Glorfindel

Glorfindel first appears in accounts of the Fall of Gondolin (First Age), where he fights a Balrog and dies defending the city. Later published Third‑Age narratives present a Glorfindel who aids Frodo against the Nazgûl; Tolkien subsequently addressed the apparent duplication in later notes by proposing that Glorfindel's spirit was re‑embodied in Valinor and that he was sent back to Middle‑earth (Tolkien's chronology and the precise dating of that return vary across his late writings and revisions). These late notes are the basis for the view that the same individual spans First and Third Age appearances through re‑embodiment and return.

Sources describe Glorfindel as tall, straight, fair of face, and distinctly golden‑haired — the name in Sindarin is rendered as meaning "Goldtress" or indicating "yellow‑haired." Canonical summaries repeatedly emphasize his shining gold hair and noble Elven bearing consistent with a High Elf (Noldor) lord.

In narrative episodes Glorfindel is shown as a powerful warrior who can stand against fearsome enemies: First‑Age accounts credit him with slaying a Balrog (at the cost of his life), and Third‑Age episodes depict him resisting Nazgûl pursuit to protect Frodo. Tolkien's later explanatory notes suggest that, after death and re‑embodiment in Valinor, Glorfindel's spiritual power was "greatly enhanced, almost an equal of the Maiar" — a formulation found in Tolkien's late writings rather than in the original published tales. He also functions socially as an Elf‑lord and protector, guiding and sheltering mortals in the narrative.