The Council of Elrond:
From the Book to the Film to the Game

by Chuck Kallenbach II
Senior Game Designer

Here's a listing of the characters at the Council of Elrond in the Peter Jackson film The Fellowship of the Ring. The twenty-two chairs form a circle, with two breaks. One is between Frodo and the Elf to the left of Elrond, and the other is between Aragorn and the Elf to the right of Elrond. This list goes clockwise around the circle starting with Frodo. Names for some characters are included from cards for the Decipher Lord of the Rings™ Trading Card Game.

#1     Frodo, Son of Drogo (Hobbit)
#2     Gandalf, The Grey Wizard (Wizard)
#3     Saelbeth, Elven Councilor (Elf) from Realms of the Elf-lords 3 U 25
#4     Silinde, Elf of Mirkwood (Elf) from The Fellowship of the Ring 1 U 60
#5     Legolas, Son of Thranduil (Elf)
#6     Galdor, Councilor from the West (Elf) from Realms of the Elf-lords 3 U 18
#7     Ottar, Man of Laketown (Man) from The Fellowship of the Ring 1 R 80
#8     (unknown Man)
#9     Frór, Gimli's Kinsman (Dwarf) from Mines of Moria 2 C 6
#10   Thrarin, Dwarven Smith (Dwarf) from The Fellowship of the Ring 1 U 27
#11   Gimli, Son of Glóin (Dwarf)
#12   Farin, Dwarven Emissary (Dwarf) from The Fellowship of the Ring 1 C 11
#13   Erland, Advisor to Brand (Man) from Mines of Moria 2 C 21
#14   Boromir, Lord of Gondor (Man)
#15   Hugin, Emissary of Laketown (Man) from Mines of Moria 2 C 24
#16   Járnsmid, Merchant from Dale (Man) from Mines of Moria 2 R 25
#17   (unknown Elf - dark haired)
#18   "Figwit" (unknown Elf - dark haired)
#19   Aragorn, King in Exile (Man)
  —   gap
#20   (unknown Elf - dark haired)
#21   Elrond, Lord of Rivendell (Elf)
#22   Erestor, Chief Advisor to Elrond (Elf) from Realms of the Elf-lords 3 C 14

Figwit: One of the unnamed Elves at the Council (#18 in the list above) has acquired a fan base. They have nicknamed him "Figwit," which is short for "Frodo-Is-Great, Who-Is-That?" This character has no TCG card and remains unnamed.

Glóin: The Encyclopedia of Arda website (http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/) says, in its movie-goer's guide: "Among the travellers arriving for the Council of Elrond, we catch a fleeting glance of an old, white-haired Dwarf with Gimli. That's his father, Glóin, who travelled with Bilbo in The Hobbit." The Decipher TCG card for Glóin also features this white-haired Dwarf. However, this Dwarf is not at the Council in the film, and Glóin is definitely at the Council of Elrond according to the book. New Line Cinema and Tolkien Enterprises both approved this image for Glóin, so we must assume that he simply stepped out for a moment, perhaps yielding his chair temporarily to Thrarin.

Glorfindel: There has been speculation that one of the unidentified blond Elves at the Council might be Glorfindel. However, these Elves have now been named and none of them are Glorfindel.

Elladan and Elrohir: There has been speculation that the two dark-haired Elves sitting at either side of Elrond were his twin sons. However, the Elf at his left has now been identified as Erestor (the one to his right is still unidentified). Examination of the two actors shows that they are not identical twins. Also, according to the book, in the chapter Many Meetings, Arwen's brothers were "out upon errantry" at the time of their father's Council.

June 18, 2002