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{{mecanon}} {{good article}}
{{Infobox character
| name = Gil-galad
| series = ]
| aliases = Ereinion, Artanáro, Rodnor,<br/>High King of the ]
| race = ]
| lbl24 = Book(s)
| data24 = {{plainlist|
* '']'' (1954)
* '']'' (1977)
}}
}}
{{Use British English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
'''Gil-galad''' is a fictional character in ]'s ] ], the last high king of the ], one of the main ]. He is mentioned in '']'', where the hobbit ] recites a fragment of a poem about him, and '']''. In the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Gil-galad and ] laid siege to the Dark Lord ]'s fortress of ], and fought him hand-to-hand for the ]. Gil-galad and Elendil were both killed, but Sauron<!--an immortal Maia, cannot be killed--> was wounded. This allowed Elendil's son Isildur to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, defeating Sauron, and to take the Ring for himself.


Gil-galad briefly appears at the opening of ]'s ], in several ], and as a secondary character in the TV series ].
'''Ereinion Gil-galad''' is a ] in ]'s ].


== Appearances ==
{{spoiler}}


=== Prose ===
Gil-galad was the last of the High Kings of the ] in Middle-earth. An ] of the house of ], he was named High King of the Ñoldor in ] after the fall of the city of ] and the death of the last High King, ]. Gil-galad's father was ], son of ] son of Finarfin, and his mother was a ] Elf. His sister was ].&sup1;


Gil-galad was an ] of a royal house of ]; beyond that, accounts of his birth vary. According to '']'', he was born into the house of ] as a son of Fingon sometime in the ], and as a child, he was sent away during the Siege of ] for safekeeping with ] the shipwright in the ].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} Chapter 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"</ref> Alternatively, according to Tolkien's last word on the subject, he was a son of Orodreth, who became a son of Angrod, son of ]. Christopher Tolkien rejected these changes for ''The Silmarillion'', a decision he later regretted.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T />
His father-name in ] was '''Artanáro''', ]ized to '''Rodnor''', but he was best known by his mother name '''Gil-galad''' ("Star of Radiance") and his ''epessë'' (honourary title )'''Ereinion''', meaning "Scion of Kings".


He became the High King of the ]-in-Exile in Beleriand after the ] and the death of the previous High King, Turgon.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} Chapter 23, "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"</ref> After the ] and the end of the First Age, Gil-galad founded a realm in the coastal region of ] along the shores of ], the Great Sea. At its height, his realm extended eastward as far as the ].<ref name="Of the Rings of Power" group=T/> King Tar-Aldarion of ] presented Gil-galad with the gift of some seeds of the ] tree; he in turn gave some to ], who grew them in the guarded land of ].<ref name="A Description of Númenor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}}, Part II, Chapter 1 "A Description of Númenor"</ref> Gil-galad did not take a wife and had no children. He was the first of the Eldar to mistrust a stranger who called himself Annatar, and forbade him from entering Lindon. His mistrust was well founded, for Annatar was in fact ].<ref name="Of the Rings of Power" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"</ref> About the year 1600 of the Second Age, Sauron secretly forged the ]. ], the creator of the ], gave two of them, Narya and Vilya, to Gil-galad for safe-keeping once he knew Sauron's intention to take them. Gil-galad passed Narya to ] the shipwright, who stated that this was only to keep it secret; Cirdan never used it. Gil-galad chose to give Vilya, and control of ], to Elrond.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Fisher |first=Jason |author-link=Jason Fisher |title=Three Rings for—Whom Exactly? And Why?: Justifying the Disposition of the Three Elven Rings |journal=] |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=2008 |pages=99–108 |doi=10.1353/tks.0.0015 |s2cid=171012566}}</ref><ref name="Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"</ref> War broke out between the Elves and Sauron; Gil-galad asked the ] for help, and their king Tar-Minastir brought a great force, enabling Gil-galad to defeat Sauron's army.<ref name="Galadriel and Celeborn" group=T/>
During the assault on ], Gil-galad, still a youth in the eyes of the Elves, stayed behind when the company of Nargothrond set out to fight ]. He managed to escape the sack of the city although his sister was captured, and fled to the refuge at the ] or possibly on the ]. After the death of Turgon, the High Kingship of the Ñoldor passed to him as the last surviving male member of the House of Finarfin. (His great-aunt ] was still alive, but women could not inherit the title.)


After the ] there was peace in Middle-earth. At the end of the Second Age, Sauron reappeared with a newly formed army and made war against the kingdom of ], near his old home of ]. Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with the High King of ], ]. The armies of Elves and Men entered Mordor and laid siege to Sauron's fortress of ]. At the end of the siege, Sauron finally came forth and fought hand-to-hand against Gil-galad and Elendil on the slopes of ], losing the One Ring but killing them both.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955}} Appendix B, "The Second Age"</ref> A record left by ] in ] implies that Sauron himself killed Gil-galad with the heat of his bare hands. Recalling the encounter at the ] at ] before the Fellowship took the One Ring south, Elrond said that only he and Círdan stood by Gil-galad in that fight.<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T/>
After the ] and the end of the ], Gil-galad founded a realm in the coastal region of ] along the shores of ], the Great Sea. During most of the ], Gil-galad enjoyed the friendship of the ]. A great Númenórean force helped him to repulse an onslaught by ] after the forging of the ].


=== Poetry ===
After the ] and the establishment by the ] of the ] kingdoms in exile, Gil-galad formed the ] with ], High King of the Dúnedain, against the evil ]. The armies of Elves and ], victorious after the ], laid siege to Sauron in ]. During the siege, however, both Gil-galad and Elendil were slain.
{{further|Poetry in The Lord of the Rings}}


In '']'', on the way to ], ] mentions Gil-galad, prompting the hobbit ] to recite a fragment, three stanzas, of "Gil-galad was an Elven-king":<ref name="Shippey 2013">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Shippey |first=Tom |author-link=Tom Shippey |chapter=Poems by Tolkien: ''The Lord of the Rings'' |editor=Michael D. C. Drout |editor-link=Michael D. C. Drout |title=] |year=2013 |orig-year=2006 |location=Abingdon |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-1358-8033-0 |pages=245–246}}</ref>
The story of Gil-galad lived on through the ], particularly as told in '']''. He is also mentioned in song in '']'', making him one of the few characters to be referenced in all of Tolkien's published Middle-earth books.&sup2;


{{quote|<poem>Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
His ] was named '''Aiglos''' or '''Aeglos''', meaning "snow-point" or "snow-thorn" (''aeg'': sharp, pointed; ''los'': snow).
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.


His sword was long, his lance was keen.
<center>
His shining helm afar was seen.
<table border = 1>
The countless stars of heaven's field
<tr>
Were mirrored in his silver shield.
<td width = 30% align = center>
Preceded by:<br>]</td>
<td width = 40% align = center>
]</td>
<td width = 30% align = center>
Succeeded by:<br>No one<br>(Last High King in Middle-earth)</td></tr>
</table>
</center>


But long ago he rode away,
{{meweapons}}
And where he dwelleth none can say.
For into darkness fell his star;
In ], where the shadows are.<ref name="Knife in the Dark" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} Book I, Chapter 11 "A Knife in the Dark"</ref></poem>}}


Sam's companions are impressed, and ask for more; Sam admits that is all that he learnt from Bilbo. Aragorn says the fragment is a translation from "an ancient tongue" and suggests that the hobbits may hear the rest in ].<ref name="Knife in the Dark" group=T/> The Tolkien scholar ] comments that the longer poem does not exist, and that Sam's fragment seems to have been composed while Tolkien was writing the chapter. He notes that it has the form of a ], each stanza being a ] in ] mode with end-rhymes in the ] AABB/CCDD.<ref name="Shippey 2013"/>
==Other versions of the legendarium==
&sup1; '']'', which was published after Tolkien's death, stated that Gil-galad was the son of ], but ] later said in '']'' that this was a mistake, and Gil-galad's father was actually Orodreth. Gil-galad's name in the chapter "Aldarion and Erendis" in the '']'' was also changed by Christopher Tolkien in order to keep consistency with the published Silmarillion.


== Arte<!--British English-->facts ==
&sup2; In the ''Lord of the Rings'' ] by ], Gil-galad appears very briefly in ] during the opening prologue sequence. He is never mentioned by name in any of the films.


=== Aeglos, the spear ===
]

]
{{further|List of Middle-earth weapons and armour}}

Gil-galad's ] was named ] or Aiglos,<ref name="burdge">{{cite book |title=] |editor-first=Michael |editor-last=Drout |editor-link=Michael Drout |chapter=Weapons, Named |first1=Anthony |last1=Burdge |first2=Jessica |last2=Burke |publisher=] |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |isbn=978-0-415-86511-1 |pages=703–705}}</ref> meaning "snow-point" or "snow-thorn" or more commonly "icicle"<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} p. 313</ref> (''aeg'': sharp, pointed; ''los'': snow) because when ] saw his spear, they would recognize it by its reputation to bring a cold death to them. Elrond said that at the battle of Dagorlad, "we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and ], none could withstand."<ref name="Council of Elrond" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a}} Book II, Chapter 2: "]"</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1977}} p. 294</ref><ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980}} pp. 148, 417</ref> The connection of Elf and spear could relate to the English surname ], which may represent ] {{lang|ang|aelf-gar}}, "elf-spear".<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Christopher |editor1-first=Joe R. |editor2-last=Hammond |editor2-first=Wayne G. |editor3-last=Hargis |editor3-first=Pat Allen |editor2-link=Wayne G. Hammond |title=An Inklings Bibliography (35) |journal=] |volume=15 |issue=4 |at=article 9, page 66 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2642&context=mythlore}}</ref>

=== Heraldic devices ===
]

{{further|Heraldry of Middle-earth}}

Tolkien created two sketches of ] for Gil-galad. They were drawn on an envelope posted to him in 1960, along with a device containing a star or ] for ]. The Tolkien scholars ] and ] note that matching the description in the poem, "The countless stars of heaven's field / Were mirrored in his silver shield", the lozenge-shaped devices both contain stars, with an elongated star in each corner.{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|1995|pp=193–194}} Margaret Purdy, in '']'', writes that Gil-galad's shield, like all elvish heraldry personal not inherited, seems to incorporate his stars, though the field is blue not silver.<ref name="Purdy 1982">{{cite journal |last=Purdy |first=Margaret R. |year=1982 |title=Symbols of Immortality: A Comparison of European and Elvish Heraldry |journal=] |volume=9 |issue=1 |at=Article 5 |url=https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss1/5}}</ref>

=== Family tree ===
{{further|Tolkien's Middle-earth family trees}}
{{House of Finwë family tree}}
<!---->
== Concept and creation ==

Gil-galad means "star of bright light" in ].{{sfn|Hammond|Scull|2005|p=86}}
His names in Tolkien's invented languages of ] and Sindarin were Artanáro and Rodnor, respectively. His Sindarin birth name, Ereinion, means "scion of kings".<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor2" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The names of Finwë's descendants"</ref>

Tolkien considered several different parentages for Gil-galad in different draft texts, including making him the son of Orodreth.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996}} "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The parentage of Gil-galad"</ref> In the second version of ''The Fall of Númenor'', he is called a descendant of ], who made the ].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1987}} Part One: II. The Fall of Númenor, (iii) "The second version of The Fall of Númenor"</ref> Then Tolkien treated him as a son of ].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1994}} Part Two: "The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"</ref> ], editing the published version of '']'', made Gil-galad the son of Fingon, a decision he later regretted, saying he should have left the parentage obscure.<ref name="Shibboleth of Fëanor" group=T />

Renee Vink, of the Dutch Tolkien Society, suggests that the only good reason for making him son of Fingon is the correspondence of the colours, blue and silver, of Gil-galad's heraldic device and ]'s banner. She notes that the publication of ''The Silmarillion'', based on a limited "grasp of the material", created a "virtually unshakeable" tradition for this parentage. She argues that Orodreth has a better claim to paternity, for several reasons: the crown of the Noldor in exile (in Middle-earth) then comes to a descendant of Finarfin, king of the Noldor in Aman; a descendant of Finarfin would fight Sauron to avenge Finarfin's son ]; and as brother to Finduilas, he (alone of the Noldor's Kings) would fight with a spear, the weapon that killed his sister.<ref name="Vink 2013">{{cite journal |last1=Vink |first1=Renee |title=The Parentage of Gil-galad |journal=Lembas |publisher=Unquendor |date=2013 |orig-year=2003, rewritten 2009 |issue=Extra |url=https://www.academia.edu/13554329}}</ref>

The scholar of literature Lawrence Krikorian, in '']'', writes that ]'s account of his personal observation of being Gil-galad's herald in the ], thousands of years earlier, helps to make the narrative function as history rather than ]. This, he writes, lends an ].<ref name="Krikorian 2018">{{cite journal |last=Krikorian |first=Lawrence |title=Realism in fantasy: The Lord of the Rings as 'history . . . feigned' |journal=] |date=2018 |issue=59 |pages=14–17 |url=https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/download/20/15}}</ref>

== Adaptations ==

<!--]]]-->

=== Film, TV, and radio ===

], centre right) and his herald ] (], left), as envisaged in ]'s 2001 film '']''<ref name="Fellowship Cast"/>]]

In the 1981 ] dramatisation of '']'', the ''Lay of Gil-galad'' was set to music by ].<ref name="Sibley">{{cite web |last1=Sibley |first1=Brian |author-link1=Brian Sibley |title=The Ring Goes Ever On: The Making of BBC Radio's 'The Lord of the Rings' |url=http://briansibleytheworks.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-page-is-still-under-construction_23.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190816113635/http://briansibleytheworks.blogspot.com/2008/01/this-page-is-still-under-construction_23.html<!--authoritative blog of the production's scriptwriter--> |archive-date=16 August 2019 |access-date=24 February 2020 |publisher=Brian Sibley}}</ref>

In the ''Lord of the Rings'' ] by ], Gil-galad is portrayed by ]. He appears very briefly in '']'' during the opening prologue sequence.<ref name="Fellowship Cast">{{cite web |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018194153/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |url=http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1807537463/cast |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring |website=] |archive-date=18 October 2007 |access-date=9 May 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Gil-galad is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes documentaries included with the Special Extended Edition ] of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and is listed in the credits. In an interview with Ferguson and ] (Haldir), Ferguson stated that it had been planned for his death to be depicted onscreen as in the book, but it was considered too violent.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended Edition |type=DVD |date=2001 |id=EDV9171 |publisher=]}}</ref>

In the ] '']'' TV series, which focuses on events in the ],<ref>{{cite web |title=Analysis: what can we deduce from the Amazon synopsis about the plot of the new Middle-earth series? |url=https://www.theonering.net/torwp/2021/01/17/110094-analysis-what-can-we-deduce-from-the-amazon-synopsis-about-the-plot-of-the-new-middle-earth-series/ |website=TheOneRing.net |access-date=16 February 2022 |date=17 January 2021}}</ref> Gil-Galad is played by ].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Williams |first1=Caleb |title=Benjamin Walker Will Play High-Elven King Gil-Galad in Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' TV Series |url=https://knightedgemedia.com/2022/01/benjamin-walker-will-play-gil-galad-in-amazons-lord-of-the-rings/ |website=Knight Edge Media |access-date=15 February 2022 |date=30 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Campbell |title=Gil-Galad Casting For The Rings Of Power Revealed |url=https://lrmonline.com/news/gil-galad-casting-for-the-rings-of-power-revealed-barside-buzz/ |website=LRM online |access-date=15 February 2022 |date=1 February 2022}}</ref>

=== Games ===

Gil-galad has been included in multiple video games since Jackson's films were first shown. The 2004 video game '']'' featured Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age |date=November 2004 |publisher=]}}</ref> Others are the 2007 '']''; the 2011 '']'';<ref>{{cite video game | title=The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North | developer=] | publisher=] |year=2011 | level=Rivendell, Part 1}}</ref> and the 2012 '']'' which has Gil-galad near ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Guide personnages de LEGO Le Seigneur des Anneaux : Gil-Galad |url=https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xvp8ui |website=Daily Motion |date=8 December 2012 |access-date=16 February 2022 |language=fr}}</ref>

== References ==

=== Primary ===
{{reflist|group=T|30em}}

=== Secondary ===
{{reflist|30em}}

== Sources ==

* {{ME-ref|A&I}} <!--1995, Hammond & Scull, Tolkien's artwork-->
* {{cite book |last1=Hammond |first1=Wayne G. |author-link=Wayne G. Hammond |last2=Scull |first2=Christina |author2-link=Christina Scull |title=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion |year=2005 |publisher=] |isbn=978-0-00-720907-1 |title-link=The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion}}
* {{ME-ref|FOTR}} <!--1954-->
* {{ME-ref|ROTK}} <!--1955-->
* {{ME-ref|SILM}} <!--1977-->
* {{ME-ref|UT}} <!--1980-->
* {{ME-ref|LROW}} <!--1987-->
* {{ME-ref|WOTJ}} <!--1994-->
* {{ME-ref|POME}} <!--1996-->

{{Middle-earth}}
{{Elves}}

]
]
]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 08:08, 3 November 2024

Fictional character
Gil-galad
Tolkien character
In-universe information
AliasesEreinion, Artanáro, Rodnor,
High King of the Noldor
RaceElves
Book(s)

Gil-galad is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the last high king of the Noldor, one of the main divisions of Elves. He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, where the hobbit Sam Gamgee recites a fragment of a poem about him, and The Silmarillion. In the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Gil-galad and Elendil laid siege to the Dark Lord Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, and fought him hand-to-hand for the One Ring. Gil-galad and Elendil were both killed, but Sauron was wounded. This allowed Elendil's son Isildur to cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, defeating Sauron, and to take the Ring for himself.

Gil-galad briefly appears at the opening of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, in several video games based on Middle-earth, and as a secondary character in the TV series The Rings of Power.

Appearances

Prose

Gil-galad was an Elf of a royal house of Beleriand; beyond that, accounts of his birth vary. According to The Silmarillion, he was born into the house of Finwë as a son of Fingon sometime in the First Age, and as a child, he was sent away during the Siege of Angband for safekeeping with Cirdan the shipwright in the Falas. Alternatively, according to Tolkien's last word on the subject, he was a son of Orodreth, who became a son of Angrod, son of Finarfin. Christopher Tolkien rejected these changes for The Silmarillion, a decision he later regretted.

He became the High King of the Noldor-in-Exile in Beleriand after the fall of Gondolin and the death of the previous High King, Turgon. After the War of Wrath and the end of the First Age, Gil-galad founded a realm in the coastal region of Lindon along the shores of Belegaer, the Great Sea. At its height, his realm extended eastward as far as the Misty Mountains. King Tar-Aldarion of Númenor presented Gil-galad with the gift of some seeds of the Mallorn tree; he in turn gave some to Galadriel, who grew them in the guarded land of Lothlórien. Gil-galad did not take a wife and had no children. He was the first of the Eldar to mistrust a stranger who called himself Annatar, and forbade him from entering Lindon. His mistrust was well founded, for Annatar was in fact Sauron. About the year 1600 of the Second Age, Sauron secretly forged the One Ring. Celebrimbor, the creator of the Three Rings, gave two of them, Narya and Vilya, to Gil-galad for safe-keeping once he knew Sauron's intention to take them. Gil-galad passed Narya to Cirdan the shipwright, who stated that this was only to keep it secret; Cirdan never used it. Gil-galad chose to give Vilya, and control of Eriador, to Elrond. War broke out between the Elves and Sauron; Gil-galad asked the Númenóreans for help, and their king Tar-Minastir brought a great force, enabling Gil-galad to defeat Sauron's army.

After the Downfall of Númenor there was peace in Middle-earth. At the end of the Second Age, Sauron reappeared with a newly formed army and made war against the kingdom of Gondor, near his old home of Mordor. Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men with the High King of Men, Elendil. The armies of Elves and Men entered Mordor and laid siege to Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr. At the end of the siege, Sauron finally came forth and fought hand-to-hand against Gil-galad and Elendil on the slopes of Mount Doom, losing the One Ring but killing them both. A record left by Isildur in Minas Tirith implies that Sauron himself killed Gil-galad with the heat of his bare hands. Recalling the encounter at the Council of Elrond at Rivendell before the Fellowship took the One Ring south, Elrond said that only he and Círdan stood by Gil-galad in that fight.

Poetry

Further information: Poetry in The Lord of the Rings

In The Fellowship of the Ring, on the way to Weathertop, Aragorn mentions Gil-galad, prompting the hobbit Sam Gamgee to recite a fragment, three stanzas, of "Gil-galad was an Elven-king":

Gil-galad was an Elven-king.
Of him the harpers sadly sing:
The last whose realm was fair and free
Between the mountains and the sea.

His sword was long, his lance was keen.
His shining helm afar was seen.
The countless stars of heaven's field
Were mirrored in his silver shield.

But long ago he rode away,
And where he dwelleth none can say.
For into darkness fell his star;
In Mordor, where the shadows are.

Sam's companions are impressed, and ask for more; Sam admits that is all that he learnt from Bilbo. Aragorn says the fragment is a translation from "an ancient tongue" and suggests that the hobbits may hear the rest in Rivendell. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey comments that the longer poem does not exist, and that Sam's fragment seems to have been composed while Tolkien was writing the chapter. He notes that it has the form of a ballad, each stanza being a quatrain in eulogy mode with end-rhymes in the rhyming pattern AABB/CCDD.

Artefacts

Aeglos, the spear

Further information: List of Middle-earth weapons and armour

Gil-galad's spear was named Aeglos or Aiglos, meaning "snow-point" or "snow-thorn" or more commonly "icicle" (aeg: sharp, pointed; los: snow) because when orcs saw his spear, they would recognize it by its reputation to bring a cold death to them. Elrond said that at the battle of Dagorlad, "we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand." The connection of Elf and spear could relate to the English surname Elgar, which may represent Old English aelf-gar, "elf-spear".

Heraldic devices

Gil-galad's heraldic device with stars on a blue field
Further information: Heraldry of Middle-earth

Tolkien created two sketches of heraldic devices for Gil-galad. They were drawn on an envelope posted to him in 1960, along with a device containing a star or Silmaril for Eärendil. The Tolkien scholars Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull note that matching the description in the poem, "The countless stars of heaven's field / Were mirrored in his silver shield", the lozenge-shaped devices both contain stars, with an elongated star in each corner. Margaret Purdy, in Mythlore, writes that Gil-galad's shield, like all elvish heraldry personal not inherited, seems to incorporate his stars, though the field is blue not silver.

Family tree

Further information: Tolkien's Middle-earth family trees
House of Finwë family tree
Míriel
"broideress"
Finwë
of the Noldor		Indis
of the Vanyar
Fëanor,
maker of Silmarils		Findis FingolfinIrimë
Finarfin
MaedhrosFive sonsCurufin Fingon TurgonAredhelArgonFinrodAngrodAegnorGaladriel
Celebrimbor,
maker of Rings		 Gil‑galadIdrilMaeglinOrodreth
EärendilFinduilas
ElrosElrondCelebrían
AragornArwenElladanElrohir
Eldarion
Colour key:
Colour Description
  Elves
  Men
  Maiar
  Half-Elven
  Half-Elven who chose the fate of Elves
  Half-Elven who chose the fate of mortal Men

Kings of the Noldor in Valinor

High Kings of the Noldor in exile in Middle-earth

Concept and creation

Gil-galad means "star of bright light" in Sindarin. His names in Tolkien's invented languages of Quenya and Sindarin were Artanáro and Rodnor, respectively. His Sindarin birth name, Ereinion, means "scion of kings".

Tolkien considered several different parentages for Gil-galad in different draft texts, including making him the son of Orodreth. In the second version of The Fall of Númenor, he is called a descendant of Fëanor, who made the Silmarils. Then Tolkien treated him as a son of Finrod Felagund. Christopher Tolkien, editing the published version of The Silmarillion, made Gil-galad the son of Fingon, a decision he later regretted, saying he should have left the parentage obscure.

Renee Vink, of the Dutch Tolkien Society, suggests that the only good reason for making him son of Fingon is the correspondence of the colours, blue and silver, of Gil-galad's heraldic device and Fingolfin's banner. She notes that the publication of The Silmarillion, based on a limited "grasp of the material", created a "virtually unshakeable" tradition for this parentage. She argues that Orodreth has a better claim to paternity, for several reasons: the crown of the Noldor in exile (in Middle-earth) then comes to a descendant of Finarfin, king of the Noldor in Aman; a descendant of Finarfin would fight Sauron to avenge Finarfin's son Finrod; and as brother to Finduilas, he (alone of the Noldor's Kings) would fight with a spear, the weapon that killed his sister.

The scholar of literature Lawrence Krikorian, in Mallorn, writes that Elrond's account of his personal observation of being Gil-galad's herald in the Second Age, thousands of years earlier, helps to make the narrative function as history rather than allegory. This, he writes, lends an impression of depth.

Adaptations

Film, TV, and radio

Gil-galad (played by Mark Ferguson, centre right) and his herald Elrond (Hugo Weaving, left), as envisaged in Peter Jackson's 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring

In the 1981 BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings, the Lay of Gil-galad was set to music by Stephen Oliver.

In the Lord of the Rings film trilogy by Peter Jackson, Gil-galad is portrayed by Mark Ferguson. He appears very briefly in The Fellowship of the Ring during the opening prologue sequence. Gil-galad is mentioned in the behind-the-scenes documentaries included with the Special Extended Edition DVD of The Fellowship of the Ring and is listed in the credits. In an interview with Ferguson and Craig Parker (Haldir), Ferguson stated that it had been planned for his death to be depicted onscreen as in the book, but it was considered too violent.

In the Amazon Prime Video The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power TV series, which focuses on events in the Second Age, Gil-Galad is played by Benjamin Walker.

Games

Gil-galad has been included in multiple video games since Jackson's films were first shown. The 2004 video game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age featured Mark Ferguson as Gil-galad. Others are the 2007 The Lord of the Rings Online; the 2011 The Lord of the Rings: War in the North; and the 2012 Lego The Lord of the Rings which has Gil-galad near Mount Doom.

References

Primary

  1. Tolkien 1977 Chapter 18, "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
  2. ^ Tolkien 1996 "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The parentage of Gil-galad"
  3. Tolkien 1977 Chapter 23, "Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin"
  4. ^ Tolkien 1977 "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"
  5. Tolkien 1980, Part II, Chapter 1 "A Description of Númenor"
  6. ^ Tolkien 1980 "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
  7. Tolkien 1955 Appendix B, "The Second Age"
  8. ^ Tolkien 1954a Book II, Chapter 2: "The Council of Elrond"
  9. ^ Tolkien 1954a Book I, Chapter 11 "A Knife in the Dark"
  10. Tolkien 1977 p. 313
  11. Tolkien 1977 p. 294
  12. Tolkien 1980 pp. 148, 417
  13. Tolkien 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age": Family Tree I: "The house of Finwë and the Noldorin descent of Elrond and Elros"
  14. Tolkien 1977, "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age": Family Tree II: "The descendants of Olwë and Elwë"
  15. Tolkien 1955, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I The Númenórean Kings
  16. Tolkien 1996 "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", "The names of Finwë's descendants"
  17. Tolkien 1987 Part One: II. The Fall of Númenor, (iii) "The second version of The Fall of Númenor"
  18. Tolkien 1994 Part Two: "The Later Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"

Secondary

  1. Fisher, Jason (2008). "Three Rings for—Whom Exactly? And Why?: Justifying the Disposition of the Three Elven Rings". Tolkien Studies. 5 (1): 99–108. doi:10.1353/tks.0.0015. S2CID 171012566.
  2. ^ Shippey, Tom (2013) . "Poems by Tolkien: The Lord of the Rings". In Michael D. C. Drout (ed.). The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. Abingdon: Routledge. pp. 245–246. ISBN 978-1-1358-8033-0.
  3. Burdge, Anthony; Burke, Jessica (2013) . "Weapons, Named". In Drout, Michael (ed.). J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge. pp. 703–705. ISBN 978-0-415-86511-1.
  4. Christopher, Joe R.; Hammond, Wayne G.; Hargis, Pat Allen (eds.). "An Inklings Bibliography (35)". Mythlore. 15 (4). article 9, page 66.
  5. ^ Hammond & Scull 1995, pp. 193–194.
  6. ^ Purdy, Margaret R. (1982). "Symbols of Immortality: A Comparison of European and Elvish Heraldry". Mythlore. 9 (1). Article 5.
  7. Hammond & Scull 2005, p. 86.
  8. Vink, Renee (2013) . "The Parentage of Gil-galad". Lembas (Extra). Unquendor.
  9. Krikorian, Lawrence (2018). "Realism in fantasy: The Lord of the Rings as 'history . . . feigned'". Mallorn (59): 14–17.
  10. ^ "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  11. Sibley, Brian. "The Ring Goes Ever On: The Making of BBC Radio's 'The Lord of the Rings'". Brian Sibley. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  12. The Fellowship of the Ring Special Extended Edition (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2001. EDV9171.
  13. "Analysis: what can we deduce from the Amazon synopsis about the plot of the new Middle-earth series?". TheOneRing.net. 17 January 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  14. Williams, Caleb (30 January 2022). "Benjamin Walker Will Play High-Elven King Gil-Galad in Amazon's 'Lord of the Rings' TV Series". Knight Edge Media. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  15. Clark, Campbell (1 February 2022). "Gil-Galad Casting For The Rings Of Power Revealed". LRM online. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  16. The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Electronic Arts. November 2004.
  17. Snowblind Studios. The Lord of the Rings: The War in the North. WB Games. Level/area: Rivendell, Part 1.
  18. "Guide personnages de LEGO Le Seigneur des Anneaux : Gil-Galad". Daily Motion (in French). 8 December 2012. Retrieved 16 February 2022.

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