How many in Battle of 5 Armies?

[Gwathagor]

The dwarves would absolutely be at a disadvantage in the open 1) because there were fewer of them and so could be surrounded and 2) because the elves had archers. Darn good ones, too.

Legolas is described by Tolkien as being and tall and strong as a young tree, able to string a Great Bow of Lorien with ease. That hardly sounds "frail and rustic." I mean...rustic maybe (Thranduil did wear a crown of forest flora) but frail, not at all. If anything, their forest life would have made them tough and resilient.

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Originally Posted by Gwathagor

Legolas is described by Tolkien as being and tall and strong as a young tree, able to string a Great Bow of Lorien with ease. That hardly sounds "frail and rustic." I mean...rustic maybe (Thranduil did wear a crown of forest flora) but frail, not at all. If anything, their forest life would have made them tough and resilient.

To be fair, Legolas is not just any Mirkwood elf. In fact, he doesn't even belong to the Silvan people as he is the son of Thranduil, a Sindarin elf who can trace his ancestory back to Doriath(?) and probably with a somewhat noble family tree at that. Why else would he be king?

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

I do not belive that the Elves of Mirkwood was frail in any way, but to say that the forrest life made them "tough and resilient" is probably too much.

In many ways the life of the Mirkwood Elves seemed decadent, but that does not mean that they are poor fighters.