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Galin
12-14-2010, 05:38 PM
In response to the archived thread on Elven hairstyles (length):

http://forum.barrowdowns.com/showthread.php?t=5976


Beleg and Gwindor: not noted anywhere in text (that I recall), but illustrated as long haired by JRRT (1928).

Male Elves noted as having long hair:

Celegorm (noted in Quenta Silmarillion, mid to late 1930s version, IIRC). Olwe (Quenta Silmarillion early 1950s). Celeborn (draft text [long white hair]. Published text [long silver hair] 1954, The Lord of the Rings). Fingon (noted 1968 or later, The Shibboleth of Feanor).

Glorfindel's hair is described as he rides his horse (Fellowship of the Ring), which description might indicate long hair in my opinion. In the unrevised Fall of Gondolin a Balrog pulls him to his death by grabbing his hair (not that that proves he had long hair necessarily).

Not earth-shattering perhaps (to raise from the archives), but if someone out there is an artist, maybe wondering... this isn't necessarily all but if anyone remembers other mentions, please add them.

Pitchwife
12-14-2010, 06:00 PM
The Shibboleth of Feanor mentions that Fingon "wore his long dark hair in great plaits braided with gold".
(Aegnor's hair, on the other hand, is said to have been "strong and stiff, rising upon his head like flames". Imagine an Elf with a punk hairstyle!:D)
I've a feeling there may be more in the Shibboleth and the notes thereto, but those are the two descriptions I remembered and could find with a quick glance.

Galin
12-14-2010, 08:24 PM
Oops, I had Fingon but forget to underline him above. Sorry. Good addition on Aegnor too...

... a notable style it seems!

Galadriel
01-12-2011, 11:59 PM
In the Lothlorien chapter, it was said that the bow of the Galadhrim was strung by elf-hair. Now that's got to be long :rolleyes:

Where exactly does it say about Aegnor's hair?

Galin
01-13-2011, 09:47 AM
Pitchwife already quoted it (Aegnor's hair) above :)

Pitchwife
01-13-2011, 12:13 PM
To give the precise source for Galadriel: History of Middle-earth Vol.XII: "The Peoples of Middle-earth", Part Two: Late Writings, XI: The Shibboleth of Fëanor, in the section The names of Finwë's descendants.:)

Galin
01-13-2011, 02:08 PM
Oops, sorry Galadriel (and thanks Pitchwife). My apologies. You wrote where!

I'll take this opportunity to say that I am really focusing on male Elves with respect to the issue of hair length (asuming! I guess, that female Elves usually have long hair) although if a female Elf has a notable style we could post it here too of course.

And that reminds me, back in the very early Fall of Gondolin, Book of Lost Tales version, there is this description:

'Now comes Tuor at their head to the Place of Wedding, and lo! there stands Idril before him with her hair unbraided as on that day of their marriage before; and great is his amaze. By her stood Voronwe...'

I was wondering if there might be any Primary World sources that inspired this description. Actually someone at another forum asked before me, and I checked the Kalevala a bit (though not all of it) and couldn't find anything there so far, for example.

Just wondering.