Race parents

[symestreem]

Well, the elves were more reclusive, and most of them knew each other, having had ample time to meet before. So they didn't really need surnames. It is interesting that the elves, who along with men placed the most emphasis on descendants and ancestry, did NOT use a patronymic (?) or, "son of", while men DID. I think the hobbits having surnames may have been a device of Tolkien's introduced when he was writing 'The Hobbit', to be familiar to children/give the story an English feel. But the elves could most definitely NOT feel English, and the men had to feel... pre-English (hence the patronymics). So you could say that the hobbits correspond to the latest time frame of our world, but the circumstances in Middle-earth are different, and this does not necessarily indicate advancement. Remember, the later the age, the greater the technology, and Tolkien seemed to dislike industrialization (yes,t hat's stretching it a bit). Also, it may be because there were so many hobbits, and they had similar first names, so calling a hobbit (first name) son/daughter of (first name) would have been confusing.

[Potatothan]

Look! That helped I never knew the elves of Mirkwood rebelled. Just one more thing about the mirkwood elves.(sorry) Why didn't they have a city? Is it because they just have a castle? All the other societies have cities. Calas Galadhon, Hobbiton, Minas Tirith, Dale. Khazad-Dum (altough I don't really know if this is a city). Why was this?

~Potatothan

[Lhunardawen]

Originally posted by symestreem
Also, it may be because there were so many hobbits, and they had similar first names, so calling a hobbit (first name) son/daughter of (first name) would have been confusing

So was it for a few of the Elves. Think about Glorfindel of Gondolin and Glorfindel of Rivendell. Although there is a possibility that they are one and the same...

[Legolas]

They are definitely the same.

[Potatothan]

Originally Posted by Lhunardawen

So was it for a few of the Elves. Think about Glorfindel of Gondolin and Glorfindel of Rivendell. Although there is a possibility that they are one and the same...

Well, you just solved the matter there. Even if they were different, you name one Glorfindel of Rivendell and the other of Gondolin. So that way you know the difference. So they just say Legolas of the woodland realm in case there is another legolas. (doubt it, but still)

So there was no realy city in Mirkwood, just a mighty fortress. Or was it something like Doriath?

~Potatothan

[symestreem]

Well, as Findegil said, the halls of Thranduil were similar to those of Menegroth.

[Olorin_TLA]

Not only do they never name Legolas as son of Thranduil, but they constantly neglect to mention he's a prince! I suppose Legolas simply doesn't feel that makes him any "better" than anyone else, as he doens't seem to have pride, and so never mentions it. But it's still wierd.


But names like Glorifndel wouldn't be reused by the Elves, Tolkien said (a small part of the reason he decided they were the same person) - simpler names might have, he said, or ones less "unique" by the deeds done by someone so named. So I guess the mystery reamins.

As for Mirkwood...the Elven King's Halls would have been like an undergorund city. But I think many Elves lived in the woods to suit their less-housebound society.

[Guinevere]

Not only do they never name Legolas as son of Thranduil, but they constantly neglect to mention he's a prince! I suppose Legolas simply doesn't feel that makes him any "better" than anyone else, as he doesn't seem to have pride, and so never mentions it. But it's still weird.

That's something which also struck me. In my eyes it makes Legolas very sympathetic ! He's the son of a king, yet he's not proud or haughty at all. (Aragorn is much more fond of showing off his ancestry! ) Neither does he act like he's something better than the rest of the fellowship because he's an elf.

I think the hobbits having surnames may have been a device of Tolkien's introduced when he was writing 'The Hobbit', to be familiar to children/give the story an English feel

I think you are right in this, Symestream! The Hobbits are a (deliberate)Anachronism in Middle-earth. With them, the reader can identify. They are the bridge to the archaic world of ME. Bilbo and his home and his way of living are described much more like an upper Middle-class Englishman from around 1900.

[Thorongil]

Originally Posted by Potatothan

Look! That helped I never knew the elves of Mirkwood rebelled. Just one more thing about the mirkwood elves.(sorry) Why didn't they have a city? Is it because they just have a castle? All the other societies have cities. Calas Galadhon, Hobbiton, Minas Tirith, Dale. Khazad-Dum (altough I don't really know if this is a city). Why was this?

Well, even if there were a city in Mirkwood, I would still live in the fortress. Would you live in an open city when lots of spiders and other evil were creeping around right outside? Almost all of Mirkwood was under the evil influence of Dol Guldur, exept for the small part Thranduil's people held. A fortress was probably the safest place to be in.

[symestreem]

Originally Posted by Thorongil

Well, even if there were a city in Mirkwood, I would still live in the fortress. Would you live in an open city when lots of spiders and other evil were creeping around right outside? Almost all of Mirkwood was under the evil influence of Dol Guldur, exept for the small part Thranduil's people held. A fortress was probably the safest place to be in.

There probably were some hermituous elves who preferred to live outside the walls, and in the region of the forest held by Thranduil's people, they could have done it safely.