Galion

Butler to King Thranduil

An old Wood-elf who served as butler in the Elvenking's halls in northeastern Mirkwood, where he served King Thranduil (and presumably also Thranduil's son Legolas). It was Galion's love of wine that gave Bilbo a chance to free Thorin and his companions when they were imprisoned in Thranduil's halls during the Quest of Erebor. On a night of feasting, the butler drank deeply with his friend the captain of the guards: so deeply that both fell asleep. With the aid of the captain's keys and his Magic Ring, Bilbo was able to rescue the Dwarves and organise a daring waterborne escape.

Notes

The -ion ending in Elvish names typically indicates a patronymic, so Galion's name seems to show that he was the son of an Elf with a name like 'Gal', or at least incorporating that element. Gal- in Elvish names usually means 'green', so the extended meaning of the name Galion is probably something like 'son of the green Elf'.

Gal- can also be read as 'light', so potentially Galion would be 'son of light', but given that his Forest home was known in Elvish as Eryn Galen ('Greenwood') the connection with 'green' seems more plausible.

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Website services kindly sponsored by Axiom Software Ltd.