Misplaced Pages

#996003

116-500: Aragorn ( Sindarin: [ˈaraɡɔrn] ) is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings . Aragorn is a Ranger of the North , first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur , an ancient King of Arnor and Gondor . Aragorn is a confidant of the wizard Gandalf and plays a part in the quest to destroy

232-563: A "Mythic" figure, is superior to his environment; Shippey points out that he can run 135 miles in three days and lives "in full vigour" for over 200 years. This places him in Frye's "Romantic" mode. Tolkien does come close to myth, Shippey suggests, when Gandalf confronts the leader of the Nazgûl at the gate of Minas Tirith and a cock crows "as if" signalling the arrival of the Rohan cavalry, just as

348-633: A "sacrificial king" archetype, noting the multiple sacrifices that Aragorn makes for the benefit of those around him and for his future people. Those sacrifices include waiting to claim his throne and to marry Arwen until the One Ring had been destroyed. Thomas Kullmann and Dirk Siepmann comment that Aragorn's pathfinding lifestyle and style of speech resembles that of the ranger Natty Bumppo in James Fenimore Cooper 's 1823–1841 Leatherstocking Tales , suggesting that Aragorn's "If I read

464-428: A black man has drawn both praise and criticism from fans of The Lord of the Rings . Protagonist The protagonist is the character whose fate is most closely followed by the reader or audience, and who is opposed by the antagonist . The antagonist provides obstacles and complications and creates conflicts that test the protagonist, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of the protagonist's character, and having

580-754: A bow is the main weapon of Legolas, the Elf-member of the Fellowship of the Ring . When the Fellowship meet Galadriel , she gives Legolas a new bow. He later uses it to shoot all the way across the great river Anduin and bring down an airborne Nazgûl. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy assigns a bow to Aragorn and crossbows to the Uruk-hai. However, in Tolkien's writings Aragorn is armed only with

696-474: A connection with a different Anglo-Saxon king, Alfred of Wessex , described by Snyder as "an unexpected monarch (he had four elder brothers) and inspirational leader who united disparate peoples". The Dutch medievalist Thijs Porck writes that Alfred, like Aragorn, spent time in exile. Danes attacked him in Chippenham , and he took refuge in the wilds before gathering an army at Egbert's Stone and defeating

812-648: A creature who had previously possessed the Ring. This hunt leads Aragorn across Rhovanion ; he finally captures Gollum in the Dead Marshes northwest of Mordor . Aragorn brings Gollum to King Thranduil 's halls in Mirkwood , where Gandalf questions him. Aragorn meets Frodo Baggins , Bilbo's adopted heir, and three of Frodo's friends at the Prancing Pony Inn in Bree . The four hobbits had set out from

928-541: A crowing cock signalled the Resurrection to Simon Peter in the Bible. The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger contrasts the warrior-hero Aragorn with the suffering hero Frodo Baggins. Aragorn is, like Beowulf, an epic/romance hero, a bold leader and a healer-king. Frodo is "the little man of fairy tale", the little brother who unexpectedly turns out to be brave. But the fairy tale happy ending comes to Aragorn, marrying

1044-574: A long white horse-tail panache that trailed in the wind. The Crown of Gondor was a jewelled battle-helmet; Aragorn received it at his coronation. Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee use Orc-helmets as part of their disguise in Mordor. In the First Age, Dwarves made dragon-helms, which were said to protect against Dragons . The most famous of these was the Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin . The Second Age

1160-550: A pale light. This was the sword with which Fingolfin wounded Morgoth seven times, causing the first dark lord to limp forever afterward. In Tolkien's early writings, Ringil was the name of one of the two pillars supporting the Two Lamps of primeval Middle-earth. Sting is a large Elvish dagger in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings . It functioned well as a sword for the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. Bilbo named

1276-520: A prince of the Northumbrian royal house exiled to the Kingdom of Dál Riata after Cadwallon King of Gwynedd and Penda King of Mercia laid waste to his ancestral homelands. Oswald returned years later with a raised army of Anglian exiles and retook his kingdom, slaying Cadwallon in the process. The French medievalist Alban Gautier, and separately the historian Christopher Snyder , suggest

SECTION 10

#1732798365997

1392-522: A protagonist are found in Ancient Greece . At first, dramatic performances involved merely dancing and recitation by the chorus. Then in Poetics , Aristotle describes how a poet named Thespis introduced the idea of one actor stepping out and engaging in a dialogue with the chorus. This was the invention of tragedy, and occurred about 536 B.C. Then the poet Aeschylus , in his plays, introduced

1508-475: A pub plainly recalls "both Tolkien's and Jackson's" Prancing Pony . Alberto states that the widely-scattered locations, from north Wales to Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath are meant to be seen as a measure of how far Aragorn travels, and in which part of the world, as he seeks Gollum. She cites the scholar Robin Anne Reid 's remark that " Hunt is 'imitative' where Hope is transformative", meaning that

1624-439: A rival for his father's favour, declares that he will not bow to a descendant of Isildur. Believing that it is futile to battle Sauron, Denethor has himself burned on a funeral pyre. Aragorn heals Faramir , Denethor's heir, who had been wounded in battle and was expected to die, using the herb athelas . Faramir recognizes Aragorn as his lord and the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. Aragorn's humility and self-sacrifice win him

1740-408: A second actor, inventing the idea of dialogue between two characters. Sophocles then wrote plays that included a third actor. A description of the protagonist's origin cited that during the early period of Greek drama, the protagonist served as the author, the director, and the actor and that these roles were only separated and allocated to different individuals later. There is also a claim that

1856-720: A troll-hoard, Thorin Oakenshield carries the sword through the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood before being taken prisoner by the Elves ; it was laid on his tomb after his death in the Battle of Five Armies. It is the mate of Glamdring. Ringil (Sindarin: Cold-Star / Cold-Spark ) is a sword wielded by Fingolfin in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand . It bit with chilling cold, and glittered like ice with

1972-467: A war. Though many people equate protagonists with the term hero and possessing heroic qualities, it is not necessary, as even villainous characters can be protagonists. For example Michael Corleone from The Godfather (1972–1990) film series (1978–1983). In some cases, the protagonist is not a human: in Richard Adams ' novel Watership Down , a group of anthropomorphised rabbits, led by

2088-668: Is 23 inches (580 mm) long (24 while in scabbard ) and 3 inches (76 mm) wide at the hilt. Its scabbard is made of brown leather and reinforced with metal. Belthronding (Sindarin/Ilkorin: Intractable Bow ) is the bow wielded by Beleg Cúthalion (Strongbow) in The Silmarillion and The Lays of Beleriand . The black arrow was used in Esgaroth by Bard the Bowman; he mentions that it has been used many times, always successfully, and always recovered. An heirloom from many generations of Bard's family, that he believed had been made in

2204-485: Is chosen as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring to accompany Frodo in his quest to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom in the land of Mordor. Elven-smiths reforge the shards of Narsil into a new sword, setting into the design of the blade seven stars (for Elendil ) and a crescent moon (for Isildur ), as well as many runes. Aragorn renames the sword Andúril , "Flame of the West". The Fellowship attempt to cross

2320-588: Is crowned King Elessar ("Elfstone", a Quenya name given to him by Arwen's grandmother, Galadriel ); he marries Arwen at midsummer. He becomes the twenty-sixth King of Arnor, the thirty-fifth King of Gondor, and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. His line is called the House of Telcontar (Quenya for "Strider"). Aragorn rules the Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor until year 120 of

2436-551: Is not told about his heritage. At the age of 20, after Aragorn has done great deeds in the company of Elrond's sons, Elrond tells him of his ancestry and his true name, and gives him the shards of Elendil's sword, Narsil, and another ancient heirloom, the Ring of Barahir . He withholds the Sceptre of Annúminas from him until he has earned the right to possess it. The following day, Aragorn meets and falls in love with Elrond's daughter,

SECTION 20

#1732798365997

2552-613: Is portrayed by Adrian Webster. The film is set during the time of The Fellowship of the Ring . It takes place after Gandalf has discovered the true nature of Bilbo's ring and just before Frodo leaves the Shire for Rivendell. Another fan film, Kate Madison 's 2009 Born of Hope , imagines a time in the life of Aragorn's parents from shortly before they are married to his father's early death. The film scholar Maria Alberto writes that such fan films reveal one way that readers engage with Tolkien's writings. In her view, Born of Hope , six years in

2668-475: Is succeeded on the throne by his son, Eldarion. Arwen, heartbroken by the loss of her husband, dies shortly afterwards in Lothlórien. The "first germ" of the character that later evolved into Aragorn or Strider was a peculiar hobbit met by Bingo Bolger-Baggins (precursor of Frodo Baggins) at the inn of The Prancing Pony . His description and behaviour, however, was already quite close to the final story, with

2784-595: Is the sword forged by Eöl the Dark Elf, similar to Anglachel which was given to Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion . It was the mate of Anglachel, was made of the same meteoritic iron, and had the same physical properties and capabilities as Anglachel, but there is no evidence of sentience in Anguirel. Anguirel was kept by Eöl until it was stolen by his son, Maeglin. Aranrúth (Sindarin: King's Ire )

2900-613: Is the sword that belonged to Théoden . Narsil ( Quenya : roughly, Red and White Flame ) is a sword in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion , influenced by the legendary Arthurian sword Excalibur and by Sigurd 's sword Gram, as described in the Old Norse Völsunga saga . The sword was forged during the First Age by the Dwarf Telchar of Nogrod, a famous weaponsmith and artificer who also made

3016-592: Is the sword wielded by King Thingol of Doriath in The Silmarillion . Later the sword of the Kings of Númenor. Glamdring (Sindarin: Foe-hammer ) is a sword in The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales forged in the First Age by the High Elves of the hidden city of Gondolin. It belonged first to Turgon , the King of Gondolin. Thousands of years later, in T.A.  2941, Gandalf discovered it among

3132-683: Is two years old, his father is killed while pursuing orcs . Aragorn is fostered in Rivendell by Elrond , who is still living in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age . At the bidding of Elrond, his lineage is kept secret, as Elrond fears he will be killed like his father and grandfather if his identity as Isildur's heir becomes known. Aragorn is renamed Estel ("hope" in Sindarin ) to hide his existence from Sauron. During his childhood, he

3248-748: The Elder Edda and Gram in the Völsunga saga . The items illustrate the passage of time and the transfer of power or fate to their future bearers. Anglachel ( Sindarin : Iron of the Flaming Star ) was a sword forged of meteoritic iron by Eöl the Dark Elf , given to Thingol King of Doriath as a fee for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth. It could cleave all earth-delved iron. Later wielded by Beleg Strongbow and ultimately Túrin ; Anglachel

3364-665: The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the Red Arrow is omitted and its role is conflated with the Beacons of Gondor . Hobbits "shot well with the bow". The Shire sent archers to the battles of the Fall of Arnor. Body armour in Tolkien's fiction is mainly in the form of mail or scale shirts, in keeping with Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. In contrast, the Lord of

3480-821: The First Age . Other notable axe-bearers were Tuor (the wielder of the axe Dramborleg), the Men of the White Mountains who marched to the defence of Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings movie (replacing the axe-wielding men of Lossarnach from the book), and a contingent of Easterlings among the besiegers of Minas Tirith. Bows of different sizes and construction are featured in Tolkien's works. Elves of Lothlórien , Men, and Uruk-hai used longbows , while Elves of Mirkwood and Orcs of Mordor used smaller ones. These bows are said to be made of wood, horn and even steel. The most famous bowman in Tolkien's stories of

3596-635: The Fourth Age . His reign is marked by harmony and prosperity, and by a renewal of cooperation between Men, Elves, and Dwarves. Aragorn leads the forces of the Reunited Kingdom on military campaigns against the Easterlings and Haradrim , re-establishing rule over lands that Gondor had lost in previous centuries. He dies at the age of 210, after 122 years as king. The graves of Merry and Pippin (who had died in Gondor 58 years earlier) are set beside his. He

Aragorn - Misplaced Pages Continue

3712-956: The Norse sagas . Tolkien established this relationship in The Fall of Gondolin , the first story in his legendarium to be written. In this story, the Elves of Gondolin use the mail armour , swords , shields , spears , axes and bows of Northern European warfare. In Tolkien's writings, such Medieval weapons and armour are used by his fictional races , including Elves , Dwarves , Men , Hobbits , and Orcs . As in his sources, Tolkien's characters often gave names to their weapons , sometimes with runic inscriptions to show they are magical and have their own history and power. Tolkien devised several constructed languages with terms for types of weapons. Swords symbolized physical prowess in battle for Tolkien, following Northern European culture. Tolkien writes that Elves and Dwarves produced

3828-645: The One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron . As a young man, Aragorn falls in love with the immortal elf Arwen , as told in " The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen ". Arwen's father, Elrond Half-elven , forbids them to marry unless Aragorn becomes King of both Arnor and Gondor. Aragorn leads the Company of the Ring following the loss of Gandalf in the Mines of Moria . When the Fellowship is broken, he tracks

3944-428: The One Ring . Aragorn is proclaimed King by the people of Gondor and crowned King of both Gondor and Arnor. He marries Arwen and rules for 122 years. Tolkien developed the character of Aragorn over a long period, beginning with a hobbit nicknamed Trotter and trying out many names before arriving at a Man named Aragorn. Commentators have proposed historical figures such as King Oswald of Northumbria and King Alfred

4060-551: The Riddermark in The Lord of the Rings . The name is found in the Old English poem Beowulf , where the hero uses the word as an epithet for the sword Hrunting, lent to him by Hrothgar 's thane Unferth for the fight with Grendel's mother . Hadhafang is the sword invented for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, where it was wielded by Arwen , although she is never actually seen using it in combat, as

4176-561: The War of the Ring . With a small squadron of ships from Gondor, he leads an assault on Umbar, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally killing their lord during the Battle of the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, he ventures alone to the east and south of Middle-earth and continues to work against Sauron. At the age of 49, Aragorn visits Lothlórien, and again meets Arwen. He gives her

4292-473: The Witch-king of Angmar "when Sauron raised a rebellion". The story of the two branches of Elendil's descendants ruling over two kingdoms of Men through many generations only emerged gradually; at one time, Tolkien even seems to have conceived only three generations between Isildur and Aragorn. Aragorn's relationship with Arwen was established very late in the writing. When Tolkien first introduced Éowyn ,

4408-486: The "good guys" of the narrative. Examples include DC Comics' Superman (hero) and Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games (heroine). An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities and attributes such as idealism, courage, and morality. Examples include Holden Caulfield from The Catcher in the Rye , Scarlett O'Hara from Gone With

4524-503: The Alliance. During the final battle on the slopes of Mount Doom , Elendil and Gil-galad were both killed. Isildur took up the hilt-shard of Narsil , Elendil's sword, and cut the One Ring from the hand of Sauron. Despite the urging of Elrond and Círdan , Gil-galad's lieutenants, Isildur did not destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom; rather, he kept the Ring for himself. The Second Age ended, and Isildur became King of both Arnor in

4640-733: The Danes at the Battle of Edington . Alfred's history parallels Aragorn's gathering of the Dead, the Oathbreakers, at the Stone of Erech. The fragmentation of the Dúnedain kingdoms, leading to Aragorn's small band of Rangers living in the wild, has been compared to that of the early Frankish kingdoms . Aragorn has been called a Christ-as-King character; Tolkien's use of prophecy has been compared to

4756-537: The Dark Lord in Mordor and tortured , but saved by Gandalf; a note was added by Tolkien in the margin, saying that it would later be revealed that Trotter had wooden feet. The conception of Trotter as a hobbit was eventually discarded. Another short-lived idea was to make Trotter "a disguised elf-friend of Bilbo's in Rivendell", and a scout from Rivendell who "pretends to be a ranger". It was not until after Book I

Aragorn - Misplaced Pages Continue

4872-624: The Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again! Will you aid me or thwart me? Choose swiftly!' J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers Together, Gandalf and the Three Hunters travel to Edoras in Rohan , where Gandalf frees King Théoden from the enchantment of the treacherous wizard Saruman and helped him prepare

4988-482: The Fellowship, Merry and Pippin, are captured by orcs. Aragorn, Legolas , and Gimli set off to track the orcs, hoping to rescue Merry and Pippin. They learn that the orcs have been killed, and that no hobbits were found among the remains. Nevertheless, clues lead Aragorn to believe that the hobbits are still alive, prompting him to take the party into Fangorn Forest. They meet Gandalf, sent back from death to continue his duties in Middle-earth. Gandalf tells them that

5104-401: The First Age of Middle-earth is the Elf Beleg ; his bow was named Belthronding , and his arrow Dailir . Infamously Curufin, a lord of the Noldor , attempts to shoot the Elf-princess Lúthien with the bow of his brother Celegorm . His first arrow is intercepted by Huan ; Beren attempts to intercept the second shot, and is wounded. In The Lord of the Rings , set in the late Third Age ,

5220-403: The Great as sources of inspiration for Aragorn, noting parallels such as spending time in exile and raising armies to retake their kingdoms. Aragorn has been compared to the figure of Christ as King, complete with the use of prophecy paralleling the Old Testament's foretelling of the Messiah . Others have evaluated his literary status using Northrop Frye 's classification, suggesting that while

5336-439: The King , made for television. Kari Väänänen portrayed him in the 1993 Finnish television miniseries Hobitit . In Peter Jackson 's the Lord of the Rings film trilogy , Aragorn was played by the Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen . He received acclaim for the portrayal, and Aragorn was ranked No. 15 in Empire ' s 2015 survey of greatest film characters. In the 2009 fan film The Hunt for Gollum , Aragorn

5452-517: The Misty Mountains via the pass of Caradhras . Their attempt fails in a violent storm. Instead, the Fellowship travels through the mines of Moria . When Gandalf is killed fighting a Balrog , Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien and down the River Anduin to the Falls of Rauros. He plans to go to Gondor to aid its people in the war against Sauron. The Fellowship is then broken: Frodo continues his journey to Mordor, accompanied only by his gardener and friend, Samwise Gamgee. Two other hobbit members of

5568-414: The North and Gondor in the South. Isildur was killed by Orcs soon afterwards at the Gladden Fields beside the River Anduin , and the Ring was seemingly lost forever. Following the defeat of Sauron and the deaths of Elendil, Anarion, and Isildur, Anarion's son, Meneldil, became king of Gondor and Isildur's son, Valandil, became king of Arnor. Many years later, the kingdom of Arnor was lost in battle with

5684-508: The Old Testament's foretelling of the coming of the Messiah. It has been suggested that some of the Christian themes extrapolated from Tolkien's work were not intentional, but resulted from the interplay between the background he grew up in and the myths that inspired him. However, aspects of Aragorn's character - his ability to heal, his sacrificial journey, and his experiences with death and the dead - have long been seen as clues to overt Messianic overtones. Karen Nikakis writes that Aragorn fits

5800-519: The Ring of Barahir. On the hill of Cerin Amroth, Arwen pledges her hand to him in marriage, renouncing her Elvish lineage and accepting mortality (the "Gift of Men"). Elrond withholds permission to marry his daughter from Aragorn until he is king of both Gondor and Arnor. Elrond fears that in the end, Arwen might find the prospect of death too difficult to bear. Years later, Gandalf grows suspicious of Bilbo Baggins 's magic ring, which he finds to be Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf asks Aragorn to find Gollum ,

5916-460: The Rings and The Hobbit film adaptations, Sting is depicted as leaf-shaped, with gentle curving edges. Engraved on the blade and cross-guard are letters in Sindarin that read phonetically, Maegnas aen estar nin dagnir in yngyl im . Translated into English, they read, " Maegnas is my name, I am the spider's bane." According to the Appendix of The Silmarillion , the element maeg in Sindarin means "sharp" or "piercing". The film version of Sting

SECTION 50

#1732798365997

6032-446: The Rings film trilogy features later medieval plate armour suits. These kinds of plate armour are not found in Tolkien's writings, but plate does appear in the form of individual pieces such as vambraces (forearm guards) or greaves (leg and shin guards). As with other items of war, Elves and Dwarves produced the best armour. The mail shirt forged by Dwarves from the fictional metal mithril appears in The Hobbit and The Lord of

6148-411: The Rings film trilogy, Legolas possessed twin fighting knives carried in sheaths near his quiver. There are some special types of knife in Tolkien's fiction which do not have formal names, but nevertheless play important roles in the plot. The Witch-king of Angmar , leader of the Nazgûl , used a magical dagger called a " Morgul -blade" to wound Frodo Baggins at Weathertop . The dark magic of

6264-454: The Rings , worn in turn by the protagonists Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. In Letter 211 of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien , the author compared the war-gear of the Rohirrim to the Bayeux Tapestry , made during the Norman Conquest of Anglo-Saxon England. Battle helmets are commonly used by virtually all races in Tolkien's writings. The Rohirrim were partly modelled on the Anglo-Saxons , who wore elaborate helmets ; Éomer 's helmet had

6380-504: The Rings . Long ago, Sauron , the Dark Lord, made the One Ring , a Ring of Power , to enable him to take control of the whole of Middle-earth . Isildur and his brother Anarion – together with their father Elendil , High King of Gondor and Arnor – joined the Last Alliance of Elves (under Gil-galad) and Men against Sauron. The Alliance defeated Sauron at the Battle of Dagorlad, and laid siege to Sauron's Dark Tower, Barad-dûr , in Mordor. After seven years, Sauron came out to challenge

6496-408: The Rohirrim to fight against Saruman. Aragorn fights with the men of Rohan at the Battle of Helm's Deep , in which Saruman's army of orcs is destroyed. Aragorn uses the palantír , a seeing stone, to reveal himself to Sauron as the heir of Isildur , to distract him from Frodo 's approach to Mordor , and to draw Sauron's forces out of Mordor. Aragorn's action causes Sauron to launch his assault on

6612-408: The Shire to bring the One Ring to Rivendell . Frodo and his friends were hoping to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony, but he was not there. A letter from Gandalf helps convince Frodo to trust Aragorn. Aragorn is 87 years old, nearing the prime of life for a Númenórean . With Aragorn's help, the hobbits reach Rivendell despite being pursued by the Nazgûl , servants of Sauron. At Rivendell, Aragorn

6728-407: The Sword of Elendil, Aiglos and Narsil, none could withstand." The Dragon-helm of Dor-lómin, also called the Helm of Hador , is the fabulous helmet of the lords of the House of Hador, including Húrin and Túrin. The helm was made of heavy steel, decorated with gold and runes ; a gold likeness of Glaurung the Dragon was set upon its crest. It was made for the Dwarf-king Azaghâl by Telchar ,

6844-441: The Sword that was Broken , remained an heirloom of Isildur's heirs throughout the Third Age, and were thus inherited by Aragorn. Elvish smiths re-forged the sword for Aragorn before the Fellowship of the Ring began their quest; Aragorn renamed it Andúril (Quenya: Flame of the West ). The reforged Andúril is described as very bright, shining red and white with the light of the sun and moon. The Silmarillion further states that

6960-429: The Wind , Jay Gatsby from The Great Gatsby , and Walter White from Breaking Bad . A tragic hero is the protagonist of a tragedy. Examples include Oedipus from Oedipus Rex and Prince Hamlet from Shakespeare's Hamlet . The protagonist is not always conventionally good. Contrasting the hero protagonist, a villain protagonist is a protagonist who is a villain , driving the story forward regardless of

7076-420: The Witch-king. Battle axes are especially favoured by Dwarves in Tolkien's writings; Gimli uses the battle cry : Axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you! ( Khuzdul : Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu! ). For The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Gimli the Dwarf was assigned various axes of different makes during the course of the films. The Sindarin Elves of Doriath favoured axes as weapons during

SECTION 60

#1732798365997

7192-433: The audience is invested in that story. Tybalt, as an antagonist, opposes Romeo and attempts to thwart the relationship. In Shakespeare's play Hamlet , Prince Hamlet, who seeks revenge for the murder of his father, is the protagonist. The antagonist is the character who most opposes Hamlet, Claudius (though, in many ways, Hamlet is his own antagonist). Sometimes, a work will have a false protagonist , who may seem to be

7308-411: The beautiful elf-maiden Arwen , who has recently returned to Rivendell from her grandparents' home in Lothlorien. Thereafter, Aragorn assumes his role as the sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain , the Rangers of the North . He goes into the wild and lives with the remnants of his people, whose kingdom, Arnor, had been destroyed centuries before. The Rangers helped to guard the Shire , a land inhabited by

7424-435: The beautiful princess (Arwen) and winning the kingdom (Gondor and Arnor); while Frodo, who returns home miserable, with neither Ring nor appreciation by the people of the Shire, gets "defeat and disillusionment—the stark, bitter ending typical of the Iliad , Beowulf , the Morte D'Arthur ". In other words, the two types of hero are not only contrasted, but combined, halves of their legends swapped over. Flieger comments that

7540-461: The best swords (and other war gear) and that Elvish swords glowed blue in the presence of Orcs . Elves generally used straight swords while Orcs generally used curved swords. Both races have exceptions: Egalmoth of Gondolin used a curved sword and the Uruk-hai of Isengard used short, broad blades. Tolkien often mentions the use of shields together with one-handed swords. Knives are mentioned in Tolkien's works, sometimes as backup weapons—such as

7656-407: The blade's design was for main use on horseback, and footage of Arwen at Helm's Deep was ultimately cut. The name is derived from Tolkien's etymological word list written in the 1930s; here Tolkien provides the word hadhathang (dissimilated: havathang, hadhafang ), which he translates as "throng-cleaver", though he never used this name in his writings. Herugrim (Old English: Fierce Sword )

7772-411: The city of Minas Tirith prematurely. To reach the city in time to defend it, Aragorn takes the Paths of the Dead , summoning the Dead Men of Dunharrow. The Dead Men owed allegiance to Aragorn as the heir of Isildur; it had been prophesied by Isildur and Malbeth the Seer that the Dead would one day be summoned to pay their debt for betraying Gondor. With their aid, Aragorn defeats the Corsairs of Umbar at

7888-400: The death of Beleg at the hand of his friend Túrin by Anglachel itself. Túrin asked the sword whether it would slay him swiftly if he cast himself on its point, and it responded at length (the only instance of Gurthang speaking with voice). The depiction of the sword was influenced by that of the sword of the Finnish character Kullervo in the Kalevala . Angrist (Sindarin: Iron-cleaver )

8004-405: The death of the Witch-king . The daggers had varying fates. The Witch-king broke Frodo's blade at the Ford of Bruinen. Sam Gamgee left his beside Frodo in Cirith Ungol ; it was returned to Gandalf , along with Frodo's mithril mail-shirt, by the Mouth of Sauron . Pippin Took used his dagger in the Battle of the Black Gate to slay a Troll . Merry's blade is destroyed during his attack on

8120-479: The difference that the hobbit wore wooden shoes, and was nicknamed Trotter for the "clitter-clap" sound that they produced. He was accounted to be "one of the wild folk – rangers", and he played the same role in Frodo's journey to Rivendell as in The Lord of the Rings . Later Tolkien hesitated about the true identity of "Trotter" for a long time. One of his notes suggested that the Rangers should not be hobbits as originally planned, and that this would mean that Trotter

8236-459: The diminutive hobbits . He becomes known as "Strider" in the Shire and Bree . Aragorn meets and befriends Gandalf the wizard. Aragorn undertakes great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan and of Ecthelion II, the Steward of Gondor. He conceals his true name and identity. His tasks help to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquires experience that he later puts to use in

8352-490: The events of the story and are not as involved within the "main action" of the plot. The supporting protagonist may be telling the story while viewing another character as the main influence of the plot. One example is Nick in The Great Gatsby . Euripides ' play Hippolytus may be considered to have two protagonists, though one at a time. Phaedra is the protagonist of the first half, who dies partway through

8468-475: The evil land of Angmar, and Arvedui, the king of Arnor, died in a shipwreck. After that, the line of the kings of Arnor was maintained by the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, who were raised in Rivendell. The kingdom of Gondor continued, but years later, after the childless King Earnur was lost, Gondor was ruled by stewards. Eventually, Sauron returned to the land of Mordor and openly declared himself. Each Chieftain

8584-471: The evil qualities the main character has. These traits can include being cruel, malicious, and wicked. Examples include Humbert Humbert in Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita and Richard III in the eponymous play by William Shakespeare . When a supporting protagonist appears, the story is told from the perspective of a character who appears to be minor. This character may be more peripheral from

8700-617: The forges of the King under the Mountain ; Bard recites its history, urges it to "go now and speed well", and shoots Smaug. It was lost with the Dragon's corpse in the Long Lake . Dailir is the arrow favoured by Beleg, the great bowman of the First Age of Middle-earth. Beleg was always able to retrieve this arrow for reuse. The Red Arrow is a black-feathered arrow barbed with steel; its tip

8816-427: The former attempts to mimic Jackson and Tolkien, whereas the latter sees fans interpreting and adding to the canon. In Brian Sibley 's 1981 BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings , Aragorn was played by Robert Stephens . Sibley writes that Stephens gave "a mercurial performance, combining nobility and humanity in his portrayal of the returning king whose fate, along with that of all Middle-earth, [hung] on

8932-548: The great Dwarf-craftsman of Nogrod. Azaghâl ruled the neighbouring city of Belegost; he gave it to Maedhros , who gave it to Fingon. Fingon then gave it to Hador, along with the lordship of Dor-lómin. The Axe of Tuor, called Dramborleg (Gnomish: Thudder-Sharp ) in The Book of Lost Tales , is the great axe belonging to Tuor, son of Huor in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth that left wounds like "both

9048-430: The hearts of the inhabitants of Gondor's capital city. His healing abilities are noted by the people of Gondor; as the wise-woman and healer Ioreth says, "The hands of the King are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known". The people hail Aragorn as King that same evening. Despite his immediate success and popularity, and to avoid conflict, he leaves Minas Tirith, refusing to enter it again until he

9164-607: The help of the southern forces, the armies of Gondor and Rohan rally and defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields . Aragorn's daring and success had brought him closer to his own kingship, which was his by right as a direct descendant of Isildur. Gondor had been under the rule of the Stewards of Gondor for centuries, and it was doubted that any of the royal line still lived. The Steward Denethor , who years before had seen Aragorn (then known as Thorongil) as

9280-500: The hoard of the three trolls in The Hobbit , and he carried it throughout his journeys with Bilbo Baggins and the Fellowship of the Ring. It was the mate of Orcrist , and like Orcrist would glow blue whenever orcs were nearby. Glamdring was nicknamed " Beater " by the goblins of the Misty Mountains . See Anglachel Gúthwinë ( Old English : gúð-wine Battle Friend ) is the sword wielded by Éomer, third marshal of

9396-535: The hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took with the help of Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf to Fangorn Forest . He fights in the battle at Helm's Deep and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields . After defeating Sauron's forces in Gondor, he leads the armies of Gondor and Rohan against the Black Gate of Mordor, distracting Sauron's attention and enabling Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee to destroy

9512-482: The hobbits are in "Low Mimetic" mode and characters such as Éomer are in "High Mimetic" mode, Aragorn reaches the level of "Romantic" hero as he is superior in ability and lifespan to those around him. Aragorn has appeared in mainstream films by Ralph Bakshi , Rankin/Bass , the film trilogy by Peter Jackson , and the fan film The Hunt for Gollum . He has also appeared in the BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of

9628-459: The hobbits are in the care of the Ents of Fangorn. 'I serve no man', said Aragorn; 'but the servants of Sauron I pursue into whatever land they may go... I am not weaponless'. Aragorn threw back his cloak. The elven-sheath glittered as he grasped it, and the bright blade of Andúril shone like a sudden flame as he swept it out. 'Elendil!' he cried. 'I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and am called Elessar,

9744-505: The interest she showed towards Aragorn was not one-sided, with suggestions in notes that they would marry at the end of the story. Another proposal was that Éowyn would die to save or avenge Théoden, and Aragorn would never marry after her death. The first mention of Elrond's daughter, named Finduilas , was made in reference to the banner she made for Aragorn, but Tolkien did not give any hint whether she had any further part to play. The references to her marriage with Aragorn came later, but it

9860-639: The knife Angrist (which cut a Silmaril from the crown of Morgoth) and the Helm of Hador (later used by Túrin Turambar ). By the end of the Second Age Narsil was borne by Elendil ; during the Last Alliance of Elves and Men it was broken in two pieces in the war against Sauron . Isildur used the hilt-shard to cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. The two shards, acquiring the additional name

9976-457: The knife gravely affects Frodo's well-being, threatening to turn him into a wraith, especially because its detachable point migrated in Frodo's body for more than two weeks before it could be extracted, thus causing great damage. Recurring ill effects from the wound contribute to Frodo's eventual departure to Valinor . According to the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , the weapon may owe something to

10092-412: The making, comes close to a canonical narrative, while Hunt for Gollum expands a canonical incident. Alberto notes, too, that Born of Hope nods to Mortensen's physical appearance as Aragorn in both casting and costume. As for Hunt for Gollum , Alberto writes, the narrative arc requires the viewer to know from the Lord of the Rings why Aragorn would be searching for Gollum, while his meeting Gandalf in

10208-484: The original Narsil already shone in such a manner, but its light was extinguished when it was broken. The reforged blade had "a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes". Orcrist (Sindarin: Goblin-cleaver ), a sword in The Hobbit . was originally forged in Gondolin and was nicknamed " Biter " by the goblins of the Misty Mountains. After finding it in

10324-436: The play. Her stepson, the titular Hippolytus, assumes the dominant role in the second half of the play. In Henrik Ibsen 's play The Master Builder , the protagonist is the architect Halvard Solness. The young woman, Hilda Wangel, whose actions lead to the death of Solness, is the antagonist. In Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet , Romeo is the protagonist. He is actively in pursuit of his relationship with Juliet, and

10440-409: The poet did not assign or create the protagonist as well as other terms for actors such as deuteragonist and tritagonist primarily because he only gave actors their appropriate part. However, these actors were assigned their specific areas at the stage with the protagonist always entering from the middle door or that the dwelling of the deuteragonist (second most important character) should be on

10556-579: The port of Pelargir . Aragorn releases the Dead Men and uses the Corsairs' ships to sail up the Anduin to Minas Tirith with his Rangers and a large contingent of men from the southern regions of Gondor. As they approach Minas Tirith, Aragorn unfurls the royal standard that Arwen had made for him, showing both the White Tree of Gondor and the jewelled crown and seven stars of the House of Elendil . With

10672-671: The protagonist Hazel, escape their warren after seeing a vision of its destruction, starting a perilous journey to find a new home. Narsil The weapons and armour of Middle-earth are all those mentioned J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy writings, such as The Hobbit , The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion . Tolkien modelled his fictional warfare on the Ancient and Early Medieval periods of history. His depiction of weapons and armour particularly reflect Northern European culture as seen in Beowulf and

10788-432: The protagonist develop as a result. The term protagonist comes from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής ( prōtagōnistḗs )  'actor who plays the chief or first part', combined of πρῶτος ( prôtos , 'first') and ἀγωνιστής ( agōnistḗs , 'actor, competitor'), which stems from ἀγών ( agṓn , 'contest') via ἀγωνίζομαι ( agōnízomai , 'I contend for a prize'). The earliest known examples of

10904-510: The protagonist, but then may disappear unexpectedly. The character Marion in Alfred Hitchcock 's film Psycho (1960) is an example. A novel may contain a number of narratives, each with its own protagonist. Alexander Solzhenitsyn 's The First Circle , for example, depicts a variety of characters imprisoned and living in a gulag camp. Leo Tolstoy 's War and Peace depicts fifteen major characters involved in or affected by

11020-480: The right hand, and the tritagonist (third most important character), the left. In Ancient Greece, the protagonist is distinguished from the term "hero", which was used to refer to a human who became a semi-divine being in the narrative. In literary terms, a hero (masculine) or heroine (feminine) protagonist is typically admired for their achievements and noble qualities. Heroes are lauded for their strength, courage, virtuousness, and honor, and are considered to be

11136-791: The sign back yonder rightly" could easily have been spoken by Bumppo. On the other hand, they write, Aragorn's awareness of "a historical and mythological past", and his continuity with those, is "emphatically lacking" in Cooper's writings. The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey evaluates the literary status of Aragorn and The Lord of the Rings using Northrop Frye 's Anatomy of Criticism . He writes that figures like Éomer of Rohan and Faramir of Gondor are, in Frye's terms, "superior in degree to other men but not to their natural environment", which places them in Frye's "High Mimetic" literary mode. The hobbits are often in "Low Mimetic" mode, or even (like Bilbo) "Ironic". Aragorn, Shippey states, while not being

11252-484: The story was completed. He tried several experimental translations of "Trotter" to Sindarin : Padathir , Du-finnion , and Rimbedir , with Ethelion possibly an equivalent of "Peregrin" (Boffin). Before the later title "the Dúnadan" ("Man of the West") emerged, he used Tarkil ( Quenya for "noble Man") as another synonym for Númenórean . Tolkien hesitated for some time over Strider's "real" name. Although Aragorn

11368-588: The success or failure of Frodo's quest." On stage, Aragorn was portrayed by Evan Buliung in the three-hour production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006 in Toronto , Ontario , Canada. In the 1969 parody Bored of the Rings , Aragorn is portrayed as "Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt". In 2023, the expansion set The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth was released for the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering . Its depiction of Aragorn as

11484-550: The sword Andúril, and crossbows are only mentioned in connection to hunting by Númenoreans in their lost homeland of Númenor. Sometimes individual arrows are given special mention in Tolkien's works. In The Hobbit , the Black Arrow was a royal heirloom used by Bard the Bowman to kill the dragon Smaug . In The Lord of the Rings , the Red Arrow was a token used by Gondor to summon its allies in time of need. In

11600-621: The tradition of the " elf-shot " found in Old English medical texts and charms, where it denotes illnesses of presumed supernatural origin. Tom Bombadil recovers four magical daggers, forged by the Men of Westernesse to fight the powers of Angmar , from a tomb guarded by the Barrow-wight . After opening the barrow and freeing the hobbits, Tom Bombadil gives them the weapons, saying "Old knives are long enough as swords for hobbit-people". One of these "Barrow-blades" – that given to Merry Brandybuck – proves instrumental in bringing about

11716-557: The two together mark the end of the old, with Frodo's bitter end and the disappearance of the Ring, the Elves, and much else that was beautiful; and the start of the new, with Aragorn's rise to the throne of Gondor and Arnor, and a world of Men. Aragorn was voiced by John Hurt in Ralph Bakshi 's 1978 animated film version of The Lord of the Rings , and by Theodore Bikel in the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of

11832-400: The unnamed long knife of Legolas the archer. However, some individual knives are given more significance through naming (e.g. Sting , see below). In " The Scouring of the Shire ", Saruman attempts to stab Frodo with a knife, but is foiled by the mithril shirt worn under his jacket. Shortly afterwards Saruman's throat was fatally cut with a knife borne by Wormtongue . For The Lord of

11948-519: The various pairings were "Elfhelm" and Eldakar with "Elfstone" and Eldamir ; and Ingrim with "Ingold". The Catholic author Joseph Pearce and others have conjectured, without direct evidence, that Aragorn's name is derived from the Kingdom of Aragon , and leaders such as Catherine of Aragon whose heritage is linked to the crown of Castile and crown of Aragon . The archaeologist Max Adams suggests that Tolkien may have based Aragorn on Oswald ,

12064-549: The weapon after using it to fend off the giant spiders in Mirkwood forest, then later passed it on to Frodo to use in his quest to destroy the One Ring. Sting glows blue when orcs are nearby, as in Moria . In Europe, bilbo blades were exceptionally fine swords, named after the city of Bilbao which made them. It is possible that Tolkien connected Bilbo's name with his acquisition of this weapon. In Peter Jackson 's The Lord of

12180-484: Was Fosco Took (Bilbo's first cousin), who "vanished when a lad, owing to Gandalf". This story was further elaborated, making Trotter a nephew of Bilbo, named Peregrin Boffin, and an elder cousin of Frodo. He was said to have run away after he came of age, some 20 years before Bilbo left the Shire, and had helped Gandalf in tracking Gollum later. A hint was also given as to why Trotter wore wooden shoes: he had been captured by

12296-580: Was a knife made by the great weaponsmith Telchar of Nogrod, and borne by Curufin. Beren, who had taken it from Curufin, used it to cut a magical Silmaril jewel out of Morgoth 's Iron Crown; as Beren attempted to remove another, the knife snapped. In the earliest version of Beren's story in The Book of Lost Tales , he uses an ordinary household knife; the element of Curufin's involvement in Beren's affairs came later. Anguirel (Sindarin: Iron of Eternity )

12412-462: Was crowned King. To give Frodo the best chance of fulfilling his quest, Aragorn leads an army to make a diversionary feint on the Black Gate of Mordor in the Battle of the Morannon . The army has no realistic chance of victory. Sauron attacks with overwhelming force. While the battle takes place, the Ring is destroyed, and Sauron and his forces are utterly vanquished. Upon Sauron's defeat, Aragorn

12528-787: Was dominated by Númenor. The Númenórean helmet, the karma , reached particularly elaborate forms. Those of the Uinendili , a guild of mariners, were "made of overlapping plates of metal, the 'fish-crest' of leather embossed and coloured". Tolkien's coloured drawing of the karma of a Uinendili captain features on the cover of Unfinished Tales . Tolkien emulated his Northern European mythological and literary sources in having his characters give names to their weapons , marking these out as important aspects of character and sometimes as ancient heirlooms. Named weapons in Medieval literature include Hrunting and Nægling in Beowulf , Tyrfing in

12644-458: Was either a man, or a hobbit who associated himself with the Rangers and was "very well known" (within the story). The latter suggestion was linked to an early comment of Bingo: "I keep on feeling that I have seen him somewhere before". Tolkien considered that Trotter might be Bilbo Baggins himself, but soon rejected that idea after Aragorn identified himself. Another suggestion was that Trotter

12760-419: Was explicitly stated only near the completion of the book. Only in his work on the appendices for The Lord of the Rings did Tolkien record the full Tale of Aragorn and Arwen . A passing idea was that Galadriel gave her Ring to Aragorn, and that he would accordingly be titled the "Lord of the Ring". Tolkien retained the original nickname "Trotter" for a long time, deciding to change it to "Strider" only after

12876-695: Was forthcoming from Rohan. The Red Arrow has a historical antecedent in the Old English poem Elene in which Constantine the Great summoned an army of mounted Visigoths to his aid against the Huns by sending an arrow as a "token of war". Aeglos (Sindarin: Snow Point , i.e. icicle; also spelt Aiglos ) is the spear wielded by the Elf-King Gil-galad . It was said that "the Spear of Gil-galad and

12992-522: Was given a name with the Kingly prefix of Ar(a)- , to signify his right to the Kingship of Arnor. Aragorn is the son of Arathorn II and his wife Gilraen. Gilraen's mother, Ivorwen, prophesies that if Arathorn II and Gilraen "wed now, hope may be born for our people; but if they delay, it will not come while this age lasts". Aragorn is the heir to the throne of Gondor and of the lost realm of Arnor. When he

13108-487: Was painted red. It was a token used by Gondor to summon Rohan in time of dire need. In The Return of the King , the Red Arrow was presented to Théoden by Hirgon with the message: "...the Lord Denethor asks for all your strength and all your speed, lest Gondor should fall at last." Théoden pledged his assistance, but Hirgon was killed during the ride back to Minas Tirith, leading Denethor to believe that no help

13224-563: Was reforged and renamed Gurthang (Sindarin: Iron of Death ). Túrin used Gurthang to kill Glaurung, the Father of Dragons , and later used the sword to take his own life in recompense for the accidental slaying of Beleg and the unjust slaying of Brandir. The stories endow the sword with a personality; Melian the Maia perceived malice in it as it was given to Beleg Cúthalion, and the elf Gwindor observed that Anglachel (so named then) seemed to mourn

13340-763: Was the first suggestion when his Mannish descent was determined, the name was changed repeatedly. At one point Tolkien decided that an Elvish name did not suit a Man, and thus altered it from Aragorn via "Elfstone" to "Ingold", an Old English name with "ing-" representing "West". Later he introduced a new plot element: Galadriel's gift of a green stone, and reverted to Elfstone to make an additional connection. Among other names, Tolkien considered "Elfstan", "Elfmere", "Elf-friend", "Elfspear", "Elfwold" and "Erkenbrand", with Elvish forms: Eldamir , Eldavel , Eledon , Qendemir . The name of Aragorn's father also passed through many transient forms: Tolkien paired Aramir or Celegorn with Aragorn before settling upon Arathorn ; among

13456-467: Was written that Tolkien finally settled on making Trotter a man, introducing him from the beginning as Aragorn , a "descendant of the ancient men of the North , and one of Elrond's household". The development of Aragorn's connection to Gondor was long and complex, as was his association with Boromir. Initially, it is said that Aragorn's forefathers were the exiles of Númenor who ruled over the people of Ond (the early name of Gondor) but were driven out by

#996003