When the company encounters the snow on Caradhras, we read the following:
Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir ... was broader and heavier in build. ... In places the snow was breast-high and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking. ... Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others. 'The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf.' ... With that, he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, ... [he] wore only light shoes, .. and his feet made little imprint in the snow. ... Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his hand he passed them, and sped into the distance"
Several questions here:
1. How much shorter than Aragorn is Legolas? When I first read this, I assumed (as I think is natural) that Legolas was much shorter than the two men, and very slight in stature.
2. Is running over show a weight thing, magic, or a skill of a particular sort of nimbleness? The text seems to suggest that it is something we could expect from other elves, not just Legolas. I'm reminded of Tom Bombadil waving off raindrops, but I don't recall if we decided what sort of thing that was. I'm also reminded of the feet of some animals, like lynx, or snowshow hares that allow running over the top of snow without sinking. Perhaps the light shoes of Legolas work like the feet of those animals, and were Legolas barefoot, he might sink deeper into the snow. I don't suppose this is really resolved in the text, and perhaps it is for each reader to imagine to himself how it happens.
We later get other hints regarding the nimbleness of Legolas. At Haldir's talan, "a ladder was let down; it was made of rope... Legolas ran lightly up, and Frodo followed slowly." Running up a rope ladder (not climbing) presents an interesting a picture. Crossing Celebrant, we read that Haldar tied a rope between tress on both sides of the river, and then "ran lightly along it, over the river and back again... 'I can walk this path', said Legolas, 'but the others have not this skill..." It sounds here like this "light running" is a skill rather than a weight thing.
3. Regarding Legolas' stature, we later read that when Aragorn, Legolas, and GImli meet the riders of Rohan, that Aragorn takes one horse, and the Legolas takes Gimli behind him on the second horse. I always understood this to indicate that the combined weight of Legolas and Gimli would be comparable to the weight of Aragorn. We know from our reading elsewhere that Dwarves are taller than hobbits (so that the Dwarves have to carry Bilbo over the Ford at the Carrock), but much stockier - heavier in build. Also note that Legolas (and other elves, perhaps) uses a bow for his weapon, rather than the sword of Gandalf, Aragorn, or the axe of Gimli. I wonder if this is because his stature. What does the text of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings tell us about the stature of Elves? (I mean the text of those works of Tolkien that were published in his lifetime). Note that I always assumed that Gimli would have been more than half the weight of a normal man, and this would suggest that Legolas would be taller, but lighter than GImli. Also note that Legolas does not seem to have a problem riding a horse rather than a pony, as most hobbits would have. Perhaps he is shorter than Aragorn, but not by much. After all, he didn't seem to have a problem with a Rohan war steed.
4. Regarding "an otter for swiming", I'm reminded of the group consensus that Barad Morlas is an amusement park for elves, complete with a water slide like otters would use - interesting. It does seem that Legolas compares himself to an otter. Not really sure of the question here.
Aragorn was the tallest of the Company, but Boromir ... was broader and heavier in build. ... In places the snow was breast-high and often Boromir seemed to be swimming or burrowing with his great arms rather than walking. ... Legolas watched them for a while with a smile upon his lips, and then he turned to the others. 'The strongest must seek a way, say you? But I say: let a ploughman plough, but choose an otter for swimming, and for running light over grass and leaf, or over snow - an Elf.' ... With that, he sprang forth nimbly, and then Frodo noticed as if for the first time, ... [he] wore only light shoes, .. and his feet made little imprint in the snow. ... Then swift as a runner over firm sand he shot away, and quickly overtaking the toiling men, with a wave of his hand he passed them, and sped into the distance"
Several questions here:
1. How much shorter than Aragorn is Legolas? When I first read this, I assumed (as I think is natural) that Legolas was much shorter than the two men, and very slight in stature.
2. Is running over show a weight thing, magic, or a skill of a particular sort of nimbleness? The text seems to suggest that it is something we could expect from other elves, not just Legolas. I'm reminded of Tom Bombadil waving off raindrops, but I don't recall if we decided what sort of thing that was. I'm also reminded of the feet of some animals, like lynx, or snowshow hares that allow running over the top of snow without sinking. Perhaps the light shoes of Legolas work like the feet of those animals, and were Legolas barefoot, he might sink deeper into the snow. I don't suppose this is really resolved in the text, and perhaps it is for each reader to imagine to himself how it happens.
We later get other hints regarding the nimbleness of Legolas. At Haldir's talan, "a ladder was let down; it was made of rope... Legolas ran lightly up, and Frodo followed slowly." Running up a rope ladder (not climbing) presents an interesting a picture. Crossing Celebrant, we read that Haldar tied a rope between tress on both sides of the river, and then "ran lightly along it, over the river and back again... 'I can walk this path', said Legolas, 'but the others have not this skill..." It sounds here like this "light running" is a skill rather than a weight thing.
3. Regarding Legolas' stature, we later read that when Aragorn, Legolas, and GImli meet the riders of Rohan, that Aragorn takes one horse, and the Legolas takes Gimli behind him on the second horse. I always understood this to indicate that the combined weight of Legolas and Gimli would be comparable to the weight of Aragorn. We know from our reading elsewhere that Dwarves are taller than hobbits (so that the Dwarves have to carry Bilbo over the Ford at the Carrock), but much stockier - heavier in build. Also note that Legolas (and other elves, perhaps) uses a bow for his weapon, rather than the sword of Gandalf, Aragorn, or the axe of Gimli. I wonder if this is because his stature. What does the text of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings tell us about the stature of Elves? (I mean the text of those works of Tolkien that were published in his lifetime). Note that I always assumed that Gimli would have been more than half the weight of a normal man, and this would suggest that Legolas would be taller, but lighter than GImli. Also note that Legolas does not seem to have a problem riding a horse rather than a pony, as most hobbits would have. Perhaps he is shorter than Aragorn, but not by much. After all, he didn't seem to have a problem with a Rohan war steed.
4. Regarding "an otter for swiming", I'm reminded of the group consensus that Barad Morlas is an amusement park for elves, complete with a water slide like otters would use - interesting. It does seem that Legolas compares himself to an otter. Not really sure of the question here.
Last edited: