The Fellowship of the Ring is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The Lord of the Rings by the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It takes place in the fictional universe Middle-earth. The volume is divided into two books, Book I and II. It was originally released on July 24, 1954 in the United Kingdom.

Title

Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single volume comprising six sections he called "books" and extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts, publishing the fifth and sixth books and the appendices under the title The Return of the King, in reference to Aragorn's assumption of the throne. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred The War of the Ring as a title, as it gave away less of the story.

Before it was decided to publish The Lord of the Rings in three volumes, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, or combined with The Silmarillion. At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The discarded title for Book I was The Return of the Shadow or The Ring Sets Out. Book II was titled The Fellowship of the Ring or The Ring Goes South.

Book I

The first book sets the stage for the adventure and follows the Hobbit Frodo Baggins as he flees from his home in the Shire to escape the minions of the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron seeks the One Ring that will allow him to subdue Middle-earth. The One Ring has been inherited by Frodo who finds himself unwittingly in the midst of a struggle for world domination.

The first chapter in the book begins quite lightly, following on from The Hobbit which is more of a children's story than The Lord of the Rings. Bilbo celebrated his 111th (or eleventy-first, as it is called) birthday, on the same day that Frodo celebrated his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age'). At the birthday party, Bilbo disappeared after his speech, to the surprise of all. The wizard Gandalf later alerted Frodo to the darker aspects of the ring which Bilbo had used to make himself invisible.

Heeding Gandalf's advice, Frodo left his home, taking the Ring with him. He hoped to reach Rivendell, where he figured he would be safe from Sauron, and where those wiser than he can decide what to do about the Ring.

On his journey he was accompanied and aided by hobbit friends, Pippin, Merry, Sam, and Fatty. From the start they are pursued by Black Riders, the Ringwraiths who served Sauron. Narrowly escaping these and other dangers and meeting other interesting characters en route (e.g. Tom Bombadil), Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin eventually came to Bree, where they met Strider, a friend of Gandalf who led them the rest of the way to Rivendell, through further hardships. Frodo was stabbed upon the hill of Weathertop by the chief of the Nazgûl (The Witch-king of Angmar), with a 'morgul blade' — as part of the knife stayed inside him, he became sicker on the rest of the journey. They also passed the trolls which had been turned to stone in the previous book, The Hobbit.

Chapters

• I - A Long-expected Party - details Bilbo and Frodo's birthday party, chapter ends with Bilbo leaving the Shire. The name is a reference to "An Unexpected Party", the first chapter of The Hobbit.
• II - The Shadow of the Past - Gandalf tells Frodo the true nature of the ring, and how it must be taken to Mordor and destroyed. Sam who has been listening at the window, is told to accompany Frodo.
• III - Three is Company - Frodo sells Bag End, and officially is going to move to a house at Crickhollow in the area beyond Bucklebury in Buckland, while he actually plans to disappear without causing too much of a fuss. Frodo, Sam and Pippin set out through the South Farthing of the Shire towards Buckland, and encounter a Black Rider. They also meet Gildor Inglorion the elf, with other elves.
• IV - A Short Cut to Mushrooms - They meet Farmer Maggot, a feared old hobbit from Frodo's childhood, from taking a short cut. They find he actually has a kind nature, and he gives them some of his prized mushrooms. Merry joins them at the end.
• V - A Conspiracy Unmasked - Takes place at Frodo's new house at Crickhollow. The title refers to Frodo about to tell Merry and Pippin about his quest, who he had previously believed not to know about it, and they tell him that they had known much of it all along. They also meet Fredegar Bolger, a friend of Frodo. Frodo decides to leave the next day through the Old Forest. It is a dangerous place, but Frodo wants to avoid the main roads at all costs as to avoid the Black Riders.
• VI - The Old Forest - Although trying to avoid it, the hobbits get lost and travel to the River Withywindle, the "queerest part of the whole wood". The Hobbits all suddenly fall asleep and Merry and Pippin get trapped inside Old Man Willow, and are freed only when Tom Bombadil arrives.
• VII - In the House of Tom Bombadil - The hobbits are invited to Tom's house and meet his "pretty lady", Goldberry, who is the daughter of the river. He gives them food and lodging and tells them stories about nature and history. Tom knows much about the hobbits, and even tries on the One Ring, yet it does not have any effect on him; it does not make him invisible. Frodo tries on the Ring then to see if it 'works', and Tom Bombadil is also able to see Frodo while he has the ring on.
• VIII - Fog on the Barrow-downs - Travelling through the Barrow-downs, the hobbits are captured and imprisoned by a Barrow-wight, where they are rescued again by Tom Bombadil. The hobbits are given special weapons: daggers of the Men of Westernesse which were designed to fight against Sauron and his minions.
• IX - At the Sign of the Prancing Pony - The hobbits reach the Inn of the Prancing Pony at Bree, where Frodo uses a false name, Mr. Underhill, to conceal the last name Baggins. Merry decides to go out on a walk while the rest of them go to the Common Room to have a drink. Frodo then meets a stranger named Strider, a Ranger from the North. However, when Pippin starts drinking and forgets about the danger that they are all in, Frodo has to sing a song in order to stop Pippin from talking too much. In the middle of Frodo's song, he slips and falls and in a cruel twist of fate, his finger accidentally slips through the Ring, causing him to vanish and starting a commotion among the citizens of Bree. Frodo escapes into a corner and Strider tells him that several people in the Inn saw what happened and left soon after.
• X - Strider - Strider, who had at first seemed menacing, turns out to be friendly. The innkeeper, Butterbur, gives Frodo a late letter from Gandalf, which tells him that Strider is a friend of Gandalf's whose real name is Aragorn. Frodo realizes that Merry is still not among them. Shortly afterwards Merry runs into the room frightened. He saw that people from Bree were talking to some Black Riders that had shown up. Strider decides that it isn't safe to stay here and they move into another room.
• XI - A Knife in the Dark - Some Bree-folk, agents of the Black Riders, attack the Inn at night and destroy the room the hobbits were supposed to stay in and run off all the horses in Bree. The Hobbits are forced to buy a scrawny, little pony from Bill Ferny (a spy for the Riders) and they quickly leave the town with Strider. They pass through the Midgewater Marshes, and reach a famous mountain called Weathertop. Disaster occurs when Strider leaves and then they are attacked by 5 Black Riders, Frodo puts on the Ring and tries to attack them but to no avail. The Nazgûl's leader (the Witch-king of Angmar) stabs Frodo with a morgul blade poisoning him and the Riders are barely driven off with fire by Strider, who returns at the last moment.
• XII - Flight to the Ford - Strider attempts to heal Frodo with a plant called athelas. He helps relieve some of the pain, but Frodo has been stabbed with an evil blade and Aragorn realizes that they have to get to Rivendell to heal this wound. They pass the trolls, turned to stone in The Hobbit by Gandalf. They get closer to Rivendell with no sign of the Riders. Eventually, they meet the Elf-lord Glorfindel from Rivendell, who has fought the Riders before and is feared by them. He then comes with them to the Ford of Rivendell, but then the Riders come upon them. Frodo is forced to flee on Glorfindel's horse. Frodo tries to make a last stand at the River, but is overcome by his wound and the compulsion of the Ring. The Riders are almost upon him, when the River rises up in a flood which is caused by Elrond and Gandalf and washes them away as Frodo falls unconscious.

Book II

Book II chronicles Frodo's stay at Rivendell in the house of Elrond, where a plan is hatched to destroy the Ring in Mordor. At first Frodo met his uncle Bilbo whom he had not seen since he left Hobbiton much earlier. Frodo set forth from Rivendell with eight companions: two Men, Aragorn and Boromir, son of the Steward of the land of Gondor; an Elven prince, Legolas; Frodo's old friend and powerful wizard, Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf; and Frodo's three hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers were chosen to represent all the free races of Middle-earth and as a balance to the Nine Riders. They were also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Strider and the Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse. Their attempt to cross the Misty Mountains was foiled by heavy snow, so they were forced to take a path under the mountains via Moria, an ancient dwarf kingdom, now full of orcs and other evil creatures, where Gandalf fell into the abyss after battling a Balrog.

The remaining eight members of the Fellowship then spent some time in the elf-haven of Lothlórien, where they received gifts from the rulers Galadriel and Celeborn that in many cases prove useful later in the quest. They left Lórien by river, but Frodo began to realize the Ring was having a malevolent effect on some members of the party, especially Boromir, who eventually tried to take the Ring from Frodo. In the process, Frodo put on the Ring to escape him. This book ends when Frodo and Sam depart secretly for Mordor and the Fellowship of the Ring dissolves.

Chapters

• I - Many Meetings - After awakening from a sleep of four days, Frodo meets Gandalf and Bilbo again, as well as Glóin the dwarf from The Hobbit, Elrond and others.
• II - The Council of Elrond - A council attended by many people; Gandalf tells the story of his escape from Saruman; they decide that the Ring must be destroyed and Frodo offers to take it to Mordor. During the meeting Elrond proclaims the formation of the Fellowship of the Ring.
• III - The Ring goes South - The nine members of the Fellowship travel south through Hollin; they try to take the road over the mountain Caradhras but are forced to turn back.
• IV - A Journey in the Dark - They travel to the gates of Moria, where they have to deal with the Watcher in the Water, an aquatic monster in the lake in front of it. Gandalf eventually opens the doors. They reach the tomb of Balin.
• V - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm - Attacked by orcs, trolls and a Balrog, they make their way to the bridge in Khazad-dûm, where Gandalf and the balrog fall.
• VI - Lothlórien - The company meets the elves of Lórien. The elves reluctantly agree to let Gimli the dwarf pass. Aragorn takes Frodo to the hill of Cerin Amroth. About this time Gandalf is revived and lies motionless.
• VII - The Mirror of Galadriel - The company meets Celeborn and Galadriel. Frodo is shown the mirror of Galadriel.
• VIII - Farewell to Lórien - The elves give them cloaks, waybread and other gifts; they leave Lórien on boats down the Great River.
• IX - The Great River - they notice Gollum following them down the river on a log; they reach the falls of Rauros, where they must choose between travelling on the east or west bank of the river to pass the falls.
• X - The Breaking of the Fellowship - They arrive at the lawn of Parth Galen; they still face the choice of whether to go east or west; Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who puts it on to escape him; Other members of the company split up trying to find Frodo. Frodo and Sam go across the river and head east.

Destiny

Behind the events that befall the Ring-Bearer and the Fellowship, the reader begins to sense, there lurks always a sense of Destiny, and in the end, it will be a concatenation of the effects spawned by the nature of Good itself, that undoes Evil. Frodo says of the ring's slave, Gollum, "What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!" and Gandalf's response is

"Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity."

See also

• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (film)

• The Lord of the Rings (stage article)

External links

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The Fellowship of the Ring

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