{"id":88384,"date":"2014-04-06T08:32:16","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T13:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/?p=88384"},"modified":"2014-04-06T08:32:16","modified_gmt":"2014-04-06T13:32:16","slug":"four-reasons-thranduil-is-smarter-than-your-average-elf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/2014\/04\/06\/88384-four-reasons-thranduil-is-smarter-than-your-average-elf\/","title":{"rendered":"Four reasons Thranduil is smarter than your average elf"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"bg_HGEYA\" It’s not all sparkles, party-time and un-ending barrels of Dorwinion wine in the underground halls of Thranduil’s stronghold. <\/p>\n

In fact, if one delves a little into Unfinished Tales a number emerge why one should consider Thranduil quite a formidable ruler, especially in relation to some of his elven peers. Here are four of mine (you may have more).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Longevity<\/h4>\n

\"06aserwsdaar\" Consider this: the Silvan\/Sindarin kingdom of Oropher and Thranduil has out-endured every other Middle-earth realm except the Grey Havens on the ocean side of the Blue Mountains, and, probably, Lorien. <\/p>\n

The Tale of Years gives Second Age 1 as the date of the founding of the Havens. It is not known for certain when Oropher and Thranduil travelled eastward to Greenwood the Great (later renamed Mirkwood) out of the ruin of the realms of Beleriand. However, the Tale of Years indicates it occurred before Sauron built Barad-dur, which was completed sometime around S.A. 1000. <\/p>\n

Depending on how one interprets Oropher’s eagerness to be out from under the influence of the Noldorin Exiles, this migration might have happened immediately (possible), or a few hundred years into the second Age (most likely), or even before the First Age concluded (unlikely, but the text is not clear). For they:<\/p>\n

\n…came from Doriath after its ruin and had no desire to leave Middle-earth, nor to be merged with the other Sindar of Beleriand, dominated by the Noldorin Exiles for whom the folk of Doriath had no great love.
\nUnfinished Tales, The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves.<\/i>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In any case, Oropher brought together the scattered Silvan elves of the Greenwood under his leadership, establishing the kingdom that Bilbo is a “guest” of more than 5,400 years later.<\/p>\n

Lest you think this is all great PR for Oropher, Thranduil is boss for a good 3,400 of those years. In that time he had to contend with the rise of The Necromancer on his southern borders, and at least one dragon lurking not far to the north. In the meantime, Arnor and its successor states had come and gone, Erebor and Dale likewise, and Eregion had both risen high, and fallen into dust. Khazad-d\u00fbm had long been abandoned to Durin’s Bane, and the twin dwarf cities of Nogrod and Belegost were but a memory.<\/p>\n

Battle smarts<\/h4>\n

\"tumblr_inline_mhzut6TA7T1qz4rgp\" Unfortunately, Oropher may have too obstinate about remaining separate from the Noldrin influence. It proves his and his people’s undoing during the War of the Last Alliance. <\/p>\n

\n…they were independent, and not disposed to place themselves under the supreme command of Gil-galad. Their losses were thus more grievous than they need have been, even in that terrible war… Oropher was slain in the first assault upon Mordor, rushing forward at the head of his most doughty warriors before Gil-galad had given the signal for the advance.
\nUnfinished Tales, The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves.<\/i>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Who’s left to salvage the remnant of Oropher’s forces and ensure they don’t all get turned into orcburgers? Thranduil. The losses of the Sindarin elves are still very heavy — if only because they are more lightly armed and armoured than the Noldor — but they survive in enough numbers that a large force of orcs that later ambushes Isildur near the Gladden Fields allows them to pass unmolested. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Wisdom<\/h4>\n

\"ThranduilOnThrone\" Thranduil’s experience of the Last Alliance was deeply affecting. But not, I think, in the sense that it filled him with the horror of battle, and the desire to avoid it at all costs.<\/p>\n

\nBut there was in Thranduil’s heart a still deeper shadow. He had seen the horror of Mordor and could not forget it. If ever he looked south its memory dimmed the light of the Sun, and though he knew that it was now broken and deserted and under the vigilance of the Kings of Men, fear spoke in his heart that it was not conquered for ever: it would arise again.
\nUnfinished Tales, The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves.<\/i>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thranduil’s great fear is not battle or war in itself, it is the re-emergence of Sauron and the ravishment of Middle-earth which his dominion would bring. I guess that it is this great fear that prompts him to work in the ways that he can to assist the other Free Peoples of Middle-earth. I suspect this is why he aids Gandalf with the matter of Gollum, and why he sends Legolas (not some leser envoy) to Rivendell.<\/p>\n

Self-discipline<\/h4>\n

\"Hobbit Thranduil is certainly not without flaw. In The Hobbit, he certainly has a weakness. A love of, and desire for, treasure.<\/p>\n

If the elf-king had a weakness it was for treasure, especially for silver and white gems; and though his hoard was rich, he was ever eager for more, since he had not yet as great a treasure as other elf-lords of old. <\/p>\n

Greed (coupled with overweening arrogance) in the form of his lust for the Silmaril plays a major role in the demise of Elu Thingol at the hands of the dwarves of Nogrod. For Thingol, the Silmaril becomes all-consuming and he cannot set thought of it aside. Yes, as told in the Quenta Silmarillion, the dwarves who labour for Thingol to re-set Feanor’s jewel within the Nauglamir become determined to cheat him (there is no indication Thingol intended to cheat them of payment), but the King of Doriath loses his rationality, and thus his life.<\/p>\n

Thranduil immediately realises the import of the death of Smaug: a vast treasure hoard is there for the taking. Yet Thranduil is not single-minded that he fails to pause to assist the folk of Lake-town. His help saves many of the Lake-folk from death due to exposure. <\/p>\n

\nBut the king, when he received the prayers of Bard, had pity, for he was the lord of a good and kindly people; so turning his march, which had at first been direct towards the Mountain, he hastened now down the river to the Long Lake. He had not boats or rafts enough for his host, and they were forced to go the slower way by foot; but great store of goods he sent ahead by water.
\nThe Hobbit, Fire and Water.<\/i>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

More, Thranduil gives way to Bard’s claim when it emerges that Thorin has survived. And he proves a cooler head than Bard when the dwarves of Dain approach the mountain and demand passage. He is not so in love with the idea of treasure that he is willing to rashly throw lives away in its cause.<\/p>\n

\nBut the Elvenking said: “Long will I tarry, ere I begin this war for gold. The dwarves cannot press us, unless we will, or do anything that we cannot mark. Let us hope still for something that will bring reconciliation. Our advantage in numbers will be enough, if in the end it must come to unhappy blows.”
\nThe Hobbit, The Clouds Burst.<\/i>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Smart, successful, disciplined and able to see the bigger picture. That’s Thranduil in a nutshell. Under-estimate at your peril.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s not all sparkles, party-time and un-ending barrels of Dorwinion wine in the underground halls of Thranduil’s stronghold….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":80500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[36,331,7,4,35,6,38,98,148,149,37],"tags":[1788,2049,1406],"class_list":["post-88384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fotr-book","category-greenbooks","category-hobbit-book","category-hobbit-movie","category-lotr-books","category-tolkbooks","category-rotk-book","category-silmarillion","category-hobbit","category-lotr","category-ttt-book","tag-library","tag-mirkwood","tag-thranduil"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Elvenking-Thranduil.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1tLoH-mZy","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88384","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88384"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111287,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88384\/revisions\/111287"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.theonering.net\/torwp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}