Editing Glorfindel (section)

===The Third Age===

In ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', Glorfindel was sent by [[Elrond]] of [[Rivendell]] in the direction that the Nazgûl were most likely to come from, to help the hobbit [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo]] reach Rivendell. He set Frodo on his horse, Asfaloth, and has the hobbit riding ahead to the other side of the Ford of [[Bruinen]], where he defies his pursuers. During his confrontation with  Nazgûl at the Bridge of Mitheithel, Glorfindel reveals himself as a mighty Elf-lord terrible in his wrath; Frodo saw him as a shining figure.<ref name="Flight to the Ford" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 1, ch. 12 "Flight to the Ford"}}</ref> He is nearly captured, but manages to drive the Nazgûl into the nearby river with the aid of [[Aragorn|Strider]] and Frodo's hobbit companions, where they were swept away by a wave of water resembling charging horses, an enchantment created by Elrond and [[Gandalf]]. While enjoying the hospitality of the Elves in Rivendell, Frodo was enchanted by the beauty and stature of Glorfindel and his kinfolk.<ref name="meetings" group=T/> He sat in honour next to Elrond and Gandalf in the Hall of Fire in Rivendell, and was part of [[the Council of Elrond]] which deliberated on their collective response to the discovery of the One Ring.<ref name="meetings" group=T/> He showed unusual wisdom by voicing caution about sending the Ring to the enigmatic [[Tom Bombadil]], and suggested that the Ring be destroyed and that the [[Three Rings]] of the Elves be sacrifice to accomplish this quest.<ref name="Encyclopedia"/>

Gandalf described Glorfindel as "one of the mighty of the Firstborn" and "an Elf-lord of a house of princes." When Frodo asks about the protection of Rivendell from Sauron's forces, Gandalf explains:<ref name="meetings" group=T/>

{{blockquote|In Rivendell there live still some of his chief foes: the Elven-wise, lords of the Eldar from beyond the furthest seas. They do not fear the Ringwraiths, for those who have dwelt in the Blessed Realm live at once in both worlds, and against both the Seen and the Unseen they have great power.<ref name="meetings" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 1 "Many Meetings"}}</ref>}}

When Elrond seeks to fill the last two spots in the Fellowship to destroy the [[One Ring]] with folk of his own house, Gandalf mentioned Glorfindel. He justified the inclusion of Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took by saying:<ref name="south" group=T/>

{{blockquote|I think, Elrond, that in this matter it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom. Even if you chose for us an elf-lord, such as Glorfindel, he could not storm the [[Barad-dur|Dark Tower]], nor open the road to the Fire by the power that is in him.<ref name="south" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1954a|loc=book 2, ch. 3 "The Ring Goes South"}}</ref>}}

One of the Appendices usually published with the third volume, ''[[The Return of the King]]'', relates that earlier in the [[Third Age]], Glorfindel led the Elvish forces of Rivendell, the Grey Havens, and [[Lothlórien]] against [[Angmar]] in the Battle of Fornost. There he fought alongside Eärnur, the future king of [[Gondor]], along with the remnants of Gondor's sister kingdom Arnor. When the [[Witch-king of Angmar]], Lord of the [[Nazgûl]] and chief servant of Sauron, rode out to defend his ruling seat at the captured Fornost, his presence frightened Eärnur's horse and sent the prince flying backwards, and the Witch-king mocked him. Glorfindel confronted the Witch-king, who fled into the night. Eärnur wished to pursue him, but Glorfindel bade him not to and prophesied the Witch-king would fall in the far future, but not by "the hand of man".<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=Appendix A, I, iv "Gondor and the heirs of Anarion"}}</ref> Many years later, during the [[War of the Ring]], [[Éowyn]] (a woman) slays the Witch-king during the [[Battle of Pelennor Fields]], assisted by [[Meriadoc Brandybuck]] (a [[hobbit]]<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Carpenter|2023|loc=#31 to C.A. Furth of Allen & Unwin, 24 July 1938, states that Hobbits were a sub-group of Men rather than a distinct race. }}</ref>). Before Éowyn's slaying of the Witch-king, the reference to "man" in [[Prophecy in The Lord of the Rings|the prophecy]] had been interpreted to mean that no human at all would slay him, rather than that no male human would do so.<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"}}</ref>