“The rider’s cloak streamed behind him, and his hood was thrown back; his golden hair flowed shimmering in the wind of his speed. To Frodo it appeared that a white light was shining through the form and raiment of the rider, as if through a thin veil.
Strider sprang from hiding and dashed down towards the Road, leaping with a cry through the heather; but even before he had moved or called, the rider had reined in his horse and halted, looking up towards the thicket where they stood. When he saw Strider, he dismounted and ran to meet him calling out: Ai na vedui Dúnadan! Mae govannen! His speech and clear ringing voice left no doubt in their hearts: the rider was of the Elven-folk. No others that dwelt in the wide world had voices so fair to hear.”
—J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, “Flight to the Ford”
I am by no means any kind of expert on Tolkien’s writings and the lore of Middle Earth. I have read many of his works, and still re-read them from time to time, but I consider myself a mere bystander, an observer of his world who savours the deeper meaning of his archetypes and stories, without remembering every single name, place and passage. But I very much enjoy Middle Earth, either through reading his texts, or through playing Lord of the Rings online, or by listening to music based on his work. If you are like me, and like to digest his work in smaller quantities every once in a while, I recommend “Excerpts from Tolkien“, a website in blog format with short pieces of text and beautiful illustrations.
This outfit was loosely inspired by Glorfindel, the Elf who finds Frodo after he has been stabbed by the Nazgûl and sends him off to safety in Rivendell on his horse Asfaloth. I always have a hard time outfitting male elves but wanted to try something light and golden, similar to but not exactly the same as the Windsinger outfit for a female elf. I ended up using the same leggings, but the rest of the pieces are all different. The chest piece comes from the Ox-clan Camp Champion barter. You don’t need a Champion to purchase it, only enough seals and medallions. I really like how the RoI instance armour dyes in white, as it becomes a soft pale grey which gives a plated effect on the armour.
Head: Balladeer’s Hat, white dye (Moria dungeon armour set Minstrel/Loremaster/Runekeeper)
Chest: The Berserker’s Breastplate, white dye (RoI instance armour set Champion)
Shoulders: Shoulder Pads of Resolve, white dye (RoI instance armour set Minstrel/Loremaster/Runekeeper)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, white dye (Enedwaith raid armour set Warden)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Galadhrim, white dye (T6 crafted heavy, or Moria dungeon armour set heavy)
Feet: Boots of the Galadhrim, white dye (T6 crafted heavy, or Moria dungeon armour set heavy)
Back: Cloak of the Rescuer, white dye (Great River quest reward, light)
Cosmetic Lotro 
Bravo! This outfit matches your title perfectly! The Balladeer’s Hat was one of the first things I loved about the Moria sets, but I’m sad to say that it’s been sitting idle. I’ll have to change that.
Thank you Leeann! I forget about my older cosmetics all the time too, but when I need them for the finishing touch I’m sooo glad to have them!
I love this, especially that cloak! Poor Glorfindel; the guy got zip screen time in both the animated and the live-action movies. I’m glad to see he is appreciated, though 🙂
Love it. Love the mix of silver and gold. Really well done!
Thank you Lasswen!
great outfit, looks very noble and makes the elf look manly as well. i love it!
First, thanks for bringing “Excerpts from Tolkien” to our attention. Looks like a great way to get a bite size bit of Tolkien with my morning tea!
The outfit is lovely. It very much looks like this elf and the one from Windsinger could be part of the same company, yet still dressed individually. And I agree with the Elven Tailor, Glorfindel is such an epic character and he always gets the cut!
And I really never understood why he got cut out of the movie and replaced by Arwen (nor do I understand why Tom Bombadil has been left out either). He deserves more honour than being ignored! 🙂
I’ve had… trouble with the offered versions of Glorfindel, whether in movies (spots stolen by Legolas and Arwen respectively) or in our beloved game… Always imagined him prepared for a physical fight, and that, alas, is not conveyed by his lovely robe.
This, however…
This I can happily accept. The gold and the silver-grey, the elven lines and the spellbound cloak… the motifs and shapes that are repeated…
Not to say anything about your wonderful location; Barrow-downs, if I’m not mistaken?
P.S.: The Balladeer’s Hat, I think, shares graphics with the hat of Written Word… and hat of Deep Lore… and Ceremonial Written Word you can buy from a Skirmish Cosmetic vendor for a slew of marks and a handful of medallions. We need more circlets like it. 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! I envision Glorfindel much the same way, more like a tracker, hunter or even fighter than the robed lore-seeker that we see stationed outside the Last Homely House in Rivendell. The location for these screenshots is indeed the Barrow Downs. The misty atmosphere there provides a nice backdrop for this outfit. The circlet shares appearance with the Lore-master and Rune-keeper items from Moria, now also available as a cosmetic from Skirmish camp and the Lotro store.
Indeed!
I quite agree… Glorfindel has always been one of my favorite character in Lord of the Rings, in fact my main Role-playing character is a Scion of Glorfindel and a vassal of his house. I’ve always loved the white and silver he was portrayed with.
I was very sad to see that he never made it to the movies, however Jackson has hinted that he may get some air-time int he Hobbit trilogy of movies we are getting! 😀
But anyway, back onto topic, I played Battle for Middle Earth and it sequel before I came to LOTRO and Glorfindel in Battle for Middle Earth 2 was just…. An amazing vision of a true Elven fighter…. Here is a link to a picture from the game: http://bit.ly/RXAU3I
I must agree, this looks much more how I believe how Glorfindel should look like, a true fighter and defender of Elrond.
Once again a fantastic outfit, Beautiful colours and armor pieces 😀 Thank you once again for creating such a beautiful outfit.
Meh I cannot open that link, says it’s forbidden for me. Glorfindel is hiding again ha ha!
Thanks for the kind words 🙂
Quite stunning!
Ohh my stars, that’s just lovely. So beautiful. You’re fantastic with serene, misty-seeming Elven outfits, seriously. Such a gentle sort of feeling.
Thank you Laenlis!
Oh, I never knew Silver could be so beautiful! It fits very good and it’s not…. overwhelming. Great job!
Thanks Choc for all your sweet comments!
Wow, I’m speechless. This one is.. beautiful. It almost twinkles and the details took my breath away. Really fantastic, Hymne.
–Ivy
Thank you Ivy!
Wow this is one of the best I’ve seen in lotro. Do you have to have alts to get all of these, or are they obtainable for any class?
The pieces from the Ox-Clan Camp in Isengard and Harndirion in Enedwaith can be purchased by any class. However you will need the wardrobe to cosmetically use the items.
Hi beautiful pictures! Just amazing! I am new to lotro and i would love to make my elf hunter like this! Is really hard get this item? And i have a problem…i don t know how to make blonde hair..ni just can get light brown…i am mirkwood elf,should i change race to get blonde like this ?ty very much gj!
Hi friend.
Lotro is a very very great game… But select a blonde hair is a enormous task… You need to try again and again… I pass this with my Elf Warden…
Welcome to Middle Earth…