payment page
The Elvenking (also identified in other works as Thranduil) is the king of the Mirkwood Elves—a race of elves that Tolkien characterizes as “Good People” who have become less wise, more suspicious, and more dangerous than the high elves. The reader first meets the Elvenking in Chapter 8 when he imprisons Thorin for trespassing in the Mirkwood Forest. The Elvenking soon captures the rest of the company (except for Bilbo, who uses the Ring to avoid detection). Later in the text, the Elvenking will align himself with Bard the Bowman when he asks Thorin for compensation after Smaug destroys Lake Town. The Elvenking is described as an impressive being who carries a carved staff and wears a crown of berries and red leaves to honor autumn.
The company has two run-ins with elf kings on their journey to the Lonely Mountain, but the two meetings have drastically different tones: Elrond’s court is a safe haven, whereas the Elvenking’s court requires an escape. Elrond of Rivendell welcomes the travelers and provides them with hospitality and essential advice, and Elrond’s warm reception contrasts with the Elvenking’s coldness. Enraged that Thorin will not explain his true reason for entering Mirkwood, the Elvenking arrests him “until he feels inclined to tell the truth” and continues that he will keep Thorin prisoner for as long as it takes, “even if he waits a hundred years.” The juxtaposition of Elrond and the Elvenking is highly intentional. The Hobbit’s overall tone grows darker and more ominous the farther the company travels. As a result, the company meets fewer allies and more foes as they journey from the Shire (the epitome of goodness) to the Smaug’s keep (the epitome of evil). The company's vastly different run-ins with the two elf kings indicates that their quest is growing more and more dangerous with every step they take.
