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The Lord of the Rings

2008-04-03T19:55:36Z

Sivaluna: punctuation

{{quote|The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read '''The Lord of the Rings''' and [[The Hobbit]] and those who are going to read them.|Sunday Times}}

{{book|
title=The Lord of the Rings|
image=[[Image:Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg|200px]]|
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]|
publisher=Houghton Mifflin|
date=1954-1955|
format=Hardcover, Paperback|
pages=1210|
}}

'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is an epic fantasy story by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], a sequel to his earlier work, ''[[The Hobbit]]''. It was published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. Three movie productions have been made, the first, by animator [[Ralph Bakshi]] was released in 1978 (as part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of the story), the second being a 1980 television special, and the third being director [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] released in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

The story's titular character is the Dark Lord [[Sauron]] of [[Mordor]]. The primary villain of the work, he created the One Ring to control nineteen other Rings of Power, and is thus the "Lord of the Rings." Sauron, in turn, was the servant of an earlier Dark Lord, [[Morgoth]] (Melkor), who is prominent in Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the history of Middle-earth.

==Books and volumes==

===Writing===

Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and instead wrote several other children's tales, including ''[[Roverandom]]'' and ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]''. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of [[Arda]], telling tales of the [[Silmarils]], and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in the Lord of the Rings trilogy came to be. Tolkien died before he could complete and put together ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published in 1977.

Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervarar_saga Hervarar saga], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Völsunga_Saga Völsunga saga], the influential [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf Beowulf] as well as other Old Norse, Old and Middle English Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic [[Kalevala]]. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions. The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the [[Inklings]], fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, [[C.S. Lewis]], that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.

Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937. After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to ''The Hobbit'' to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished ''[[The Silmarillion|Silmarillion]]''. The idea of the first chapter (''A Long-Expected Party'') arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title ''The Lord of the Rings'' until spring [[1938]]. Originally he was going to write another story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however he remembered the ring and the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions — Where was his wife? How could Bilbo let his son go into that kind of danger? — so he looked for an alternate character to carry the ring. In Greek legend, it was a hero's nephew that gained the item of power, and so into existence came the Hobbit Frodo.

Writing was slow due to Tolkien's perfectionism, and was frequently interrupted by his obligations as an examiner, and other academic duties. In fact, the first sentence of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' was written on a blank page a student had left on an exam paper that Tolkien was grading — "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". He seems to have abandoned the book during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944. This effort was written as a serial for [[Christopher Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]] — the former would be sent copies of chapters as they were written while he was serving in [[Africa]] in the [[Royal Air Force]]. He made another push in 1946, and showed a copy of the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not finish revising earlier parts of the work until 1949.

A dispute with his publishers, [[Allen and Unwin]], led to the book being offered to [[HarperCollins|Collins]] in 1950. He intended ''the Silmarillion'' (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with ''The Lord of the Rings'', but A&U were unwilling to do this. After his contact at Collins, [[Milton Waldman]], expressed the belief that ''The Lord of the Rings'' itself 'urgently needed cutting', he eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. They did not do so, and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff".

===Publication===

For publication, due largely to post-war paper shortages, but also to keep the price of the first volume down, the book was divided into three volumes (''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'': Books I and II; ''[[The Two Towers]]'': Books III and IV; and ''[[The Return of the King]]'': Books V and VI, 6 appendices). Delays in producing appendices and maps led to these being published later than originally hoped — on the 29 July and 11 November 1954 and 20 October 1955 in the United Kingdom, slightly later in the United States. ''The Return of the King'' was especially delayed. He did not, however, much like the title ''The Return of the King'', believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested ''[[The War of the Ring]]'' which was dismissed by his publishers.

The books were published under a 'profit-sharing' arrangement, where Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, but after then take a large share of the profits.

An index to the entire 3-volume set at the end of third volume was promised in the first volume. However, this proved impractical to compile in a reasonable timescale. Later, in 1966, four indices which were not compiled by Tolkien were added to ''The Return of the King''.

Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is usually referred to as the ''Lord of the Rings'' "trilogy". Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work, though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single novel.

A 1999 (Millennium Edition) British (ISBN 0-261-10387-3) 7-volume box set followed the six-book division authored by Tolkien, but with the Appendices from the end of Book VI bound as a separate volume. The letters of ''Tolkien'' appear on the spines of the boxed set which includes a CD.
The individual names for books in this series were decided posthumously, based on a combination of suggestions Tolkien had made during his lifetime, title of the volumes, and whole cloth — viz:

* T Book I: ''The Ring Sets Out''
* O Book II: ''The Ring Goes South''
* L Book III: ''The Treason of Isengard''
* K Book IV: ''The Ring Goes East''
* I Book V: ''The War of the Ring''
* E Book VI: ''The End of the Third Age''
* N Appendices

The name of the complete work is often abbreviated to ''''LotR'''', ''''LOTR'''', or simply ''''LR'''', and the three volumes as FR, FOTR, or FotR (The '''F'''ellowship '''o'''f '''t'''he '''R'''ing), TT or TTT ('''T'''he '''T'''wo '''T'''owers), and RK, ROTK, or RotK (The '''R'''eturn '''o'''f '''t'''he '''K'''ing).

Note that the three titles ''The Return of the Shadow'', ''The Treason of Isengard'' and ''The War of the Ring'' were used by [[Christopher Tolkien]] in [[The History of The Lord of the Rings]].

Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in [[Sarehole]], then a [[Warwickshire]] village, now part of [[Birmingham]], and in Birmingham itself.

== Publication history ==

The three parts were first published by [[Allen and Unwin]] in [[1954]]-[[1955]] several months apart. They were later reissued many times by multiple publishers, as one, three, six or seven volumes. Two current printings are ISBN 0-618-34399-7 (one-volume) and ISBN 0-618-34624-4 (three volume set).

In the early 1960s, Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher [[Ace Books]], realized that ''The Lord of the Rings'' was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because the US hardcover edition had been bound from pages printed in the UK for the British edition. Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without compensation to him. Tolkien made this plain to US fans who wrote to him. Grass-roots pressure became so great that Ace books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien, well below what he might have been due in an appropriate publication. However, this poor beginning was overshadowed when an authorized edition followed from [[Ballantine Books]] to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the books, due to their wide exposure on the American public stage, had become a true cultural phenomenon. The Second Edition of the Lord of the Rings dates from this time — Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would have a valid U.S. copyright.

The books have been translated, with various degrees of success, into dozens of other languages.
Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and had comments on each that illuminate both the translation process and his work.

The enormous popular success of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to ''The Lord of the Rings'', the genre flowered throughout the 1960s. Many well-written books of this genre were published (comparable works include the ''Earthsea'' books of Ursula K. Le Guin, the ''Thomas Covenant'' novels of Stephen R. Donaldson, and in the case of the ''Gormenghast'' books by Mervyn Peake, and ''The Worm Ourobouros'' by E. R. Eddison, rediscovered). It also strongly influenced the role playing game industry that achieved popularity in the 1970s with ''Dungeons & Dragons'' which featured many creatures that could be found in Tolkien's books.

As in all artistic fields, a great many lesser derivatives of the more prominent works appeared. The term "Tolkienesque" is used in the genre to refer to the oft-used and abused storyline of ''The Lord of the Rings'': a group of adventurers embarking on a quest to save a magical fantasy world from the armies of an evil "[[Dark Lord|dark lord]]", and is a testament to how much the popularity of these books has increased, since many critics initially decried Lord of the Rings as being "[[Richard Wagner| Wagner]] for children" (a reference to the [[Ring Cycle]]) — a specially interesting commentary in light of a possible interpretation of The Lord of The Rings as a Christian response to Wagner, for example following [http://atimes.com./atimes/others/spengler.html ATimes' pseudo-Oswald Spengler].

== The books ==

''The Lord of the Rings'' began as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism); fairy tales, and Norse and Celtic mythology.
Tolkien detailed his creation to an astounding extent; he created a complete mythology for his realm of Middle-earth, including genealogies of characters, languages, [[runes]], calendars and histories.
Some of this supplementary material is detailed in the appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the mythological history was woven into a large, biblically-styled volume entitled ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.

J. R. R. Tolkien once described ''The Lord of the Rings'' as "''a fundamentally religious and Catholic work''" he wrote to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, "''unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.''"(''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', 142). There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, the activity of grace, Death and Immortality, Resurrection, Salvation, Repentance, Self-Sacrifice, Free Will, Humility, Justice, Fellowship, Authority and Healing.
In it the great virtues of Mercy and Pity (shown by Bilbo and Frodo towards Gollum) win the day and the message from the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" was very much on Tolkien's mind as Frodo struggled against the power of the One Ring (''Letters'', 181 and 191).

Religious motifs other than Christian can be discerned as strong influences in Tolkien's Middle Earth. The pantheon of the Valar and Maiar (greater and lesser gods/angels) responsible for the creation and maintenance of everything from skies (Manwe) and seas (Ulmo), to dreams (Lorien) and dooms (Mandos) suggest a pre-Christian mythology in style, albeit that these Valar and Maiar are themselves creations of a monotheistic entity — Illuvatar or Eru, "The One".

Other pre-Christian mythological references can be seen in the representations of: a "Green Man" — Tom Bombadil, wise-men — the Istari (commonly referred to as the Wizards, perhaps more of angels), shapechangers — Beorn, undead spirits — Barrow Wights, Oathbreakers, sentient nonhumans — Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and, of course, Ents. Magic is utilised freely in Middle Earth, and may be found not only in the incantations of Wizards, but in the weapons and tools of warriors and craftspeople, in the perceptions and abilities of heroes, and in the natural world itself.

Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind, and even though his thoughts on the matter are mentioned in the introduction of the book, there has been heavy speculation about the Ruling Ring being an allegory for the atom bomb. However, Tolkien had already completed most of the book, and planned the ending in entirety, before the first atom bombs were made public to the world during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. However there is a strong theme of despair in front of new mechanized warfare that Tolkien himself had experienced in the trenches of World War One. The development of a specially bred orc army, and the destruction of the environment to aid this have modern resonances. Nevertheless, the author's own opinion on the matter of allegories was that he disliked them, and it would be irresponsible to dismiss such direct statements on these matters lightly.

The plot of ''The Lord of the Rings'' builds from his earlier book ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and more obliquely from the history in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', which contains events to which the characters of ''The Lord of the Rings'' look back upon in the book.
The [[hobbit]]s become embroiled in great events that threaten their entire world, as [[Sauron]], an evil spirit, attempts to regain the lost [[One Ring]] which will restore him to full potency.

=== The Verse of the One Ring ===
:''Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,''
:''   Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,''
:''Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,''
:''   One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne''
:''In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.''
:''   One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,''
:''   One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them''
:''In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.''

The lines :
:''   One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,''
:''   One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them''
are inscribed in the language of Sauron and Mordor (the Black Speech) on the One Ring itself. Phonetically it would be:
:''Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul''

=== The storyline ===
See the articles on ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', ''[[The Two Towers]]'', and ''[[The Return of the King]]'' for plot summaries.

=== Criticism ===
The book was characterized as "juvenile balderdash" by American critic [[Edmund Wilson]] in his essay "[http://www.jrrvf.com/sda/critiques/The_Nation.html Oo, those awful Orcs]", and in 1961 [[Philip Toynbee]] wrote, somewhat prematurely, that it had "passed into a merciful oblivion" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1695926.stm]. Although she had never read ''The Lord of the Rings'', [[Germaine Greer]] wrote "it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized."

[[W.H. Auden]] also criticized the book in a 1968 ''Critical Quarterly'' article, "Good and evil in ''The Lord of the Rings''," objecting to Tolkien's conception of sentient species that are intrinsically evil without possibility of redemption. (This is a criticism often directed at [[Dungeons and Dragons]]-like fantasy worlds as well as at fantasy literature in general, and a criticism that Tolkien himself increasingly struggled with during his last years.) On the other hand, in a 1956 ''New York Times'' book review, "At the end of the Quest, Victory," Auden also called the book "a masterpiece of its genre" that "succeeded where [[John Milton|Milton]] failed" in depicting an epic battle between good and evil, and wrote that it "never violated" the "reader's sense of the credible."

Science-fiction author [[David Brin]] has criticized the books for unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure, their positive depiction of the slaughter of the opposing forces, and their romantic backward-looking worldview [http://www.davidbrin.com/tolkienarticle1.html].

Another notable SF writer Michael Moorcock wrote a long and piercing critique of the book under the title Epic Pooh advancing the thesis that it was simply a child's tale written in the language of epic myth.

China Mieville, a modern fantasy writer, criticised Tolkien's works as "reactionary." Mieville is also a detractor of later fantasy which draws heavily upon Tolkien's work, based on the idea that such work is cliche.

===Praise===
"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' and those who are going to read them." — ''Sunday Times''

"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." — ''Sunday Telegraph''

"Here are the beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron." — C.S. Lewis

"J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy remains the ultimate quest, the ultimate battle between good and evil, the ultimate chronicle of stewardship of the earth. Endlessly imitated, it never has been surpassed." — ''Kansas City Star''

"A story magnificently told, with every kind of colour and movement and greatness." — ''New Statesman''

Peter Jackson said, "…it is as if Tolkien found some secret scroll about the real history of earth…".

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on film ==
===Early efforts===
There were plans for [[the Beatles]] to do a version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' but they came to nothing. It was even said that Stanley Kubrick had looked into the possibility of filming the story, but he abandoned the idea as too "immense" to be made into a movie. In the mid-1970s, renowned film director [[John Boorman]] collaborated with film rights holder and producer [[Saul Zaentz]] to do a live action picture, but the project proved too expensive to finance at that time. Boorman would later use many of the locations and sets in his Arthurian epic "Excalibur"

In 1978, [[Rankin/Bass]] studios produced the first real film adaptation of any ''Lord of the Rings'' related material with an animated television version of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', which was a precursor to ''The Lord of the Rings''.

Shortly after, Saul Zaentz picked up where Rankin-Bass left off by producing an animated adaptation of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and part of ''The Two Towers'' in 1978.

''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]'', originally released by [[United Artists]] was directed by [[Ralph Bakshi]] and used an animation technique called rotoscoping in which footage of live actors was filmed and then traced over.

The film was part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's story, Part I ending after the battle of Helm's Deep, but before Sam, Frodo and Gollum traverse the [[Dead Marshes]], and Part II picking up from where the first film left off. Made for a minimal budget of $8 million dollars, the film earned $30 million dollars at the box office.

United Artists viewed the film as a flop, and refused to fund a Part II (covering the rest of the story), leaving the door open for Rankin-Bass to do the work for him with the 1980 animated television version of ''[[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]''.

However, the Rankin-Bass film picked up from where the book began, and not from where Bakshi's film left off. Additionally, the change in style and character design was quite noticeable.

Since this film was targeted to a younger audience, adult enthusiasts have complained that much of the depth and darkness of the book was discarded.

===The New Line Cinema films===

''Main article [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]''

[[Miramax]] Films developed a full-fledged live-action adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'', with [[Peter Jackson]] as director. Eventually, Miramax became uneasy with the sheer scope of the proposed projectand wanted to combine the suggested three films into two. [[Peter Jackson]] struck a deal with Miramax that if he could not find a fresh studio to back the project, he would walk away and leave the rights and all the work so far completed with Miramax. However, in 1998, [[New Line Cinema]] assumed production responsibility (while Miramax executives [[Bob Weinstein]] and [[Harvey Weinstein]] retained on-screen credits as executive producers on the films).

The three live action films (supplemented with extensive computer-generated imagery, for example in the major battle scenes, using the "[[Massive]]" software) were filmed simultaneously. ''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was released on December 19, 2001. ''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers|The Two Towers]]'' was released on December 18, 2002 and ''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'' was released worldwide on December 17, 2003. All three films won the Hugo Award for Best (Long-form) Dramatic Presentation in their respective years.

Although some have criticized these films because they have altered the story somewhat and, arguably, have a noticeably different tone from Tolkien's original vision, others have hailed them as remarkable achievements. [[Peter Jackson]] has defended his changes by stating that he views the films as merely one man's interpreatation.

[[Peter Jackson]]'s film adaptations garnered seventeen Oscars (four for ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', two for ''The Two Towers'', and eleven for ''The Return of the King''); these cover many of the awards categories (in fact, ''The Return of the King'' won all of the eleven awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture). With 30 total nominations, the trilogy also became the most-nominated in the Academy's history, surpassing the ''Godfather'' series (28).

''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Oscar sweep is widely seen as a proxy award for the entire trilogy. ''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 11 Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards tied it for most awards won for one film with ''Titanic'' six years earlier and the [[1959]] version of ''Ben-Hur''. It also broke the previous "sweep" record, beating ''Gigi'' and ''The Last Emperor'' (which had gone 9 for 9).

The visual-effects work has been groundbreaking, particularly the creation of the emotionally versatile digital character [[Gollum]].
The scale of the production alone — three films shot and edited back to back over a period of little more than three years — is unprecedented.

The films have also proven to be substantial box office successes. The premiere of ''The Return of the King'' took place in [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]], on December 1, 2003 and was surrounded by fan celebrations and official promotions (the production of the films having contributed significantly to the New Zealand economy). It has made movie history as the largest Wednesday opening ever. ''The Return of the King'' was also the second movie in history (after ''Titanic'') to earn over 1 billion $US (worldwide). Note, however, that these numbers are all unadjusted for inflation, making their significance questionable. Adjusted for inflation, as of 24 March 2005, the three films rank (in order of release) as the 71st, 56th, and 48th highest-grossing films in the United States [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm].

Fanatics of the films have also flocked to the locations where the trilogy was filmed in New Zealand, with many tour companies being totally devoted to taking fans to and from the filming locations that Director Peter Jackson chose for the adaption of Tolkien's epic trilogy.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_Of_The_Ring]

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on radio ==

The BBC produced a 13-part radio adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 1956, and a 6-part version of ''The Hobbit'' in 1966.
It is uncertain whether Tolkien ever heard either series. No recording of the 1956 series is known to exist, but ''The Hobbit'' has survived.
It is a very faithful adaptation, incorporating some passing references to ''The Lord of the Rings'' and [[The Silmarillion]].

A 1979 dramatization was broadcast in the USA and subsequently issued on tape and CD. No cast or credits appear on the audio packaging.
Each of the actors was apparently recorded separately and then the various parts were edited together.
Thus, unlike a BBC recording session where the actors are recorded together, none of the cast are actually interacting with each other and the performances suffer badly as a result.

In 1981 the BBC broadcast a new, ambitious dramatization of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 26 half-hour instalments. See: ''[[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)]]''.

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on stage ==

[[Ed Mirvish|Mirvish Productions]] has started rehearsals for a three-hour stage musical adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' that will have a cast of over 65 actors and cost C$27 million (£11.5 million). The show will be written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus with music by [[A. R. Rahman]] and [[Värttinä]], collaborating with [[Christopher Nightingale]] and will be directed by [[Matthew Warchus]]. It will open on March 23 2006 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, with preview performances from February 2 until March 22. It is planned to premiere in London in autumn 2006 and New York City within two years.

The director explained his vision of the play’s format by saying, "We have not attempted to pull the novel towards the standard conventions of musical theatre, but rather to expand those conventions so that they will accommodate Tolkien's material. As a result, we will be presenting a hybrid of text, physical theatre, music and spectacle never previously seen on this scale. To read the novel is to experience the events of Middle-earth in the mind’s eye; to watch the films is to view Middle-earth as though through a giant window. Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us. We participate. We are in Middle-earth."

== Satire and parody based on ''The Lord of the Rings'' ==
''This section has been moved to the [[Humor]] page.''

==Awards==
* In 1957 it was awarded the International Fantasy Award
* In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's Best-loved Book".
* Australians voted The Lord of the Rings "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC
* In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". [http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/06/04/tolkien/]
* In 2002 Tolkien was voted the ninety-second "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC
* In 2004 he was voted thirty-fifth in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists
* In a 2004 poll inspired by the UK’s "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite work of literature. [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/04/1096871805007.html?from=storyrhs]
* The Lord of the Rings came in 3rd in the Librarians' Poll [http://tolkiensociety.org/news/librarians-poll.html]

'''See also:'''
* [[References to The Lord of the Rings]]

{{lotr}}

[[Category:Books|Lord of the Rings]]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien|Lord of the Rings]]

[[de:Der Herr der Ringe]]
[[fi:Taru Sormusten Herrasta]]

The Lord of the Rings

2008-04-03T19:53:29Z

Sivaluna: typo

{{quote|The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read '''The Lord of the Rings''' and [[The Hobbit]] and those who are going to read them.|Sunday Times}}

{{book|
title=The Lord of the Rings|
image=[[Image:Jrrt lotr cover design.jpg|200px]]|
author=[[J.R.R. Tolkien]]|
publisher=Houghton Mifflin|
date=1954-1955|
format=Hardcover, Paperback|
pages=1210|
}}

'''''The Lord of the Rings''''' is an epic fantasy story by [[J.R.R. Tolkien]], a sequel to his earlier work, ''[[The Hobbit]]''. It was published in three volumes in 1954 and 1955. Three movie productions have been made, the first, by animator [[Ralph Bakshi]] was released in 1978 (as part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of the story), the second being a 1980 television special, and the third being director [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]] released in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

The story's titular character is the Dark Lord [[Sauron]] of [[Mordor]]. The primary villain of the work, he created the One Ring to control nineteen other Rings of Power, and is thus the "Lord of the Rings." Sauron, in turn, was the servant of an earlier Dark Lord, [[Morgoth]] (Melkor), who is prominent in Tolkien's ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', the history of Middle-earth.

==Books and volumes==

===Writing===

Tolkien did not originally intend to write a sequel to ''[[The Hobbit]]'', and instead wrote several other children's tales, including ''[[Roverandom]]'' and ''[[Farmer Giles of Ham]]''. As his main work, Tolkien began to outline the history of [[Arda]], telling tales of the [[Silmarils]], and many other stories of how the races and situations that we read about in the Lord of the Rings trilogy came to be. Tolkien died before he could complete and put together ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', but his son [[Christopher Tolkien]] edited his father's work, filled in gaps and published in 1977.

Tolkien had a deep desire to write a mythology for England, especially after his horrific experiences during the First World War. He was also influenced by the effects of continued industrialisation, where he saw much of the England he loved passing away and became aware of the immense evil in the world. Thus to understand his writings we must be aware of how Tolkien the scholar influences Tolkien the author. His writing of this mythology emerges as an Oxford philologist well acquainted with Northern European Medieval Literature including the great mythic works such as the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hervarar_saga Hervarar saga], the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Völsunga_Saga Völsunga saga], the influential [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf Beowulf] as well as other Old Norse, Old and Middle English Texts. He was also inspired by non-Germanic works such as the Finnish epic [[Kalevala]]. A man who had created his first language by the age of seven, he was driven by a desire to write a mythology for England influenced by his exposure and expertise of these ancient traditions. The need for such a myth was often a topic of conversation in his meetings with the [[Inklings]], fellow Oxford scholars who have been described as Christian Romantics, meeting weekly and discussing Icelandic myths and their own unpublished compositions. Tolkien agreed with one of the other members of the group, [[C.S. Lewis]], that if there were no adequate myths for England then they would have to write their own. Tolkien's work has been commonly interpreted in this light.

Persuaded by his publishers, he started 'a new hobbit' in December 1937. After several false starts, the story of the One Ring soon emerged, and the book mutated from being a sequel to the Hobbit to being, in theme, more of a sequel to the unpublished ''[[The Silmarillion|Silmarillion]]''. The idea of the first chapter (''A Long-Expected Party'') arrived fully-formed, although the reasons behind Bilbo's disappearance, and the significance of the Ring did not arrive, along with the title ''The Lord of the Rings'' until spring [[1938]]. Originally he was going to write another story in which Bilbo had used up all his treasure and was looking for another adventure to gain more; however he remembered the ring and the powers it had and decided to write about that instead. He started to write it with Bilbo as the main character but decided that the story was too serious to use the fun loving Hobbit so Tolkien looked to use a member of Bilbo's family. He thought about using Bilbo's son but this generated some difficult questions — Where was his wife? How could Bilbo let his son go into that kind of danger? — so he looked for an alternate character to carry the ring. In Greek legend, it was a hero's nephew that gained the item of power, and so into existence came the Hobbit Frodo.

Writing was slow due to Tolkien's perfectionism, and was frequently interrupted by his obligations as an examiner, and other academic duties. In fact, the first sentence of ''[[The Hobbit]]'' was written on a blank page a student had left on an exam paper that Tolkien was grading — "In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit". He seems to have abandoned the book during most of 1943 and only re-started it in April 1944. This effort was written as a serial for [[Christopher Tolkien]] and [[C.S. Lewis]] — the former would be sent copies of chapters as they were written while he was serving in [[Africa]] in the [[Royal Air Force]]. He made another push in 1946, and showed a copy of the manuscript to his publishers in 1947. The story was effectively finished the next year, but Tolkien did not finish revising earlier parts of the work until 1949.

A dispute with his publishers, [[Allen and Unwin]], led to the book being offered to [[HarperCollins|Collins]] in 1950. He intended ''the Silmarillion'' (itself largely unrevised at this point) to be published along with ''The Lord of the Rings'', but A&U were unwilling to do this. After his contact at Collins, [[Milton Waldman]], expressed the belief that ''The Lord of the Rings'' itself 'urgently needed cutting', he eventually demanded that they publish the book in 1952. They did not do so, and so Tolkien wrote to Allen and Unwin, saying "I would gladly consider the publication of any part of the stuff".

===Publication===

For publication, due largely to post-war paper shortages, but also to keep the price of the first volume down, the book was divided into three volumes (''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'': Books I and II; ''[[The Two Towers]]'': Books III and IV; and ''[[The Return of the King]]'': Books V and VI, 6 appendices). Delays in producing appendices and maps led to these being published later than originally hoped — on the 29 July and 11 November 1954 and 20 October 1955 in the United Kingdom, slightly later in the United States. ''The Return of the King'' was especially delayed. He did not, however, much like the title ''The Return of the King'', believing it gave away too much of the storyline. He had originally suggested ''[[The War of the Ring]]'' which was dismissed by his publishers.

The books were published under a 'profit-sharing' arrangement, where Tolkien would not receive an advance or royalties until the books had broken even, but after then take a large share of the profits.

An index to the entire 3-volume set at the end of third volume was promised in the first volume. However, this proved impractical to compile in a reasonable timescale. Later, in 1966, four indices which were not compiled by Tolkien were added to ''The Return of the King''.

Because the three-volume binding was so widely distributed, the work is usually referred to as the ''Lord of the Rings'' "trilogy". Tolkien himself made use of the term "trilogy" for the work, though he did at other times consider this incorrect, as it was written and conceived as a single novel.

A 1999 (Millennium Edition) British (ISBN 0-261-10387-3) 7-volume box set followed the six-book division authored by Tolkien, but with the Appendices from the end of Book VI bound as a separate volume. The letters of ''Tolkien'' appear on the spines of the boxed set which includes a CD.
The individual names for books in this series were decided posthumously, based on a combination of suggestions Tolkien had made during his lifetime, title of the volumes, and whole cloth — viz:

* T Book I: ''The Ring Sets Out''
* O Book II: ''The Ring Goes South''
* L Book III: ''The Treason of Isengard''
* K Book IV: ''The Ring Goes East''
* I Book V: ''The War of the Ring''
* E Book VI: ''The End of the Third Age''
* N Appendices

The name of the complete work is often abbreviated to ''''LotR'''', ''''LOTR'''', or simply ''''LR'''', and the three volumes as FR, FOTR, or FotR (The '''F'''ellowship '''o'''f '''t'''he '''R'''ing), TT or TTT ('''T'''he '''T'''wo '''T'''owers), and RK, ROTK, or RotK (The '''R'''eturn '''o'''f '''t'''he '''K'''ing).

Note that the three titles ''The Return of the Shadow'', ''The Treason of Isengard'' and ''The War of the Ring'' were used by [[Christopher Tolkien]] in [[The History of The Lord of the Rings]].

Some locations and characters were inspired by Tolkien's childhood in [[Sarehole]], then a [[Warwickshire]] village, now part of [[Birmingham]], and in Birmingham itself.

== Publication history ==

The three parts were first published by [[Allen and Unwin]] in [[1954]]-[[1955]] several months apart. They were later reissued many times by multiple publishers, as one, three, six or seven volumes. Two current printings are ISBN 0-618-34399-7 (one-volume) and ISBN 0-618-34624-4 (three volume set).

In the early 1960s, Donald A. Wollheim, science fiction editor of the paperback publisher [[Ace Books]], realized that ''The Lord of the Rings'' was not protected in the United States under American copyright law because the US hardcover edition had been bound from pages printed in the UK for the British edition. Ace Books proceeded to publish an edition, unauthorized by Tolkien and without compensation to him. Tolkien made this plain to US fans who wrote to him. Grass-roots pressure became so great that Ace books withdrew their edition and made a nominal payment to Tolkien, well below what he might have been due in an appropriate publication. However, this poor beginning was overshadowed when an authorized edition followed from [[Ballantine Books]] to tremendous commercial success. By the mid-1960s the books, due to their wide exposure on the American public stage, had become a true cultural phenomenon. The Second Edition of the Lord of the Rings dates from this time — Tolkien undertook various textual revisions to produce a version of the book that would have a valid U.S. copyright.

The books have been translated, with various degrees of success, into dozens of other languages.
Tolkien, an expert in philology, examined many of these translations, and had comments on each that illuminate both the translation process and his work.

The enormous popular success of Tolkien's epic saga greatly expanded the demand for fantasy fiction. Largely thanks to ''The Lord of the Rings'', the genre flowered throughout the 1960s. Many well-written books of this genre were published (comparable works include the ''Earthsea'' books of Ursula K. Le Guin, the ''Thomas Covenant'' novels of Stephen R. Donaldson, and in the case of the ''Gormenghast'' books by Mervyn Peake, and ''The Worm Ourobouros'' by E. R. Eddison, rediscovered). It also strongly influenced the role playing game industry that achieved popularity in the 1970s with ''Dungeons & Dragons'' which featured many creatures that could be found in Tolkien's books.

As in all artistic fields, a great many lesser derivatives of the more prominent works appeared. The term "Tolkienesque" is used in the genre to refer to the oft-used and abused storyline of ''The Lord of the Rings'': a group of adventurers embarking on a quest to save a magical fantasy world from the armies of an evil "[[Dark Lord|dark lord]]", and is a testament to how much the popularity of these books has increased, since many critics initially decried Lord of the Rings as being "[[Richard Wagner| Wagner]] for children" (a reference to the [[Ring Cycle]]) — a specially interesting commentary in light of a possible interpretation of The Lord of The Rings as a Christian response to Wagner, for example following [http://atimes.com./atimes/others/spengler.html ATimes' pseudo-Oswald Spengler].

== The books ==

''The Lord of the Rings'' began as a personal exploration by Tolkien of his interests in philology, religion (particularly Roman Catholicism); fairy tales, and Norse and Celtic mythology.
Tolkien detailed his creation to an astounding extent; he created a complete mythology for his realm of Middle-earth, including genealogies of characters, languages, [[runes]], calendars and histories.
Some of this supplementary material is detailed in the appendices to ''The Lord of the Rings'', and the mythological history was woven into a large, biblically-styled volume entitled ''[[The Silmarillion]]''.

J. R. R. Tolkien once described ''The Lord of the Rings'' as "''a fundamentally religious and Catholic work''" he wrote to his friend, the English Jesuit Father Robert Murray, "''unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision.''"(''[[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]'', 142). There are many theological themes underlying the narrative, the battle of good versus evil, the triumph of humility over pride, the activity of grace, Death and Immortality, Resurrection, Salvation, Repentance, Self-Sacrifice, Free Will, Humility, Justice, Fellowship, Authority and Healing.
In it the great virtues of Mercy and Pity (shown by Bilbo and Frodo towards Gollum) win the day and the message from the Lord's Prayer "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil" was very much on Tolkien's mind as Frodo struggled against the power of the One Ring (''Letters'', 181 and 191).

Religious motifs other than Christian can be discerned as strong influences in Tolkien's Middle Earth. The pantheon of the Valar and Maiar (greater and lesser gods/angels) responsible for the creation and maintenance of everything from skies (Manwe) and seas (Ulmo), to dreams (Lorien) and dooms (Mandos) suggest a pre-Christian mythology in style, albeit that these Valar and Maiar are themselves creations of a monotheistic entity — Illuvatar or Eru, "The One".

Other pre-Christian mythological references can be seen in the representations of: a "Green Man" — Tom Bombadil, wise-men — the Istari (commonly referred to as the Wizards, perhaps more of angels), shapechangers — Beorn, undead spirits — Barrow Wights, Oathbreakers, sentient nonhumans — Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, and, of course, Ents. Magic is utilised freely in Middle Earth, and may be found not only in the incantations of Wizards, but in the weapons and tools of warriors and craftspeople, in the perceptions and abilities of heroes, and in the natural world itself.

Tolkien did repeatedly insist that his works were not an allegory of any kind, and even though his thoughts on the matter are mentioned in the introduction of the book, there has been heavy speculation about the Ruling Ring being an allegory for the atom bomb. However, Tolkien had already completed most of the book, and planned the ending in entirety, before the first atom bombs were made public to the world during the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. However there is a strong theme of despair in front of new mechanized warfare that Tolkien himself had experienced in the trenches of World War One. The development of a specially bred orc army, and the destruction of the environment to aid this have modern resonances. Nevertheless, the author's own opinion on the matter of allegories was that he disliked them, and it would be irresponsible to dismiss such direct statements on these matters lightly.

The plot of ''The Lord of the Rings'' builds from his earlier book ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and more obliquely from the history in ''[[The Silmarillion]]'', which contains events to which the characters of ''The Lord of the Rings'' look back upon in the book.
The [[hobbit]]s become embroiled in great events that threaten their entire world, as [[Sauron]], an evil spirit, attempts to regain the lost [[One Ring]] which will restore him to full potency.

=== The Verse of the One Ring ===
:''Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,''
:''   Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,''
:''Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,''
:''   One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne''
:''In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.''
:''   One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,''
:''   One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them''
:''In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.''

The lines :
:''   One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,''
:''   One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them''
are inscribed in the language of Sauron and Mordor (the Black Speech) on the One Ring itself. Phonetically it would be:
:''Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul''

=== The storyline ===
See the articles on ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring]]'', ''[[The Two Towers]]'', and ''[[The Return of the King]]'' for plot summaries.

=== Criticism ===
The book was characterized as "juvenile balderdash" by American critic [[Edmund Wilson]] in his essay "[http://www.jrrvf.com/sda/critiques/The_Nation.html Oo, those awful Orcs]", and in 1961 [[Philip Toynbee]] wrote, somewhat prematurely, that it had "passed into a merciful oblivion" [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1695926.stm]. Although she had never read ''The Lord of the Rings'', [[Germaine Greer]] wrote "it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized."

[[W.H. Auden]] also criticized the book in a 1968 ''Critical Quarterly'' article, "Good and evil in ''The Lord of the Rings''," objecting to Tolkien's conception of sentient species that are intrinsically evil without possibility of redemption. (This is a criticism often directed at [[Dungeons and Dragons]]-like fantasy worlds as well as at fantasy literature in general, and a criticism that Tolkien himself increasingly struggled with during his last years.) On the other hand, in a 1956 ''New York Times'' book review, "At the end of the Quest, Victory," Auden also called the book "a masterpiece of its genre" that "succeeded where [[John Milton|Milton]] failed" in depicting an epic battle between good and evil, and wrote that it "never violated" the "reader's sense of the credible."

Science-fiction author [[David Brin]] has criticized the books for unquestioning devotion to a traditional elitist social structure, their positive depiction of the slaughter of the opposing forces, and their romantic backward-looking worldview [http://www.davidbrin.com/tolkienarticle1.html].

Another notable SF writer Michael Moorcock wrote a long and piercing critique of the book under the title Epic Pooh advancing the thesis that it was simply a child's tale written in the language of epic myth.

China Mieville, a modern fantasy writer, criticised Tolkien's works as "reactionary." Mieville is also a detractor of later fantasy which draws heavily upon Tolkien's work, based on the idea that such work is cliche.

===Praise===
"The English-speaking world is divided into those who have read ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' and those who are going to read them." — ''Sunday Times''

"Among the greatest works of imaginative fiction of the twentieth century." — ''Sunday Telegraph''

"Here are the beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron." — C.S. Lewis

"J.R.R. Tolkien's epic trilogy remains the ultimate quest, the ultimate battle between good and evil, the ultimate chronicle of stewardship of the earth. Endlessly imitated, it never has been surpassed." — ''Kansas City Star''

"A story magnificently told, with every kind of colour and movement and greatness." — ''New Statesman''

Peter Jackson said, "…it is as if Tolkien found some secret scroll about the real history of earth…".

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on film ==
===Early efforts===
There were plans for [[the Beatles]] to do a version of ''The Lord of the Rings'' but they came to nothing. It was even said that Stanley Kubrick had looked into the possibility of filming the story, but he abandoned the idea as too "immense" to be made into a movie. In the mid-1970s, renowned film director [[John Boorman]] collaborated with film rights holder and producer [[Saul Zaentz]] to do a live action picture, but the project proved too expensive to finance at that time. Boorman would later use many of the locations and sets in his Arthurian epic "Excalibur"

In 1978, [[Rankin/Bass]] studios produced the first real film adaptation of any ''Lord of the Rings'' related material with an animated television version of ''[[The Hobbit]]'', which was a precursor to ''The Lord of the Rings''.

Shortly after, Saul Zaentz picked up where Rankin-Bass left off by producing an animated adaptation of ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and part of ''The Two Towers'' in 1978.

''[[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]'', originally released by [[United Artists]] was directed by [[Ralph Bakshi]] and used an animation technique called rotoscoping in which footage of live actors was filmed and then traced over.

The film was part one of what was originally to be a two-part adaptation of Tolkien's story, Part I ending after the battle of Helm's Deep, but before Sam, Frodo and Gollum traverse the [[Dead Marshes]], and Part II picking up from where the first film left off. Made for a minimal budget of $8 million dollars, the film earned $30 million dollars at the box office.

United Artists viewed the film as a flop, and refused to fund a Part II (covering the rest of the story), leaving the door open for Rankin-Bass to do the work for him with the 1980 animated television version of ''[[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]''.

However, the Rankin-Bass film picked up from where the book began, and not from where Bakshi's film left off. Additionally, the change in style and character design was quite noticeable.

Since this film was targeted to a younger audience, adult enthusiasts have complained that much of the depth and darkness of the book was discarded.

===The New Line Cinema films===

''Main article [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]''

[[Miramax]] Films developed a full-fledged live-action adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'', with [[Peter Jackson]] as director. Eventually, Miramax became uneasy with the sheer scope of the proposed projectand wanted to combine the suggested three films into two. [[Peter Jackson]] struck a deal with Miramax that if he could not find a fresh studio to back the project, he would walk away and leave the rights and all the work so far completed with Miramax. However, in 1998, [[New Line Cinema]] assumed production responsibility (while Miramax executives [[Bob Weinstein]] and [[Harvey Weinstein]] retained on-screen credits as executive producers on the films).

The three live action films (supplemented with extensive computer-generated imagery, for example in the major battle scenes, using the "[[Massive]]" software) were filmed simultaneously. ''[[Peter Jackson's The Fellowship of the Ring|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' was released on December 19, 2001. ''[[Peter Jackson's The Two Towers|The Two Towers]]'' was released on December 18, 2002 and ''[[Peter Jackson's The Return of the King|The Return of the King]]'' was released worldwide on December 17, 2003. All three films won the Hugo Award for Best (Long-form) Dramatic Presentation in their respective years.

Although some have criticized these films because they have altered the story somewhat and, arguably, have a noticeably different tone from Tolkien's original vision, others have hailed them as remarkable achievements. [[Peter Jackson]] has defended his changes by stating that he views the films as merely one man's interpreatation.

[[Peter Jackson]]'s film adaptations garnered seventeen Oscars (four for ''The Fellowship of the Ring'', two for ''The Two Towers'', and eleven for ''The Return of the King''); these cover many of the awards categories (in fact, ''The Return of the King'' won all of the eleven awards for which it was nominated, including Best Picture). With 30 total nominations, the trilogy also became the most-nominated in the Academy's history, surpassing the ''Godfather'' series (28).

''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Oscar sweep is widely seen as a proxy award for the entire trilogy. ''The Return of the King''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s 11 Oscars at the 2004 Academy Awards tied it for most awards won for one film with ''Titanic'' six years earlier and the [[1959]] version of ''Ben-Hur''. It also broke the previous "sweep" record, beating ''Gigi'' and ''The Last Emperor'' (which had gone 9 for 9).

The visual-effects work has been groundbreaking, particularly the creation of the emotionally versatile digital character [[Gollum]].
The scale of the production alone — three films shot and edited back to back over a period of little more than three years — is unprecedented.

The films have also proven to be substantial box office successes. The premiere of ''The Return of the King'' took place in [[Wellington]], [[New Zealand]], on December 1, 2003 and was surrounded by fan celebrations and official promotions (the production of the films having contributed significantly to the New Zealand economy). It has made movie history as the largest Wednesday opening ever. ''The Return of the King'' was also the second movie in history (after ''Titanic'') to earn over 1 billion $US (worldwide). Note, however, that these numbers are all unadjusted for inflation, making their significance questionable. Adjusted for inflation, as of 24 March 2005, the three films rank (in order of release) as the 71st, 56th, and 48th highest-grossing films in the United States [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm].

Fanatics of the films have also flocked to the locations where the trilogy was filmed in New Zealand, with many tour companies being totally devoted to taking fans to and from the filming locations that Director Peter Jackson chose for the adaption of Tolkien's epic trilogy.[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Journey_Of_The_Ring]

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on radio ==

The BBC produced a 13-part radio adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 1956, and a 6-part version of ''The Hobbit'' in 1966.
It is uncertain whether Tolkien ever heard either series. No recording of the 1956 series is known to exist, but ''The Hobbit'' has survived.
It is a very faithful adaptation, incorporating some passing references to ''The Lord of the Rings'' and [[The Silmarillion]].

A 1979 dramatization was broadcast in the USA and subsequently issued on tape and CD. No cast or credits appear on the audio packaging.
Each of the actors was apparently recorded separately and then the various parts were edited together.
Thus, unlike a BBC recording session where the actors are recorded together, none of the cast are actually interacting with each other and the performances suffer badly as a result.

In 1981 the BBC broadcast a new, ambitious dramatization of ''The Lord of the Rings'' in 26 half-hour instalments. See: ''[[The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)]]''.

== ''The Lord of the Rings'' on stage ==

[[Ed Mirvish|Mirvish Productions]] has started rehearsals for a three-hour stage musical adaptation of ''The Lord of the Rings'' that will have a cast of over 65 actors and cost C$27 million (£11.5 million). The show will be written by Shaun McKenna and Matthew Warchus with music by [[A. R. Rahman]] and [[Värttinä]], collaborating with [[Christopher Nightingale]] and will be directed by [[Matthew Warchus]]. It will open on March 23 2006 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre, with preview performances from February 2 until March 22. It is planned to premiere in London in autumn 2006 and New York City within two years.

The director explained his vision of the play’s format by saying, "We have not attempted to pull the novel towards the standard conventions of musical theatre, but rather to expand those conventions so that they will accommodate Tolkien's material. As a result, we will be presenting a hybrid of text, physical theatre, music and spectacle never previously seen on this scale. To read the novel is to experience the events of Middle-earth in the mind’s eye; to watch the films is to view Middle-earth as though through a giant window. Only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. The environment surrounds us. We participate. We are in Middle-earth."

== Satire and parody based on ''The Lord of the Rings'' ==
''This section has been moved to the [[Humor]] page.''

==Awards==
* In 1957 it was awarded the International Fantasy Award
* In the 2003 "Big Read" survey conducted by the BBC, The Lord of the Rings was found to be the "Nation's Best-loved Book".
* Australians voted The Lord of the Rings "My Favourite Book" in a 2004 survey conducted by the Australian ABC
* In a 1999 poll of Amazon.com customers, The Lord of the Rings was judged to be their favourite "book of the millennium". [http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/06/04/tolkien/]
* In 2002 Tolkien was voted the ninety-second "greatest Briton" in a poll conducted by the BBC
* In 2004 he was voted thirty-fifth in the SABC3's Great South Africans, the only person to appear in both lists
* In a 2004 poll inspired by the UK’s "Big Read" survey, about 250,000 Germans found The Lord of the Rings to be their favourite work of literature. [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/04/1096871805007.html?from=storyrhs]
* The Lord of the Rings came in 3rd in the Librarians' Poll [http://tolkiensociety.org/news/librarians-poll.html]

'''See also:'''
* [[References to The Lord of the Rings]]

{{lotr}}

[[Category:Books|Lord of the Rings]]
[[Category:Books by J.R.R. Tolkien|Lord of the Rings]]

[[de:Der Herr der Ringe]]
[[fi:Taru Sormusten Herrasta]]

Christopher Tolkien

2008-04-03T18:39:45Z

Sivaluna: typo

{{author infobox
| image=[[Image:Christopher Tolkien.jpg|250px]]
| name=Christopher Tolkien
| born=November 21st, [[1924]]
| died=
| education=
| occupation=Author, Professor
| location=England
| website=[http://www.tolkienestate.com TolkienEstate.com]
|}}
'''Christopher Reuel Tolkien''' (born November 21, 1924) is the third child and youngest son of [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] and [[Edith Tolkien]].

==Early life==
He was named after his father's friend, [[Christopher Wiseman]]. He also sometimes uses his confirmation name, "John" as seen on his initials of maps of [[The Lord of the Rings]], "CJRT". He was born in [[Leeds]] and raised in [[Oxford]] and went to the the Dragon School in Oxford and Oratory School in Caversham, Berkshire. Due to a heart ailment he was forced to stay at home and work with a private tutor. He enjoyed watching stars with a telescope as well as a passion for railways. As early as four and five, Christopher was concerned with the consistency of [[The Hobbit]].
{{quote|Last time, you said Bilbo's front door was blue, and you said Thorin had a golden tassel on his hood, but you've just said that Bilbo's front door was green and that Thorin's hood was silver|Christopher Tolkien, foreword to The Hobbit}}

Christopher proved invaluable towards correcting The Hobbit and was paid twopence a correction.

==Young adulthood==
In July of 1943 he entered the Royal Air Force and in 1944 he went to South Africa to train as a pilot. His absence did not however slow his contributions to his father's works as his father continually sent him parts of The Lord of the Rings to go over. In 1945 he returned to England and was stationed in Shropshire and later that year he returned to Oxford. On October 9th, 1945 his father informed him that the [[Inklings]] wished to consider him a permanent member. The task of reading The Lord of the Rings to the Inklings was passed on to Christopher and it was generally agreed that he was a better reader than his father.

==Adulthood==
In 1946 Christopher returned to Trinity College to resume his studies and reading English. For a while his tutor was none other than [[C.S. Lewis]]. His thesis was a translation of ''The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise'' and he received his B.A. in [[1949]]. Christopher also became a lecturer in Old and Middle English as well as Old Icelandic at Oxford. He worked as an editor on Chaucer's ''Canterbury Tales,'' the ''Pardoner's Tale'', and the ''Nun's Priest's Tale''. From 1963 to 1975 he was a Fellow of New College, Oxford but resigned when he began to devote his time to his father's literary affairs.

==After his father's death==
[[Image:Christopher Tolkien (black and white).jpg|thumb]]
After his father's death, Christopher embarked on organizing the masses of his father's notes, some of them written on odd scraps of paper a half-century earlier. Much of the material was handwritten, frequently a fair draft was written over a half-erased first draft, and names of characters routinely changed between the beginning and end of the same draft. Deciphering this was an arduous task, and perhaps only someone with personal experience of J. R. R. and the evolution of his stories could have made any sense of it; even so, Christopher has admitted to having to occasionally guess at what his father intended.

With the help of [[Guy Gavriel Kay]] he managed to compile [[The Silmarillion]] in only four years. During this time he also edited his father's translations of [[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]], and [[Sir Orfeo]]. He also worked on the [[Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings]] which was first published in 1975 as [[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings]] in [[A Tolkien Compass]].

Christopher spent the years after continuing to study his father's works and taking the responsibilities of the [[Tolkien Estate]]. He recorded portions of The Silmarillion in 1977 and 1978 which was issued by Caedmon Records, New York. In 1979 he wrote about his father's illustrations and drawings for their publication in Tolkien calendars and [[Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien]]. Through 1980 and 1983 Christopher edited [[Unfinished Tales]], [[The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]], [[The Monsters and the Critics|The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays]], and [[The Book of Lost Tales Part 1]] which was the first volume in his twelve volume series of [[The History of Middle-earth]], the last of which was published in 1996. In 1998 he edited a new edition of [[Tree and Leaf]] including the poem [[Mythopoeia]]. His latest publication has been the editing of [[The Children of Húrin]] which was published in 2007.

==Response to adaptations==
{{quote|...I recognize that this is a debatable and complex question of art, and the suggestions that have been made that I 'disapprove' of the films, whatever their cinematic quality, even to the extent of thinking ill of those with whom I may differ, are wholly without foundation.|Christopher Tolkien}}

==Family==
Christopher's first wife, Faith (1928) took an English degree at Oxford and they had one son, [[Simon Tolkien]]. A bust of Tolkien by Faith was exhibited at the Royal Academy: Tolkien paid for its casting in bronze. It is now in the English Library in Oxford.

Christopher's second wife, Baillie (1941) is Canadian, and is the daughter of Winnipeg surgeon [[Alan Klass]], and Helen Klass (née Jacob). She has a BA in English from the University of Manitoba and an MA from Oxford. She worked as JRR Tolkien's secretary and was responsible for the section on poetry in the 1965 index to The Lord of the Rings. She later edited [[The Father Christmas Letters]]. She and Christopher have two children, [[Adam Tolkien]] and [[Rachel Tolkien]].

==Writings==
* Tolkien Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks Konungs. C.J.R. Tolkien (Oxford University, Trinity College). B. Litt. thesis. 1953/4. [Year uncertain]
* 'The Battle of the Goths and the Huns'. Christopher Tolkien, in Saga-Book (University College, London, for the Viking Society for Northern Research) 14, part 3 (1955-6), pp. [141]-63.
* Hervarar Saga ok Heidreks. Ed. [E.O.] G. Turville-Petre. London: University College London, for the Viking Society for Northern Research, 1956; introduction by Christopher Tolkien.
* The Pardoner's Tale. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Christopher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1958. [29 Oct 58]
* The Nun's Priest's Tale. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Christopher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1959. [28 Feb 60]
* The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. Ed. and trans. Christopher Tolkien. London: Thomas Nelson & Sons (Icelandic Texts), 1960. [30 Jun 60]
* The Man of Law's Tale. Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Nevill Coghill and Chris- topher Tolkien. London: George G. Harrap, 1969. [Jun 69]
* '[[Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings]]'. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Chris- topher Tolkien, in: A Tolkien Compass. Ed. Jared Lobdell, La Salle, Illinois: Open Court, 1975.
* Handwritten note by Christopher Tolkien, dated March 1974, introducing two pages of script by J.R.R. Tolkien, reproduced in: Les Aventures de Tom Bombadil. J.R.R. Tolkien, trad. Dashiell Hedayat. Paris: Christian Bourgois Editeur, 1975.
* Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo. Translated by J.R.R. Tolkien (ed. Christopher Tolkien.). London: George Allen & Unwin, 1975. [late Sep 75]
* [[The Lord of the Rings 1977 Calendar]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1976. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
* [[The Father Christmas Letters]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Baillie Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1976. [2 Sep 76]
* Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings by J.R.R. Tolkien at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford ... Oxford: The Ashmolean Museum, 1976. Introduction by Baillie Tolkien. [?14 Dec 76]
* [[The Silmarillion Calendar 1978]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
* [[The Silmarillion]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1977. [15 Sep 77]
* 'The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien: A brief account of the book and its making'. Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1977; rptd. Mallorn 14, 1980, pp. 3-5, 7-8.
* J.R.R. Tolkien: The Silmarillion: Of Beren and Luthien, read by Christopher Tolkien. New York: Caedmon Records TC1564, 1977. Sleeve notes by Chris- topher Tolkien. (Sleeve also has photo of CT.)
* J.R.R. Tolkien: Of the Darkening of Valinor, and Of the Flight of the Noldor, from The Silmarillion, read by Christopher Tolkien. New York: Caedmon Records TC 1579, 1978. Sleeve notes by Christopher Tolkien. (Sleeve also has photo of CT.)
* [[J.R.R. Tolkien Calendar 1979]]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. Notes on the Pictures by Christopher Tolkien.
* Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North [poster]. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978. As drawn by Christopher Tolkien for The Silmarillion, with colouring by H.E. Riddett.
* [[Pictures by J.R.R. Tolkien]]. Foreword and Notes by Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1979; revised edition, London: Harper- Collins, 1992. [1 Nov 79]
* Letter from Christopher Tolkien to Jared Lobdell, 21 June 1974, reproduced in: Eorclanstanar [Precious Stones] or The Hobbitiana: an offering of rarities by J.R.R. Tolkien [catalogue]. Melissa and Mark Hime [booksellers]. Idyllwild, California: 1980.
* [[Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, London, 1980. [2 Oct 80]
* [[Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien]]. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter with the assistance of Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1981. [20 Aug 81]
* 'The Tengwar Numerals'. Christopher Tolkien ('CRT after JRRT'), in Quettar 13, Feb. 1982, pp. 8-9; rptd. Beyond Bree Dec. 1984, p. 1. Further, untitled, explanation of Tengwar numerals by Christopher Tolkien ('CRT after JRRT 10 March 1982'), in Quettar 14, May 1982, pp. 6-7.
* [[The Monsters and the Critics and Other Essays]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983. [3 Mar 83]
* '...Future Publishing'. Christopher Tolkien, in Amon Hen 63, August 1983, p. 4; rptd. as 'Statement by Christopher Tolkien' in Beyond Bree, November 1983, p. 2.
* [[The Book of Lost Tales 1]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1983. [27 Oct 83]
* [[The Book of Lost Tales 2]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1984. [16 Aug 84]
* '"Moria Gate" ... Another Look'. Christopher Tolkien, in Amon Hen 70, November 1984, p.3.
* [[The Lays of Beleriand]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1985. [22 Aug 85]
* 'Notes on the Differences in editions of The Hobbit cited by Mr. David Cofield'. Christopher Tolkien, in Beyond Bree, July 1986, pp. 1-3.
* [[The Shaping of Middle-earth]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1986. [21 Aug 86]
* [[The Hobbit]]. J.R.R. Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1987; fiftieth anniversary edition, with Foreword by Chrostopher Tolkien.
* [[The Lost Road and Other Writings]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1987. [27 Aug 87]
* [[The BBC Pronunciation Guide to The Lord of the Rings]]. Nancy Martsch, in Beyond Bree, August 1988, pp. 1-2. [About the transcription of Christopher Tolkien's recording of words and names in The Lord of the Rings for the BBC production by Brian Sibley.]
* [[Tree and Leaf]]. J.R.R. Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1964; second edition, subtitled 'including the poem Mythopoeia'. Introduction by Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1988. [25 Aug 88]
* [[The Return of the Shadow]]. Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1988. [25 Aug 88]
* [[The Treason of Isengard]]. Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1989. [7 Sep 89]
* [[The War of the Ring]]. Christopher Tolkien. London: Unwin Hyman, 1990. [Sep 90]
* [[Sauron Defeated]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: Harper- Collins, 1992. [6 Jan 92]
* [[Morgoth's Ring]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: Harper- Collins, 1993.
* [[The War of the Jewels]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins, 1994.
* [[The Peoples of Middle-earth]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins, 1996.
* [[The Children of Húrin]]. J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins, 2007.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Books by Christopher Tolkien|Books by Christopher Tolkien]]
* [[:Category:Images of Christopher Tolkien|Images of Christopher Tolkien]]

==External links==
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/1697884.stm Christopher denies disapproving of Peter Jackson's films]
* [http://tolkiennews.net/article.php?story=20061005151054723 Christopher Tolkien's Lawyer Speaks]

[[Category:Tolkien Family]]
[[Category:Authors]]

[[de:Christopher Tolkien]]
[[fi:Christopher Tolkien]]

Aragorn II

2008-04-03T18:06:39Z

Sivaluna: fixed tense

{{gondorian
| image=[[Image:John Howe - Elessar (Battlefields boardgame).jpg|250px]]
| name=Aragorn II
| othernames=[[Elessar]], [[Thorongil]] ([[Aragorn II#Names|see more below]]).
| position=[[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] and King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]].
| birth=[[Third Age 2931|T.A. 2931]].
| rule=[[Third Age 3019|T.A. 3019]] - [[Fourth Age 120|Fo.A. 120]].
| death=[[Fourth Age 120|Fo.A. 120]].
| gender=Male.
| parentage=[[Arathorn II]] + [[Gilraen]].
| spouse=[[Arwen Undómiel]].
| children=[[Eldarion]], six daughters.
| ref=''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''; [[Appendix A]]
|}}
{{quote|...But he was called Estel, that is "Hope", and his true name and lineage were kept secret at the bidding of Elrond; for the Wise then knew that the Enemy was seeking to discover the Heir of Isildur, if any remained upon the earth.|[[Appendix A]]}}
'''Aragorn II''' ([[Third Age]] March 1, 2931 – [[Fourth Age]] 120, aged 210 years[[#Notes|1]]) was the son of [[Arathorn II]] and [[Gilraen]]. He was was a [[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] and a direct descendant through many generations of [[Isildur]], the last [[High King]] of both [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]]. Aragorn would become the greatest man of his time, leading the [[Men of the West]] against [[Sauron]]'s forces, helping to destroy the [[One Ring]], a reuniting the [[Reunited Kingdom|Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor]].

Aragorn was named after his ancestor, [[Aragorn I]]. His name means "Revered King" in [[Sindarin]].

==History==

===Early Life===
When Aragorn was two years old, his father was slain when a [[Orc]] arrow pierced his eye. As was the tradition of his people, Aragorn was fostered in [[Rivendell]] by [[Elrond]]. By Elrond's order, his identity was kept secret, as he feared he would be slain like his father and grandfather. Aragorn was named '''''[[Estel]]''''' ([[Sindarin]] for "Hope") instead, and was not told about his heritage until he came of age in 2951.

[[Image:Stephen Hickman - Aragorn and Arwen.jpg|thumb|200px|left|''Aragorn and Arwen'' by [[Stephen Hickman]]]]Elrond revealed to "Estel" his true name and ancestry in 2951, when Aragorn was twenty years old, and delivered to him the shards of [[Narsil]] and the [[Ring of Barahir]]. The next day, in the woods of Rivendell, Aragorn met and fell in love with [[Arwen Evenstar|Arwen]], daughter of Elrond, who had newly returned from [[Lórien in Middle-earth|Lórien]].

===Life as a Ranger===

Aragorn took up his proper name as Aragorn II, sixteenth of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, and went into [[The Wild]].

{{Pronounce|Aragorn Elessar.mp3|Ardamir}}In 2953 he was not present in Rivendell for the last meeting of the [[White Council]]. Aragorn met [[Gandalf the Grey]] in 2956, and they became great friends. At Gandalf's advice he started to become interested in the [[Shire]], and became known around the area as '''''Strider'''''.

From 2957 to 2980 Aragorn took great journeys, serving in the armies of King [[Thengel]] of [[Rohan]], and Steward [[Ecthelion II]] of Gondor. Many of his tasks weakened [[Sauron]] and his allies, which during the [[War of the Ring]] helped the West survive. His name in Gondor and Rohan was '''''Thorongil''''' (Sindarin for "Eagle of the Star"), and with a few Gondorian ships he led a [[Surprise Attack on Umbar | Surprise Attack on the Havens Umbar]], destroying many of their ships and slaying its lord. He later left Gondor to travel into the far East and South "exploring the hearts of men good and evil". And learning about the "plots and devices" of the servants of the Dark Lord. Later in 2980 he was in Lórien, and there once again met Arwen. He gave her the heirloom of his House, the [[Ring of Barahir]], and Arwen pledged her hand to him in marriage.

Elrond gave his foster-son permission to marry his daughter, on the condition that he must first become king of both Gondor and Arnor, for only a king would be worthy of Arwen's hand. This may seem a harsh condition, but it should be noted that it is significantly more lenient than the closest precedent, King [[Thingol]]'s request that [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] obtain a [[Silmaril]] from [[Morgoth]] before marrying his daughter [[Lúthien]].

==War of the Ring==

===Fellowship of the Ring and events preceding===

In the year [[Third Age 3001|3001]], as a now revealed [[Sauron]] continued to regain power in [[Mordor]], Aragorn began assisting [[Gandalf]] for news of [[Gollum]]. Gandalf suspected that the ring [[Bilbo Baggins]] stole from Gollum was in fact the [[One Ring]]. In [[Third Age 3018|3018]] after searching intermittently over the years, Aragorn finally overtakes Gollum in the [[Dead Marshes]] and takes him to Thranduil in Mirkwood to be held captive. He then returns west where he meets with Gandalf and learns of [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo Baggins']] plan to leave the shire with the ring.

Aragorn and his [[Rangers of the North|Rangers]] kept watch over the border of the [[Shire]] waiting for sight of Frodo. While staying in [[Bree]], Aragorn crossed the paths of four hobbits in [[The Prancing Pony]]. Aragorn watched as the hobbits clumsily hid their names and intentions. He watched as [[Frodo Baggins]], the leader of the party, fell from a table and disappeared as he put the ring on. Aragorn, whose name was given as Strider, seemed to show no surprise, only annoyance at Frodo’s foolish vanishing act. He arranged for an interview that night, where he warned them of the [[Black Riders]] and [[Bill Ferny]], then bluntly requested that they use him as a guide. After some consideration, and a note given them by the forgetful [[Barliman Butterbur]] from Gandalf condoning him, Frodo agreed.

Aragorn’s plan to get to Rivendell was to head first toward [[Archet]] and bear right to [[Weathertop]]. After the [[Ambush at Weathertop]] and the wounding of Frodo, [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] took over the position as leader of the Hobbits. After a while they met [[Glorfindel of Rivendell|Glorfindel]], a friend of Aragorn’s, and it was not much later that they arrived in Rivendell.

Aragorn, when in Rivendell, switched cloaks from that of the Ranger to that of the Lord of the Dúnedain, the Elf-friend. He was elected as Gandalf’s second in the [[Fellowship of the Ring]], and served throughout their journeys together as his chief advisor.

Aragorn encouraged the taking of the [[Redhorn Pass]], which ended in disaster. He reluctantly conceded to Gandalf’s plan to pass through [[Moria]], though his sense of foresight warned him for Gandalf. Indeed, after Gandalf was taken down by [[Durin’s Bane]], Aragorn was naturally elected leader of the company, despite some resentment by his companion [[Boromir (son of Denethor II)|Boromir]].

Aragorn again amazed the rest of the Fellowship by his apparent closeness to the people of [[Lothlórien]], and his friendship with [[Celeborn (Lord of Lórien)|Celeborn]] and [[Galadriel]]. Even at the [[Falls of Rauros]] he was undecided, leaving it to Frodo for the final decision. For though it was obvious he wished to go to [[Minas Tirith]] with Boromir, he yet felt that it was his duty to go where the [[Ringbearer]] chose.

===The early War of the Ring===

After Frodo escaped him and Boromir perished, he with the remaining members of the Fellowship, namely [[Legolas of Mirkwood|Legolas]] and [[Gimli Elf-friend|Gimli]], chose to try and save Merry and [[Pippin]] from the [[Uruk-hai]] that had ambushed them, forming the group that would later be known as the [[Three Hunters]].

He met [[Éomer]] in the fields of [[Rohan]], and an instant friendship formed, both feeling the honesty and lordliness of the other. Éomer took a risk for his sake, giving him horses, with the promise that one day soon Aragorn would return to [[Edoras]]. Aragorn, tracking the Hobbits, followed into Fangorn forest, where he met the resurrected [[Gandalf the White]]. After the restoration of [[Théoden]], he rode to [[Helm’s Deep]] to fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]]. There he, alongside his new-found “brother” Éomer, and King Théoden, marshaled the defense against [[Saruman]]’s army. His revealed majesty upon the battlements of the Hornburg as he waited for the dawn caused some of the [[Dunlendings|Wild men]] to pause and shudder, and he heralded the return of Gandalf with [[Erkenbrand]].

After Pippin’s terrifying experience with the [[Orthanc-stone]], Gandalf presented it in a formal manner to Aragorn, its rightful master, who hinted that it would be used by him eventually. After the departure of Gandalf and Pippin to Minas Tirith, he rode for a while longer with Théoden, meeting up with his friend [[Halbarad]] of the North, [[Elladan]] and [[Elrohir]], and a company of staunch and fearless Rangers. Elladan and Elrohir gave him a message from Elrond: “''The days are short. If thou art in haste, remember the [[Paths of the Dead]]''”. Halbarad bore a gift from the Lady Arwen – the [[Standard of Elendil]]. Aragorn knew the path set before him.

===Return of the King===

A little while later Aragorn took his companions and his rangers and set out for [[Dunharrow]], departing from the King’s company. His course was clear: to take the Paths of the Dead, to summon the [[Dead Men]]. He met in Dunharrow the lady [[Éowyn]], who had fallen in love with him. After making it clear that he could not accept her love, he turned away down the evil road with the dawn.

The [[Grey Company]] passed through the [[Dark Door]] and the [[Dwimorberg]], the Dead following, and coming at last to the [[Black Stone of Erech]], Aragorn summoned them to his aid. They drew their swords and blew their horns in answer, and swept down upon the [[Corsairs]] at [[Pelargir]] drove the mariners away. Aragorn released them, and took the [[Black Ships]] north to Minas Tirith, where the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] raged. The Standard of Elendil broke forth, and his Dúnedain swept down, giving the final blow to the army of [[Gothmog (Lieutenant of Morgul)|Gothmog]]. The counterattacked army of [[Sauron]] crumbled utterly. But Aragorn did not enter the city.

Aragorn, furling his banner, appointed [[Imrahil]] the temporary lord of the City, as the law demanded. Eventually, however, Aragorn did come to the [[Houses of Healing]], where he tended and restored Merry, Éowyn, and [[Faramir son of Denethor II|Faramir]], in accordance with the prophecy “''The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known''”. Aragorn then left the city, hooded and cloaked, and yet the people of Minas Tirith followed him, for they had heard rumors. Yet when in the morning they saw the banner of [[Dol Amroth]], they wondered if the Return of the King had been but a dream.

Aragorn held [[Last Debate|council]] with his trusted companions, namely Gandalf, Éomer, Imrahil, and Elrond’s sons – Halbarad had fallen in battle. He agreed to pull forth the forces of [[Mordor]] for the benefit of the [[Quest of the Ring]], and so arranged matters for the [[Battle of the Morannon]]. After the Destruction of the Ring in [[Orodruin]] and victory at the [[Morannon]], Aragorn returned at last in the triumphant manner that befitted his position. He was crowned at the gates of Minas Tirith, winning the hearts of the people of [[Gondor]]. Gandalf took him up the slopes of Mount [[Mindolluin]], and there Aragorn found the scion of [[Nimloth]], the symbol of his mastery of the [[Reunited Kingdom]]. He wedded Arwen shortly after, and then was forced to bid his old friends farewell. He turned back to his new kingdom as the [[Fourth Age]] dawned and the Ringbearers left the shores of Middle-earth forever.

===Reign as Elessar===

Aragorn ruled the [[Reunited Kingdom]] of Gondor and Arnor until year 120 of the [[Fourth Age]]. He died after 210 years of life and 122 years of rule. His wife Arwen, now mortal, gave up her life shortly afterwards in year 121, aged 2,901.

He founded the [[House of Telcontar]], and was succeeded by his son [[Eldarion]]. He also had a number of daughters, whose names were not recorded.

Through his ancestor Elendil, Aragorn was a descendant of the [[Númenóreans]], great [[Men]] who were granted long lives by the [[Valar]]. Though [[Númenor]] was destroyed, its people lived on as the [[Dúnedain]], and like their ancestors they too were long-lived. Thus Aragorn lived to a great age, finally passing on at 210 years.

==Personality==
''This section needs to be created''

Aragorn is generally a dour, serious man, but often shows moments of wry humor.

==Names==
* [[Aragorn II]]
* [[Thorongil]]
* [[Elessar]]
* [[Estel]]
* [[Strider]]
* [[Wingfoot]]
* [[Telcontar]]
* [[Elfstone]]
* [[Isildur's Heir]]

==Other versions of the legendarium==
In the earliest unpublished versions of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (see ''[[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]''), the character that later became Aragorn was called '''''[[Trotter]]''''' instead of Strider, and was a [[Hobbit]] instead of a [[Men|Man]]. He had wooden feet, because he had once traveled to Mordor and been tortured there.

==Portrayal in adaptations==
<gallery>
Image:Aragorn from Rankin-Bass' The Return of the King.jpg|Aragorn as portrayed in [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King]]
Image:Strider from Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings.jpg|Aragorn as portrayed in [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings]]
Image:Aragorn grimace.jpg|[[Viggo Mortensen]] as Aragorn in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]
</gallery>
In the [[Rankin/Bass]] animated version of [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|The Return of the King]], Aragorn is voiced by [[Theodore Bikel]].

In Ralph Bakshi's animated film [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]], Aragorn is voiced by [[John Hurt]].

In [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]], Aragorn is played by American actor [[Viggo Mortensen]]. Instead of explaining the complicated circumstances of an heir of Isildur taking the throne in Gondor (see [[Pelendur]] for an example), in the movie Aragorn must overcome his self-doubt to choose the kingship. This cinematic element adds appeal to a modern audience, but in the books there is no doubt of his purpose to return as the king from the very first time his lineage is revealed.

==Genealogy==
<code>
[[Eärendil the Mariner|Eärendil]] = [[Elwing]]
| [[Celeborn, Lord of Lórien|Celeborn]] = [[Galadriel]]
| |
--------|-------- |
| | |
| | |
[[Elros]] [[Elrond]] = [[Celebrían]]
: |
[[Kings of Numenor]] |
: |
Lords of [[Andúnië]] |
: |
[[Elendil]] † |
| |
------|------ |
| | | † [[High King]] of [[Arnor]] ''and'' [[Gondor]]
| | |
[[Isildur]] † [[Anárion son of Elendil|Anárion]] |
: : |
: : |
''The Kings'' ''The Kings'' |
''of [[Arnor]]'' ''of [[Gondor]]'' |
: : |
: : |
: [[Eärnur]] ‡ | ‡ Last [[King of Gondor]]
: |
[[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Chieftains of]] |
[[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|the Dúnedain]] |
: |
: |
[[Arathorn II]] = [[Gilraen]] |
| |
| |
'''ARAGORN II ELESSAR''' = [[Arwen]]
|
-------|-------
| |
| |
[[Eldarion]] ''numerous daughters''
</code>

==Other names and titles==
Aragorn was also known as '''Strider''', '''Elessar Telcontar''' ("Elfstone Strider"), '''Thorongil''', '''The Dúnadan''' ("Man of the West"), '''Longshanks''' (given by [[Bill Ferny]]), '''Wingfoot''' (given by [[Éomer]]), and '''Estel''' ("Hope"){{sequence
|prev=[[Arathorn II]]
|next=none (abandoned)
|list=[[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] <code>III</code> 2933 – 3019
}} 
{{sequence
|prev=[[Eärnur]], 971 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[King of Gondor]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=[[Arvedui]], 1,046 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[King of Arnor]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=[[Isildur]], 3,017 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[High King]] of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=none
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[House of Telcontar]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}}{{fellowship}}

== Notes ==
:1. [[Appendix B]]

==See also==
*[[:Category:Images of Aragorn|Images of Aragorn]]

[[Category:Rulers of Arnor]]
[[Category:Rulers of Gondor]]
[[Category:Chieftains of the Dúnedain]]
[[Category:Characters in The Lord of the Rings]]

[[de:Aragorn II.]]

Morgoth

2008-04-03T17:50:16Z

Sivaluna: /* Time in Valinor */

{{evil infobox
| image=[[Image:Angel Falto - Morgoth.jpg|250px]]
| name=Morgoth
| othernames=See [[Morgoth#Names|names]]
| created=Before the [[Music of the Ainur]]
| years=c. [[Years of the Lamps 1|Y.L. 1]]-[[Years of the Lamps 1500|Y.L. 1500]], c. [[Years of the Lamps 3400|Y.L. 3400]]-[[Years of the Trees 1100|Y.T. 1100]], c. [[Years of the Trees 1500|Y.T. 1500]]-[[First Age 590|F.A. 590]]
| age=
| destroyed=Thrust into the [[Void]] [[First Age 590|F.A. 590]]
| realm=[[Utumno]], [[Angband]]
| gender=Male
| race=[[Ainur]]
| appearance=As [[Dark Lord]], assumed tall, dark, terrible form
| accomplishments=Disrupted the [[Music of the Ainur|Music]], [[Arda Marred|corrupted]] [[Arda]], created [[Orcs]], destroyed the [[Two Trees]], stole the [[Silmarils]], took over [[Beleriand]]
|}}
'''Morgoth''', also known as '''[[Melkor]]''', was the greatest of the [[Ainur]]. He fell from glory when he disrupted the [[Music of the Ainur]] and defied the will of [[Eru Ilúvatar]]. Morgoth corrupted many of the Ainur to his allegiance, fought the [[Valar]], and corrupted [[Arda]]. His theft of the [[Silmarils]] and [[Wars of Beleriand|wars]] against [[Elves]] and [[Men]] encompassed much of the history of the [[First Age]]. Eventually, Morgoth was bound in chains by the Valar and thrown into the [[Void]], leaving the permanent damage his evils had done, and his servant [[Sauron]], to trouble the world. One day, according to [[Second Prophecy of Mandos|prophecy]], Morgoth will rise again and be destroyed in the [[Dagor Dagorath]] by [[Túrin Turambar]].

==History==
The first and most powerful of the [[Ainur]] that [[Ilúvatar]] created was a spirit known as Melkor. Because he wandered through the [[Void]] in an attempt to find and use the [[Flame Imperishable]], the source of [[Ilúvatar]]'s creative activity, Melkor developed ideas unlike those of the other Ainur. His feelings grew rebellious against his creator, for he wished to create sentient beings to inhabit the Void and was dissatisfied by the fact that Ilúvatar had not done so. However, Melkor could not find the Flame, for it was not in the Void, but with Ilúvatar.

===The Music of the Ainur===
[[Image:Ted Nasmith - Melkor Weaves Opposing Music.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Melkor weaves Opposing Music'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
When the Ainur [[Music of the Ainur|made music]], Melkor weaved his strange thoughts into his song. His song clashed against the Theme of Ilúvatar, disturbing the Ainur around him and causing some of them to attune their music to his. For a while the Theme of Ilúvatar and the discords of Melkor warred against one another. But Eru smiled, and sent forth a new theme. Most of the Ainur joined with it, but Melkor rebelliously opposed it even more violently. At last many of the Ainur stopped singing in dismay, and Melkor’s discords gained dominance. Eru sent out a third Theme against Melkor, sweeter and more beautiful than the others, and unquenchable. But though Melkor could not defeat it, still he opposed it. At last Eru halted the music completely with a single chord.

Eru then publicly rebuked Melkor, saying that all music found its source in himself, and thus Melkor could not create his own song or truly alter the Themes of Ilúvatar. Thus, though Melkor opposed Eru to his last breath, he only furthered the cause of Ilúvatar in new and wondrous ways. Melkor was shamed and angered by this judgment, but hid his feelings. When Eru showed the Ainur the product of their music, [[Eä]], Melkor was one of those who begged to enter [[Arda]], pretending to be willing to cultivate it and steward it for Ilúvatar’s glory. He actually wished to dominate Arda and its creatures, especially the [[Children of Ilúvatar]]. Nonetheless, he was allowed to enter Eä and come to Arda with the other [[Valar]]. Once there, Melkor declared to his comrades that he was the master of Arda henceforth. [[Manwë]], his brother, did not understand his evil, but fearing that Melkor might try and disrupt their labors in Arda, called forth many more Ainur to protect them. Melkor departed to the remote regions of Eä, leaving the world in peace for a while.

===Wars of the Valar===
But Melkor took form, great and terrible, and attacked the Valar’s work in preparing the Earth. There was war, and though Melkor disrupted their work and destroyed much, a great spirit named [[Tulkas]] came to Arda from other regions of Eä to combat him. After Tulkas drove Melkor away, the Valar managed to complete Arda, and the world was established.

The Valar dwelt in a land called [[Almaren]], and raised up [[two lamps]] to light the young earth: [[Illuin]] and [[Ormal]]. Melkor, meanwhile, had attracted the attention and even in a few cases admiration from the [[Maiar]], the lesser spirits of [[Arda]]. Melkor had many spies among them, and from them learned all that the Valar did, and bided his time. As the Valar sat down to a feast at the completion of their labors, Melkor gathered together those loyal to him, and looking down on the beautiful Arda was filled with hatred. Tulkas was wedded to [[Nessa]] at that feast, and she danced before the Valar. Tulkas fell asleep, and that is when Melkor made his move.

Melkor with his host passed over the [[Walls of Night]] and returned to Arda once more. Without the watchfulness of Tulkas, the Valar were unaware of his coming, and he began to delve in the depths of the earth, making a fortress called [[Utumno]] beneath the mountains in the dimness of Illuin. The [[Spring of Arda]] became blighted as evil flowed out of the fortress. Death and illness took the green things of Arda, and animals fought and killed one another, while flies brooded in massive numbers. The Valar knew then that Melkor was at work, and sought his hiding place.

But Melkor struck the first blow. He destroyed the Two Lamps, and caused the world to be filled with flowing fire and surging water. The symmetry of Arda was broken. And in the darkness and confusion Melkor escaped, returning to Utumno. Though the Valar were together stronger than Melkor, they could not punish him at that time, for they needed their strength to keep the world from collapsing into ruin. The Spring of Arda was ended.

===Dominance of Middle-earth===
Almaren being destroyed, the Valar left to a new continent across the [[Belegaer|sea]], [[Aman]], and built [[Valinor]]. They also established new sources of light, the [[Two Trees]], to light the world. Melkor, meanwhile, wandered across the face of [[Middle-earth]], in various guises, but armed with cold and fire. Some of the Valar were unwilling to forsake Middle-earth, however; [[Ulmo]] and [[Yavanna]] especially. Also [[Oromë]] would ride in Middle-earth, killing the terrors of Melkor, who began to fear that the Valar might rise up against him in wrath.

Melkor brooded in the north, breeding great monsters, attended by his Maiar-servants later known as [[Balrogs]]. He also created another fortress and armory called [[Angband]], not far from the sea, to resist any Valarin attacks. He placed his greatest servant, [[Sauron]], in control of that place. Melkor, by wandering about, also learned of the awakening of the first of the [[Children of Ilúvatar]], the [[Elves]]. He instilled fear in them, and slew or captured many of them. Some of those he captured, it is believed, may have been transformed into [[Orcs]] by torture and breeding.

===Time in Valinor===
The Valar were not long, however, in discovering the Elves. Fearing that they would be destroyed or corrupted by Melkor, Manwë decided that Ilúvatar wished them to recover Middle-earth at all costs. They laid [[Siege of Utumno|siege to Utumno]], and eventually destroyed it after a great battle during which the face of Middle-earth was transformed. Melkor was captured and chained with the chain [[Angainor]], but Sauron escaped. Melkor was imprisoned in the halls of [[Mandos]], and remained there for three ages, plotting revenge.

At the end of his time, Melkor was presented to his brother Manwë. Melkor, swallowing his pride with thoughts of vengeance, prostrated himself before the throne of Manwë, begging for pardon. Manwë granted him thus, though [[Ulmo]] and [[Tulkas]] were displeased with this judgement. Yet the Valar would not let him leave their sight, and he stayed in [[Valmar]]. Before long, he began to exert his corrupting influence on the Elves, especially the [[Noldor]]. For the [[Vanyar]] did not trust him, and the [[Teleri]] he thought too weak for his designs, but the Noldor were curious, and eager to learn what he could teach them.

===Revenge against the Valar===
[[Image:John Howe - Melkor and Ungoliant before the Two Trees.jpg|thumb|right|300px|''Melkor and Ungoliant before the Two Trees'' by [[John Howe]]]]
In time Melkor found his greatest adversary and yet greatest tool in the form of [[Fëanor]], the eldest son of [[Finwë]], [[High King of the Noldor]]. Fëanor was the creator of the [[Silmarils]], which Melkor lusted after. As Melkor subtly spread lies and half-truths about the Valar and the Coming of [[Men]] in the form of rumors, Fëanor was greatly influenced, though he hated Melkor himself and had no idea that he was their source. His new ideas of wide lands and realms to rule touched the heart of Fëanor, and the hearts of many other Noldor. They began to murmur against the Valar, and the peace of Valinor was disturbed. Fëanor soon stirred up trouble, and while on trial before the Valar it was revealed that Melkor was at the bottom of the murmurings and troubles. Tulkas left straightaway to deal with him, but found Melkor gone. He had escaped.

Melkor was not seen for a while, but then appeared at [[Formenos]] to Fëanor, tempting him with words of friendship, and an offer of vengeance against the Valar whom Fëanor perceived had wronged him. Fëanor wavered, but Melkor pressed his advantage too much. He touched a chord about the Silmarils, and Fëanor, seeing his designs and lust for the jewels, cursed and rejected him. Melkor departed in anger, and went south past the mountain of [[Hyarmentir]], to the shadowed valley of [[Avathar]] where there dwelt [[Ungoliant]], a mysterious dark spirit in spider-form once his servant, but who had disowned him after his failure. After some time he convinced her to dismiss her fears with the offer of rich rewards, and she wove a cloak of shadow about them both.

Then Melkor and Ungoliant came while there was festival in [[Valmar]]. Melkor drained the [[Two Trees]] with his lance, and Ungoliant drank the blood. Then she drank dry the [[Wells of Varda]], and the two went north to [[Formenos]], leaving the land once more in darkness and confusion. At Formenos Melkor slew [[Finwë]] and ravished the treasury of Fëanor, including the [[Silmarils]]. Then he passed over the icy [[Helcaraxë]], entering once more into [[Middle-earth]]. He was soon in [[Angband]]. He had struck swiftly and surely. But Fëanor cursed him, naming him [[Morgoth]], and by that name he was known ever after to the Eldar.

===Return to Beleriand===
Once in safety, Ungoliant turned on her partner, demanding the jewels of Fëanor. The spider had grown in size and strength, and Morgoth feared her suddenly. He reluctantly parted with each of the beautiful gems, and Ungoliant devoured them. But Morgoth refused to give up the Silmarils, though she tortured him. His screams went out to [[Gothmog (Lord of Balrogs)|Gothmog]] and the [[balrogs]], and they rescued him from her clutches, driving Ungoliant away with their whips. So Morgoth returned to Angband.

===Wars of Beleriand===
Morgoth rebuilt the fortress there, and learned of the Elves who had remained in Middle-earth. [[Elu Thingol]] and the [[Sindar]] dwelt in the woodland kingdom of [[Doriath]], while [[Círdan]] and the [[Teleri]] lived at the [[Falas]] and [[Denethor of the Nandor|Denethor]] and the [[Nandor]] camped in [[Ossiriand]]. Morgoth made war on Thingol, surrounding Doriath and cutting Thingol off from Círdan. But Thingol was able to contact Denethor for help, and the Nandor joined with the Sindar to fight the [[Orcs]] between [[Aros]] and [[Gelion]]. Caught between the two armies, the Orcs of Morgoth were utterly defeated in the [[First Battle]]. Fleeing north they were intercepted and further demolished by the [[Naugrim]]. The Orcs attacking Círdan were more successful – pushing the Teleri to the very edge of the sea.

====Dagor-nuin-Giliath====
Morgoth was confronted by further challenges when Fëanor landed in Middle-earth. They set up at [[Mithrim]], but Morgoth [[Dagor-nuin-Giliath|attacked them]] quickly, hoping to dislodge them before they settled in too much and became a threat. But the Elves were just come out of [[Aman]], and they had the light of that country in their eyes. The Orcs dreaded them, and were swept before them like chaff before wind. Fëanor pursued them even nigh to the [[Thangorodrim]] and the gates of [[Angband]], but Morgoth sent out Gothmog and his balrogs. Fëanor was killed, but the balrogs were driven back. The Falas were freed, and though Morgoth had practically lost [[Beleriand]] outside of the [[Ered Engrin]], he was comforted in the fact that Fëanor was dead.

====Dagor Aglareb====
Yet [[Fingolfin]] came next, with his sons and the sons of [[Finarfin]]. They marched even to the gates of Angband, and yet could not go farther. As the Elves began to build (or rebuild) their kingdoms in Middle-earth, Morgoth waited sixty years before he struck again. It was the [[Dagor Aglareb]], the “Glorious Battle”, called such because it was a great victory for the Elves. Fingolfin and [[Maedhros]], eldest son of Fëanor, combined their strength and repelled Morgoth. They then set up the [[Siege of Angband]], which was designed to keep Morgoth holed up in his fortress.

====Dagor Bragollach and Fingolfin====
[[Image:John Howe - Morgoth vs. Fingolfin.png|thumb|right|300px|''Morgoth vs. Fingolfin'' by [[John Howe]]]]Though Morgoth wasn’t quite so helpless as they would have liked to believe, he remained dormant and hidden until [[First Age 455|455]]. Then he surged forth suddenly, taking the slackened besiegers by surprise. Flames covered the formerly green [[Ard-galen]] (causing the battle to be known as the [[Dagor Bragollach]]), and several Noldor-lords fell in the succeeding combat. Beleriand was overrun. [[Dorthonion]] was taken, as were northern [[Sirion]] and [[Maglor's Gap]]. In a single stroke Morgoth had broken the Siege of Angband, but the victory was not as complete as he would have liked. [[Himring]] and [[Hithlum]] had held against him. King [[Fingolfin]] was dismayed and enraged by the defeat, and went to Angband. There he challenged Morgoth to single combat. Morgoth dared not refuse, for fear of showing himself a coward in front of his servants. With [[Grond (Hammer of the Underworld)|Grond]], the Hammer of the Underworld, he fought Fingolfin long. The Elf-lord gave him seven wounds, but at last was struck down. As Morgoth placed his foot on Fingolfin to crush him, Fingolfin struck one last time, and Morgoth’s blood filled the pools made by his hammer. Morgoth could not desecrate the body, for [[Thorondor]] flew into his face and escaped with the body.

====The Quest for the Silmaril====
For some time after that the world lay in watchful discomfort. The southern part of [[Beleriand]] was, for the most part, free from Morgoth’s direct wrath. There arose two in [[Doriath]], [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] of [[House of Bëor|Bëor’s House]] and [[Lúthien Tinúviel]], Thingol’s daughter. These two lovers embarked on the [[Quest for the Silmaril]], in the process removing [[Sauron]] from [[Tol-in-Gaurhoth]] and entering Angband in disguise. Morgoth lusted after Lúthien when she stood exposed in his presence, but she danced for him and lured him to sleep with her magic robes. One of the Silmarils was stolen from his crown, and Morgoth bore only two until the [[War of Wrath]].

====Nirnaeth Arnoediad====
Some time after, in [[First Age 471|471]], [[Maedhros]] made a great [[Union of Maedhros|alliance]] with the [[Naugrim]], [[Edain]], and other [[Noldor]]. They marched to challenge Morgoth, clearing Beleriand of his scattered forces. But Morgoth through his spies anticipated their actions, and met them with his allies the [[Easterlings]] in was huge, and many princes and rulers of men, elves, and dwarves fell. Thus the battle was named ''[[Nirnaeth Arnoediad]]'', “Battle of Unnumbered Tears”. Morgoth’s victory was almost complete, as he razed [[Hithlum]], the [[Falas]], the [[March of Maedhros]], as well as [[Nargothrond]] in [[First Age 495|495]]. But [[Turgon the Wise|Turgon]], King of [[Gondolin]], escaped by the valiant actions of the [[House of Hador]], the last of the Noldor in the north. The survivors had all gone down to the [[Isle of Balar]] and the [[Mouths of the Sirion]].

===The Curse of Morgoth===
[[Image:Ted Nasmith - Morgoth Punishes Húrin.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Morgoth Punishes [[Húrin]]'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
Morgoth took [[Húrin]], who had been captured during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, and set him in the high places of Thangorodrim, to watch his family, whom Morgoth cursed. Upon the death of [[Túrin Turambar]] and [[Nienor]], Húrin’s children, Morgoth released Húrin to further his cause.

===The Fall of Gondolin===
Some time later, by the aid of [[Maeglin]], a traitor-elf, Morgoth discovered and laid siege to [[Gondolin]]. [[Turgon the Wise|Turgon]] King, the last male heir of Fingolfin’s house, was killed in the sack. Morgoth’s victory in the north was now complete, though he had lost [[Gothmog (Lord of Balrogs)|Gothmog]] his captain and many other leaders in the battle. Also, a small remnant including [[Tuor]] and [[Idril]] escaped the rape of the city, bearing their son [[Eärendil the Mariner|Eärendil]].

===The War of Wrath===
This was to be Morgoth’s doom, for some years later, Eärendil sailed to [[Valinor]] seeking the pardon of the [[Valar]]. This he earned, and the Valar advanced across [[Belegaer]] with a mighty host. Morgoth loosed all his demons and defenses against them, but could not stop their might. His dragons fell to the [[Eagles]], and [[Ancalagon]] was brought down by Eärendil himself atop his ship, [[Vingilot]]. Morgoth was taken from Angband, the Silmarils were removed from his crown, and he was bound once more and cast into the [[Void]]. But though he was gone, Arda was forever marred, and there was one still on the loose to carry on his legacy, if to a lesser degree: his greatest servant, [[Sauron]].

==The Future==
Morgoth remains in the Void, unable to return to Arda as long as the Valar maintain their power over it. Nevertheless, according to the [[Second Prophecy of Mandos]], Morgoth will come back and attack Arda. He will fight a great battle, called the [[Dagor Dagorath]], against the Valar and their allies, but will ultimately be slain by [[Túrin Turambar]], the Man he cursed. By finally defeating Morgoth, Túrin will avenge not only himself, but all members of the race of Men, since Morgoth seduced them long ago.

==Legacy==
Morgoth's will was suffused into the matter of Arda, so in a sense he is never truly gone. Arda was [[Arda Marred|Marred]] by him so deeply that only Eru could fully repair the damage. Those who wished to follow in Morgoth's footsteps, such as Sauron, found that by using his residual influence, they could easily corrupt races they wished to dominate.

==Characteristics==
[[Image:James Stirzaker - Melkor and the Silmarils.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Melkor and the Silmarils'' by [[James Stirzaker]]]]Morgoth had taken form great and terrible, and was eventually unable to leave it. Traditionally he was covered head to foot in armor, though this is not specifically stated by [[J.R.R. Tolkien|Tolkien]]. He received many scars and wounds over the ages: his hands were burned forever when he touched the Silmarils, Fingolfin wounded him seven times during their battle as well as a wound the foot that caused him ever after to limp, Thorondor scarred his face with his talons.

Morgoth wielded [[Grond (Hammer of the Underworld)|Grond]] in battle, a weapon he presumably forged himself in [[Angband]] (unless Sauron or Gothmog had held it safe after the [[Siege of Utumno]]). He also had great mental and physical power, at least in the earlier days, greater than any of the other [[Valar]].

==Names==
* ''Morgoth'' (''[[Bauglir]]'') – [[Q.]] “The Dark Enemy” (“The Constrainer”), given him by [[Fëanor]]
* ''Melkor'' – [[Q.]] “He who arises in might”
* ''Dark King (of Angband)'' – given him by [[Men]]
* ''[[Dark Lord]]''
* ''[[Belegur]]([[Belegurth|th]])'' – [[S.]] “Great Death”
* ''Lord of the Dark''
* ''Dark Hunter'' – Given him by the fearful early [[Elves]] before they met [[Oromë]]
* ''[[mbelekôro]]'' – [[C.E.]] Unknown meaning
* ''Great Enemy''
* ''Black Foe''
* ''Master of the fates of Arda'' - used by him when speaking to [[Húrin]]
* ''[[Elder King]]'' - used when speaking to [[Húrin]]
* ''Melko, Belcha, Melegor, Meleko'' – Earlier names Tolkien used but abandoned

==Minions==
* [[Sauron]] – Greatest of his servants, later to become [[Lord of the Rings]], perished with the [[One Ring]]
* [[Gothmog (Lord of Balrogs)|Gothmog]], [[Lord of Balrogs]] – killed by [[Ecthelion of the Fountain]] during the [[Fall of Gondolin]]
* [[Glaurung]] – [[Father of Dragons]], killed by [[Túrin Turambar|Túrin]]
* [[Ancalagon]] – Greatest of the [[Winged Dragons]], slain by [[Eärendil the Mariner|Eärendil]]
* [[Othrond]] – (noncanon) [[Orc]]-general during the Fall of Gondolin, killed by [[Tuor]]

==See also==
* [[:Category:Images of Morgoth|Images of Morgoth]]

[[Category:Valar]]
[[de:Morgoth]]

Aragorn II

2008-03-31T16:41:18Z

Sivaluna: /* Fellowship of the Ring and events preceding */

{{gondorian
| image=[[Image:Grant Gould - Aragorn - Return of the King.jpg|250px]]
| name=Aragorn II
| othernames=[[Elessar]], [[Thorongil]] ([[Aragorn II#Names|see more below]]).
| position=[[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] and King of the [[Reunited Kingdom]].
| birth=[[Third Age 2931|T.A. 2931]].
| rule=[[Third Age 3019|T.A. 3019]] - [[Fourth Age 120|Fo.A. 120]].
| death=[[Fourth Age 120|Fo.A. 120]].
| gender=Male.
| parentage=[[Arathorn II]] + [[Gilraen]].
| spouse=[[Arwen Undómiel]].
| children=[[Eldarion]], six daughters.
| ref=''[[The Lord of the Rings]]''; [[Appendix A]]
|}}
{{quote|...But he was called Estel, that is "Hope", and his true name and lineage were kept secret at the bidding of Elrond; for the Wise then knew that the Enemy was seeking to discover the Heir of Isildur, if any remained upon the earth.|[[Appendix A]]}}
'''Aragorn II''' ([[Third Age]] March 1, 2931 – [[Fourth Age]] 120, aged 210 years[[#Notes|1]]) was the son of [[Arathorn II]] and [[Gilraen]]. He was was a [[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] and a direct descendant through many generations of [[Isildur]], the last [[High King]] of both [[Arnor]] and [[Gondor]]. Aragorn would become the greatest man of his time, leading the [[Men of the West]] against [[Sauron]]'s forces, helping to destroy the [[One Ring]], a reuniting the [[Reunited Kingdom|Kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor]].

Aragorn was named after his ancestor, [[Aragorn I]]. His name means "Revered King" in [[Sindarin]].

==History==

===Early Life===
When Aragorn was two years old, his father was slain when a [[Orc]] arrow pierced his eye. As was the tradition of his people, Aragorn was fostered in [[Rivendell]] by [[Elrond]]. By Elrond's order, his identity was kept secret, as he feared he would be slain like his father and grandfather. Aragorn was named '''''[[Estel]]''''' ([[Sindarin]] for "Hope") instead, and was not told about his heritage until he came of age in 2951.

[[Image:Stephen Hickman - Aragorn and Arwen.jpg|thumb|200px|left|''Aragorn and Arwen'' by [[Stephen Hickman]]]]Elrond revealed to "Estel" his true name and ancestry in 2951, when Aragorn was twenty years old, and delivered to him the shards of [[Narsil]] and the [[Ring of Barahir]]. The next day, in the woods of Rivendell, Aragorn met and fell in love with [[Arwen Evenstar|Arwen]], daughter of Elrond, who had newly returned from [[Lórien in Middle-earth|Lórien]].

===Life as a Ranger===

Aragorn took up his proper name as Aragorn II, sixteenth of the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, and went into [[The Wild]].

{{Pronounce|Aragorn Elessar.mp3|Ardamir}}In 2953 he was not present in Rivendell for the last meeting of the [[White Council]]. Aragorn met [[Gandalf the Grey]] in 2956, and they became great friends. At Gandalf's advice he started to become interested in the [[Shire]], and became known around the area as '''''Strider'''''.

From 2957 to 2980 Aragorn took great journeys, serving in the armies of King [[Thengel]] of [[Rohan]], and Steward [[Ecthelion II]] of Gondor. Many of his tasks weakened [[Sauron]] and his allies, which during the [[War of the Ring]] helped the West survive. His name in Gondor and Rohan was '''''Thorongil''''' (Sindarin for "Eagle of the Star"), and with a few Gondorian ships he led a night assault on the [[Haven of Umbar]] in 2980, destroying many of their ships and slaying its lord. He later left Gondor to travel into the far East and South "exploring the hearts of men good and evil". And learning about the "plots and devices" of the servants of the Dark Lord. Later in 2980 he was in Lórien, and there once again met Arwen. He gave her the heirloom of his House, the [[Ring of Barahir]], and Arwen pledged her hand to him in marriage.

Elrond gave his foster-son permission to marry his daughter, on the condition that he must first become king of both Gondor and Arnor, for only a king would be worthy of Arwen's hand. This may seem a harsh condition, but it should be noted that it is significantly more lenient than the closest precedent, King [[Thingol]]'s request that [[Beren Erchamion|Beren]] obtain a [[Silmaril]] from [[Morgoth]] before marrying his daughter [[Lúthien]].

==War of the Ring==

===Fellowship of the Ring and events preceding===

In the year [[Third Age 3001|3001]], as a now revealed [[Sauron]] continued to regain power in [[Mordor]], Aragorn began assisting [[Gandalf]] for news of [[Gollum]]. Gandalf suspected that the ring [[Bilbo Baggins]] stole from Gollum was in fact the [[One Ring]]. In [[Third Age 3018|3018]] after searching intermittently over the years, Aragorn finally overtakes Gollum in the [[Dead Marshes]] and takes him to Thranduil in Mirkwood to be held captive. He then returns west where he meets with Gandalf and learns of [[Frodo Baggins|Frodo Baggins']] plan to leave the shire with the ring.

Aragorn and his [[Rangers of the North|Rangers]] kept watch over the border of the [[Shire]] waiting for sight of Frodo. While staying in [[Bree]], Aragorn crossed the paths of four hobbits in [[The Prancing Pony]]. Aragorn watched as the hobbits clumsily hid their names and intentions. He watched as [[Frodo Baggins]], the leader of the party, falls from a table and disappears as he puts the ring on. Aragorn, whose name was given as Strider, seemed to show no surprise, only annoyance at Frodo’s foolish vanishing act. He arranged for an interview that night, where he warned them of the [[Black Riders]] and [[Bill Ferny]], then bluntly requests that they use him as a guide. After some consideration, and a note given them by the forgetful [[Barliman Butterbur]] from Gandalf condoning him, Frodo agreed.

Aragorn’s plan to get to Rivendell was to head first toward [[Archet]] and bear right to [[Weathertop]]. After the [[Ambush at Weathertop]] and the wounding of Frodo, [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] took over the position as leader of the Hobbits. After a while they met [[Glorfindel of Rivendell|Glorfindel]], a friend of Aragorn’s, and it was not much later that they arrived in Rivendell.

Aragorn, when in Rivendell, switched cloaks from that of the Ranger to that of the Lord of the Dúnedain, the Elf-friend. He was elected as Gandalf’s second in the [[Fellowship of the Ring]], and served throughout their journeys together as his chief advisor.

Aragorn encouraged the taking of the [[Redhorn Pass]], which ended in disaster. He reluctantly conceded to Gandalf’s plan to pass through [[Moria]], though his sense of foresight warned him for Gandalf. Indeed, after Gandalf was taken down by [[Durin’s Bane]], Aragorn was naturally elected leader of the company, despite some resentment by his companion [[Boromir (son of Denethor II)|Boromir]].

Aragorn again amazed the rest of the Fellowship by his apparent closeness to the people of [[Lothlórien]], and his friendship with [[Celeborn (Lord of Lórien)|Celeborn]] and [[Galadriel]]. Even at the [[Falls of Rauros]] he was undecided, leaving it to Frodo for the final decision. For though it was obvious he wished to go to [[Minas Tirith]] with Boromir, he yet felt that it was his duty to go where the [[Ringbearer]] chose.

===The early War of the Ring===

After Frodo escaped him and Boromir perished, he with the remaining members of the Fellowship, namely [[Legolas of Mirkwood|Legolas]] and [[Gimli Elf-friend|Gimli]], chose to try and save Merry and [[Pippin]] from the [[Uruk-hai]] that had ambushed them, forming the group that would later be known as the [[Three Hunters]].

He met [[Éomer]] in the fields of [[Rohan]], and an instant friendship formed, both feeling the honesty and lordliness of the other. Éomer took a risk for his sake, giving him horses, with the promise that one day soon Aragorn would return to [[Edoras]]. Aragorn, tracking the Hobbits, followed into Fangorn forest, where he met the resurrected [[Gandalf the White]]. After the restoration of [[Théoden]], he rode to [[Helm’s Deep]] to fight in the [[Battle of the Hornburg]]. There he, alongside his new-found “brother” Éomer, and King Théoden, marshaled the defense against [[Saruman]]’s army. His revealed majesty upon the battlements of the Hornburg as he waited for the dawn caused some of the [[Dunlendings|Wild men]] to pause and shudder, and he heralded the return of Gandalf with [[Erkenbrand]].

After Pippin’s terrifying experience with the [[Orthanc-stone]], Gandalf presented it in a formal manner to Aragorn, its rightful master, who hinted that it would be used by him eventually. After the departure of Gandalf and Pippin to Minas Tirith, he rode for a while longer with Théoden, meeting up with his friend [[Halbarad]] of the North, [[Elladan]] and [[Elrohir]], and a company of staunch and fearless Rangers. Elladan and Elrohir gave him a message from Elrond: “''The days are short. If thou art in haste, remember the [[Paths of the Dead]]''”. Halbarad bore a gift from the Lady Arwen – the [[Standard of Elendil]]. Aragorn knew the path set before him.

===Return of the King===

A little while later Aragorn took his companions and his rangers and set out for [[Dunharrow]], departing from the King’s company. His course was clear: to take the Paths of the Dead, to summon the [[Dead Men]]. He met in Dunharrow the lady [[Éowyn]], who had fallen in love with him. After making it clear that he could not accept her love, he turned away down the evil road with the dawn.

The [[Grey Company]] passed through the [[Dark Door]] and the [[Dwimorberg]], the Dead following, and coming at last to the [[Black Stone of Erech]], Aragorn summoned them to his aid. They drew their swords and blew their horns in answer, and swept down upon the [[Corsairs]] at [[Pelargir]] drove the mariners away. Aragorn released them, and took the [[Black Ships]] north to Minas Tirith, where the [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]] raged. The Standard of Elendil broke forth, and his Dúnedain swept down, giving the final blow to the army of [[Gothmog (Lieutenant of Morgul)|Gothmog]]. The counterattacked army of [[Sauron]] crumbled utterly. But Aragorn did not enter the city.

Aragorn, furling his banner, appointed [[Imrahil]] the temporary lord of the City, as the law demanded. Eventually, however, Aragorn did come to the [[Houses of Healing]], where he tended and restored Merry, Éowyn, and [[Faramir son of Denethor II|Faramir]], in accordance with the prophecy “''The hands of the king are the hands of a healer, and so shall the rightful king be known''”. Aragorn then left the city, hooded and cloaked, and yet the people of Minas Tirith followed him, for they had heard rumors. Yet when in the morning they saw the banner of [[Dol Amroth]], they wondered if the Return of the King had been but a dream.

Aragorn held [[Last Debate|council]] with his trusted companions, namely Gandalf, Éomer, Imrahil, and Elrond’s sons – Halbarad had fallen in battle. He agreed to pull forth the forces of [[Mordor]] for the benefit of the [[Quest of the Ring]], and so arranged matters for the [[Battle of the Morannon]]. After the Destruction of the Ring in [[Orodruin]] and victory at the [[Morannon]], Aragorn returned at last in the triumphant manner that befitted his position. He was crowned at the gates of Minas Tirith, winning the hearts of the people of [[Gondor]]. Gandalf took him up the slopes of Mount [[Mindolluin]], and there Aragorn found the scion of [[Nimloth]], the symbol of his mastery of the [[Reunited Kingdom]]. He wedded Arwen shortly after, and then was forced to bid his old friends farewell. He turned back to his new kingdom as the [[Fourth Age]] dawned and the Ringbearers left the shores of Middle-earth forever.

===Reign as Elessar===

Aragorn ruled the [[Reunited Kingdom]] of Gondor and Arnor until year 120 of the [[Fourth Age]]. He died after 210 years of life and 122 years of rule. His wife Arwen, now mortal, gave up her life shortly afterwards in year 121, aged 2,901.

He founded the [[House of Telcontar]], and was succeeded by his son [[Eldarion]]. He also had a number of daughters, whose names were not recorded.

Through his ancestor Elendil, Aragorn was a descendant of the [[Númenóreans]], great [[Men]] who were granted long lives by the [[Valar]]. Though [[Númenor]] was destroyed, its people lived on as the [[Dúnedain]], and like their ancestors they too were long-lived. Thus Aragorn lived to a great age, finally passing on at 210 years.

==Personality==
''This section needs to be created''

Aragorn is generally a dour, serious man, but often shows moments of wry humor.

==Names==
* [[Aragorn II]]
* [[Thorongil]]
* [[Elessar]]
* [[Estel]]
* [[Strider]]
* [[Wingfoot]]
* [[Telcontar]]
* [[Elfstone]]
* [[Isildur's Heir]]

==Other versions of the legendarium==
In the earliest unpublished versions of ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' (see ''[[The History of The Lord of the Rings]]''), the character that later became Aragorn was called '''''[[Trotter]]''''' instead of Strider, and was a [[Hobbit]] instead of a [[Men|Man]]. He had wooden feet, because he had once traveled to Mordor and been tortured there.

==Portrayal in adaptations==
<gallery>
Image:Aragorn from Rankin-Bass' The Return of the King.jpg|Aragorn as portrayed in [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King]]
Image:Strider from Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings.jpg|Aragorn as portrayed in [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings]]
Image:Aragorn grimace.jpg|[[Viggo Mortensen]] as Aragorn in [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]]
</gallery>
In the [[Rankin/Bass]] animated version of [[Rankin/Bass' The Return of the King|The Return of the King]], Aragorn is voiced by [[Theodore Bikel]].

In Ralph Bakshi's animated film [[Ralph Bakshi's The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]], Aragorn is voiced by [[John Hurt]].

In [[Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings]], Aragorn is played by American actor [[Viggo Mortensen]]. Instead of explaining the complicated circumstances of an heir of Isildur taking the throne in Gondor (see [[Pelendur]] for an example), in the movie Aragorn must overcome his self-doubt to choose the kingship. This cinematic element adds appeal to a modern audience, but in the books there is no doubt of his purpose to return as the king from the very first time his lineage is revealed.

==Genealogy==
<code>
[[Eärendil the Mariner|Eärendil]] = [[Elwing]]
| [[Celeborn, Lord of Lórien|Celeborn]] = [[Galadriel]]
| |
--------|-------- |
| | |
| | |
[[Elros]] [[Elrond]] = [[Celebrían]]
: |
[[Kings of Numenor]] |
: |
Lords of [[Andúnië]] |
: |
[[Elendil]] † |
| |
------|------ |
| | | † [[High King]] of [[Arnor]] ''and'' [[Gondor]]
| | |
[[Isildur]] † [[Anárion son of Elendil|Anárion]] |
: : |
: : |
''The Kings'' ''The Kings'' |
''of [[Arnor]]'' ''of [[Gondor]]'' |
: : |
: : |
: [[Eärnur]] ‡ | ‡ Last [[King of Gondor]]
: |
[[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Chieftains of]] |
[[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|the Dúnedain]] |
: |
: |
[[Arathorn II]] = [[Gilraen]] |
| |
| |
'''ARAGORN II ELESSAR''' = [[Arwen]]
|
-------|-------
| |
| |
[[Eldarion]] ''numerous daughters''
</code>

==Other names and titles==
Aragorn was also known as '''Strider''', '''Elessar Telcontar''' ("Elfstone Strider"), '''Thorongil''', '''The Dúnadan''' ("Man of the West"), '''Longshanks''' (given by [[Bill Ferny]]), '''Wingfoot''' (given by [[Éomer]]), and '''Estel''' ("Hope"){{sequence
|prev=[[Arathorn II]]
|next=none (abandoned)
|list=[[Chieftain of the Dúnedain]] <code>III</code> 2933 – 3019
}} 
{{sequence
|prev=[[Eärnur]], 971 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[King of Gondor]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=[[Arvedui]], 1,046 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[King of Arnor]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=[[Isildur]], 3,017 years earlier
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[High King]] of the [[Reunited Kingdom]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}} {{sequence
|prev=none
|next=[[Eldarion]]
|list=[[House of Telcontar]] <code>III</code> 3019 – <code>IV</code> 120
}}{{fellowship}}

== Notes ==
:1. [[Appendix B]]

==See also==
*[[:Category:Images of Aragorn|Images of Aragorn]]

[[Category:Rulers of Arnor]]
[[Category:Rulers of Gondor]]
[[Category:Chieftains of the Dúnedain]]
[[Category:Characters in The Lord of the Rings]]

[[de:Aragorn II.]]