuries.  

[Tanith_the_scaled_one]

I don't think it matters what his hair color is. Like so much of Tolkiens work, it's open to interpretation. Personally, I picture him with dark hair. This is simply because guys with long, dark hair are so much hotter than the blondes! heart  

[Lawliet Riuzaki]

I say that his hair is dark. It seems of course, like Tanith states, it's open to interpritation.  

[Ametrin]

I remember how I was wondering why Legolas was blonde in the movie, cause I recalled this quote from the book where it says "dark head". I think his hair could indeed appear darker in the night, but also it could not be very light/blonde (like in the movie) because in such case even at night the hair wouldn't seem that much darker to actually be referred to as dark... :/ so I don't know. Anyways I agree with this: biggrin

Tanith_the_scaled_one

This is simply because guys with long, dark hair are so much hotter than the blondes! heart