[ghettoelleth]

This is what you call your HUGE assumption but here goes...
Glorfindel (yes some more)

Who was he in the first age? He was lord of the house of golden flowers so he was a Noldo in high standing. But why? I thought it was because he was related to Finarfin cuz of the hair

"Alone among the Noldorin princes he and his descendants had golden hair."
Sil, Index description of Finarfin

He had golden hair, so one would assume that he was descended from the house of Finwe, right? So why isn't he listed on any of the lines of kings? Or even mentioned anywhere? I can't find a blood connection anywhere. You could say the hair might have popped up in Fingolfins line since Indis was his mother too, but he's not listed on Fingolfin's line either.
Also, his position was of the sort that would be given to family members, like Maeglor and Tuor being lords in the house of Turgon. So how is he related?

Okay, shifting gears to get to the other thread in my assumption.
"In Tirion upon Tuna the Vanyar and Noldor dwelt long in friendship."Quoted from the Sil in Of Eldarion.

After all that time living that close together, doesn't it kind of make sense that other's besides Finwe and Indis may have bumped uglies?

Okay, point number three, its pretty certain that Glorfindel's father would have been a Noldo because he was a Noldo in LOTR. Patriarchal society and all, it stands to reason that his father's line would be what he claimed as his blood. So, that being said, could he possibly have been related by his mother's side?

After all that, what I would like to know is, Could Glorfindel be the son of a Noldo father and Vanya mother who was related to Indis?

(please don't ask me what happened to his father if he was the Noldo, and not his mother. I don't know, maybe he died on the Helcaraxe or stayed in Valinor with Finarfin or was killed in the kinslaying, the Teleri did fight back after all) I have a huge headache now and I'm not really even sure why I asked this anymore. Just kidding, but I'm stuck where I am so if anyone sees Inglor, could you please tell him to figure this out for me? LOL Okay, just tell me, am I totally off my nut with this one? I've done so much reaching and I haven't messed up yet. I'll cry if I do at this point.

[VanatheEverYoung]

Hmm ... I can't tell you much about Glorfindel, but I can talk about Legolas. (Keep reading, it is valid for you question. I swear)

[Viv]

I wrote Glorfindel as a pure Vanya who followed the exiles out of an unexpressed and patient passion for Idril. I know, I know, cheesy. But being the only true Vanya in Middle-earth would give him that "wow" cachet that other elves seem to attribute to him.

[inglor]

We know nothing of Glorfindel's parents. For all we know he could have been born at Cuivenien (sp?). Though I seriously doubt that, it is a possibility.

I tend to go with the Vanyar mother theory. Idril (Vanyar mother) had blond hair but is considerd a Noldor. Blond's were very rare among the Noldor. Because Glorfindel was a Lord in Turgon's house, I think he has no connection to any Finarfinian. Also the fact that Glorfindel attached to Elrond (Turgon's great grandson) leads me to believe he is Noldor in the House of Fingolfin.

It seems the elves didn't change houses or allegiances very often. Gildor named himself a lord of the House of Finrod (there is some discussion if this was before the name Finrod was assigned to Finarfin or his son. The Finrod from the Sil (the Eldest Son of the youngest son of Finwe) was originally named Inglor and the professor changed it after LotR was written, I think) even though that house had been defunct for 7000 years (3000 if you have Gil-Galad as Angrod's grandson instead of Fingon's son). Galadriel is an anamoly here, she is the eldest surviving child of Finarfin yet has not title or recognized lordship over any Noldor. The elves followed the Male lines.

I think you are right about the father's ancestry holding seniority. Finarfin and Fingolfin had a Vanyar mother but they were considered Noldor. Finarfin's children were only 1/4 Noldor but are considered Noldor. Elrond ,a true mut, is considered a Noldor even though his ancestry consisted of Maia, Edain, Teler (both Valinorean and ME), Vanyar, and Noldor.

To directly answer your question :

-There is no evidence that Glorfindel was directly or indirectly related to royalty, Fingolfin or Finarfin. We have the family tree of Finwe and Glorfindel is not in it. Could he be a cousin of Indis? Maybe

-The fact that he has blond hair is strong evidence that he has Vanyar blood but on the mother's side because he is considered a Noldo.

-The fact that he stays in the House of Fingolfin, Turgon specifically, is evidence that he is Noldor with fealty to that house.

-There is an outside chance that he is Sindar b/c there were some that went to Gondolin when it was established, but because he was a lord and the Calaquendi tended to look down on the Morquendi, I don't think it is probable.

-Why is he a lord? The same reason Eglamoth, Gwindor, and Ecthelion were, the Prof said so... Take a look at English aristocracy, not all of the lord, dukes, earls etc have a connectioin to the Royal line, they are just lords because they were born to it. It seems to me that in ME, there were people born to be either lords or commoners and there was no upward mobility. (unless you caught the eye of some princess)

Nutshell:
Glorfindel is a Noldor noble who has sworn fealty to Turgon and has a Vanyar mother in his ancestry.

This is the evidence that I have found and the basis for my opinions regarding The Shiny One.

Edit: (I was writing this before Viv's post) There is no evidence that Viv's theory is incorrect and is just as likely as mine. And is more fun BTW. Like the rest of the cameos in LotR (Gildor, Erestor, Haldir, etc) we no very little of their ancestry and are free to make it up


Hi, My name is Inglor and I am a Tolkien Geek. I've got a card here somehwere...

[ghettoelleth]