Galadriel’s Generous Gift: Why She Gave Gimli Three Hairs

There’s no question that The Lord of the Rings is a saga full of intense emotional moments, as is appropriate, considering the sagas and myths that author J.R.R. Tolkien drew inspiration from while writing it. Whether your favorite version is the original epic text or Peter Jackson’s phenomenal film adaptations, The Lord of the Rings is a powerful and compelling story that sweeps fans off their feet with its compelling emotional honesty.

One particularly poignant and underrated moment comes late in The Fellowship of the Ring, as the Fellowship, having rested in the Elven sanctuary of Lothlórien after the tragedy of Gandalf’s apparent death, resume their journey to Mordor. As the Fellowship departs, they are met by the beautiful Lady Galadriel, who bestows upon them gifts to help in their travels. Yet even the Lady of Lórien herself is unsure what to gift the steadfast dwarf Gimli, son of Glóin; when she asks him his heart’s desire, his request is something simple: a strand of her golden hair.

Gimli, as any dwarf would be, had been suspicious of anything Elven when entering Lórien, and not only because he and the Fellowship were met by elves with bows drawn, as the animosity between dwarves and elves in Middle-earth was long-standing before Gimli was even born. Yet his stay in Lórien opened his eyes to the beauty of Elven-crafts, and so in that moment he spoke his heart’s desire, so that he could carry a piece of Galadriel’s beauty with him as he journeyed on into the dark and fell parts of Middle-earth.

Galadriel fulfilling Gimli’s request thrice over reflects how much she changed in the ages since her uncle asked her for the same. Galadriel was headstrong and young in the First Age, and although she was right to fear the darkness in Fëanor, as it would drive him soon to forge the very jewels that doomed all the Noldor, that same darkness was within her and all the elves of Valinor, for they were being subtly influenced by the presence of the Dark Lord Morgoth, who had been brought to Valinor in chains after his defeat by the divine Valar. Yet Gimli’s earnest request struck a chord in her heavy heart, for in him there was none of Fëanor’s darkness.