legolas's hair

[William Cloud Hicklin]

But surely he didn't mean that the Teleri had blue hair......

It's very interesting that in pre-LR writing, Tolkien was happy to assign 'ethnic' descriptions to the Edain and the 'swarthy' Easterlings, but not to the Elves (or Dwarves). I can't find anything in the QS/Later Annals/Lhammas writings that can be read as anything but a vaguest stretch assigning physical characteristics to Lindar/Noldor/Lembi.

There is however one passage which might I suppose be read as a "dog that didn't bark." In QS Sec 130 T describes the Houses of Men, and the Beorians "were dark or brown of hair; their eyes were grey, and their faces fair to look upon; shapely they were of form, yet hardy and long-enduring. Their height was no greater than the Elves of that day, and they were most like to the Gnomes, for they were eager of mind, cunning-handed, swift of understanding, long in memory."

That "for" is interesting; because it seems that the comparison to the Noldor here is based entirely on the Beorians' habits of mind, not their coloration.

PS: FWIW, in the QS text of Beren and Luthien, Celegorn expressly has golden hair, so "the fair" in his case really does mean "blonde."

[Galin]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

But surely he didn't mean that the Teleri had blue hair......

I'm guessing no blue hair too

And good notice about Celegorm the fair. As I say my current guess is only a guess regarding BAN- and WAN- but maybe CFH can shed some light...

... anyway I was hoping you might comment on JDR raising the revision to Appendix F, raising it as, it seems, a third leg of the suggestion that perhaps the Noldor were originally golden-haired. I get the two 'gold-elf' references in this context, not that they necessarily refer to hair, but at least I understand the suggestion. But I'm not sure I quite understand bringing up the matter of Appendix F as a third part of this particular theory (originally golden haired Noldor).

But perhaps I am missing JDR's meaning here?