- This article deals with Aragorn II. For his ancestor of the same name, see Aragorn
I.
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is first introduced in
The Fellowship of the Ring, and becomes a central character in the
story of The Lord of the Rings.
Appearances
Literature
History
According to the appendices of Return of the King, Aragorn, named for
his ancestor Aragorn I, was born on March 1 in 2931 of the Third Age, the son of
Arathorn II and his wife Gilraen. Through his ancestor
Elendil (whom he closely resembled)[1] Aragorn was a descendant of Elros Tar-Minyatur, Lord Elrond Half-elven's twin brother and the first king of Númenor. His ancestor
Arvedui was wedded to Fíriel, who bore their son
Aranarth, making Aragorn the last descendant of Anárion as well.
When Aragorn was only two years old, his father was killed while pursuing Orcs.
Aragorn was afterwards fostered in Rivendell by Elrond. At the request of his mother, his
lineage was kept secret, as she feared he would be killed like his father and grandfather if his true identity as the descendant
of Elendil and Heir of Isildur became known. Aragorn was renamed Estel and was not told
about his heritage until he came of age in 2951.
Elrond revealed to "Estel" (hope in Quenya) his true name and ancestry when he came of age, and delivered to him the
shards of Elendil's sword, Narsil, and the Ring of
Barahir. He withheld the Sceptre of Annúminas from him until he "came of the
right" to possess it. It was also around this time that Aragorn met and fell in love with Arwen,
Elrond's daughter, who had newly returned from her mother's homeland of Lórien.
Aragorn thereafter assumed his proper role as the sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, and went into the wild, where lived the remnants of his people, whose kingdom
had been destroyed through civil and regional wars centuries before.
Aragorn met Gandalf the Grey in 2956, and they became close friends. At Gandalf's advice he
and his followers began to guard a small land known as the Shire, inhabited by the
diminutive and agrarian Hobbits, and he became known among the peoples just outside the Shire's
borders as Strider.
From 2957 to 2980, Aragorn undertook great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of
Rohan, and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor. Many of
his tasks helped to raise morale in the West and counter the growing threat of Sauron
and his allies, and he earned invaluable experience which he would later put to use in the War
of the Ring. Aragorn served his lords in disguise and his name in Gondor and Rohan during that time was Thorongil
(Eagle of the Star). With a small Gondorian squadron of ships, he led an assault on the long-standing rebel province of
Umbar in 2980, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally slaying their lord during the
battle on the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, "Thorongil" left the field and to the dismay of his men, went East.
Later in 2980, he visited Lórien, and there once again met Arwen. He gave her the heirloom of his House, the Ring of Barahir, and, on the hill of Cerin Amroth, Arwen pledged her hand to him in marriage, renouncing
her Elvish lineage and accepting the Gift of Men: death.
Elrond withheld from Aragorn permission to marry his daughter until such time as his foster son should be king of both
Gondor and Arnor. To Elrond's as well as Aragorn's knowledge, to
marry a mortal his daughter would be required to choose mortality, and thus deprive the deathless Elrond of his daughter while
the world lasted. Elrond was also concerned for Arwen's own happiness, fearing that in the end she might find death (her own and
that of her beloved) too difficult to bear.
Before the events of The Lord of the Rings proper take place, Aragorn also travelled through the Dwarven mines of Moria, and to Harad, where (in his own words) "the stars are strange". Tolkien does not specify when these travels occurred.
In 3009, Gandalf grew suspicious of the ring belonging to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, which later turned out to be the One Ring, the source of
the Dark Lord Sauron's evil power. Aragorn went at his request into Rhovanion in search of Gollum, who had once possessed the Ring. He caught the
creature in the Dead Marshes near Mordor, and brought him
as a captive to Thranduil's halls in Mirkwood, where Gandalf
questioned him.
The Lord of the Rings
In Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn joined Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's adopted heir,
and three of his friends at the Inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree. These four
had set out from the Shire to bring the One Ring to Rivendell. Aragorn was aged
87 at that time, nearing the prime of life for one of royal Númenórean descent. With Aragorn's
help the Hobbits escaped the pursuing Nazgûl and reached Rivendell. There, Aragorn was chosen to
join the Fellowship of the Ring that was formed to guard Frodo, who was charged with destroying the Ring in the fires of
Mount Doom in Mordor. Besides Aragorn, Gandalf, and Frodo, the company included Frodo's cousins
Pippin and Merry, Frodo's faithful servant
Samwise Gamgee, Legolas the Elf , Gimli the Dwarf, and Boromir of Gondor. Before the group set out, the shards
of Narsil were reforged, and the restored blade was named Andúril.
Aragorn accompanied the group through an attempt to cross the pass of Caradhras and through
the mines of Moria. He became their leader after Gandalf was lost in battle with a
Balrog. Aragorn led the company to Lórien and then down the river Anduin to the Falls of Rauros. Originally he had planned to go to Gondor
and aid its people in the war, but after the loss of Gandalf he also was responsible for Frodo. When Frodo continued his quest
alone, Aragorn, together with Legolas and Gimli, went to Rohan to free Merry and Pippin, who had been captured by the wizard
Saruman's Uruk-hai.
In The Two Towers, the Three Hunters (as Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli were ever
after known) encountered Éomer, who had recently been pursuing rumours of an Orc raid in the area.
From Éomer Aragorn learned that the Orcs who had kidnapped Merry and Pippin had been destroyed and that the Hobbits had not been
found. Dejected, he led Legolas and Gimli to the site of the battle. Clues led Aragorn to believe that the Hobbits might still be
alive, and he led the Three Hunters into Fangorn forest. They did not find the Hobbits, but they
did find Gandalf the White, sent back from Valinor to continue his struggle against Sauron.
Gandalf told the Three Hunters that the Hobbits were safe with the Ents of Fangorn. Together,
Gandalf and the Three Hunters travelled to Edoras, where Gandalf freed Théoden from Saruman's enchantment and helped him organise the Rohirrim
against Saruman.
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli then helped the people of Rohan in the Battle of the
Hornburg, in which they conclusively defeated Saruman's army. In order to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo, who had
gone into Mordor, Aragorn used a palantír and revealed himself as the heir of Isildur to
Sauron. Sauron probably believed that the One Ring had come into Aragorn's hands; therefore he made his assault on Minas Tirith
prematurely and without adequate preparation.
In order to defend the city, Aragorn entered the Paths of the Dead, and summoned
the Dead Men of Dunharrow who owed allegiance to the king of Gondor. It had been
prophesied by Isildur and Malbeth the Seer that the Dead would be summoned once more to
pay their debt for betraying Gondor millennia before. With their aid the Corsairs of
Umbar were defeated. Aragorn, a small force of Rangers, and a large contingent of men and soldiers from the southern
regions then sailed up the Anduin to Minas Tirith. When they arrived at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Aragorn unfurled a standard that Arwen had made for him
which showed both the White Tree of Gondor along with the jewelled crown and seven stars of the House of Elendil. With the help
of the southern forces the armies of Gondor and Rohan rallied and defeated Sauron's army.
The restoration of the line of Elendil to the throne of Gondor is a subplot of The Lord of the Rings; Aragorn's
adventures not only aid Frodo in his Quest, but also bring him closer to his own kingship — which, though his by right and
lineage, has been left open for centuries due to historical, legal, and military circumstances. The people of Gondor have been
under the rule of the Stewards of Gondor for centuries, as it was widely doubted that any of the royal line still lived. Shortly
after Isildur's departure, Meneldil, son of Anárion, had severed Gondor from Arnor politically,
although the formal title of High King remained with the northern line (as Isildur was Elendil's eldest son). This arrangement
had been reinforced by the Steward Pelendur in nearly 2,000 years before when he rejected
Arvedui's claim to the Throne of Gondor during a Gondorian succession crisis (Eärnil, a member of the House of Anárion, was eventually chosen as King instead). It is worth noting, however,
that Arvedui had also based his claim on the fact that he had married a descendant of Anárion: thus, Aragorn was technically a
descendant of not only Elendil and Isildur but of Anárion as well).
In Return of the King, the Steward Denethor declared that he would not bow to a
descendant of Isildur (years before, he had seen "Thorongil" as a rival to his father's favour). Aragorn healed Faramir, Denethor's heir, who had been expected to die; this won him the immediate recognition of Faramir as the
rightful heir to the throne, and his humility and self sacrifice gained him the hearts of the inhabitants of Gondor's capital
city (Aragorn's healing abilities, however, were a sign to the people of Gondor of the identity of their true king; as Ioreth
said, "The hands of the King are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known"). The people hailed him
as King that same evening.
Despite his immediate success and popularity, however, and despite his claim to the throne through raising the royal banner,
Aragorn decided to lay aside his claim for the time being. He knew that if he aggressively promoted his claim, rival claimants or
debates as to his legitimacy were not out of the question, and this could be a fatal distraction for Gondor at a time when the
West needed to be united against Sauron. So, to avoid conflict, after he had healed people during the night of March 15/16, he
left Minas Tirith and symbolically refused to enter it again until he was crowned King on May 1st.
In order to ensure safe passage across Mordor for Frodo to fulfil his quest, Aragorn then led the Army of the West out from
Minas Tirith to make a diversionary feint on the Black Gate of Mordor itself in the Battle of the
Morannon. Gandalf had been given supreme command of the war effort after the Pelennor Fields, and acted as chief spokesman
in the parley with the Mouth of Sauron; but Aragorn commanded the Allied troops during
the battle and its aftermath.
Upon Sauron's defeat, Aragorn was crowned as King Elessar (translated as Elfstone in Tolkien's invented language
of Quenya), a name given to him by Galadriel. (In
Sindarin, another of Tolkien's languages, this becomes Edhelharn.) He became the
twenty-sixth King of Arnor, thirty-fifth King
of Gondor and the first High King of the Reunited Kingdom, though it
would be several years before his authority was firmly reestablished in Arnor. His line was referred to as the House of Telcontar (Telcontar being Quenya for "Strider"). Aragorn married Arwen shortly afterwards,
and ruled the Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor until 120 of the Fourth Age. His reign was marked
by great harmony and prosperity within Gondor and Arnor, and by a great renewal of cooperation and communication between Men,
Elves, and Dwarves, fostered by his vigorous rebuilding campaign following the war. Aragorn led the forces of the Reunited
Kingdom on military campaigns against some Easterlings and Haradrim, re-establishing rule over much territory that Gondor had
lost in previous centuries. He died at the age of 210, after 120 years as king. He was succeeded on the throne by his son,
Eldarion. Arwen, gravely saddened by the loss of her husband, gave up her now mortal life
shortly afterwards. Arwen and Aragorn also had at least two unnamed daughters.
Adaptations
|
|
|
|
Aragorn in the 2003 Cincinnati stage production of The Return of the King.
|
Film
Aragorn was voiced by John Hurt in Ralph Bakshi's
1978 animated film version of The Lord of the Rings. Bakshi's
Aragorn, unlike all other portrayals that were to follow to date, has no beard. This actually conforms to a statement appearing
in Unfinished Tales that implicitly says that Aragorn was not supposed to have
one, due to his Elvish ancestry (Elves did not grow beards).[1] However, Tolkien actually wrote elsewhere that Elves did have beards; in The Lord of the
Rings itself Círdan is described as having a beard. Also, some viewers and critics have said
that this version of Aragorn looks Native American,[2][3][4][5] though not necessarily to the detriment of the film.
Aragorn was voiced by Theodore Bikel in the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of the
King, made for television. He first appears at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, leading the reinforcements from
southern Gondor.
In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy (2001–2003) directed
by Peter Jackson, Aragorn is played by Danish-American actor Viggo Mortensen, who took over the role
from Stuart Townsend after a month of rehearsals. In these movies, Aragorn begins his
journey with the Fellowship with no intention of claiming the kingship; he only arrives at such a decision in the third film
after spending much time battling his own self-doubt. This specific element of self-doubt is not present in Tolkien's books,
where Aragorn intends to claim the throne all along once he had the opportunity. Daniel
Day-Lewis was offered the role, but declined.
Stage
(See the stage article: The Lord of the Rings)
Aragorn was portrayed by Evan Buliung in the three-hour production of The Lord of the
Rings, which opened in 2006 in Toronto, Canada.
In the United States, Aragorn was portrayed by Josh Beshears in the Cincinnati, Ohio production of The Return of the King (2003) for Clear Stage Cincinnati. At Chicago's Lifeline Theatre,
Aragorn was played by Robert McLean in the 1999 production of The Two Towers.
Radio
Robert Stephens voiced the character in the 1981
BBC Radio serial of The Lord of
the Rings.
Characteristics
Tolkien gives a brief but detailed description of Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring: lean, dark and tall, with
shaggy dark hair "flecked with grey", grey eyes, and a stern pale face.[6] In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" in the Appendices, he was said to be often grim and sad, with
unexpected moments of levity.[7] Some time after
the publication of the books, Tolkien wrote that he was 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) tall.
Aragorn possessed elven wisdom due to his childhood in Rivendell with Elrond and
the foresight of the Dúnedain. He was a skilled healer, notably with the plant athelas
(also known as Kingsfoil). He was also a mighty warrior and an unmatched commander; after the battle of the Pelennor Fields, he, Éomer and
Imrahil were said to be left unscathed, even though they had been in the thick of the
fighting.[7] Due to his position as
Isildur's heir, Aragorn had impressive powers for a Man; he forced Sauron to let him use the
palantír of Orthanc freely (although this was in part
due to the fact that as the descendant of Elendil, Aragorn was the true owner of the seeing-stone).
Though there is no indication of him ever doubting his role and destiny as one of the leaders of the war against Sauron and
the future king of the Reunited Kingdom (as in Peter Jackson's film), he was not immune to self-doubt, as he doubted the wisdom
of his decisions while leading the Fellowship after the loss of Gandalf in Moria, and blamed himself for many of their subsequent
misfortunes.[6][8]
On one occasion, his pride (or reverence for his heritage) led to complications, as he refused to disarm and leave his sword
Andúril (a priceless heirloom of Númenor and one of the weapons which slew Sauron) at the door of Edoras, as Théoden had
required, and only did so after Gandalf left his own sword (also of high lineage) behind. Even so, he swore that death would come
to anyone else who touched it (whether by his own hand or by some magic is left unsaid).[8]
Names and titles
Aragorn was called the Dúnadan ("Man of the West/Númenórean", given by
Bilbo in Rivendell), Longshanks (given by Bill
Ferny in Bree), Strider, called so by Butterbur, and Wingfoot (given by Éomer after discovering that Aragorn had travelled forty-five leagues in four days in pursuit of Pippin, Merry,
and their Uruk-hai captors). He was the founder of the House of Telcontar
(Telcontar is "Strider" in Quenya, after the mistrustful nickname given him by the
rustics of the North), which ruled Gondor well into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth; in records, his full ruling name is given as
Elessar Telcontar ("Elfstone Strider"). He was also known as Estel ("hope") to protect his true
lineage from the Enemy when they were seeking the heir of Isildur. He was also known as Thorongil ("Eagle of the
Star") in his younger days when he travelled around Middle-earth and performed services in Rohan and Gondor often by protecting
camps and raiding enemy strongholds like he did when he crossed the Corsairs of Umbar. He is also referred to as Aragorn,
son of Arathorn.
Concept and creation
The concept of Aragorn's person and fate underwent a series of developments and name changes before reaching his final
identity, as Tolkien did not have the full plot of the story or its background planned-out when he started writing, but rather he
"discovered" it as he wrote.
Identity
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 the difference that the hobbit wore wooden shoes, and was nicknamed Trotter for the
"clitter-clap" sound that they produced. He was also 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.[9]
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 was either a Man, or a hobbit who associated
himself with the Rangers and was "very well known" (within the story).[10] The latter suggestion was linked to an early comment of Bingo: "I keep on feeling that I have seen
him somewhere before".[11] Tolkien made a proposal that
Trotter might be Bilbo Baggins himself, but rejected that idea.[10]
Another suggestion was that Trotter was "Fosco Took (Bilbo's first cousin), who vanished when a lad, owing to
Gandalf".[10] This story was further elaborated,
making Trotter a nephew of Bilbo, named Peregrin Boffin, and an elder cousin of Frodo. He was said to had run away after
he came of age,[12] some twenty years before Bilbo's party,
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 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.[13]
The conception of Trotter being a hobbit was discarded with the following recommencing of writing; 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".[14]
Quite soon Tolkien finally settled on the Mannish identity of Trotter, from the beginning introducing him as a "descendant of
the ancient men of the North, and one of Elrond's household", as well as the name
Aragorn.[14] While the history of
Númenor and the descendants of Elros and Elendil was not fully developed, the germs of it were in existence, and would come to be connected with The
Lord of the Rings as the character of Aragorn developed. Thus the evolution of the history of the Second and Third Ages was
dependent on the bringing of Trotter to association with them.
Further character developments
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 (early name of Gondor), but
were driven out by the Wizard King "when Sauron raised a rebellion".[15] 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 generation between Isildur and Aragorn.[16]
One significant feature which was not established until late stages was Aragorn's relationship with Arwen. When Tolkien first
introduced Éowyn, the interest which 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 done soon, that Éowyn would die to save or avenge Théoden, and Aragorn would
never marry after her death.[17]
The first mention of Elrond's daughter, named Finduilas, was in reference to the banner which she made for
Aragorn,[18] but Tolkien did not give any hint whether
she had any further part to play. The references to her marriage with Aragorn were made later,[19] but it was explicitly stated only near the completion of the book.[20] It is only in his working on the appendices for The Lord
of the Rings that Tolkien recorded the full tale of Aragorn and Arwen.[21]
A passing idea was that Galadriel gave her Ring to Aragorn, and that he would accordingly be titled the "Lord of the
Ring".[19]
Rejected names
The original nickname Trotter was retained for a long while, and Tolkien decided to change it to Strider only
after the story was completed. There were also several experimental translations of Trotter to Sindarin: Padathir, Du-finnion and Rimbedir, with Ethelion possibly equivalenting
Peregrin (Boffin).[22] Instead of the latter title
"the Dúnadan", Quenya Tarkil ('noble Man') was first used, synonym with
Númenórean.[23]
Tolkien hesitated for some time about Trotter's "real" name. Although Aragorn was the first suggestion when the Mannish
decent was settled, it was changed a number of times. At one point Tolkien decided that an Elvish name does not suit a Man, and
thus altered it from Aragorn via Elfstone to Ingold, where the last one is an Old English name with
ing- representing 'west'. Later, however, a new plot element was introduced: Galadriel's gift of a green stone, and
Tolkien reverted the usage to Elfstone in order to make an additional connection.[24] This was retained into the final version of the legendarium as a side name and
a translation of Elessar.
Among other names to be used instead of Elfstone Tolkien considered Elfstan, Elfmere, Elf-friend,
Elfspear, Elfwold and Erkenbrand, with various Elvish forms: Eldamir, Eldavel, Eledon,
Qendemir. The name of Aragorn's father also passed through many transient forms: Tolkien intended Aramir or
Celegorn to go in pair with Aragorn before settling upon Arathorn; Elfhelm and Eldakar with
Elfstone and Eldamir; and Ingrim with Ingold.[24] King of Reunited Kingdom
References
- ^ "In a note written in 1972 or later, among the last writings of my father's
on the subject of Middle-earth, there is a discussion of the Elvish strain in Men, as to its being observable in the
beardlessness of those who were so descended (it was a characteristic of all Elves to be beardless)."J. R. R. Tolkien (1980). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.): Unfinished Tales.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-29917-9.
- ^ http://www.coldfusionvideo.com/l/lordofrings.html
- ^ http://www.stomptokyo.com/movies/l/lord-of-the-rings-anim.html
- ^ http://www.mutantreviewers.com/vlotr1.html
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077869/usercomments
- ^ a b J. R. R. Tolkien (1987). The Fellowship of the
Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-08255-2.
- ^ a b J. R. R. Tolkien (1987). The Return of the King.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-08256-0.
- ^ a b J. R. R. Tolkien (1987). The Two Towers. Boston:
Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-08254-4.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1988). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.):
The Return of the Shadow. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 137–8. ISBN 0-395-49863-5.
- ^ a b c The Return of the
Shadow, pp 223–4.
- ^ The Return of the Shadow, p. 208–8.
- ^ The Return of the Shadow, pp. 371, 385.
- ^ The Return of the Shadow, pp. 401, 413.
- ^ a b J. R. R. Tolkien (1989). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.):
The Treason of Isengard. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 6-t. ISBN 0-395-51562-9.
- ^ The Treason of Isengard, p. 116.
- ^ The Treason of Isengard, pp. 360–1.
- ^ The Treason of Isengard, pp. 445-8.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1990). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.):
The War of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, p. 307. ISBN 0-395-56008-X.
- ^ a b The War of the Ring, pp. 425–6.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1992). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.):
Sauron Defeated. Boston, New York, & London:
Houghton Mifflin, p. 52. ISBN 0-395-60649-7.
- ^ J. R. R. Tolkien (1996). in Christopher Tolkien (ed.):
The Peoples of Middle-earth. Boston & New York: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 262–270. ISBN 0-395-82760-4.
- ^ The Return of the Shadow, pp. 476, 478, 488-9.
- ^ The Treason of Isengard, p. 499.
- ^ a b See the index to The Treason of Isengard and pp. 277-8.
See also
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
