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131-585: Rivendell ( Sindarin : Imladris ) is a valley in J. R. R. Tolkien 's fictional world of Middle-earth , representing both a homely place of sanctuary and a magical Elvish otherworld. It is an important location in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings , being the place where the quest to destroy the One Ring began. Rivendell's feeling of peace may have contributed to the popularity of The Lord of

262-776: A Christian , was extremely careful with dates and timelines, but that hardly any readers notice that the Fellowship sets out from Rivendell on its quest on 25 December, the date of Christmas , and succeeds, destroying the Ring and causing the fall of Sauron, on 25 March, the date in Anglo-Saxon tradition for the Crucifixion . The Tolkien scholar Verlyn Flieger writes that both Frodo and Aragorn receive their renewed magic swords in Rivendell, marking them out as heroes in

393-673: A lingua franca of all Elves and many Men, and as the language of the Noldor in exile, was based on Western Sindarin but was strongly influenced by Doriathrin. During the Second Age Sindarin was a lingua franca for all Elves and their friends (thus it was used to inscribe the West-gate of Moria ), until it was displaced for Men by Westron , which arose in the Third Age as a language heavily influenced by Sindarin. In Gondor at

524-563: 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

655-486: A "narrow bridge of stone without a parapet" on entering Rivendell. Matthew T. Dickerson , in the J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia , writes that Rivendell consistently represents a sanctuary, a place that felt like home, throughout the legendarium. The journalist Jane Ciabattari writes that a major reason for the popularity of Lord of the Rings was the desire for escape among the Vietnam War generation. She compares

786-476: 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

917-542: 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

1048-660: A distinct tongue from the First Clan Elves who also lived with them and spoke Quenya, and so they developed Old Noldorin from what Tolkien called Koreldarin : "the tongue of those who left Middle-earth, and came to Kór , the hill of the Elves in Valinor." Tolkien created Sindarin in around 1944. He used much of Noldorin and blended it with "Ilkorin Doriathrin" and added in some new features. On that matter, he wrote

1179-588: A few scattered and hidden clans of the old Northern group and except in so far as adopted by the Fëanorians , who had moved east. So that in the days of the Wars, Sindarin was really divided into 'West Sindarin' (including all the Noldor of Finrod and Fingon), 'East Sindarin' (of the North dialect) was only preserved by the house of Feanor; and 'Central' or Doriath ." In the hidden city of Gondolin, an isolated land,

1310-690: A much larger territory, and included Doriathrin or "Central Sindarin". " Círdan was a Telerin Elf, one of the highest of those who were not transported to Valinor but became known as the Sindar, the Grey-elves; he was akin to Olwë , one of the two kings of the Teleri, and lord of those who departed over the Great Sea. He was thus also akin to Elwë , Olwë's elder brother, acknowledged as high-king of all

1441-465: A mysterious Elvish effect of "rich and continuous uncertainty, a pattern forever being glimpsed but never quite grasped." Rebecca Ankeny comments that Tolkien uses verse, too, to signal the horror of the Elves when Gandalf speaks the dark lord's rhyme of the Rings aloud, in the Black Speech , threatening the end of Rivendell. The Tolkien scholar Gergely Nagy notes that Tolkien wanted to present

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1572-425: A peculiar dialect developed: "This differed from the standard (of Doriath) (a) in having Western and some Northern elements, and (b) in incorporating a good many Noldorin-Quenya words in more a less Sindarized forms. Thus the city was usually called Gondolin (from Q. Ondolin(dë) ) with simple replacement of g- , not Goenlin or Goenglin [as it would have been in standard Sindarin]". 'Beleriandic' Sindarin as

1703-521: 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

1834-478: 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

1965-742: A race-group: Nogothrim "the race of the Dwarves", from pl. Nogoth (sg. Nogon , "Dwarf"). There exist another such ending -lir , as in Nogothlir . The endings -rim , -hoth , and -waith , Sindarin words meaning 'multitude', 'host', and 'people' respectively, are added to a singular noun to form a 2nd plural, e.g. Gaurhoth "the Werewolf-horde" and Gaurwaith "wolvish folk", from Gaur "werewolf". Most Sindarin plurals are formed by vowel change and are characterised by i-mutation . The Noldorin term for this

2096-440: 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

2227-513: A side note on his "Comparative Tables": "Doriath[rin], etc. = Noldorin ((?)viz. as it used to be)". The Ilkorin tongues of 1930–50 spoken in Beleriand, e.g. Doriathrin and the other dialects, were not as much based on Welsh as Noldorin was, and Tolkien wanted his new "tongue of Beleriand" to be a Welsh-type language. In Tolkien's words, "The changes worked on Sindarin [from Common Eldarin] very closely (and deliberately) resemble those which produced

2358-519: A weary traveller could find there, with lyrics such as "Elfin songs and endless nights / Sweet wine and soft relaxing lights / Time will never touch you / Here in this enchanted place". Sindarin language The word Sindarin is Quenya for Grey-elven, since it was the language of the Grey Elves of Beleriand . These were Elves of the Third Clan who remained behind in Beleriand after

2489-416: A welcoming home, repeating the pattern set in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings of "easy-going but tidy bachelor indulgence" from Bilbo's Bag End hobbit-hole onwards; despite Arwen, there is hardly anything "of the feminine". Shippey states that Frodo has "to be dug out ... of no fewer than five 'Homely Houses' ", of which Rivendell is the last. In Peter Jackson 's 2001 film The Fellowship of

2620-522: A young adult, he created an entire family of constructed languages spoken by Elves and a secondary world where these could evolve. One of these languages was created in around 1915, inspired by the Celtic languages , particularly Literary Welsh . Tolkien called it Goldogrin or "Gnomish" in English. He wrote a substantial dictionary of Gnomish and a grammar. This is the first conceptual stage of

2751-580: 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 the hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took with

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2882-488: Is prestanneth "affection of vowels". In an earlier stage of the language, plurals were marked by the suffix -ī , to which the root vowel(s) assimilated , becoming fronted (and raised if low ); later the final -ī was lost, leaving the changed root vowel(s) as the sole marker of the plural. (This process is very similar to the Germanic umlaut that produced the English forms man/men , goose/geese , and closer still to

3013-557: Is a direct translation or calque into English of the Sindarin Imladris , both meaning "deep valley". The name Rivendell is formed by two English elements: "riven" (split, cloven) and "dell" (valley). Imladris was rendered " Karningul " in Westron , the "Common Tongue" of Middle-earth represented as English in the text of The Lord of the Rings. The house of Elrond in Rivendell is also called The Last Homely House East of

3144-469: 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 the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron . As

3275-616: Is based upon the valley of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland, where Tolkien had gone hiking. Tolkien stated directly that "From Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains, the journey ... including the glissade [of Bilbo and the Dwarves] down the slithering stones into the pine woods ... is based on my adventures in Switzerland in 1911". The medievalist Marjorie Burns writes that Bilbo's approach to Rivendell parallels

3406-589: 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

3537-405: 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 , a creature who had previously possessed the Ring. This hunt leads Aragorn across Rhovanion ; he finally captures Gollum in

3668-606: Is not the place for technical phonology and grammatical history. I hope to leave these things firmly sketched and recorded. " [emphasis added] Tolkien wrote many pieces in Sindarin. He made an effort to give to his Elvish languages the feel and taste of natural languages . He wanted to infuse in them a kind of life, while fitting them to a very personal aesthetic taste. He wanted to build languages primarily to satisfy his personal urge and not because he had some universal design in mind. In Tolkien's words: "Sindarin (Grey-elven)

3799-615: 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

3930-731: Is properly the name of the languages of the Elvish inhabitants of Beleriand, the later almost drowned land west of the Blue Mountains. Quenya was the language of the Exiled High-Elves returning to Middle-earth. The Exiles , being relatively few in number, eventually adopted a form of Sindarin: a southern dialect (of which the purest and most archaic variety was used in Doriath ruled by Thingol). This they used in daily speech, and even adapted their own personal names to its form. But

4061-723: Is said to be more changeful than Quenya, and there were during the First Age a number of regional dialects . The tongue used in Doriath (home of Thingol , King of the Sindar), known as Doriathrin , was said by many Grey-elves to be the highest and most noble form of the language. In the Second Age , many Men of Númenor spoke Sindarin fluently. Their descendants, the Dúnedain of Gondor and Arnor, continued to speak Sindarin in

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4192-582: Is set forth by Eriol at the teaching of Bronweg's son Elfrith or 'Littleheart' (and he was so named for the youth and wonder of his heart) those names and words that are used in these tales from either the tongue of the Elves of Kor as at the time spoken in the Lonely Isle, or from that related one of the Noldoli their kin whom they wrested from Melko. Here first are they which appear in the Tale of Tuor and

4323-604: 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 is not told about his heritage. At the age of 20, after Aragorn has done great deeds in

4454-476: 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

4585-475: 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 is two years old, his father is killed while pursuing orcs . Aragorn is fostered in Rivendell by Elrond , who

4716-412: Is triggered in various ways: The following table outlines how different consonants are affected by the three mutations. The apostrophe ’ indicates elision , and is not necessarily written. Those forms of lenited p that are pronounced f are written ph as mentioned above. Noldorin words beginning in b- , d- , or g- , which descend from older mb- , nd- , or ng- are affected differently by

4847-494: Is voiced to [v] when final or before /n/ , but remains written as ⟨f⟩ . The sound [f] is written ⟨ph⟩ when final ( alph , "swan") or when used to spell a lenited /p/ ( i-pheriannath , "the halflings") which becomes [f] . Old Sindarin, like Common Brittonic and Old Irish , also had a spirant m or nasal v (IPA: /ṽ/ ), which was transcribed as mh . This merged with /v/ in later Sindarin. Phonemically, Sindarin ⟨ch⟩ aligns with

4978-775: 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 the Shire to bring the One Ring to Rivendell . Frodo and his friends were hoping to meet Gandalf at the Prancing Pony, but he

5109-508: 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, the Elfstone, Dúnadan,

5240-636: 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

5371-744: The Great Journey . Their language became estranged from that of their kin who sailed over sea. Sindarin derives from an earlier language called Common Telerin , which evolved from Common Eldarin , the tongue of the Eldar before their divisions, e.g., those Elves who decided to follow the Vala Oromë and undertook the Great March to Valinor . Even before that the Eldar Elves spoke the original speech of all Elves, or Primitive Quendian . In

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5502-705: The Third Age (the setting of The Lord of the Rings ), Sindarin was the language most commonly spoken by most Elves in the Western part of Middle-earth. Sindarin is the language usually referred to as the Elf-Tongue or Elven-Tongue in The Lord of the Rings . When the Quenya -speaking Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they adopted the Sindarin language. Quenya and Sindarin were related, with many cognate words but differing greatly in grammar and structure. Sindarin

5633-475: 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 ,

5764-536: The military-industrial complex with Mordor , and suggests that they yearned for a place of peace, just as Frodo Baggins felt an "overwhelming longing to rest and remain at peace… in Rivendell". Burns writes that Rivendell and the other Elvish realm of Lothlórien parallel the Celtic Otherworld (in Irish, Tír na nÓg ), being hard to find, but if one is admitted and welcomed, one crosses a river, symbolising

5895-406: The " Portmeirion -like idyll" of the portrayed Rivendell. Rosebury describes the design as " post-Ruskinian ", as in pre-Raphaelite paintings, William Morris 's Arts and Crafts designs, and Art Nouveau architectural details. These differ from Tolkien's own illustrations , but in a way, Rosebury suggests, that Tolkien would have liked as it matches his dislike of industrialised manufacture. In

6026-631: 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 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

6157-411: 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

6288-425: 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

6419-405: 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 the help of the southern forces,

6550-425: The Elves, especially the Noldor and Sindar. By the Third Age, however, the Dwarves were estranged from the Elves and no longer routinely learned their language, preferring to use Westron . For Tolkien's constructed languages one must distinguish two timelines of development: Tolkien was interested in languages from an early age, and developed several constructed languages while still a teenager. Eventually, as

6681-400: The Exiles of Gondolin , first among these those ones in the Gnome-speech ( lam Goldrin ). Ainon now these were great beings who dwelt with Ilúvatar as the Elves name him (but the Gnomes Ilador or Ilathon ) ere the world grew, and some of these dwelt after in the world and ere the Gods or Ainur as say the Elves. A few years later, c. 1925, Tolkien began anew the grammar and lexicon of

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6812-444: 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

6943-416: 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 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

7074-469: The Necromancer from his fortress in Dol Guldur . The protagonists of The Hobbit take advice from Elrond in Rivendell. The protagonists of The Lord of the Rings meet in Rivendell, attend the Council of Elrond , and decide on the quest to destroy the One Ring . The hero Aragorn 's sword is reforged as Andúril by Rivendell's smiths. When the One Ring is destroyed, Elrond's ring loses its power, and he leaves to sail for Valinor . The Rivendell valley

7205-399: 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

7336-404: 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 the North and Gondor in the South. Isildur was killed by Orcs soon afterwards at the Gladden Fields beside the River Anduin , and

7467-460: The Ring , Rivendell was represented by Kaitoke Regional Park , New Zealand , though the waterfalls were added with computer-generated imagery . Brian Rosebury comments that Jackson presents the Elves as sophisticated, where Tolkien made them close to nature. All the same, he writes, the film Rivendell's "architecture and ornaments are dominated by natural motifs", suggesting "integration with nature, but at one remove", something that works well for

7598-404: The Ring Vilya , providing him with the power to protect Rivendell and slow the passage of time in its hidden valley: indeed, Rivendell kept its own calendar. Rivendell survived repeated attacks in the Third Age by the armies of the Witch-king of Angmar . Rivendell held the heirlooms of the Rangers of the North from the lost kingdom of Arnor , including the shards of Elendil 's sword Narsil ,

7729-403: 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 the evil land of Angmar, and Arvedui, the king of Arnor, died in a shipwreck. After that, the line of the kings of Arnor

7860-461: The Rings , the Great East Road did not, in Tolkien's view, lead through Rivendell: Rivendell was maintained as a hidden valley away from the road to the High Pass. Like Hobbiton , it is at about the same latitude as Tolkien's workplace, Oxford . Rivendell was founded in the Second Age after the dark lord Sauron 's destruction of the Elvish land of Eregion . Rivendell remained as the only Elven settlement in eastern Eriador; Gil-galad gave Elrond

7991-448: The Rings during the war-troubled 1960s. Scholars have noted that Rivendell was the home of Elvish song, from the hymn to Elbereth , recalling Tolkien's Catholicism , to the complex Song of Eärendil with its multiple poetic devices . Others have written that it resembles the Celtic Otherworld of Tír na nÓg ; and that it physically recalls the valley of Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland where Tolkien had gone hiking in 1911. Rivendell

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8122-414: The Sceptre of Annúminas, and the Star of Elendil. Elrond fostered the children of the heirs to Arnor's throne, the last being Aragorn . While in Rivendell, Aragorn met and fell in love with Elrond's daughter, Arwen . They were married after he was crowned king of both Gondor and Arnor. Sauron's enemies including Elrond formed the White Council , which met in Rivendell, as when the Council decided to eject

8253-420: The Sea, alluding to the wilderness ( Rhovanion ) that lies east of the Misty Mountains . Rivendell lay in eastern Eriador at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Bruinen (one of the main approaches to Rivendell comes from the nearby Ford of Bruinen ), well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Hithaeglir or Misty Mountains . Contrary to the map of western Middle-earth published in The Lord of

8384-452: The Sindarin language. At the same time Tolkien conceived a History of the Elves and wrote it in the Book of Lost Tales . Gnomish was spoken by the Gnomes or Noldoli , the Second Clan of Elves , and Elfin was the other tongue spoken by the great majority of the Elves of the Lonely Isle. The beginning of the "Name-list of the Fall of Gondolin ", one of the Lost Tales , gives a good example of both languages (Gnomish and Elfin): "Here

8515-416: The Sindarin of the High-elves was (naturally) somewhat affected by Quenya, and contained some Quenya elements. Sindarin is also loosely applied to the related languages of the Elves of the same origin as the Grey Elves of Beleriand, who lived in Eriador and further East." The divergence of Sindarin (Old Sindarin) begun first into a Northern or Mithrimin group and a Southern group. The Southern group had

8646-498: The Teleri in Beleriand, even after he withdrew to the guarded realm of Doriath. But Círdan and his people remained in many ways distinct from the rest of the Sindar. They retained the old name Teleri (in later Sindarin form Telir , or Telerrim ) and remained in many ways a separate folk, speaking even in later days a more archaic language." So during the First Age , before the return of the Noldor, there were four dialects of Sindarin: Doriathrin preserved many archaic features. Unlike

8777-508: The Third Age. Sindarin was first written using the Cirth , an Elvish runic alphabet. Later, it was usually written in the Tengwar (Quenya for 'letters') – a script invented by the elf Fëanor . Tolkien based the phonology and some of the grammar of Sindarin on Literary Welsh , and Sindarin displays some of the consonant mutations that characterize the Celtic languages . The Dwarves rarely taught their language to others, so they learned both Quenya and Sindarin in order to communicate with

8908-505: The Welsh i-affection plurals in forms like gair/geiriau and car/ceir .) The resulting plural patterns are: Vowels not listed do not undergo any change, such as /y/ remains as /y/ , meaning that it is possible for some words to have the same form in the singular and plural. Sindarin has a series of consonant mutations , varying between dialects as follows. The mutations of "early conceptual Noldorin" are defined in Tolkien's Lam na Ngoluith, Early Noldorin Grammar . Mutation

9039-456: 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

9170-454: 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 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

9301-436: 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

9432-669: 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 the port of Pelargir . Aragorn releases

9563-677: 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, the beautiful elf-maiden Arwen , who has recently returned to Rivendell from her grandparents' home in Lothlorien. Thereafter, Aragorn assumes his role as

9694-572: The complex set of writings of The Silmarillion as a seemingly-genuine collection of tales and myths within the frame of his fictional Middle-earth; he modified The Lord of the Rings to ascribe the documents to Bilbo, supposedly written in the years he spent in Rivendell, and preserved in the fictitious Red Book of Westmarch , its name alluding to the Red Book of Hergest . Burns writes that Rivendell, "the Last Homely House", offers

9825-490: The dead - have long been seen as clues to overt Messianic overtones. Karen Nikakis writes that Aragorn fits 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

9956-587: 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

10087-435: The early fantasy writer and translator of Norse legend William Morris 's approach through the wilds of Iceland to a place he called "Water-dale" ( Vatnsdale ); both ride across uplands dotted with patches of green, becoming extremely tired; both then cross narrow ravines, and bogs; and both arrive at a hidden valley that offers shelter and comfort. In another place, Morris crosses a "narrow, bridge-like rock", just as Bilbo faces

10218-474: The end of the Third Age, Sindarin was still spoken daily by a few noble Men in the city Minas Tirith . Aragorn , raised in the safety of the Elvish stronghold of Rivendell , spoke it fluently. Sindarin was designed with a Welsh-like phonology . Stress is as in Latin: on the penult if that is heavy (a closed syllable, long vowel or diphthong) and on the antepenult if the penult is light. The phoneme /f/

10349-603: The epic tradition of Sigurd and Arthur , at the start of their quest . Shippey contrasts the versions of the Old Walking Song sung by Bilbo and Frodo. Bilbo follows the "Road ... with eager feet", hoping to reach the peace of Rivendell, to retire and take his ease; whereas Frodo sings "with weary feet", hoping somehow to reach Mordor bearing the Ring, and to try to destroy it in the Cracks of Doom : diametrically opposed destinations and errands. He notes that Rivendell

10480-438: The exception of Doriathrin, Sindarin adopted some Quenya features after the return of the Noldor, as well as unique sound changes devised by the Noldor (who loved changing languages): "It was the Noldor who in fact stabilized and made improvements to the 'Common Sindarin' of the days of the Wars, and it was based on West Sindarin. The old North dialect practically died out except in place names as Dorlomin, Hithlum , etc. but for

10611-632: 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 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 ,

10742-521: 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 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

10873-428: 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

11004-482: 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

11135-661: 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 the Rohirrim to fight against Saruman. Aragorn fights with

11266-588: 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 the One Ring . Aragorn is proclaimed King by

11397-497: The inevitable water crossing that divides the rest of Middle-earth from the inner core of every Elven realm. Burns notes that both "Riven" and "dell" suggest a low place into which one must descend; and that a descent is characteristic of Celtic tales of entry into the underground realm of the Tuatha Dé Danann , whose chiefs each rule a burial mound. The philologist and Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey remarks that Tolkien,

11528-508: 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

11659-479: 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 the Misty Mountains via the pass of Caradhras . Their attempt fails in a violent storm. Instead, the Fellowship travels through

11790-566: The last diphthong finishes a word, it is spelt aw . There are also diphthongs ae and oe with no English counterparts, similar to pronouncing a or o respectively in the same syllable as one pronounces an e (as in p e t); IPA [aɛ, ɔɛ] . Tolkien had described dialects (such as Doriathrin) and variations in pronunciations (such as that of Gondor), and other pronunciations of ae and oe undoubtedly existed. Tolkien wrote that he gave Sindarin "a linguistic character very like (though not identical with) British-Welsh ... because it seems to fit

11921-450: 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

12052-519: The love of the Noldor for making linguistic changes. Beren 's heritage was clear to Thingol of Doriath as he spoke the North Sindarin of his homeland. "Chief characteristics (of North Sindarin was the) preservation of p, t, k after nasals and l . Intervocalic m remained. No u and o and i/e remained distinct – no a mutation of i . S was unlenited initially. H was preserved medially. tt, pp, kk > t, p, k medially." With

12183-462: 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

12314-399: 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 the city of Minas Tirith prematurely. To reach

12445-612: 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 the Fellowship, Merry and Pippin, are captured by orcs. Aragorn, Legolas , and Gimli set off to track

12576-503: The modern and medieval Welsh from ancient Celtic, so that in the result Sindarin has a marked Welsh style, and the relations between it and Quenya closely resemble those between Welsh and Latin." Tolkien did not provide a detailed description of the language in published works such as The Lord of the Rings , but he did say that "A precise account, with drawings and other aids, of Dwarvish smith-practices, Hobbit -pottery, Numerorean medicine and philosophy, and so on would interfere with

12707-415: The mutations: Many of the mutations of Noldorin were taken into Sindarin a few years later. The Sindarin word gwath "shadow" becomes i 'wath , "the shadow". David Salo 's A Gateway to Sindarin proposes a more complex set of mutations, based on extrapolation from the Sindarin corpus, as follows (empty cells indicate no change): Aragorn Aragorn ( Sindarin: [ˈaraɡɔrn] )

12838-461: The narrative [of the Lord of the Rings ], or swell the Appendices. So too, would complete grammars and lexical collection of the languages. Any attempt at bogus 'completeness' would reduce the thing to a 'model', a kind of imaginary dolls house of pseudo-history. Much hidden and unexhibited work is needed to give the nomenclature a 'feel' of verisimilitude. But this story [ The Lord of the Rings ]

12969-406: 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 the hobbits are in the care of

13100-425: The other Sindarin dialects, in his linguistic writings: "Doriathrin preserved in common use the dual of nouns, pronouns, and verbal personal inflexions, as well as a clear distinction between 'general' or 'collective' plurals (as elenath ), and 'particular' plurals (as elin ). ... But it was none-the-less in a few but important points of phonology marked by changes not universal in Sindarin. Most notable among these

13231-469: The other dialects, it remained free from Quenya influences. The "accent" of Doriath was also quite recognisable, so that after Túrin had left Doriath he kept a Doriathrin accent until his death, which immediately pinpointed his origin to speakers of other dialects of Sindarin. "The post-war 'Beleriandic' as lingua franca and as a language of Noldor was strongly influenced by Doriath." Tolkien set out much about Doriathrin morphology, and how it contrasts with

13362-406: The other velar consonants like ⟨c⟩ , ⟨g⟩ , ⟨w⟩ , etc. but is phonetically the voiceless uvular fricative /χ/ . An acute signifies a long vowel (á, é, etc.). In a monosyllabic word, a circumflex is used (â, ê, etc.). In Old Sindarin, there was a vowel similar to German ö (IPA: [ œ ] ), which Tolkien mostly transcribed as œ . Although this

13493-606: 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 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

13624-630: The period of counterculture in the Western world of the 1960s and 1970s, a commune called Maos Lyst ( Mao 's Delight) was founded on the island of Zealand , Denmark , in 1968, its inhabitants replacing their surnames with Kløvedal , the Danish for Rivendell. Several of them later became well-known cultural personalities in the country. The Rivendell Winery operated from 1987 to 2008 in New York's Hudson River Valley . The Tolkien Ensemble set all

13755-418: The plural with an ending (usually -in ), e.g. Drû , pl. Drúin "wild men, Woses , Púkel-Men". Others form the plural through vowel change, e.g. golodh and gelydh , "lore master, sage" (obsolete as a tribal name before the Noldor came back to Beleriand); Moredhel , pl. Moredhil , "Dark-Elves". Still others form their plurals through some combination of the two, and a few do not change in

13886-525: The plural: Belair , "Beleriandic-Elf/Elves" is singular and plural. The other system of number was called by Tolkien 2nd plural or collective number. The nouns in this system form it usually by adding a suffix to the plural (as in Welsh); for example -ath , as in elenath , "all the stars (in the sky)", but not always, as in Drúath . Another ending of the 2nd pl. is -rim , used especially to indicate

14017-539: The preceding vowels (as in Welsh and Old English ): S. Adan , pl. Edain , S. Orch , pl. Yrch . Sindarin forms plurals in multiple ways. While Sindarin does not have a grammatical gender , it has like Welsh two systems of grammatical number . Singular/plural nouns correspond to the singular/plural number system just as of English. Sindarin noun plurals are unpredictable and formed in several ways. Some Sindarin (and Noldorin) nouns of one syllable form

14148-543: The ranger Natty Bumppo in James Fenimore Cooper 's 1823–1841 Leatherstocking Tales , suggesting that Aragorn's "If I read 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

14279-494: The rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers". Unlike the largely agglutinative Quenya, Sindarin is mainly a fusional language with some analytic tendencies. It can be distinguished from Quenya by the rarity of vowel endings, and the use of voiced plosives b d g , rare in Quenya found only after nasals and liquids . Early Sindarin formed plurals by the addition of -ī , which vanished but affected

14410-671: The same time, Tolkien was developing the Ilkorin tongues of the Elves of the Third Clan who remained in Beleriand (those same Elves whom Tolkien would much later name Sindar in Quenya). Noldorin (the Welsh-style language) was at that time conceived as having evolved from the Old Noldorin spoken in Valinor to the many (not Welsh-like) dialects, later called Lemberin , that were spoken in Beleriand. The Noldorin Elves wanted to speak

14541-491: 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 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

14672-432: The songs in The Lord of the Rings to music on four CDs between 1997 and 2005, each with "Rivendell" in its title. The Swedish classical composer Anna-Lena Laurin has written a work for two guitars entitled "Rivendell". The Canadian progressive rock band Rush memorialised the Elvish sanctuary in the song "Rivendell" on their 1975 studio album Fly by Night . The song focuses on the tranquillity and seemingly endless time

14803-449: The spiritual transition from the ordinary realm, and "the weary adventurer is transported into a haven of Elven hospitality and delight". There are multiple markers of the transition: To enter Rivendell is to leave, for a time, the uplands' bleak, mountainous, northerly terrain. First comes the steep descent ...; pines are replaced by beech and oak; the air grows warmer; the first of the elves greet them with laughter and song, and then comes

14934-486: 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

15065-593: 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

15196-603: The tongue of Doriath because there was great trade between the two groups up to the time of the Wars of Beleriand. North Sindarin was spoken by the Mithrim , the northernmost group of the Grey-elves. It differed from the Central Sindarin of Beleriand in many aspects. Originally spoken in Dorthonion and Hithlum , it contained many unique words and was not fully intelligible to the other Elves. The Northern dialect

15327-448: The tongue of his Gnomes. He abandoned the words Goldogrin and lam Goldrin in favour of Noldorin (a Quenya word already sparingly used for his Gnomish tongue). This is the second conceptual stage of Sindarin. Tolkien composed then a grammar of this new Noldorin, the Lam na Ngoluith . In the early 1930s Tolkien wrote a new grammar of Noldorin . This is the "late conceptual Noldorin". At

15458-507: 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

15589-522: 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 ,

15720-486: 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

15851-465: 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

15982-406: 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

16113-422: 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

16244-455: Was in many ways more conservative, and later divided itself into a North-Western dialect (Hithlum, Mithrim, Dor-lómin) and a North-Eastern dialect (the highlands of Dorthonion, and the wide plains of Ard-galen to the north of the highlands). This language was at first adopted by the exiled Noldor after their return to Middle-earth at Losgar. Later Noldorin Sindarin changed, much owing to the adoption of Quenya features, and partially because of

16375-631: 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 was given a name with the Kingly prefix of Ar(a)- , to signify his right to the Kingship of Arnor. Aragorn

16506-433: Was meant to be distinct from the diphthong oe , it was often simply printed oe in publications like The Silmarillion , e.g. Nírnaeth Arnoediad (read: Nírnaeth Arnœdiad ), Goelydh (read: Gœlydh ). This vowel later came to be pronounced [ɛ] and is therefore transcribed as such (e.g. Gelydh ). Diphthongs are ai (pronounced like ai sle [aɪ]), ei (d ay [ɛɪ]), ui (r ui n [ʊɪ]), and au (c ow [aʊ]). If

16637-476: 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 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

16768-764: 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

16899-597: Was the home of Elvish song, and cites Tolkien's statement that the song that the Hobbits hear in Rivendell, A Elbereth Gilthoniel invoking the semi-divine Varda , was a hymn suggestive of his own devout Catholicism . Shippey writes, too, that Tolkien had Bilbo write and sing the Song of Earendil in Rivendell, making use of multiple poetic devices – rhyme, internal half-rhyme, alliteration, alliterative assonance, and "a frequent if irregular variation of syntax" – to create

17030-613: Was the spirantalizing of m > nasal ṽ , the nasality of which was, however, never lost in Doriathrin proper until after the dissolution of the "Hidden Realm". ... The changes of mp, nt, ñk , also proceeded earlier and further than in the other dialects." The language of the followers of the Elf Círdan, called Falathrin ( Falassian in English), is the other dialect of the Southern Sindarin group. It remained close to

17161-468: 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

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