Thranduil

Thranduil
Tolkien's legendarium character
Aliases	Elvenking of Mirkwood
Race	Elf (Sindarin)
Book(s)	The Hobbit (1937)

Thranduil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is a supporting character in The Hobbit, where he is referred to as the "Elvenking," and he is referenced briefly in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales. Tolkien describes Thranduil as having a crown made of red leaves and berries in the autumn, and wearing a similar crown of flowers in the spring. Like most of the Sindar, he would have been beardless, tall, and grey-eyed. The name 'Thranduil' means 'vigorous spring' in Sindarin.

Thranduil was one of the Sindar, or Grey Elves. Although the date and place of his birth are unrecorded, he may have been born in Beleriand, during the First Age of Middle-earth. Following the end of the First Age and the destruction of much of Beleriand during the War of Wrath many Sindar migrated into the east of Middle-earth. Crossing the Misty Mountains, they found populations of Silvan Elves living in the woodlands that bordered the River Anduin. The Sindar were welcomed by these people and some were made princes over them. Among these was Thranduil's father Oropher, whose realm included the southern portions of the forest of Greenwood the Great, which was later known as Mirkwood.

At the end of the Second Age Thranduil marched with his father and a large army of their people to join the Last Alliance of Elves and Men in their war against Sauron. The Silvan Elves suffered grievous losses, including Oropher who was slain in the Battle of Dagorlad before the Black Gate of Mordor. Following the war, Thranduil, now king of his people, led the remnants of his army, only a third of what had set out, back to their woodland home. Hearing word of the Disaster of the Gladden Fields shortly after their return, Thranduil's forces set out to aid the Dúnedain, but arrived too late to save them. However, they did finish the destruction of the orc horde and prevented the mutilation of the dead. During the Third Age Thranduil's people migrated northward in the forest, especially after the year 1000 when a shadow began to fall on its south. Thranduil's folk eventually settled in north-east Mirkwood, beyond the Forest River. Here they managed to hold the evil emanating from the feared fortress of Dol Guldur at bay and lived lives of guarded peace in both the forest and the great underground halls they built.

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Wikipedia