#woodland realm

[whiteladyofithilien]

For the people of the internet out there saying Thranduil didn't intend to fight because he was wearing his fancy crown and not the circlet he fights in during Battle of Five Armies can I remind y'all that canon Elvenking picks his crowns based on season not occasion. So this is obviously his fall crown both thematically and based on when we see him wear it in the films. Now it's repeatedly stated that Thorin & Co arrive on the last day of autumn.

So this isn't so much his battle crown as it is his winter crown

[maureen2musings]

Hidden Worlds

catching__the_light

[sotwk]

We don't talk about Eryn Galen enough.

I think the fandom might not always consider or imagine how BEAUTIFUL Eryn Galen must have been in its prime (Second Age 750 to Third Age 1,000). In its true, natural state, before the Necromancer invaded and spiders and filth settled in.

Have you checked a Middle-earth map lately?

Do you see anything in Middle-earth bigger than Greenwood the Great? It is a magical forest inhabited and kept by Elves who are essentially the best wildlife experts of that world. Think of the thousands of different, gorgeous plant and animal species that must have lived and thrived there! The little streams and ponds and glades and dells and cottages and dwellings!

Maybe it's a good thing Silvan Elves were seen as "dangerous", because it's a wonder other races didn't just straight up try to invade it. Sauron knew what was up, and so he targeted it.

Just saying, I think Greenwood the Great (not just Mirkwood) remains criminally underappreciated. It's sad that not even Professor Tolkien told us much about it; he who could wax on about trees for an entire chapter. We can probably use more fics and artwork for Eryn Galen.

[tigerlii]

"Such is the nature of evil. Out there in the vast ignorance of the world it festers and spreads. A shadow that grows in the dark. A sleepless malice as black as the oncoming wall of night. So it ever was. So will it always be. In time all foul things come forth."

[theworldsoftolkein]

Mirkwood Ride - by Develv

[foedhrass]

"King Greymantle was he, Elu Thingol in the tongue of that land."

I wore my new cosplay this week for a photo shoot and I'm so happy with how it turned out!

[ed-art-studio]

The King of the woodland realm! Prints found HERE

[galadrielspeaks]

just thinking about thranduil and how he categorises his life and how the events of his life affects the way he rules his kingdom…. how so much of his development was defined by huge cataclysmic tragedies… thinking about how his youth is defined as before Doriath and his adulthood is defined as After Doriath… how when he became a prince he probably held on to his more idealistic beliefs only to be sternly reminded of the fickleness of life during war….. how the entire kingdom of the woodland realm probably has a Before Dagorlad and an After. how could you not after losing your king and the majority of your people? it is incredibly telling how these events of Thranduil’s past has affected his rule and everything about him down to his parenting. he understands he’s alone. that’s tragic. but he also understands his kingdom is alone. he’s a lonely king. there's no one higher than him, no one to seek advice from. he understands he is the final defender of a kingdom and he is fighting an inherited war, he has first hand witnessed the tragedies of this war and has been directly critically affected by it, he is just as much a victim of Sauron as his people. his nobility offers him zero protection, at any point he could lose everything, and yet he remains empathetic. he remains kind. he remains generous. he obviously sees the worth in fighting, he refuses to give up fully. he is (reasonably!) incredibly cautious which some call him an isolationist or consider him fickle for, during events like his refusal of gandalf’s invitation to the White Council but it becomes incredibly clear why he is like this when it’s put into context of his past. he has trusted allies before, he has seen what has happened. to join an organisation full of ring bearer’s as the sole leader of a nation with no ring to protect his people is almost an insult. they would not and do not understand what it takes to lead in that situation. Thranduil and all of his people are living in the after of the war of the last alliance. why would they join another? Thranduil has put his people first. He recognises that they themselves are the only ones who understand just how at risk they are. and yet with all of this in mind it should noted that he allies himself with men (who historically have experienced and understand the dangerous climate of their respective nations) and creates trade routes with them to provide for his people and also provides aid to them. and it is noted in the text that Legolas has been raised incredibly happily, and he is well-adjusted. throughout fighting a seemingly losing war thranduil found it implicitly important to raise his son with joy and hope. i like to believe he understands the importance of childhood whimsy and enchantment and worked to instill and maintain his child’s innocence. he raised his son as trauma-free as he could (saying this bc we do not know if his mother is dead or sailed or not but either way to be without the mother is traumatic but besides that Legolas appears to be generally mentally healthy). despite knowing first hand just how cruel and painful life is he did not feel the need to raise his child to be prepared and worried about very real threats. rather he raised his child happily, and simply worked to give his son the skills he needed to survive and to defend himself. usually military father's who have expreienced a great deal of trauma and haven't processed it correctly tend to succumb to the urge to raise their children to understand the cruelty of the world, and loathe their children for their innocence. i think that in thranduil not doing this with legolas, we can infer that he has taken time to healthily process his experiences. I believe that Thranduil is an incredibly important figure in the Lord of the Rings because he is truly an incredible example of someone who learns from their mistakes, learns from tradegy, who learns from life. i think that Thranduil never wanted to be a King, it is a responsibility that fell into his lap unwillingly and that is why he is a successful and well-loved ruler.

[crazymaryrocks]

Aralas and Barduil are the exact same ship in a different font and no one can change my mind

[zaerakaz]

Oropher

[wineandthrandy]

🤣🤣🤣

[windrelyn]

Gil-Galad/Oropher. Inspired by Lana Del Rey’s song Young and Beautiful

(I want to draw a fanvid for them with this song...)

[maureen2musings]

Fairy Bridge of Glen Creran

jamesalroca

[sotwk]

The Regencies of the Princes of the Woodland Realm

Original Map credit to The Encyclopedia of Arda. Edits by @sotwk.

King Thranduil Establishes the Rule of Princes

Thranduil's ascension faced opposition by a handful of powerful Sinda nobles (Oropher's councilors), who schemed to usurp the throne. They sought to turn the Silvans against Thranduil by disparaging his wife, Maereth, as a daughter of Noldor kinslayers. Fortunately, the people's love for Thranduil prevailed, and they embraced Princess Maereth as their Queen. She was eventually crowned almost a century after her husband took the throne.

Some years after the birth of their fifth and last son Legolas, Thranduil passed a royal decree called the "Thain-na-Conin" or "Rule of Princes", which modified the kingdom's feudal system of governance.

This law bestowed governing power on each one of Thranduil's children, granting them lordship over key provinces in the realm. Upon reaching the age of 250, the princes assumed responsibility for the protection and welfare of the citizens dwelling within their assigned lands or "regencies", while still answering to the sovereign authority of their father and King.

This was done not to increase the royal family's power, but to protect the common folk from negligence or abuses of their ruling lords. As the population grew rapidly and hundreds of new communities sprouted all over the vast Greenwood, Thranduil wanted to ensure that all Silvans received the same amount of care and attention from the Crown, no matter how remote their location.

Political Timeline of the Woodland Realm:

SECOND AGE

SA 2054 - King Oropher moves his household out of Amon Lanc and migrates northward, setting up a new domain and capital in the western glens of Emyn Duir.  

SA 2022 - Prince Thranduil commences the construction of a new palace separate from his father's, which he intends to make the home of his family. (Despite Maereth rejecting his marriage proposal.) This causes great strife between him and his father, because Thranduil declares he will not pursue anyone else but Maereth for his wife.

SA 2107 - Thranduil's palace is completed and he begins to assemble his household. The palace is named Bar Lasgalen, and is the grandest structure to ever be raised in Greenwood's history.

SA 2110 - Maereth visits Bar Lasgalen for the first time. Thranduil proposes again, but once more she turns him down. 

SA 3142 - Thranduil and Oropher reconcile. Oropher finally grants his blessing for Thranduil to marry Maereth.  

SA 3262 - Thranduil and Maereth are betrothed at the celebration of the Mereth Nuin Giliath in Greenwood. 

SA 3265 -  Thranduil weds Maereth and she comes to live at Bar Lasgalen.

SA 3430 - Crown Prince Mirion is born. After himself being persuaded by Maereth, Thranduil convinces his father to join The Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

SA 3434 - Oropher is slain at the Siege of Barad-dûr. 

SA 3441 - The war ends. Thranduil’s reign as Woodland King begins, and Bar Lasgalen becomes the realm's new capital.

THIRD AGE

TA 37 - Turhir is born.

TA 88 - Maereth is crowned Queen of the Woodland Realm.

TA 89 - Arvellas is born. 

TA 221 - Gelir is born.

TA 242 - Legolas is born.

TA 250 - Thranduil passes the "Rule of Princes".

TA 252 - Mirion assumes his regency over Bar Himlaeg (his late grandfather's domicile) and the communities of Emyn Duir.

TA 278 - Mirion marries Itarildë. The Crown Prince's controversial marriage to another "outsider" instead of a Silvan stirs up discontent among Thranduil's political opponents once more.

TA 287 - Turhir assumes his regency over the newly established city of Thangail.

TA 307 - Lord Councilor Silevion is exposed as the leader of a coup attempt against the royal family. He is deposed and stripped of his titles, and exiled from the Woodland Realm.  

TA 339 - Arvellas assumes his regency over Cemamath, taking over Silevion's lands.

TA 471 - Gelir assumes his regency over Dant-en-Aras.

TA 492 - Legolas assumes his regency over Galadal.

The Regencies of the Thranduilions

King Oropher's departure from Amon Lanc initiated the gradual migration of the Silvan Elves from the southern parts of Greenwood to the northern half of the great forest. By the start of Thranduil's rule, more than half of the realm's population resided above the Old Forest Road. However, the southern parts of the realm experienced a period of reinvigoration in the early Third Age due to the successful regencies of Prince Gelir and Prince Legolas.

The Woodland Realm enjoyed its most prosperous years between TA 500-1000, with the Thranduilions all working to further their parents' vision for a strong, united kingdom. The five regencies of the princes are:

BAR HIMLAEG, ruled by Crown Prince Mirion. A center for healing (esp. herbal medicine), the best source of Elvish medicine east of the Misty Mountains.

THANGAIL, ruled by Prince Turhir. Main base and training facility of the realm's military forces.

CEMAMATH, ruled by Prince Arvellas. Center of trade and commerce with the Dwarves and Men in the east.

DANT-EN-ARAS, ruled by Prince Gelir. Outpost and headquarters of the realm's best hunters and scouts.

GALADAL, ruled by Prince Legolas. Home of the largest concentration of farmers, who worked the fertile plains and maintained herds in the lands east of the forest borders. (Note: the Bight shown on the map did not exist until TA 1200, after Thranduil's people already left the southern forests.)

Unfortunately, in TA 1050, the Necromancer (Sauron) captured Amon Lanc, and began to poison the southern woods, with toxins and monsters that caused deaths at an alarming rate. Despite Thranduil and his family's valiant efforts to combat the Darkness, it continued to spread northward over the course of several centuries. Finally, the Elvenking made the difficult decision to prioritize the safety of his people and abandon the lands south of the Emyn Duir. He led his people north-east and reestablished their smaller kingdom in the underground halls.

The strength and prosperity of the Woodland Realm was one of the reasons Sauron chose it as a target for his corruptive influence. He both feared and envied the power of Thranduil and his family and wanted to destroy it, if not deceive or force it into his service.

Up until their last breaths (literally, for some of them), the Princes continued to fight for the defense of their beloved homeland until Dol Guldur was finally cast down at the end of the War of the Ring.

SotWK Fancast (L-R): Sam Heughan as Turhir, Sam Claflin as Gelir, Henry Cavill as Mirion, Rupert Friend as Arvellas, Orlando Bloom as Legolas

For more Thranduil/Mirkwood headcanons: SotWK HC Masterlist

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Other useful links:

Introduction to SotWK

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[whiteladyofithilien]

I just realized how extremely stupid the line in the films with Thranduil telling Legolas to seek out Strider is. Like its always bugged me because it felt so far off from where Legolas is at in the books when we get to LotR and even in the films. But it's so much worse...

Like you wanna know where Legolas is gonna find Aragorn?

With Elrond

And his mom

In Rivendell

Because he's TEN FUCKING YEARS OLD!!

HE doesn't even know his true name yet or really even that he's a Dunedain. He's literally never known a life outside of Rivendell. He's probably drawing on the walls with crayons and harassing Elladan and Elrohir to take him with them everywhere. What's Thranduil sending Legolas there for? Babysitting duty?!

Or does he just think his son is so legitimately stupid with the directional sense of a dwarf above ground that it's gonna take Legolas literally ten years to find Aragorn? Like the first place he would go to ask about this guy wouldn't be fucking Rivendell! Because everyone knows Elrond knows everything and we canonically know that Legolas has never been to Lorien or the sea prior to the trilogy so we know he's not hanging with Galadriel or Cirdan.

They took the chill wood elf who was doing the wood elf version of playing his gameboy with his feet up on the wall as he laid in bed for most of his life and leaving his room to do "chores" for his dad and tried to give him a completely implausible backstory. They really did Legolas so dirty in the Hobbit films.

I also do not approve of how they made him up. It's like they tried to make him look younger than he had been in the trilogy and succeeded only in making him look weird.

[edhellin]

Thranduil by MiracleAna