The Lord of the Rings (collective work) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

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Summary edit see section history

Characters edit see section history

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• Frodo Baggins: Hobbit; Son of Drogo; Bilbo Baggins' nephew and heir; the Ringbearer.
• Samwise Gamgee: Hobbit; Son of Hamfast; Frodo Baggins' gardener. Called Sam.
• Meriadoc Brandybuck: Hobbit; Frodo Baggins' kinsman. Called Merry. Best friend of Pippin, and the "responsible one" of that pair.
• Peregrin Took: Hobbit; Frodo Baggins' kinsman. Called Pippin. He is best friends with Merry, and is known for being irresponible.
• Bilbo Baggins: Hobbit who retrieved the One Ring from Gollums cave. It is this ring that is later inherited by Frodo. One of the first hobbits to go on an adventure in many years.
• Gandalf: Wizard who aids the Fellowship; the Enemy of Sauron. Called "the Grey". Known to the elves as Mithrandir
• Aragorn: Man; called Strider, Longshanks, Elessar; a Ranger of Eriador.
• Legolas: Elf; son of Thranduil, Elvenking of Mirkwood, one of the Nine to bear the ring to Moridor.
• Gimli: Dwarf; son of Glóin (one of the thirteen dwarves who were Bilbo's companions in "The Hobbit"). He is one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring that set off from Rivendell.
• Boromir: Man; son of Denethor, steward of Gondor.
• Tom Bombadil: A mysterious figure who is Master of the Old Forest.
• Gollum: Once the Hobbit-like Sméagol and bearer of the One Ring. He is a malignant but pitiful creature.
• Elrond: Halfelven; keeper of Rivendell, the Last Homely House. Arwens father. Son of Galadriel
• Saruman: Wizard who betrays his order and sides with Sauron. Called "the White".
• Sauron: The Dark Lord of Mordor; original owner and forger of the One Ring.
• Galadriel: Elven woman, Lady of Lothlórien. Last of the high Noldor who dwelt in the Undying Lands.
• Arwen: Elven woman; called the Evenstar of her people and fairest living elf. The daughter of the Lord of Rivendell; Elrond Half-even.
• Éomer: Man; nephew of Théoden King of Rohan.
• Éowyn: Human. Shieldmaiden of Rohan, niece of Théoden.
• Théoden: Man; son of Thengel. King of Rohan.
• Gríma: Man of Rohan; called Wormtongue. Works for Saruman
• Treebeard: Ent; The Eldest; the lord of the Fangorn forest. Also known as Fangorn.
• Faramir: Man; son of Denethor, brother of Boromir. Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien.
• Denethor: Man; Steward of Gondor, son of Ecthelion. Father of Boromir and Faramir.
• Celeborn: Elf; Lord of Lothlórien; husband of Galadriel.
• Imrahil: Man; Prince of Dol Amroth. Fought with Armies of the West at Pelennor Fields.
• Ioreth: Wise-woman of Gondor; served at the Houses of Healing.
• Farmer Maggot: Hobbit; a shrewd farmer of Bamfurlong. Is convinced that Frodo and his friends are nothing but trouble, especially when they are making a vegetable run.
• Beregond: Man of Gondor. A guard of the citadel of Minas Tirith.
• Goldberry: Called the 'River-woman's daughter'; enigmatic wife of Tom Bombadil.
• Haldir: Elf; a captain of Lothlórien. Marchwarden.
• Hama: Man of Rohan; Guardsman of Edoras.
• Barliman Butterbur: Man of Bree; Innkeeper of the Prancing Pony. Jovial and absent-minded.
• Gildor Inglorion: Noldor elf, who passed through the Shire on his way to the Havens.
• Glorfindel: Elf of Rivendell, mighty among the Noldor.
• Ghan-buri-Ghan: or Ghân. Tribal chief of the Drúedain, also known as Wild Men or Wood-woses.
• Elladan: One of the sons of Elrond. Part of the Grey Company.
• Elrohir: One of the sons of Elrond. Part of the Grey Company.
• The Witch King: He is the leader of the Black Riders, one of the Nine.
• Mouth of Sauron: Man; Lieutenant of Barad-dûr, the Dark Tower in Mordor. He had forgotten his name.
• Fatty Bolger: Real name; Fredegar Bolger. Fredegar was one of the small group of Hobbits who knew that Frodo had the Ring. 'Fatty' was a descendant of Hildibrand Took, one of the many sons of the Old Took. He was the son of Odovacar Bolger and Rosamunda Took, part of the Bolger family.

Quotes edit see section history

• “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 Ring Verse

• “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

  Gandalf

• “Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.”

  Elrond

• “The Road goes ever on and on / Down from the door where it began. Now far ahead the Road has gone, / And I must follow, if I can / Pursuing it with eager feet, / Until it joins some larger way / Where many paths and errands meet. / And whither then? I cannot say.”

  Bilbo Baggins

• “All that is gold does not glitter, / Not all those who wander are lost; / The old that is strong does not wither, / Deep roots are not reached by frost. / From the ashes a fire shall be woken, / A light from the shadows shall spring; / Renewed shall be blade that was broken: The crownless again shall be king.”

  Bilbo Baggins

• “But she, born in the body of a maid, had a spirit and courage at least the match of yours... who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?”

  Gandalf

• “But do you remember Gandalf’s words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam... the Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him..! I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.”

  Frodo Baggins

• “The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.”

  Haldir

• “And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!”

  Galadriel

• “Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

  Gildor Inglorion

• “He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”

  Gandalf

• “It was Sam's first view of a battle of Men against Men... He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home; and if he would not really rather have stayed there in peace.”

  Narrator

• “Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens.”

  Gimli

• “I do not love the bright sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only that which they defend.”

  Faramir

• “Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace! I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are an evil.”

  Gandalf

• “The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.”

  Ioreth

• “And it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.”

  Frodo Baggins

• “Good and ill have not changed since yesteryear; nor are they one thing among Elves and Dwarves and another among Men.”

  Aragorn

• “Don't adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story.”

  Bilbo Baggins

• “So passed the sword of the Barrow-downs... But glad would he have been to know its fate who wrought it slowly long ago in the North-kingdom when the Dúnedain were young, and chief among their foes was the dread realm of Angmar and its sorcerer king. No other blade, not though mightier hands had wielded it, would have dealt that foe a wound so bitter, cleaving the undead flesh, breaking the spell that knit his unseen sinews to his will.”

  Narrator

• “It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”

  Gandalf

• “Out of dark, out of doubt, to the day's rising I rode, singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. To hope's end I rode, and to heart's breaking: Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red nightfall!”

  Éomer

• “But it is not your own Shire. Others dwelt here before Hobbits came; and others will dwell here again when Hobbits are no more. The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.”

  Gildor Inglorion

• “<I fear> a cage. To stay behind bars until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

  Eowyn

• “'It is ever so with things that Men begin: there is a frost in Spring, or a blight in Summer, and they fail of their promise.' 'Yet seldom do they fail of their seed. And that will lie in the dust and rot to spring up again in times and places unlooked for. The deeds of Men will outlast us, Gimli.'”

  Legolas & Gimli

• “Long we have tended our beasts and our fields, built our houses, wrought our tools, or ridden away to help in the wars of Minas Tirith. And that we called the life of Men, the way of the world. We cared little for what lay beyond the borders of our land. Songs we have that tell of these things, but we are forgetting them, teaching them only to children, as a careless custom. And now the songs have come down among us out of strange places, and walk visible under the Sun.”

  Théoden

• “The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day!”

  Aragorn

• “I would not snare even an orc with a falsehood.”

  Faramir

• “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

  Gandalf

• “You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.”

  Frodo Baggins

• “Oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know.”

  Celeborn

• “Gibbets and Crows! Dotard! What is the house of Eorl but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll around on the floor with their dogs!”

  Saruman

• “I would cut off your head, beard and all, Master Dwarf, if it stood but a little higher from the ground.”

  Eomer

• “Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace... But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you if you touch him.”

  Éowyn

• “Come not between the Nazgûl and his prey! Or he will not slay thee in thy turn. He will bear thee away to the Houses of Lamentation, beyond all darkness, where thy flesh shall be devoured and thy shriveled mind be left naked to the lidless Eye.”

  The Witch King

• “Despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.”

  Gandalf

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• Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger. The choice is yours: to go or wait.’ ‘And it is also said,’ answered Frodo: ‘Go not to the Elves for counsel, for they will say both no and yes.’

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Setting & Locations edit see section history

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• Middle-earth: The mortal lands of the Earth. A translation of Old English Middangeard or Norse Midgaard.
• The Shire: The land of the Hobbits, in the Northwest of Middle-earth
• Hobbiton: A Hobbit town in the Shire.
• Bag End: The Hobbit hole of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, in Hobbiton.
• Crickhollow: A village in the eastern reaches of the Shire, close to the Old Forest.
• Old Forest: A forest directly to the east of the Shire.
• Bree: A village to the east of the Shire and the Old Forest, where Men and Hobbits live and work together.
• The Prancing Pony: An inn in Bree, owned by Barliman Butterbur.
• Weathertop: The hilltop ruins of an old fortress of Men.
• Rivendell: The hidden house of Elrond in a valley near the Misty Mountains.
• Misty Mountains: Mountain range which splits eastern and western Middle-earth; inhabited by Orcs and Wargs.
• Moria: Khazad-dûm or "Mansion of the Dwarves"; the Dwarrowdelf. Underground realm beneath Misty Mountains.
• Lothlórien: or Lórien. The hidden woodland realm of Galadriel and Celeborn, east of the Misty Mountains.
• River Anduin: The Great River, flowing from north to south to the east of the Misty Mountains.
• Rohan: The wide, grassy lands of the Rohirrim, the Horse-lords.
• Fangorn Forest: The forest directly to the south of the Misty Mountains, on the edge of the plains of Rohan.
• Edoras: The chief city of Rohan and the seat of the kings.
• Helm's Deep: A deep, narrow valley and the caverns behind it, used as a refuge by the Rohirrim.
• Paths of the Dead: A path beneath the White Mountains.
• Gondor: The southern kingdom of Men, facing and guarding against Mordor.
• Minas Tirith: The Tower of Guard, a seven-tiered city facing Minas Morgul and guarding against it.
• Pelennor Fields: The fields surrounding Minas Tirith.
• Houses of Healing: A sanctuary in Minas Tirith where healers try to aid the wounded and dying.
• Dead Marshes: The site of an ancient battle, now covered with marshes.
• Ithilien: The narrow lands of Gondor between the River Anduin and Mordor.
• Minas Morgul: The Tower of Sorcery, once a Gondorian city, but taken over by the Nazgûl.
• Mordor: The kingdom of Sauron, guarded on three sides by mountain ranges and by a huge desert on the fourth. A dark and vast wasteland where little grows.
• Gorgoroth: or "Plain of Gorgoroth". Volcanic plateau. The wasted desert uplands of northwestern Mordor.
• The Morannon: The Black Gate of Mordor; the main entrance into the mountain-encircled realm.
• Cirith Ungol: A high pass over the western mountains of Mordor.
• Mount Doom: Orodruin, the volcano housing the Cracks of Doom (Sammath Naur), where the Ring was forged.
• Barad-dûr: The Dark Tower. Shadow-shrouded stronghold of Sauron, in the midst of Mordor.
• The Dark Tower: aka Barad-dûr, or Lugbûrz. Sauron's fortress, the tallest building in Middle-Earth.
• The Grey Havens: Mithlond, the havens of Círdan the Shipwright in northwestern Middle-earth beyond the Shire; kept as an escape for any Elves who wished to depart Middle-earth for the Blessed Lands.
• Isengard: A stronghold surrounded by a ringed wall, guarding the tower of Orthanc. Built by the Numénoreans, but most recently resided in by Saruman.
• Orthanc: The tower of Isengard; Saruman's stronghold.
• Númenor: A sunken island, once home to the Edain who aided the Elves in the First Age. It was destroyed in the Second Age by the Valar when its pride became too great. Its survivors founded kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.
• Pelargir: Ancient port of Gondor, built by the Númenoreans.
• Drúedain Forest: Home of the Wild Men or Wood-woses (Drúedain), an ancient people.
• Umbar: Ancient port city of the Númenoreans in the south, now allied to Sauron.

Organizations edit see section history

• The Fellowship of the Ring: The Nine Walkers pitted against the Nine Riders of Mordor. Frodo, Sam, Merry Pippin, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and Gimli. Their aim was to take the One Ring secretly into Mordor and destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom.

First Sentence edit see section history

Table of Contents edit see section history

Glossary edit see section history

• Palantír: An orb that allows communication over long distances.
• Athelas: An herb that Aragorn uses to heal.
• Nazgûl: The Ringwraiths. The Nine Men who were given rings of power.
• Dwimmerlaik: Spectre. An old English term. (The language of Rohan is rendered as Old English).
• Dúnedain: Rangers, descendants of seafaring men from the ancient empire of Númenor. Edain = men.
• Westernesse: Númenor. Its survivors, led by Elendil, founded kingdoms of Men, and fought Sauron.
• Mûmak: or Oliphaunt, a giant, mastodon-like creature. Plural: mûmakil.
• Eldar: "High Elves". Principally, the Noldor (a group of elves who fled the Undying Lands).
• Valar: Beings who rule the Blessed Realm or Undying Lands. Called gods by lesser men.
• Elbereth: "Gilthoniel". Lady of Light. Sometimes called Queen of the Valar. She put stars in the sky.

Themes & Symbolism edit see section history

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• Environmentalism: All forces of good have a closeness to Nature. Elves awoke with starlight in their eyes, and love walking in the forests. Their homes and kingdoms are built in concert with Nature, rather than in antagonism to it. Ents are treelike beings, Dwarves live in the mountains, while Hobbits live in holes in the ground and are fond of gardening. The Rohirrim love horses and use them as their symbol. The tree is also on the standards of Gondor, and the proof of Aragorn's claim to kingship is his ability to use athelas, a common herb, to heal. Sauron on the other hand, does nothing but destroys nature. His lands are barren, ashen, and poisonous, where only a few twisted brambles grow. Likewise, Saruman, the traitorous wizard, is described as having a mind "of metal and wheels."
• Agrarianism: Where the Ents exhibit preservationism and the Elves conservationism, the Hobbits are a decidedly agrarian people. Gandalf repeatedly makes a point of defending them when their ignorance and simplicity are asserted by those who doubt their value, and it is because of this simplicity, as well as their closeness to and familiarity with the soil, that they are able to contribute to the War of the Ring, rather than despite them. The Shire is repeatedly presented as a thing worth preserving, worth giving one's own life to save. It is stated that Hobbits are suspicious of any machinery more complex than a mill, and indeed Ted Sandyman, the miller, is represented as a suspicious and closed-minded character. In contrast, Saruman, who later on despoils and almost ruins the Shire, has a mind of "metal and wheels," representing industrialism. The Ring itself can be seen as a symbol for industrialism. For more information on this theme in Tolkien's writing, see the book Ents, Elves and Eriador.
• Free will: All forces of good have free will, and are called "The Free Peoples." Men are free to leave Middle-earth, i.e. to die. Denethor turns to evil because he wants to rule Gondor himself, and not just to be its steward. Frodo chooses to be the Ring bearer. Ents vote on what to do when Merry and Pippin show up. Elves can go to their mysterious land in the west or become mortal. Action in the face of evil is advocated and glorified. Gandalf tells Frodo that "all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
• Imagination: All forces of good have imagination and can create. It was the Elves that created the Rings of Power in the beginning; Sauron built upon their work to fashion the One Ring. The Orcs and Trolls were not original creations, but were made in mockery of Elves and Ents. Elves can also make tools and clothing with special virtues. Hobbits grow their gardens. Dwarves have mastery over metal, earth and stone and can fashion them into any form.Sauron's lack of imagination is one of the key elements to his downfall since he can't imagine anyone wanting to destroy the One Ring at Mount Doom instead of using it for personal ends. Therefor he doesn't guard the way to the mountain as carefully as he should have.
• Mercy: Frodo can imagine the pain of Gollum because he himself is beginning to feel its burden. Gandalf prophetically tells Frodo that "the pity of Bilbo" (in choosing not to kill Gollum when he had the chance) "may rule the fate of us all." Many other examples of pity and mercy adorn the pages of Tolkien.
• Distrust for Power: Almost every good character resists the temptation of power, notably in the device of the One Ring. Gandalf realizes that he would use the Ring for good, but that it would end up using him. Galadriel rejects the Ring when offered it, for the same reason. Boromir is tempted to use it, but his weakness is his downfall. Sauron, the Dark Lord, does not even conceive of the possibility that the good characters will choose not to use the Ring, for his mind only understands power. Faramir tells Frodo that he would not even touch the Ring if he found it on the side of the highway.
• Eucatastrophe: Tolkien coined the term "eucatastrophe" in an essay called "On Fairy-stories". It refers to a sudden reversal of fortune, but is the opposite of common catastrophe in that it is a change from a hopeless situation to sudden deliverance and victory. It is distinct from deus-ex-machina in that the latter comes from nowhere while the former is entirely in tune and in keeping with the texture and fabric of the story.
• East and west: Many have commented on the geography of Middle-Earth. The forces of evil live in the East, and the forces of good in the West. Speculation ran that the real life geography was used to show what the author thought of communism. Tolkien himself though commented that this was just a convenient way for the story, and didn't have a symbolic meaning, as in "The Silmarillion", the Dark Lord dominates the North, and the forces of good, the Elves, live in the South.

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Girl Who Played with Fire, and followed by Three Cups of Tea.

Preceded by Outlander, and followed by Pride and Prejudice.

Preceded by Catch-22, and followed by Hamlet.

Preceded by Survival in Auschwitz, and followed by Les vrilles de la vigne (French Edition).

Preceded by History of the Peloponnesian War, and followed by Winnie-the-Pooh.

Preceded by Battlefield Earth, and followed by To Kill a Mockingbird.

Followed by Pride and Prejudice.

Followed by 1984.

Preceded by Pride and Prejudice, and followed by Jane Eyre.

Preceded by Middlesex, and followed by The Poisonwood Bible.

Preceded by The Floating Opera, and followed by The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Preceded by To the Lighthouse, and followed by Charlotte's Web.

Preceded by Blink, and followed by The Client.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. J. R. R. Tolkien (Author)

Other Contributors:

1. Wolfgang Krege (Translator)
2. Società Tolkeniana Italiana (Translator)
3. Vicky Alliata di Villafranca (Translator)
4. Quirino Principe (Adapter)
5. Francesco Bisaro (Illustrator)
6. Maxfield Parrish (Cover Artist)

First Edition edit see section history

Awards edit see section history

• International Fantasy Award (1957: Fiction)
• Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (2009)

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813

Notes for Parents edit see section history

Add a note to help parents select a book for a child.

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( T ) › Tolkien, Christopher
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( T ) › Tolkien, J.R.R.
• Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Series
• Books › Literature & Fiction

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

• Wikipedia: Lord of the Rings

Movie Connections edit see section history

• The Lord of the Rings (IMDb): 1978
• The Return of the King (IMDb): (TV) 1980
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (IMDb): 2001
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (IMDb): 2002
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (IMDb): 2003

More Books Like This edit see section history

Books with Additional Background Information edit see section history

Books That Influenced This Book edit see section history

Books Influenced by This Book edit see section history

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history