[Ceana]

Boy, am I confused. Please keep in mind that in the world of Tolkien worship, I am but a child who's only three years old. Some other time I'll bore you all with the "never even looked at the books in my entire life" story...or maybe I just did.

Down to my question....Thranduil's father died in the battle of the Last Alliance, right? What the heck is his name? Now don't laugh. I've read fanfics saying his name was Oropher, but so help me, I can't find this name listed in any of Tolkien's "back of the books" sections. Even Robert Foster doesn't list him. Is Oropher canon or fanon?

Signed, Confused in Portland.

[inglor]

Yes, he is Thranduil's father, not sure why you can't find a reference to him but here is one from Annals of Arda

Inglor

[Andreth]

You won't find Oropher listed in The Hobbit or the books of the trilogy because he's not in there. He's from Unfinished Tales and HoMe. That's also why you won't find him in Foster's 'Complete Guide to Middle-earth'. Foster only used LotR, The Hobbit and the newly-published Silmarillion when he wrote his book. Some of the other compilation books are the same. They are wonderful and excellent references to have, but if you want to get into some of the more obscure facts of Middle-earth you're going to have to look elsewhere.

And David Day's books... I don't even know how to describe David Day's books. Maybe filled with facts he must have pulled out of Morgoth's ass, because nobody else has ever heard of them? Seriously, if anyone finds something in David Day's books, double check them, because some of his 'facts' are complete bunk. A lot of the other compliation books are like that, too, but fortunately Foster's isn't one of them.

Anyway, that's a tangent. The main info about Oropher is in Unfinished Tales. Here's a like to an online library of Tolkien e-texts: http://www.nwywre.com/library/tolkien/

You can use your 'edit' function and search for Oropher's name, or you can just scroll down to the chapter called 'The History of Galadriel and Celeborn.'

[Ceana]

My thanks to Inglola and Andreath. I'm just beginning the "other" books and will get to the volumes you mention. I'm reading Lost Tales now...book by book. I wasn't kidding, I have a LOT of catching up to do. It's been decades since I was 14 (usual age when Tolkien enters one's life I'm told) and there's so much to read. Please note, that was NOT a complaint.

My thanks for the sites and all the info. And Andreath, thanks for the headsup on Mr. Day. I received one of his books as a gift and haven't had a chance to read it, but I'll keep that grain of salt near by when I do. It has amazed me how many books there are out there by people wanting to "explain" Tolkien to us...many many books.

Happiness all around...I'm no longer confused. Well, about Oropher that is. Thanks again.

[SpaceWeavil]

I will show my intellectual level here - I've got the Day books (from the discount bookshop) but so far I've only actually looked at the pictures

[Andreth]

Don't feel bad. The pictures are the reason I bought a few of his books, too. Then I started actually reading them and thinking, WTF? I asked around and found out that most people dismiss his books as useless and only like them for the pictures. So you're definitely not alone.

I pull them out occasionally and look through them. I've used some of his made-up stuff in my stories, too. Like how Ilmare the Maia throws bolts of lightning down from the clouds. That's a load and never mentioned anywhere in the books, but damn, it sounded cool, so I gave that power to Ilmare in my story about her.