He sacrificed himself to give people more time to flee Gondolin, which gives him a gold star in my book.

I cannot pick just one. There is also Fingon rescuing Maedhros, Húrin and Huor at Nirnaeth Arnoediad or is it an elves-only pick? It is cruel to ask people to choose the most heroic deed of the Elder Days/Second Age.

I may say whom, out of the "great heroes", I don't consider impressive - Earendil&Elwing are a number one (leaving your children in the middle of a battle, or rather slaughter, when all seems to be lost and the whole world is about to be destroyed by the most horrid tyrant imaginable - sorry, that's the contradiction of impressive for me) with Beren&Luthien as close seconds - it's not that I find stealing a Silmaril from Morgoth unimpressive, but I find it a bit petty and selfish to attempt something so grand(iose?) in the time of terrible war only to get the one you want. Their power, strength and skill could have been much better used.

Coming back to your list, Fingolfin has always impressed me, but I have always liked him, so I may be a bit biased. Yet, at the time of his duel with Morgoth he was angst-ridden, so one could argue that it was a mad and desperate act rather than valour. That being said, I can hardly imagine anyone else having enough courage to challenge Morgoth.

Ecthelion and Glorfindel – I put them together, for their actions were similar, yes I know Gothmog is much worse than an ordinary Balrog, but still both of them sacrificed themselves to save the Gondolin fugitives. Fighting a Balrog may not seem as epic as dueling Morgoth himself, but I wouldn’t put one before the other.

I see Aredhel’s and Beleg’s sacrifice as a personal one, which, while not necessarily less heroic, has (or at least so it would seem) less impact on the world. Since I despise Maeglin and his treachery, I would rather Aerdhel didn’t move. Eöl and Maeglin could both fall from Caragdûr for all I care – or rather not, I’d like to kill Eöl before he kidnapped Aredhel, but I’ll try to keep my AU headcanons at bay. As for Beleg, yes he definitely deserves to be on this list.

Celebrimbor – I do not deny his strength in resisting Sauron’s tortures, but he was partially to blame for the whole ordeal. Who knows, maybe if Atannar wasn’t accepted into Eregion and Galadriel’s rule overthrown the war wouldn’t be as terrible as it was? Perhaps Sauron would sooner loose his fair form and ability to deceive? Or maybe not.

Finrod – yes, certainly heroic. I’ll have to reread the Silmarillion though, I’m ashamed to admit I don’t remember the details.

And I’m left with Gil-Galad whose valour seems to be somehow smaller because he was still young in the First Age. That’s rubbish obviously.

I have written a page-long analysis only to prove my point that it’s impossible, for me at least, to choose the most impressive one. There are also sons of Fëanor stuck between a rock and a hard place or in this case – the void and kinslaying.

@terhenetar. Wow... you know, you are the first person I've met who types extremely long and detailed answers, apart from myself! (Off topic, I know) You've done a great analysis and I do agree with you on what a difficult question this is (I enjoy creating questions like these). For me, I picked Ecthelion because (excluding the fact he's my favourite character) I find nothing more impressive than a sacrifice made in full knowledge and sanity of a person's fate.

Thank you, I try to give better answers than "x rocks!" when I care about a subject. I like this kind of questions as well, even if I have no idea how to answer, because they make me re-think certain acts or situations. Plus, there's much more potential for discussion than with "Pick the hottest elf" (although I would be lying if I said I don't answer or sometimes create these kinds of picks). :)

I could agree with that and yet it could also be said about Fingolfin (well maybe without the sanity part) or Hurin&Huor. I just love how complex and multilayered the Silmarillion is.

I agree! I have so much fun writing ridiculously long answers about anything and everything Tolkien. And discussions about the Silmarillion are great, particularly as there are very few people who I know (off the internet) who have actually heard of it, let alone read it.

I tend to think Fingolfin was thinking less than clearly when he made his decision! And Hurin and Huor are so tragic... I can't read the Children of Hurin without crying!

Yes it is. Especially when a discussion on a public post looks like a chat or private messages. :D

Yes, I didn't realise how much I felt for Turin and Beleg until I read it. I wonder if PJ will ever make a Children of Hurin film, it's probably the most "cinematic" part of the Silmarillion. The average LotR fan would probably prefer to see the story of Beren and Luthien, though.