rocky41_7 | Thranduil's Relationships

ANON. I am now ready to answer this. Apologies for the delay, this week has been a doozy (#｀-_ゝ-)

Basically everything I'm about to say is based on my own headcanons, because we really don't get any information about how Thranduil relates to the rest of Middle-earth. The only one of Tolkien's writings he features prominently in (The Hobbit) doesn't even address him by name (he's just "the Elvenking"). Luckily for YOU anon, I spend a stupid amount of time thinking about this guy so I am happy to fill in the gaps lol

My view of Thranduil's relationship with the other Elves is based on a couple of things, which are hinted at by various pieces of canon but which are in no way confirmed canon:

Thranduil was Doriathrim
Thranduil was present at both the later Kinslayings
Thranduil chose to stay in Middle-earth and help his father rebuild a home for the remnants of their people rather than take the chance to sail West

And some things which are canon:

Oropher chose to march his armies separately to Mordor rather than join under the banner of Gil-galad during the War of the Last Alliance
Oropher purposefully moved the capitol of Greenwood the Great further north to get away from the influence of Galadriel and Celeborn in Lorien
Mirkwood was left to manage the damage of the Necromancer on its own for hundreds, possibly a couple thousand years.

So you can see why Thranduil, in my view, begins from a place of deep distrust of the Noldor and a desire or a feeling that Greenwood/Mirkwood is separate and apart from the other Elven realms.

Thingol, king and founder of Doriath, and Oropher are both shown to be relatively cautious in politics. They tend to prefer keeping to their own and letting the events of other realms play out as they will. That is not to say they are completely isolationist, but that they tend to be deliberate when engaging with others.

There are hints in canon, I believe--such as Thranduil's creating his own palace in memory of Menegroth--that Thranduil takes his lead from Thingol and Oropher, which would suggest he also takes a cautious approach to politics. In The Hobbit we see that he is very wary of what the Dwarves are up to, unwilling to let them pass until he knows their intentions, and Mirkwood is generally described as a somewhat reclusive place, despite the trade it keeps up with Laketown.

All of this to say that I think Thranduil, at his best, would be cautious in dealing with the other Elven realms. Then we add to this that he has dislike and distrust for the Noldor, and I find it hard to imagine he's particularly buddy-buddy with any of them.

With that set-up, I'm going to put the rest of this under a cut.

There are also plenty of elements here of things I just find entertaining, aside from my little justifications up there so I'm just admitting that up front.

Galadriel - Absolutely not. She is not only a Noldo, she's a Finwean. We know the Arafinweans in general tended to believe they were not as guilty as the Feanorians in Alqualonde (whether that's true or not is certainly up for debate) so I can't imagine she considered herself in any way connected to the later Kinslayings. Thranduil, right or wrong, feels Galadriel is obliged to apologize for the actions of her family and officially, publicly distance herself. Galadriel feels this is unfair and unnecessary, because she didn't kill anyone, and why should she apologize for her stupid, warmongering cousins? Thranduil would suggest her refusal to apologize means she doesn't think what happened was that serious. And so on and so forth. They do not get along, although it is, I believe, considerably more personal on Thranduil's end. Galadriel is mostly just vaguely annoyed.

Celeborn - No. Celeborn is not only a Sindar, but a Doriathrim, and he chose to run off and marry a Noldo? A Finwean? Thranduil has absolutely zero respect for Celeborn and considers it his solemn duty to beat him at anything he can at any chance he gets. Celeborn does not want to be a part of this. Celeborn wants Galadriel to intervene. Galadriel thinks Celeborn shouldn't take it so personally. Thranduil otherwise will ignore Celeborn as much as possible.

Círdan - I don't really see these two having much of a relationship. Thranduil respects Cirdan for his age and what he's done for the rest of the Elves. I suppose "venerated elder" is about how Thranduil sees him. I'm not sure they'd have had cause to meet before the last of the Elves sail West.

Glorfindel - I think they don't interact much to have opinions. Thranduil has respect for Glorfindel's actions in during the collapse of Gondolin, and he's apt to think less harshly of the Gondolindrim than other Noldor-adjacent types because of how the Gondolindrim and Doriathrim lived together at the Havens before the Third Kinslaying. So he's probably rather neutral about Glorfindel, but Elrond's opinion of Glorfindel gives him some extra points.

Elrond -I could probably write a small essay about this. Elrond is the last living member of Doriath's royal family. In Thranduil's mind, this means he automatically owes Elrond his loyalty. Furthermore, the fate Elrond suffered as a child makes Thranduil feel as though he owes him for not being able to save him from the Feanorians, nor Elwing either. I do think also, especially in the beginning, Thranduil was suspicious of Elrond’s Feanorian upbringing. (They generally do not discuss Maedhros and Maglor--it never goes anywhere productive.) All of this was rather a lot for them to get past, but I think they did get around, so that these things are rather minor in Thranduil's mind now (though still present). Generally, I think they're friends. Elrond is very hard to dislike for one, and I think it would mean something to him to hear from someone who had known his mother's people, and been a part of his grandfather and great-grandmother's kingdom. Thranduil can tell Elrond things about his Sindar heritage Maglor and Maedhros would have just had no reason to know. I like to think their families became somewhat close. Legolas, when I write him, will call Elrond's children his "cousins" even though they have no blood relation. I think Thranduil remains some measure of protectiveness over Elrond, in that if he were in a position to do something to alleviate stress or danger on Elrond's behalf, he would, but I think he also has great respect for Elrond's wisdom and diplomatic skill. He considers it testament to Elwing that her child turned out so well even given his circumstances.

Also, I have this fic that features some Elrond-Thranduil friendship.

As to councils -

As noted, Thranduil is somewhat reclusive. My own personal "just for fun" headcanon is that the longer he sits the throne, the more reluctant he becomes to leave the forest due to a symbiotic relationship between the king of the Wood-elves and the forest. But even setting that aside, we're not given any indication in canon that he's particularly active or even welcome in these councils.

He is important, as the last Elvenking east of the sea, but Mirkwood, by midway through the Third Age, also has its hands full with the situation in the forest, and I think that takes up the better part of Thranduil's energy and attention. Furthermore, we know Mirkwood's forces never really recover from the losses inflicted on them during the War of the Last Alliance, so whatever military support Thranduil can offer the others is greatly reduced from what Oropher had been able to contribute.

I also tend to think Elrond gets stuck playing peacemaker between Thranduil and Galadriel (and Celeborn).

In terms of general presence, Thranduil I believe can come off as rather aloof and cold, although we know he is sympathetic and vastly prefers peace to war. I think he tends to speak more harshly than he really feels, which affects how others see him, of course. It's easier to take his words at face value if you don't know him much.

The more serious Mirkwood's problems become, though, I think the more resentful he becomes that they're having to deal with the Necromancer alone and that no one seems to believe he's being realistic when he says Sauron might not be gone. However, I think he does still recognize the importance of all of the Elven realms remaining, so I think he is still somewhat sympathetic to Elrond and Galadriel needing to protect their own spaces. That said, they do both have rings of p*ower, while he does not (which, of course, contributes to why Imladris and Lothlorien are in so much better shape than Mirkwood...)

So there it is! I'm attached to Thranduil's somewhat petty rivalry with Galadriel and Celeborn and committed to his being friends or at least friendly neighbors with Elrond.

*crossposted from tumblr