SayAye is a most lovely young lady who lives in Thailand, and she has lost her heart to Erestor and Glorfindel (however, both promised to return it as soon as they find it).
She's not the only one. Glorfindel, the legendary Balrog-slayer, seems to fascinate many fans, and wars have started among experts (both real and self-proclaimed ones) if the Glorfindel in Rivendell was the same as the Glorfindel of Gondolin, who died a hero's death killing the Balrog.
When in doubt, ask Tolkien. The master himself decided, many years after the "Rings" were finished, that the two Glorfindels actually were one and the same Elf - which makes the warrior with the golden braids (for "golden braids" is what "Glorfindel" means, and not, like some evil tongues insist, "Goldilocks") even more interesting.
Is an author's intention canon? Or only what he wrote down and published? I don't think you can set a firm rule here. Tolkien's work is so amazing because you can actually see and feel the characters in your mind while you're reading, and each of us has his or her own perception of what Glorfindel, Legolas or Aragorn look like.
We know that Glorfindel was a hero, had a rather extraordinary fashion sense (he (...) "bore a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold" - well, d'oh!), died fighting a Balrog, returned from the Halls of Waiting and ended up in Rivendell - how and why, we don't know. He also had a horse called Asfaloth, which was later stolen by Arwen, and... no, wait, that was in the movie.
The fan fiction writers mostly portray him as a charming rogue with a good sense of humour, who likes to love, fight and drink (all of this preferably with Erestor).
While there are some evil!Glorfindel stories on the circuit, he's mostly what Tolkien wanted him to be in the first place: a noble Elf.
And while fans might argue about the "two" Glorfindel's or, lately, whether the handsome blond Elf standing beside Elrond during the coronation ceremony is Glorfindel or not, most agree when it comes to the question of Arwen getting Glorfindel's horse and lines in the movies: |
