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Aragorn son of Arathorn is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is a Ranger of the North, first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him. At the end of The Lord of the Rings he is crowned King Elessar Telcontar.

Appearances in literature[link]

History[link]

The son of Arathorn II and his wife Gilraen, Aragorn was born on 1 March, T.A. 2931.^[1] Through his ancestor Elendil (whom he closely resembled)^[2] Aragorn was a descendant of the first king of Númenor, Elros Tar-Minyatur; the twin brother of Elrond.

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 heir of Isildur became known. Aragorn was renamed Estel ("hope" in Tolkien's invented language Sindarin) to hide his existence from Sauron and his servants. He was not told about his heritage until he came of age in 2951.

Elrond revealed to Aragorn his true name and ancestry, and delivered to him the shards of Elendil's sword Narsil, and also the Ring of Barahir. He withheld the Sceptre of Annúminas from him until he "came of the right" to possess it. Aragorn met and fell in love with Arwen, Elrond's daughter (whom he mistook for Tinúviel), when she had returned from Lórien, her mother's homeland.

Aragorn thereafter assumed his role as the sixteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain, the Rangers of the North, and went into the wild, living with 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 request, the Rangers began to guard the Shire, inhabited by the diminutive and agrarian Hobbits. In the areas around the Shire and Bree he became known as "Strider".

From 2957 to 2980, Aragorn undertook great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan (King Théoden's father) and of Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor (father of Denethor). His tasks helped to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquired experience that he would later put to use in the War of the Ring. Aragorn served his lords during that time under the name Thorongil (Eagle of the Star). With a small squadron of Gondorian ships, he led an assault on Umbar in 2980, burning many of the Corsairs' ships and personally slaying their lord during the Battle of the Havens. After the victory at Umbar, "Thorongil" left the field, to the dismay of his men, and went East.

Aragorn also travelled through the Dwarves' mines of Moria and to Rhûn and Harad, where (in his own words) "the stars are strange".

In 2980, he visited Lórien, and there 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 mortality, the "Gift of Men". Elrond withheld from Aragorn permission to marry his daughter until such time as his foster son should be king of Gondor and Arnor reunited. To marry a mortal, Arwen would be required to choose mortality and thus eventually deprive the immortal Elrond of his daughter; and Elrond feared that in the end Arwen might find the prospect of death (her own and that of her husband) too difficult to bear.

Gandalf grew suspicious of the ring belonging to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, which was later discovered to be Sauron's One Ring. Gandalf asked Aragorn to track Gollum, who had previously possessed the Ring. This hunt led Aragorn across Rhovanion, and he finally captured Gollum in the Dead Marshes northwest of Mordor and brought him captive to King Thranduil’s halls in Mirkwood, where Gandalf questioned him.

[edit] The Lord of the Rings

In The 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. The four hobbits had set out from the Shire to bring the One Ring to Rivendell. Aragorn, going by the nickname "Strider", was then aged 87, 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 Frodo was charged with destroying the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, and Aragorn was chosen as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring to accompany him. The Fellowship also included Gandalf, the hobbits Pippin and Merry along with Frodo's faithful gardener Samwise Gamgee, Legolas the Elf, Gimli the Dwarf, and Boromir of Gondor. Before the company departed, Elven-smiths reforged the shards of Narsil into a sword, setting into the design of the blade seven stars (for Elendil) and a crescent moon (for Isildur), as well as many runes. Aragorn renamed the sword Andúril (meaning "flame of the west" in Sindarin), and it was said to have shone with the light of the Sun and the Moon.

Aragorn accompanied the group through their attempted crossing of the pass of Caradhras, and subsequently through the mines of Moria. After Gandalf was lost there in battle with the Balrog, Aragorn led the company to Lothlórien and then down the river Anduín to the Falls of Rauros. Originally he planned to go to Gondor to aid its people in the war, but after the loss of Gandalf he became increasingly concerned about his responsibilities to Frodo and the quest. The Fellowship, however, now quickly fell apart: Frodo decided to continue his journey alone (accompanied by Sam) and Boromir was killed trying to defend Merry and Pippin, who were captured by orcs.

In The Two Towers, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli (calling themselves the Three Hunters) set off to track the Uruk-hai, hoping to rescue Merry and Pippin. They encountered Éomer, who was pursuing rumours of an orc raid in the area. From Éomer, Aragorn learned that the orcs that kidnapped Merry and Pippin had been slaughtered, and that no hobbits were found among the remains. Dejected, he led Legolas and Gimli to the site of the battle. Clues led Aragorn to believe that the hobbits might still be alive, prompting him to lead the party into Fangorn Forest. They found not the hobbits, but Gandalf the White (whom they initially mistook for Saruman), sent back from death to continue his duties in Middle-earth. Gandalf told them that the hobbits were in the care of the Ents of Fangorn. Together, the four travelled to Edoras in Rohan, where Gandalf freed Théoden from Saruman's enchantment and helped him muster 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 The Return of the King, Aragorn used a palantír and revealed himself to Sauron as the heir of Isildur, in order to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo, who was approaching Mordor. Sauron 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 Anduín to Minas Tirith. When they arrived at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Aragorn unfurled 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 the armies of Gondor and Rohan rallied and defeated Sauron's army.

To continue to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo's quest, Aragorn led the armies of the West to the gates of Mordor, where Sauron attacked with overwhelming force. But at that moment the Ring was destroyed, and Sauron and his forces were vanquished.

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 unclaimed for centuries due to historical, legal, and military circumstances. The royal house of Gondor descended from Elendil, but through Anárion, Isildur's brother. 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 elder son. When Gondor's throne became vacant in T.A. 1944, the separation of the kingdoms had been reinforced when the Steward Pelendur rejected the claim of the northern prince Arvedui (Eärnil, a lateral member of the House of Anárion, was eventually chosen king instead). But Arvedui's wife was also of the House of Anárion, so Aragorn descended not only from Elendil and Isildur but also from the ruling family of Gondor. By the time of the Lord of the Rings, however, Gondor had been under the rule of the Stewards of Gondor for centuries, as it was widely doubted that any of the royal line still lived.

In The Return of the King, the Steward Denethor, who years before had seen "Thorongil" as a rival for his father's favour, declared that he would not bow to a descendant of Isildur. Aragorn healed Faramir, Denethor's heir, who had been expected to die; this won him immediate recognition by Faramir as the rightful heir to the throne, and Aragorn's humility and self-sacrifice gained him the hearts of the inhabitants of Gondor's capital city. His healing abilities were noted also by the people of Gondor; 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 Aragorn as King that same evening.

Despite his immediate success and popularity, however, Aragorn decided to lay aside his claim to the throne for the time being. He knew that if he aggressively promoted his claim, rival claimants or debates over his legitimacy might ensue, 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 he left Minas Tirith and symbolically refused to enter it again until he was crowned King.

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 Quenya), a name given to him by Galadriel. (In Sindarin 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. His line was referred to as the House of Telcontar (Telcontar being Quenya for "Strider", the name he was known by in Bree). The Appendices of Return of the King explain that Aragorn married Arwen shortly afterwards, and ruled the Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor until the year 120 of the Fourth Age. His reign was marked by great harmony and prosperity within Gondor and Arnor, and by a renewal of communication and cooperation 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. It is said that the graves of Meriadoc and Peregrin (who had died in Gondor 58 years prior) were set beside his. He was succeeded on the throne by his son, Eldarion. Arwen, gravely saddened by the loss of her husband, gave up her mortal life shortly afterwards and was laid to rest in Lothlórien. Arwen and Aragorn also had at least two daughters. Upon hearing of Aragorn's death, Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduín and so to the Undying Lands; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. "And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring."

Characteristics[link]

Tolkien gives a brief but detailed description of Strider in The Fellowship of the Ring: lean, dark and tall, with shaggy dark hair "flecked with grey", grey eyes, and a stern pale face. It is also stated that he was the tallest of the Company.^[3] In "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", found in the Appendices, he was said to be often grim and sad, with unexpected moments of levity.^[4] Some time after the publication of the books, Tolkien wrote that he was at least 6 ft 6 in (198 cm) tall.^[5]

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 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.^[4] Due to his position as Isildur's heir, Aragorn had impressive powers for a man, and, as the rightful owner of the palantír of Orthanc used it to declare himself as the heir of Isildur to Sauron, seeking to distract Sauron from Frodo.

Though he was wise and strong, he was not immune to self-doubt. 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.^[3][6]

Names and titles[link]

Aragorn, son of Arathorn was called the Dúnadan ("Man of the West/Númenórean", given by Arwen in Lothlórien and much used by Bilbo), Longshanks (given by Bill Ferny in Bree), Strider (by which he was known in Bree and the outlying areas), and Wingfoot (given by Éomer after discovering that Aragorn had travelled 45 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 nickname given him by the rustics of the North), which ruled Gondor well into the Fourth Age of Middle-earth; in records, his full regnal name is given as Elessar Telcontar ("Elfstone Strider"). Envinyatar (meaning "the renewer") is another name by which he referred to himself when he claimed the elfstone. He was known as Estel ("hope") before coming of age, to protect his true lineage from Sauron's forces, which were seeking the heir of Isildur. He was also known as Thorongil ("Eagle of the Star") in his younger days when he travelled across Middle-earth and took up service in Rohan and Gondor (often by protecting camps and raiding enemy strongholds like he did when he crossed the Corsairs of Umbar).

Concept and creation[link]

Aragorn's character and story arc underwent a series of developments and name changes before the version seen in The Lord of the Rings, as Tolkien did not have the full plot of the story or its background planned out when he started writing.

Identity[link]

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.^[7]

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).^[8] The latter suggestion was linked to an early comment of Bingo: "I keep on feeling that I have seen him somewhere before".^[9] Tolkien considered that Trotter might be Bilbo Baggins himself, but soon rejected that idea.^[8]

Another suggestion was that Trotter was "Fosco Took (Bilbo's first cousin), who vanished when a lad, owing to Gandalf".^[8] 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,^[10] 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 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.^[11]

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".^[12]

It was not until after Book I was written that Tolkien finally settled on the Mannish identity of Trotter, introducing him from the beginning as Aragorn, a "descendant of the ancient men of the North, and one of Elrond's household".^[12] While the history of Númenor and the descendants of Elros and Elendil was not yet 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.

Further character developments[link]

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 the Witch King "when Sauron raised a rebellion".^[13] 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.^[14]

Aragorn's relationship with Arwen was established very late in the writing. When Tolkien first introduced Éowyn, 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.^[15]

The first mention of Elrond's daughter, named Finduilas, was made in reference to the banner she made for Aragorn,^[16] but Tolkien did not give any hint whether she had any further part to play. The references to her marriage with Aragorn came later,^[17] but it was explicitly stated only near the completion of the book.^[18] Only in his work on the appendices for The Lord of the Rings did Tolkien record the full tale of Aragorn and Arwen.^[19]

A passing idea was that Galadriel gave her Ring to Aragorn, and that he would accordingly be titled the "Lord of the Ring".^[17]

Rejected names[link]

The original nickname Trotter was retained for a long time, 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 an equivalent of Peregrin (Boffin).^[20] Before the later title "the Dúnadan" emerged, Tarkil (Quenya for 'noble Man') was used, as a synonym for Númenórean.^[21]

Tolkien hesitated for some time over Strider's "real" name. Although Aragorn was the first suggestion when his Mannish descent was determined, the name 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, 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 to Elfstone in order to make an additional connection.^[22] This was retained into the final version of the legendarium as a translation of Elessar.

Among other names 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 paired Aramir or Celegorn with Aragorn before settling upon Arathorn; Elfhelm and Eldakar with Elfstone and Eldamir; and Ingrim with Ingold.^[22]

Adaptations[link]

Film[link]

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).^[23] 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.^{[24][25][26][27]}

Aragorn was voiced by Theodore Bikel in the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of the King, made for television. Robert Stephens voiced Aragorn in the 1981 BBC Radio serial of The Lord of the Rings.

In the Lord of the Rings film 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 four days of shooting because Jackson felt Townsend was too young for the role. In these movies, Aragorn begins his journey with the Fellowship with no desire to claim 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 has the opportunity. Another notable difference in Jackson's films is that Aragorn does not at first wield Andúril. Instead he uses a different, unnamed sword throughout the first two films and receives his ancestor's reforged sword in the third film. Mortensen's portrayal of Aragorn won him the title of 31st greatest movie characters of all time by Empire.^[28]

Stage[link]

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, Canada. In the London production the role was played by Jerome Pradon, and the role was taken over by Robbie Scotcher on 23 June 2008. 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 and the 2001 production of The Return of the King.

Parodies[link]

In the parody Bored Of The Rings, Aragorn is portrayed as 'Arrowroot' and nicknamed 'Stomper' (a take on Strider), and is quite deranged; he is also rather inept at actual fighting, but disables an entire battalion of 'Nozdrul' simply with his combative ineptitude and random shouting of nonsensical battle-cries, which induces a wave of uncontrollable laughter, allowing the group to successfully disable the Nozdrul whilst they are incapacitated with hysteria. In the Veggie Tales episode "Lord of the Beans", Aragorn is parodied as Larry the Cucumber dressed up as a Ranger named "Ear-o'-Corn".

Reception[link]

UGO Networks listed Aragorn as one of their best heroes of all time.^[29]

See also[link]

• House of Telcontar
• Halbarad

References[link]

External links[link]

• Aragorn at the Internet Movie Database
• Aragorn at the Tolkien Gateway
• Aragorn at The Thain's Book
• A History and Complete Chronology of Númenor – A detailed chronology of Númenor, its successor states and their rulers.