Aragorn () 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 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 Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took with 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 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 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, the film trilogy by Peter Jackson, the fan film The Hunt for Gollum, and in the BBC radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings.
Background
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 Anárion – together with their father Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor – joined 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 killed. Isildur took up the hilt-shard of Narsil, Elendil's sword, and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand. Despite the urging of Elrond and Círdan, Gil-galad's lieutenants, Isildur did not destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, but 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, and the Ring was seemingly lost forever., "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age", pp. 293–295, part 3, 1. "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", pp. 271–287
A son of Anárion became king of Gondor, and Isildur's son, Valandil, became king of Arnor. Nearly two thousand years later, the kingdom of Arnor fell to the evil land of Angmar, and Arvedui, the king of Arnor, died in a shipwreck. After that, the line of the kings of Arnor was maintained by the chieftains of the Dúnedain for over a thousand years. Each chieftain was given a name with the kingly prefix of Ar(a)-, to signify his right to the kingship of Arnor., Appendix A, I (ii) "The Realms in Exile" The kingdom of Gondor continued, but years later, when the childless King Eärnur was lost, Gondor began to be ruled by stewards. Centuries later, Sauron returned to Mordor and openly declared himself.
Fictional biography
Early life
Aragorn 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". Appendix A "The Númenórean Kings" Aragorn is the heir to the throne of Gondor and of the lost realm of Arnor., "Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age": "He was Aragorn son of Arathorn, the nine and thirtieth heir in the right line from Isildur, and yet more like Elendil than any before him." When he is two years old, his father is killed while pursuing orcs.
Aragorn is fostered in Rivendell by Elrond, who 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 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, a symbol of the Kingdom of Arnor, 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 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 help to guard the Shire, the land of the diminutive hobbits. He becomes known as "Strider" in the Shire and Bree., book 1, ch. 10 "Strider" Aragorn meets and befriends Gandalf the wizard.
Aragorn undertakes great journeys, serving in 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 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., Appendix B 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 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., book 1, ch. 2 "The Shadow of the Past". 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 the Dead Marshes northwest of Mordor. Aragorn brings Gollum to King Thranduil's halls in Mirkwood, where Gandalf questions him., book 2, ch. 2 "The Council of Elrond".
The War of the Ring
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 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., book 1, ch. 12 "Flight to the Ford"
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 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"., book 3, ch. 3 "The Ring goes South"
The Fellowship attempts to cross the Misty Mountains via the pass of Caradhras, but a violent storm forestalls them. Instead, the Fellowship travels through the mines of Moria. When Gandalf is killed fighting a Balrog,, book 2, ch. 5 "The Bridge of Khazad-dûm" Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien, book 2, ch. 6 "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., book 2, ch. 9 "The Great River"
The Fellowship is then broken: Frodo continues his journey southeast toward Mordor, accompanied only by his gardener and friend, hobbit Samwise Gamgee. The two other hobbit members of the Fellowship, Merry Brandybuck and Pippin Took, are captured by orcs., book 3, ch. 1 "The Departure of Boromir" Aragorn decides that Frodo and the Ring are beyond his help; he, Legolas, and Gimli, calling themselves the Three Hunters, instead set off to track the orcs northwest hoping to rescue Merry and Pippin. They learn that the orcs have been killed and that no survivors were found., book 3, ch. 2 "The Riders of Rohan" 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, who tells them that the hobbits are in the care of the Ents. book 3, ch. 5, "The White Rider"
Gandalf and the Three Hunters travel to Edoras in Rohan, where Gandalf frees King Théoden from the enchantment of the treacherous wizard Saruman and helps him prepare the Rohirrim to fight against Saruman., book 3, ch. 6 "The King of the Golden Hall" Aragorn fights with the men of Rohan at the Battle of Helm's Deep, in which Saruman's army of orcs is destroyed., book 3, ch. 7 "Helm's Deep" 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 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., book 5, ch. 2 "The Passing of the Grey Company"
With their aid, Aragorn defeats the Corsairs of Umbar at the port of Pelargir. Aragorn releases 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., book 5, ch. 9 "The Last Debate" 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, the armies of Gondor and Rohan rally and defeat Sauron's army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields., book 5, ch. 6 "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"