Gildor

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Gildor Inglorion
Noldo
File:Alan Lee - Frodo meets Gildor.jpg
Biographical Information
Titles	Of the House of Finrod
Birth	First Age
Physical Description
Gender	Male
Gallery	Images of Gildor Inglorion

"Elves seldom give unguarded advice, for advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill."

― Gildor Inglorion, Three is Company

Gildor Inglorion was a Noldorin Elf of the House of Finrod, who in the Third Age lived in Rivendell.

Life

In September T.A. 3019, he traveled with a company to Rivendell. They returned from the Emyn Beraid, where they went to see Elbereth in the palantír that was kept there. On the 24th, they met Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee and Peregrin Took on the road near the Woody End. They ate and sang, and Gildor discussed the peril that haunted the three hobbits. This peril, a Black Rider, was near, but fled as he heard the Elves chant of Elbereth.

After seperating from the hobbits, he went to the house of Tom Bombadil; this must have happened before the 26th. Nothing is known to have befallen him, and two years later, on September 22, T.A. 3021, he met the Hobbits once again. He accompanied a riding of great Lords and Ladies, that planned to sail West on board the White Ship. Whether Gildor joined them is uncertain.

Gildor's Ancestry

The question has arisen of the identity of this character. Gildor calls himself "Gildor Inglorion of the House of Finrod." He also says: "We are Exiles, and most of our kindred have long departed and we too are only tarrying here a while, ere we return over the Great Sea.". At the time when The Lord of the Rings was written, Finrod still meant the character later known as Finarfin. If we read "House of Finrod" to mean "House of Finarfin", we can place him among the Noldor who joined the host of Finarfin during the Exile, and came to Beleriand under Finrod Felagund.

It should also be noted that Tolkien initially used names from his (unpublished) The Silmarillion writings rather at random in The Hobbit and the first drafts of the sequel which would become The Lord of the Rings: other examples are the mention of Gondolin and the appearance of Elrond in The Hobbit, which were only later brought into alignment with The Lord of the Rings and the unpublished mythology by a third edition of the book.

Son of Finrod?

Some argue that the name "Inglorion", which means "son of Inglor", suggests that he was in fact the son of Finrod Felagund himself, who was at that time still called Inglor. There is, however, strong evidence against it.

In The Silmarillion it is stated that Finrod had no wife, since he loved Amarië of the Vanyar, who refused to go with him to the exile. This means that he could only have a son after he died in Middle-earth and went to the Halls of Mandos. He might have been resurrected by Mandos, and then married Amarië. It is very unlikely (probably impossible), however, that he would be allowed to return to Middle-earth. The only such instance would be Glorfindel, and it is doubtful that if that was the case, there would be no mention of it in Tolkien's writings. Furthermore, Gildor wouldn't describe himself as one of the Exiles.

Also, if he were Finrod's son, he would have right to claim High Kingship of the Noldor instead of Gil-galad after Turgon's death. It is also said that there were only two children — Idril and Orodreth — of "the third generation from Finwë to go with the exiles."

Connection to Finarfin

It is also possible that the name reappeared, in Quenya form, for Finarfin (who in the earlier legendarium, was named Finrod). The essay The Shibboleth of Fëanor mentions that Finarfin's full name was Finwë Arafinwë Ingalaurë. If Ingalaurë is to be translated in Sindarin according to the sound-changing rules, this would become Inglor. The connection of Gildor to the house of Finrod/Finarfin still remains.

This all suggests that, while Gildor might have been initially intended to be Felagund's son, in the final version he probably became a member of the House of Finrod as one of its servants, not one of its sons — perhaps one of the knights of Nargothrond, and a son of Inglor — a character unconnected to Finrod Felagund.