Just one? :)

There are many characters I love, namely Maedhros, Maglor, Fëanor (he was really interesting), Turgon and Finrod Felagund. Oh, and how can I forget Huan? He was awesome. I'm petty sure I'm forgetting some, so I'll post more later :p

Hey! I don't think Fingon was a jerk :( Which reminds me...Fingolfin and Beleg are also some of my favourites :p

-Favourite character?
 

Three- Turin Turambar, his mother Morwen Edhelwen, and the version of Galadriel who participated in the Noldor rebellion. I like dark-ish, morally grey heroes. (:

Celebrimbor!
 

...cuz there's a serious backstory to this guy, and I think he's awesome! I also have a thing for Maedhros, Maglor, Finrod and Turgon!

Eol, hands down. Nearly ever aspect of Eol's character ran counter to the standard Tolkien Elf. The James Dean of the Eldar.

I might have to go with Tuor. Talking one on one with the Lord of the Waters and agreeing to work for him had to have taken some nerve.

Are you gonna tell him no?

Túrin did. At least he ignored Ulmo's advice regarding Nargothrond. ;)

1. Feanor - He slammed the door in the face of the dark lord, he fought on unconcerned as balrogs smote and burned him, his voice was so persuasive and moving that the herald of manwe had no reply for him.. simply bowed and left, the fire of his spirit was so hot that his body was consumed when it departed at his death.

2. Galadriel - She was there through it all, and she survived, from the first battle between morgoth and the noldor, to the ultimate defeat of sauron at the end of the third age. On top of that, she bore one of the rings of power, and resisted the lure of the one ring, even going so far as aiding frodo in destroying the one, even though she knew it meant the end of lorien.

3. Legolas(books) - He was a loyal, faithful friend, a peerless archer, cool and calm... except when he saw the balrog("ai! a balrog!"), pretty humble for an elvish prince, and he stayed true all the way through, first in the fellowship, then tracking down merry and pippin, then through all the battles and right up to the gates of mordor. He stayed in middle earth long after the longing for the sea woke in him, to stay with his friend gimli.

Fëanor's amazing. No one can replace him. No one. And I wish we had gotten a closer view of his sons.

Same, especially maedhros. There were hardly any details on Amras & Amrod, or Maglor except for him being a bard of surpassing talent.

Actually there are some more of my favourites: Maglor & Maedhros, they rode in and attacked their kin to retrieve that last two available silmarils, which was evil, but I think it was the power of the oath working once more, and they were loathe to do so. Imagine that though, assaulting the victorious host of the valar that just defeated the dark lord and all his might.

The silmarillion has so many good characters that it is hard to pick one but if I could pick three they would be: Feanor, Beleg, and Meadhros.

Húrin
 

My favourite is Húrin. Not only did he fight Morgoth on the field of battle; he still defied him when taken prisoner, despite the danger to him and his family. I always get a thrill when I read of him calling Morgoth 'an escaped thrall of the Valar'.:p We have to remember that 'thrall' was the term for a slave in Scandinavian culture.:eek: For him to say that to one who was the most powerful being in Arda and who claimed to be King of the World was quite something.

I was also impressed, and sniggered a little, at his response to Morgoth pointing out that his family was at his mercy: 'You have none'.:D

This probably explains why, despite everything Morgoth did to him and his family, he never asked for mercy.

What a man...

Fingolfin: riding up to the Thangorodrim, banging on the gates, and challenging Morgoth to a duel.

Fingon takes a close second. Can't find Maedhros, so-- I'll sit here with my harp, and sing, in the shadow of the Thangorodrim.

The gates of Hell shall not prevail against the Faithful.

Ah yes. I adore Maglor, but I wish Tolkien had written more about him.

My favorite characters are Finrod, Sauron, Fingolfin, Huan, Barahir, and Gil-Galad. :)

Cute signature, Galadriel. Bohemian Rhapsody, right? :D

Oh yes oh yes :) But I changed it, because I think it was giving the impression that I was a lunatic. If I had it my way, I'd quote Roald Dahl and Terry Pratchett every two seconds ;)

Mandos, Amandil (although my admiration for this character is rather specific) and so many times presented Finrod.

Eol
Finrod
Glorfindel
Beren

But out of these four Eol. He's number one, hands down. ;)

Naming one character is very difficult.

Feanor: His arrogance, ambition, and self-importance are unrivaled by any one else outside of Sauron and Morgoth. His body was burned to ash when he died and his spirit flew away to Mandos. That's pretty intense and perfectly illustrates the fire of his will. Amazing. It's just too bad he dies so soon in the novel.

Thingol: He was a favorite the first time I read the book. He was married to Melian (a Maia) and ruled the kingdom of Doriath. So life was pretty good for him until Beren showed up. Thingol doesn't really do too much in the novel, but I always thought he was a cool character.

Other favorites include Turin for having one of the best stories in the novel and Beleg Strongbow for being wise and a great warrior that stays loyal to Turin till the end. Beleg's a very heroic character.

All of the sons of Feanor are interesting in their way, but we don't get to know all of them that well. Maedhros and Maglor are perhaps the most interesting, especially Maglor since we never see what exactly becomes of him.

Eol, the dark elf, is interesting but not a favorite.

I can't rank these characters at all right now.

You know, I've always wondered how all elves manage to carry a HARP wherever they go...along with all their bows and swords and mail and all the rest O.O

During my second read of Return of the Noldor I took a closer look at the bit with Maedhros and Fingon and said, "Wait a minute! Why in God's name would someone carry a musical instrument on a rescue mission?"

Not directly, I think :p

I'm glad I wasn't the only one to think the same. :p

But it does make you wonder though, right? I mean, to get off topic somewhat, you even saw the flute boy and drummer boy marching in the front during the Revolutionary times...how did they manage to survive?!

And thus, I came to the conclusion that this is what happens when elves become bored on life threatening missions in general. :p they take harps and what have you along with them to...lift their spirits up and keep them motivated. ;)

Guahahaha. Just think of what would happen if there was no comic relief/motivation/'Do You Hear the People Sing?' :p There's a very nice picture on Deviantart, of Fingon before he sets out to Thangorodrim, and the artist has actually put a little harp along with the rest of his gear, hanging from his arm. I can't post the link here sadly, it's not working.

Haha! 'Tis very true it wouldn't be as amusing to read without the comic relief added in.

Hmm, I went to Deviantart and tried looking for it myself, but couldn't find it. :(

Fëanor. Because it's great there are people who dare to question authority even at the risk of an eternal curse. Plus having your body consumed by the fire in your soul... who wouldn't like that? ;)

Leave it to you to bring that up. :p

I agree with you completely, Agan. Fëanor fanciers of the world unite! Leave it to him to make his own destiny and ignore the stuffy Valar. ;)

I have to say though, as much as I sometimes appreciate Fëanor it is Ungoliant whom I truly admire most. She did whatever she pleased and 'accomplished' amazing things. Silly Melkor and his pet Balrogs, she could have been a great recurring character. :D

Ouch, how could I forget her? She's truly admirable, not the least because she's about the only independent female character in Tolkien's books. I am convinced she's portrayed as such demon only because the patriarchies of Middle-Earth couldn't stomach her kind of woman - I mean, what if she had talked to our daughters and brainwashed them to leave their father's home and the chance of a good marriage in pursuit of their own happiness and fortune?! :eek:

Well, there is Galadriel, and Erendis and Tar-Acalime- a girl who had less tolerance for her consort then Queen Victoria showed to Al. :)

Hmm. Well, as Felagund said, there's Galadriel, not to mention Éowyn, and then there's Aredhel too.

http://aautio.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d1064lg

Here it is.

I'm confused. You're saying that a good female character is a hideous monster who consumes all light and turns it into entangling, deceitful webs of absolute darkness and despair?

Oh my, that is a really great drawing!

Haha, I could see many reactions to this piece of art as well, for those who don't know Fingon that is.

1. Sword and sheath. Check.

2. Helmet with the complete protective armour. Check.

3. Knife. Check

4. Bow and a quiver of arrows. Check.

5. A harp for musical entertainment. Che-wait, what? Really? A harp?!

:p People just don't understand the importance of the harp at all.

Off the top of my head, Mîm the Dwarf. There's so many interesting shades and facets to him - his mysterious backstory as the last (?) of a race of outcasts, whose history is only hinted at, his resentment (not quite unjustified) of the Elvish upstarts who displaced his people, his grudging respect for Túrin... And his dialogues with Túrin's outlaws in the Narn are just priceless.

Not to mention an uneducated glutton to whom the highest products of the jeweller's art are just food. :rolleyes:

Galadriel, Erendis, Tar-Ancalime, Éowyn, Aredhel... Yeah, but they all were slaves to their heteronormative patriarchal societies which basically forced a woman to get married and have kids, even made her believe she couldn't be happy without doing it. ;) While Ungoliant coupled with other spiders and devoured them afterwards. Now there's a good female role model!

Skip, how can you be confused? You know me.

Sheesh! Male conspiracy to discredit the only M-E woman who stood up for herself!

Melkor eeevvvvvvvvviiiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllllllll!!!!! ! For some reason I always side with the evil characters. Maybe cause they all end up dying in the end. :(

I have to admit to being a Maedhros fangirl. That guy is just awesome. *wipes drool* *hides* :D Well seriously, I think he is an admirable character yet not an all too polished hero without faults. I don't like those except for Finrod Felagund for whom i have a soft spot too.

I also like Galadriel a lot, and Melian too although the end of her story is not very inspiring. Morwen and Húrin are cool so I often wonder how come they managed to have such a jerk for a son. ;) Several of the minor characters in Narn are lovely as well - Andróg, Aerin, Sador, Gwindor, Brandir...

And one of my favourites in the Sil is Haleth. You don't hear about her much but she's just cool.

Lastly, Sauron is sometimes just awesomely evil in the Sil. He's so much cooler there than in LotR...

I'm back to Melian again. I think the circles of the world need more 'girdling'... more defenses against the darkness. Galadriel had her guard against the darkness; but Melian's was formidable too. And she could sing.