Quote:
Originally Posted by Mithalwen
Height doesn't necessarily equal strenth. If you look at the animal kingdom the most powerful beast tend to be sturdy rather than plain tall. There are differend kinds of strength even among mortal athletes the strength of gymnasts compared with that of a rower or a rugby player. I suppose the strongest man might have more sheer power but the elvish speed and agility might give them the edge overall.
Superlatives are tricksy in Tolkien...oldest, tallest..
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I agree with this to a certain extent and the dwarves were very strong despite their height. However, it is generally true that with greater height comes greater strength.
In the case of Turin we have the perfect blend of speed, power, reach and agility. He is stronger, more agile, faster and has the reach advantage, but is still an inferior warrior to his father.
Tolkien did tend to overuse oldest, but not tallest as much. Thingol was regarded as the tallest and after him Turgon, but later he added that Turgon's brother Arakano was taller.
Legolas is a standard Sindar from a noble family. We know he was shorter than Boromir and Aragorn, but was still tall so we can guess his height may have been around 6ft to 6ft 2. This adds weight to the writings that have the average height for the Noldor at 6,4 and the Sindar slightly shorter.