Gil Galad was a fine King, but there were many others who ruled the Noldor and surpassed him. Finwe, Fingolfin, Finarfin, Turgon ruled Gondolin. Also there were many other Kings of Elves - Thingol, king of Beleriand, Feanor was like a king to his part of the Noldor, and of course te High King of all Elves ever - Ingwe.
All these surpassed Gil Galad, but your entitled to your vote.
Too funny. I'm with you on this one MoS. There were several other Elven Kings that surpassed Gil-Galad.
We are all entitled to our votes for favorite characters, but the category is LoTR books. Im not sure if we can consider Gil-Galad a character from the LoTR series, since those books chronicle the end of the Third Age.
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Therefore I say that we will go on, and this doom I add: the deeds that we shall do shall be the matter of song until the last days of Arda
well, considering that the story of Gil-Galad is in the book I think that Gil-Galad is a good answer. Not my choice as well, but I can understand why you chose him - he was indeed a good king.
It's a common choice, but I'll tell you why I've chosen it. While some of my other favorites are more of a "traditional" hero type (my second favorite is Fëanor, just for the record) Gandalf is both less and more.
Before reading LOTR, I had never encountered a character like him before. He was not young. He didn't appear to have any physical prowess. He had no status, money, or obvious altruistic motive, unlike many heroic figures. To me he gives the impression of simply being a good man who has lived a very, very long time, and knows what must be done and how people must be treated in any situation.
Of course, he's much more than that. He is a Maiar of incredible power and wisdom. He is kind, warm, and wise, and is only terrible when he must be. Certain quotes of his are statements that I choose to govern my own personal behavior with, because they are so sound.
Such as:
"So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought. "
Seldom do we get such an excellent insight into an author's morals and character than he reveals of himself in Gandalf. Tolkien WAS Gandalf, I would say he thought of himself.
I have to throw in my vote for the real hero in the LOTR books:
Nob, the Hobbit. Assistant of Barliman Buttebur!
Who took care of the horses in the stables of the Prancing Pony? Nob Who served ale to Mr. Underhill and his three friends of the Shire? Nob Who minded his own affairs and really kept things running smooth for that fat barkeep? Nob Who put the ape in apricot? Nob Nob Nob NOB!!! Ahhhhhhh!
Whew! Sorry about that everybody...Aragorn was pretty cool too I guess.
Jaidoprism7, I love your Nob as favorite character choice ... labeling him as the real hero brought a twinkle to my eye ... Did you know Nob's nickname was "slow-coach"? with a smile, Bear
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
I haven't had the opportunity to revisit that particular section of LOTR but I will certainly laugh when I see the term "slow-coach" again. I am having a laugh now. I know more than a few that I can lay that name upon. Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle. Ahh. Anyway, thanks for the levity and for getting the joke in the first place. I'd like to open a new forum about side-characters in Tolkein's books. This small departure from the norm makes me realize that maybe I should open up a topic or two. What say you? And how is it done?
Jaidoprism7, New Topic? First formulate the topic in your mind and put it into short sentence form. Carefully go through different forums and decide where your topic fits (for example this is in "The Little Peoples" thread ... our Quote game is in the "Mini-games" thread) After choosing where you think it goes click on it and click on the "Start a new topic" box. You will find you have a topic box (where you put that short sentence you created) and a response box where you can explain the who, what, when, where, how and why that you would like the Forum members to respond to in your topic thread.
Takes a little fore-thought but the payoff is well worth the effort. Good Luck! Bear
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Vocatus atque non vocatus, Deus aderit Called or uncalled, God is present
my mind has changed on who was my favorite character many many times but the heroism of Aragorn puts him at the top of my list. along with Farimir and Tom B.
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But no wizardry nor spell, neither fang nor venom,nor devil's art nor beast-strength, could overthrow Huan of Valinor;
