Thranduil
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Thranduil |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | son Legolas |
| Fandom: | Tolkien, The Hobbit |
| Other: |  Thranduil by Zeilyan (2015) |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Thranduil is an elf character who appears in The Hobbit and is referenced in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion. He is the father of Legolas and is the king of the elves in Mirkwood. In the Peter Jackson Hobbit trilogy, he is played by Lee Pace.
Fandom
Thranduil fanworks existed before the 2012 Hobbit film. Legolas is one of the most popular LotR characters, and Thranduil is often written in the context of his son's upbringing. Portrayals as a bad or even abusive father predominate to the point that Evil!Thranduil was a noted cliche, which Coriel described in 2004 as unquestionably the prime chimera of fanon Elvendom.[1] Evil!Thranduil is lampooned, for example, in Thranduil: Owner's Guide and Maintenance Manual:
The Mk I THRANDUIL comes with three preset modes:Royal Attitude - when set in this mode, your THRANDUIL will become assertive, stubborn and somewhat argumentative.
Family Instinct - in this mode, THRANDUIL acts fatherly to younger elves, lost animals, and small beings (except dwarves: see above), and triggers the 'Doting Husband©' programme towards you.
Gleeful Elfling - this mode will make your THRANDUIL sly, cheeky, fun-loving, and fond of merrymaking.
The Mk II THRANDUIL has only one setting:
Tyrant - no matter to what model he is interacting with, be it GALADRIEL or LEGOLAS, your THRANDUIL will be obnoxious and volatile to the point of temper tantrums.[2]
He's often portrayed as an obstacle to the Legolas/Gimli pairing. The rift between the Mirkwood elves and the Rivendell elves also generated backstories both humorous & angsty. Those works that don't go the Evil!Thranduil route often assume that his wife is nowhere mentioned because she's dead, and pile on the angst.
There was an uptick in Thranduil's popularity following the film, possibly encouraged by interest in the actor (who was known to fandom through other roles). Tumblr fandom is very active, with many fanart and cosplay posts, as well as gifs and screencaps.
A series of fanart posts by gingerhaze on Tumblr depicting Thranduil as a "dwarf racist party dad" starting in August 2012[4] inspired many more fanworks. See Thranduil wearing shutter shades and a cosplay inspired by it.
After the release of the films, several pairings with Thranduil were shipped, such as with Thorin or Bard.
Example Fanworks
Pre-film
- Der Erlkönig by San Antonio Rose. One of the earliest Thranduil-centric works on the Henneth Annûn archive (2002)
- Promises to Keep by Jasta Elf. Angsty bereaved Thranduil (2002)
- The Last Elf Standing by Suzene C. Epistolary Thranduil vs Elrond humour (2003)
Meta
- A Case of Mistaken Identity by Coriel. Meta refuting the Evil!Thranduil trope (2004)
- In Defense of the Elvenking by Karri. Another refutation of evil Thranduil (~2004)
- Moriquendi: The Gendered Other in Tolkien Fanfiction by adn_heming. Meta that suggests Thranduil's Dark Elf heritage leads to feminised, hysterical portrayals in fanfiction (2005)
Post-film
- Thranduil, photorealistic art by euclase (December 23, 2014)[5]
- Little Legolas and his ada., Archived version by maelikki (2014 JANUARY 05TH)[6]
- You Dwarves can’t party with us! by elrohare, Archived version, one of several cosplays of "dwarf racist party dad" fanart by gingerhaze (September 23, 2012)[7]
- christmas!Thranduil, Archived version another cosplay (December 20, 2013)
- :”D, Archived version by rngrnd, art of Thranduil and Loki looking festive (March 25, 2013)
- father & son, Archived version art by nyangsam (January 1, 2014)
- When I'm Partying youtube vid by Atlantisqueenx of all the "party king Thranduil" fanart (Jan 16, 2013)
- king of mirkwood fanart by maalidoesart (15 November 2023)
Shipping Art
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Resources
- thranduilfans group on DeviantArt
- Thranduil fanworks at AO3
- thranduil tag on Tumblr
- The Trees Remember (link) Mirkwood archive (pre-film)
Canon Resources
- entry at Wikipedia
- entry at Tolkien Gateway
- entry at TheOneRing.net
- entry at The Encyclopedia of Arda
- LOTR wiki entry (Wikia)
References
- ^ A Case of Mistaken Identity by Coriel (accessed 24 January 2014)
- ^ Thranduil: Owner's Guide and Maintenance Manual by Allocin
- ^ 15,242 notes on tumblr as of 4 December 2018.
- ^ This post by gingerhaze on August 30, 2012 appears to be his first with Thranduil in shutter shades.
- ^ The original post has since been deleted, but has 16,343 notes on tumblr as of 4 December 2018.reblog, Archived version
- ^ 631 notes as of 4 December 2018.
- ^ 14,956 notes as of 4 December 2018.