Swords in the Troll's Cave

[Valandil]

Originally Posted by john21wall

Yes. The answer to this question was hotly debated by fans for nearly two decades, but when the Peoples of Middle-earth was published in 1996 it became possible to give a definitive answer. In The Silmarillion, Glorfindel is slain fighting a Balrog during the Fall of Gondolin. When writing The Lord of the Rings Tolkien simply reused the name, and the characteristics, of the earlier character from the as-yet-unpublished narrative.

Thinking about this a little more - I think JRRT boxed himself in with the notion that the Elves never re-used a name. That each one had a unique name unto themselves. Seems unrealistic, since the various groups of Elves were always out of contact with one another for great lengths of times. Two different Elves named Glorfindel? So what? Makes sense that a lot of Elves would name their new son after a famous hero slain in the Fall of Gondolin.