ARAGORN ~ son of Arathorn, 39th in the line of succession from Isildur, and 16th chief of the Dúnedain. In later years he
would be known also as Elessar, Elfstone, and to some as Strider, a Ranger of the northern wilds
and to fewer yet as the Chief of the Dúnedain. Aragorn was born March 1, 2931 of the Third Age, but he was just two years old when his father was killed by Orcs in 2933, while patrolling the wilds with Elrond's twin sons. His mother Gilraen then took him to Rivendell where Elrond embraced him as a foster son, and saw to the boy's upbringing. Aragorn was in fact a much-removed kinsman of Elrond, as his father's line descends from Elrond's brother Elros through many generations of Men. Throughout his childhood and youth Aragorn was known simply as Estel, which is Elvish for "Hope." His true ancestry was kept a secret, even from the growing boy himself, so that the spies of Sauron would not find Isildur's heir. Estel prospered under the
guidance of both Elrond and Elrond's two warrior sons, growing into a young man of
promise, but it was not
until Estel/Aragorn was twenty years old that Elrond revealed his true lineage. Then Elrond also
gave into his hand the
Shards of Narsil, which sword was prophesied would be reforged in time, and Aragorn's
ancestors' signet ring of Barahir.
That same night Aragorn first beheld Arwen Evenstar daughter of Elrond, who had recently
returned from her mother's folk
in Lothlorien. She was walking by starlight in the silvered birchwood of Rivendell, and from that
instant he loved her
evermore. However, Elrond warned Aragorn that Arwen was far above all ordinary men, and if
ever she would wed, it could
be to no less a Man than the king of restored Arnor and Gondor. Aragorn then went into the
wilds and took it upon himself
to travel far and wide across Middle Earth, learning as much about its people and ways as
possible, and also learning the arts
of war and manhood. For thirty years he wandered, during which he and Gandalf met and formed
a lasting a friendship. At
some point he assumed the nom de guerre Thorongil, under which he served as a soldier
under both King Thengel of
Rohan and Ecthelion II Steward of Gondor, and met Denethor II, who would later be Boromir’s
father and Gondor's future steward. Thereafter Aragorn returned to
pledge his troth to Arwen, but long and perilous years yet lay ahead. In October 3018 at the
Council of Elrond, he pledged
his aid and faith to the Fellowship of the Ring. After the overthrow of Sauron and the unmaking
of the One Ring in March
3019, he took up the reign of Gondor and Arnor and also the hand of Arwen Evenstar. His rule
lasted for 122 years, during
which his people prospered, whence he at last resigned the kingship to his son Eldarion and
relinquished his life at the age of
210, on March 1st in the 119th year of the Fourth
Age.
BOROMIR ~ Born 2978 of the
Third Age, he
is the eldest son and heir of Denethor II, Steward of
Gondor, and elder
brother to Faramir. Boromir was said to be a man of great strength and courage, little inclined
towards
the arts or lore but instead
delighting in tests of arms, and never taking a wife. He was much unlike gentle Faramir, who was
said to be so much his
opposite as to appear weaker, yet Faramir had his own sort of courage, and there was a bond of
great affection between the
brothers. Boromir came to the council of Elrond in October 3018 as a representative of his
people, and although grudging in
his acceptance of Aragorn's claim to the throne, he proved a brave and powerful companion of the
Fellowship. His one great
failing was that his pride and fear for Gondor made him weak before the lure of the One Ring, and
four months later he finally attempted to take the ring from Frodo, near Amon Hen. Too late he
recovered from his fit, and Frodo fled away in secret.
Then the Orcs came upon them, and Boromir arose like a lord of old and fought mightily in
defense of the remaining hobbits,
Merry and Pippin. Many were the enemies he laid low, yet he fell at last and the two hobbits were
taken away hostage by the
Orcs. Aragorn found him as he lay dying and absolved him willingly, and even Gandalf later said
that "he escaped in the end,"
meaning freedom from the Ring, and a return to honor in death. Boromir was laid in one of the
Fellowship's Elven boats
together with his sword, his shield, his cloven Horn of Gondor, and many swords and trophies of
the enemies he slew in his
last gallant battle. Then grieving Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli cast the boat out into the Anduin
River, where it was born
over mighty Rauros Falls, and some say was carried intact even unto Gondor, where his brother
Faramir had a vision of the
funeral boat as if in a waking dream, and thence away to the far Sea.
FRODO ~ born September 22,
2968, son and only child of Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck. Sadly, Frodo's
parents died in a boating accident when he was twelve years old, and his relative Bilbo Baggins
soon after took the
youngster into his home at Bag End, and made him his heir. This of course was many years after
Bilbo's adventures with
Gandalf and Dwarves and dragons. Although Bilbo referred to him as a nephew, probably on
account of the age difference
between them, Bilbo was actually a double-cousin, both Frodo's 1st cousin once
removed on his mother's side, and 2nd cousin
once removed on his father's side. When Bilbo at last retired from his life in the Shire to Rivendell,
he left Bag End entirely in
Frodo's possession. In the book, as opposed to the movie, some 15 years passed between Bilbo's
departure and Frodo's
Quest. Frodo's exploits are too well-known to recount here, so we will only remember that he left
the Shire with his
companions in September of 3018, and he, too, was present at the Council of Elrond in late
October of that year. There he volunteered to continue carrying the burden of the One Ring, and
would bear it unto the fiery maw of Mount Doom. Many were his trials and struggles, and
blessed was he for the strength of Sam and the ever-flickering, never-dying flame of his own quiet
strength. Humble hobbit, he would prevail beyond where great lords had failed, and if there was
weakness in him, it was but the limits of mortal endurance found at last. So much of himself did
he give, in the great struggle to save Middle Earth from Sauron's dark dominion, that perhaps he
simply had nothing left for afterwards. After the
War of the Ring, Frodo only stayed in the Shire for two years. Wearied by the dark memories of
his travails and suffering still from both Shelob's
poison and the ancient wound of the Ring Wraith's evil blade, Frodo set out for the Grey Havens
the day before his
birthday, September 21, 3021. The next day he and Sam met the Last Riding of the Keepers of
the Three Elven Rings, Galadriel, Elrond and Gandalf, and
they journeyed on together for eight days to the Sea. There Merry and Pippin caught up with
them, after which Frodo took
ship with the Ring Bearers and old Bilbo himself, now 131 years old. Bidding his
friends farewell Frodo sailed with
the other Ring-Bearers into the West, and was seen in Middle Earth no more.
GANDALF ~ One of the Maiar,
who were the
lesser spirits of the Blessed Realm under the Valar. He was devoted to
Manwë who was chief of the Valar and to Varda, she
whom the Elves praise as Elbereth who kindled the stars. Gandalf was known as Olórin in his
early days, and was one of the Istari, whom Men called Wizards. Tolkien says that perhaps a
thousand years into the Third Age Gandalf was sent by the Valar to aid Elves and Men in their
fight against Sauron, one of five Istari so sent, (including Saruman) who took on the shape
of Men who were not young, yet who nonetheless seemed to age only slowly. Gandalf
claimed no place as home, but
rather travelled widely among Elves and Men, and was known to the Elves as Mithrandir, which
means Grey Wanderer.
Gandalf's fondness for the hobbits of the Shire evidently dates from long before even Bilbo's birth,
back to
the days when the Shire was first founded. Later he and Bilbo joined the Dwarves for Bilbo's
great adventure, helping the
Dwarves free their homeland in Erebor by the Lonely Mountain from the dragon, Smaug. Of
perhaps greater import was Gandalf’s
part at the same time in the White Council, a gathering of the Istari under Sauruman the White
and the greatest and wisest
Elves, to counter the growing, nameless threat in southern Mirkwood at Dol Guldur. Together
they drove out the being then known as
the Necromancer from Dol Guldur, but he would return, and be known as Sauron. After
Sauruman's betrayal and Gandalf's
fall with the Balrog in Moria, Gandalf would return from the West renewed and strengthened, and
now wearing the White
robes of Istari leadership. He was also bearer of the Third Ring of the Elves, the Red Ring Nenya
which was given to him by
Cirdan of the Grey Havens. After Sauron's final overthrow in the War of the Ring, Gandalf sailed
into the West with
Galadriel, Elrond, and Frodo the Ring Bearer.
GIMLI
~ son of Gloin born 2879. Named Elf-friend for his close and rare friendship with Legolas
Greenleaf, and also for
his devotion to the lady Galadriel of Lothlorien. Nothing is know of Gimli's past, saving that his
father Gloin had taken part
in Bilbo's adventures against the dragon Smaug with Gandalf many years before. Gimli arrived
with his father at the council
of Elrond in 3018, where he became a member of the Fellowship of the Ring and met Legolas,
son of Elven King Thranduil
of Mirkwood. (Indeed, there existed an uneasy sort of family history between Legolas and
Gimli, for although the two had
not hitherto met, their fathers had. During Bilbo's quest Thranduil briefly clapped Gloin and his
fellow Dwarves into Mirkwood's
dungeons for trespassing. Later the Dwarves nearly came to open warfare with Thranduil's Elves
and the Men of
Lake-town, when the two factions clashed over the hoard of the vanquished dragon Smaug. As
odd fate had it, an evil army
of Orcs, wolves and bats abruptly redrew the lines of conflict, and the Battle of Five Armies
resulted in a happier and more
fruitful alliance.) Upon formation of the Fellowship Gimli remained, together with Legolas, in
the company of Aragorn and shared all his adventures, including walking the perilous Paths of the
Dead and the seizing of the
fleet of corsairs at Pelargir on the Anduin River. Gimli fought at Helm's Deep and the Pelannor
Fields, and also rode with Aragorn's seven
thousand to the Black Gates of Barad-dûr in Mordor, where one last, desperate stand would be
made, and the black tide
would lap highest. After the War of the Ring he was present for Aragorn's crowning and marriage
to Arwen Evenstar, and
still later he brought many of his Dwarf folk south from Erebor to the caverns of Helm's Deep,
where he became Lord of the Glittering Caves. He and his Dwarven people did many fine works
in both Gondor and Rohan, perfecting buildings and
avenues of stone such as no hand of Men could achieve. Legend tells that when Aragorn at last
gave up his life, in the 120th year
of the Fourth Age, Legolas answered the yearning of his Elvish heart and sailed into the West,
taking with him his devoted
friend, Gimli. Blessed indeed was he, and friend to the powerful of the Blessed Realm, for Gimli
Gloin's son would be the
first and only Dwarf to make that voyage. His fate thereafter is not written.
LEGOLAS ~ son of Thranduil,
Sindarin King
of Mirkwood, and grandson of Oropher whom some
writings say was the
first ruler of the Wood Elves in that place. Movie gossip gives Legolas's age as 2931 years old;
however, this is not born out
in any of Tolkien's writings, so the source of this calculation remains unknown. (An odd note
is that 2931 is the year of
Aragorn's birth, whether or not this is of any relevance.) Of Legolas's past little or nothing is
known, before he appeared at
the Council of Elrond as an envoy of his father's people. The only hints of Legolas's heritage are in
fragments, such as
mention in Tolkien’s "The Lost Tales" that Oropher and Thranduil led an army of Wood Elves to
fight beside Gil-Galad in the Last Alliance, where Oropher and two-thirds of his men were killed.
After Sauron's defeat Thranduil returned home to the Great
Greenwood and took up the throne. Yet in time the return of Shadow changed the forest's name
to Mirkwood, and drove the
Wood Elves slowly north. There they finally built an underground stronghold in the northeast
corner of the great forest.
Tolkien further wrote, in Appendix B of LOTR, that Thranduil's people came under bitter assault
during the War of the
Ring, "and there was long battle under the trees and great ruin of fire; but in the end Thranduil
had the victory." After the
War, Celeborn of Lothlorien and Thranduil of Mirkwood met in the now-cleansed forest, which
they rechristened "Eryn
Lasgalen," the Wood of Greenleaves, and there divided the freed lands between their peoples.
Legolas's own life, however,
is a mystery before his appearance in Rivendell. His initial mission apparently was to inform them
that Gollum had escaped
the custody of the Wood Elves and was lost, but he was thereafter numbered among the
Fellowship of the Ring. As with
Gimli, he remained with Aragorn throughout the War of the Ring, and fought at Helm's Deep and
the Pelannor Fields, aided
in seizing the fleet at Pelargir and also rode in the van to the very Gates of Barad-dûr. Of his
deeds or those of Gimli on that
black field no record tells, but he would bear into the West the tale of that desperate day, that
none will forget so long as the
world remains. Legolas also saw Aragorn crowned and married, and saw Mirkwood restored, and
later Legolas led some of
his own folk south to the forests of Ilithien, where the greenwood rejoiced to be free of Shadow.
Yet as the Fellowship and
their friends passed Beyond in one fashion or another, at last there were only the three
companions of old, Aragorn, Legolas
and Gimli. When Aragorn left his life in the 120th year of the Fourth Age, Legolas
left soon after in the way of the Elves,
building him a ship at Ilithien and sailing down the Anduin to the Sea, and thence from the circles
of the world. With him it is
said he took Gimli the Dwarf, his last and dearest friend on earth.
MERRY ~ Meriadoc Brandybuck,
born in
2982 (1382 Shire Reckoning) son of Saradoc
Brandybuck and Esmerelda
Took, and a distant cousin to Frodo Baggins on Frodo's mother's side. Merry joined Frodo, Sam,
and Pippin on the mission to take
the Ring to Rivendell, where he volunteered as a member of the
Fellowship. After he and Pippin were kidnapped by Orcs at Amon Hen, they escaped and became
the first people in
generations to meet the Ents of Fanghorn Forest. Going with the Ents against Saruman, he and
Pippin witnessed their
destruction of Isengard and were there waiting when Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli and King Theoden's
host arrived from Rohan.
Merry was befriended by Theoden and became very fond of the old King. He rode with them to
the relief of Minas Tirith at
Battle of the Pelannor Fields, where he saw Theoden fall in battle against the Lord of the Nazgul,
mightiest of the Nine.
Merry and Eowyn together attacked the evil lord and slew him. Although sorely afflicted by the
mere touch of such evil,
Merry was healed by Aragorn and reunited with Pippin and the others. After seeing seeing the end
of the War of the Ring,
and Aragorn's coronation and wedding, the hobbits returned to find the Shire enslaved and
despoiled by Men under
Saruman, who although broken in power sought to work one last evil. However, Merry and
Pippin rallied the Shire and led
them to victory against the ruffianly invaders, in the valiant Battle of Bywater.
Thereafter Merry was known as
"the Magnificent" - that in part due to the extra height he and Pippin acquired from drinking
Ent-draughts - and eventually became Master of Buckland and head of Brandy Hall. He
married Estella Bolger, although
the number of their children is not known. In the 62nd year of the Fourth Age,
(1484 Shire Reckoning) he handed over his
affairs to his son, and he and Pippin embarked on one last journey to Gondor. There they passed
their final years, and after
death were laid in state in Rath Dínen, the Silent Street of Minas Tirith, wherein were laid the
nobles and kings of Gondor.
PIPPIN ~ Peregrin Took, born 2990 (1390 Shire Reckoning) youngest of four children
and son of Paladin Took and
Eglantine Banks, and a first cousin to Merry, as his father and Merry's mother were siblings.
Together with Merry he joined
Frodo and Sam on their venture to Rivendell where, despite already having fallen into more
adventures than
even most Tooks thought
of, he also volunteered to the Fellowship. After being kidnapped by Orcs with Merry at Amon
Hen, he and Merry escaped
and met the Ents of Fanghorn Forest. Thereafter he and Merry both could tell of the destruction
of Isengard by the Ents, and
how they were waiting to present the ruins to Aragorn and King Theoden of Rohan. Pippin then
went with Gandalf to Minas Tirith,
where Pippin swore his sword and his services to Denethor II the Steward of Gondor, and was
accepted as a soldier of the Tower Guard. He witnessed the siege of
Minas Tirith and the madness of Denethor, and the splendid arrival of the Riders of Rohan upon
the Pelannor Fields. He witnessed also the arrival of the black fleet up the Anduin, thus being
how Aragorn brought the sundered Fellowship together at last, and also broke the siege upon the
walled city. Then, still as a soldier of
Gondor, Pippin rode with Aragorn's host to the final assault upon Mordor itself. There Pippin
struck and slew a great Troll
and was crushed beneath its falling weight, thinking himself killed. Yet Pippin survived quite
handily, and saw the joy of
Aragorn kinged and wed, and with his hobbit friends at last returned to the Shire. There, however,
they found the final
mischief Saruman's sly evil had done, and Pippin roused the Tooks, and they roused everyone
else, and the Battle of Bywater
was a victory for the hobbits. Thereafter Pippin married Diamond of Long Cleeve and had a son,
Faramir, who would
marry Sam's daughter Goldilocks Gardener. He also became Thain of Buckland in 1434, kept
close ties with Gondor, and
meanwhile compiled a great library chiefly directed to the histories of Gondor and ancient
Númenor. In the 62nd year of the
Fourth Age, (1484 Shire Reckoning) at age 102 he paid one last visit to Edoras to visit King
Eomer of Rohan, before Eomer
died. Thence he and Merry went to Gondor where they lived a few years. With Merry he was laid
to rest with great honor in
Rath Dínen. Upon Aragorn's death, it was said that the biers of both Pippin and Merry were
brought to rest beside that of
their beloved King.
SAM ~
Samwise Gamgee, born 2983 (1380 Shire Reckoning) next-to-youngest of six children, son of
Hamfast "the
Gaffer" Gamgee and Bell Goodchild. Of Sam there is more to be said than can be told in small
bites, so thus let it be
simply said that Sam was Faithful. He was first of the Fellowship with Frodo and never left his
side through all the dread
days and endless voyage into deepening Shadow. When Frodo parted from the Fellowship at
Amon Hen Sam would not be
left, and together they went into Mordor. Many were their perils, and Sam remained ever the
valiant and faithful friend, even bearing Frodo with his own strength when Frodo’s failed, and
then for a brief time taking up the burden of the Ring himself, when he thought
Frodo had died of the spider Shelob's venom. Though his heart often quailed his spirit never did,
and though his faith
sometimes faltered it never failed. He walked with Frodo to the very Fires of Doom, and then
awaited whatever ending that fate had
designed for them. As fate had it, however, his life would be a long and prosperous one. When
all the deeds of the War of
the Ring were done, Sam returned with his friends to the Shire and there helped set things aright.
Then using the gifts the
Lady Galadriel had given him in Lothlorien, a mallorn seed and dust blessed by the touch of the
Elves, Sam returned the
Shire to its most fruitful greenness ever, and nurtured there the only mallorn tree to be found
outside Elven
lands. During that same time
he married Rosie Cotton, and the two were welcomed into Frodo's household at Bag End. Then
two years later, Sam made
one final journey with Frodo, riding with him to the Grey Havens and bidding his dear friend
a tearful - yet perhaps not final - goodbye. Thereafter Sam
returned to Bag End, which Frodo had left to him, and in time became Mayor of the Shire. Sam
also changed the Gamgee
family name to Gardener, and with Rosie had thirteen children, one being his daughter Goldilocks
who would marry
Pippin's son Faramir Took. He held the seat of Mayor for seven terms, retiring at age 96. Upon
the death of his wife Rose
in the 60th year of the Fourth Age, (1482 Shire Reckoning) Sam last visited his
eldest daughter Elanor, to whom he gave
Bilbo and Frodo's Red Book, and was not seen again. Family legend tells that the last Ring-Bearer
then passed down to the Gray Havens and sailed over the Sea into the West.
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