Aragorn

Aragorn is a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arnor and Gondor.

Aragorn is a confidant of the wizard Gandalf and plays a part in the quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron.

When the Fellowship is broken, he tracks the hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took with the help of Legolas the elf and Gimli the dwarf to Fangorn Forest.

Isildur and his brother Anarion – together with their father Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor – joined the Last Alliance of Elves (under Gil-galad) and Men against Sauron.

The following day, Aragorn meets and falls in love with Elrond's daughter, the beautiful elf-maiden Arwen, who has recently returned to Rivendell from her grandparents' home in Lothlorien.

[T 5] Aragorn undertakes great journeys, serving in the armies of King Thengel of Rohan and of Ecthelion II, the Steward of Gondor.

His tasks help to raise morale in the West and to counter the growing threat of Sauron and his allies, and he acquires experience that he later puts to use in the War of the Ring.

[T 9] On the hill of Cerin Amroth, Arwen pledges her hand to him in marriage, renouncing her Elvish lineage and accepting mortality (the "Gift of Men").

[T 4] Elven-smiths reforge the shards of Narsil into a new sword, setting into the design of the blade seven stars (for Elendil) and a crescent moon (for Isildur), as well as many runes.

When Gandalf is killed fighting a Balrog,[T 13] Aragorn leads the company to Lothlórien[T 14] and down the River Anduin to the Falls of Rauros.

[T 22] As they approach Minas Tirith, Aragorn unfurls the royal standard that Arwen had made for him, showing both the White Tree of Gondor and the jewelled crown and seven stars of the House of Elendil.

To give Frodo the best chance of fulfilling his quest, Aragorn leads an army to make a diversionary feint on the Black Gate of Mordor in the Battle of the Morannon.

Aragorn leads the forces of the Reunited Kingdom on military campaigns against the Easterlings and Haradrim, re-establishing rule over lands that Gondor had lost in previous centuries.

[T 5] The "first germ" of the character that later evolved into Aragorn or Strider was a peculiar hobbit met by Bingo Bolger-Baggins (precursor of Frodo Baggins) at the inn of The Prancing Pony.

His description and behaviour, however, was already quite close to the final story, with the difference that the hobbit wore wooden shoes, and was nicknamed Trotter for the "clitter-clap" sound that they produced.

[T 34] It was not until after Book I was written that Tolkien finally settled on making Trotter a man, introducing him from the beginning as Aragorn, a "descendant of the ancient men of the North, and one of Elrond's household".

Initially, it is said that Aragorn's forefathers were the exiles of Númenor who ruled over the people of Ond (the early name of Gondor) but were driven out by the Witch-king of Angmar "when Sauron raised a rebellion".

When Tolkien first introduced Éowyn, the interest she showed towards Aragorn was not one-sided, with suggestions in notes that they would marry at the end of the story.

He tried several experimental translations of "Trotter" to Sindarin: Padathir, Du-finnion, and Rimbedir, with Ethelion possibly an equivalent of "Peregrin" (Boffin).

Later he introduced a new plot element: Galadriel's gift of a green stone, and reverted to Elfstone to make an additional connection.

[T 44] Among other names, Tolkien considered "Elfstan", "Elfmere", "Elf-friend", "Elfspear", "Elfwold" and "Erkenbrand", with Elvish forms: Eldamir, Eldavel, Eledon, Qendemir.

[8] It has been suggested that some of the Christian themes extrapolated from Tolkien's work were not intentional, but resulted from the interplay between the background he grew up in and the myths that inspired him.

[9] However, aspects of Aragorn's character - his ability to heal, his sacrificial journey, and his experiences with death and the dead - have long been seen as clues to overt Messianic overtones.

[13] The Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey evaluates the literary status of Aragorn and The Lord of the Rings using Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism.

But the fairy tale happy ending comes to Aragorn, marrying the beautiful princess (Arwen) and winning the kingdom (Gondor and Arnor); while Frodo, who returns home miserable, with neither Ring nor appreciation by the people of the Shire, gets "defeat and disillusionment—the stark, bitter ending typical of the Iliad, Beowulf, the Morte D'Arthur".

[22] Another fan film, Kate Madison's 2009 Born of Hope, imagines a time in the life of Aragorn's parents from shortly before they are married to his father's early death.

[24] Alberto states that the widely-scattered locations, from north Wales to Epping Forest and Hampstead Heath are meant to be seen as a measure of how far Aragorn travels, and in which part of the world, as he seeks Gollum.

She cites the scholar Robin Anne Reid's remark that "Hunt is 'imitative' where Hope is transformative",[24][25] meaning that the former attempts to mimic Jackson and Tolkien, whereas the latter sees fans interpreting and adding to the canon.

Sibley writes that Stephens gave "a mercurial performance, combining nobility and humanity in his portrayal of the returning king whose fate, along with that of all Middle-earth, [hung] on the success or failure of Frodo's quest.

"[26] On stage, Aragorn was portrayed by Evan Buliung in the three-hour production of The Lord of the Rings, which opened in 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.