x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
The Lord of the Rings: Book 1
see page history
Description edit
The dark, fearsome Ringwraiths were searching for a hobbit. Frodo Baggins knew they were seeking him and the Ring he bore--the Ring of Power that would enable evil Sauron to destroy all that was good in Middle-earth. Now it was up to Frodo and his faithful servant Sam, with a small band of... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
Frodo Baggins is the newphew of Bilbo Baggins (main character in the Hobbit which is a prequel to the Lord of the Ring series). Its starts out with Bilbo Baggins' birthday party when Gandalf the Grey tells Bilbo that the ring he bore is possessing him and that he needs to get rid of it. So... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Frodo Baggins: Bilbo's young nephew and heir, he inherits Bag End, and the Ring. A young Hobbit dreaming of having adventures like his uncle Bilbo.
- Bilbo Baggins: A strangely preserved Hobbit, despite the 111 years of his life. As owner of Bag End, he took his nephew Frodo as his heir.
- Gandalf: An elderly Wizard who befriended Bilbo and the Hobbits. He uses his wisdom to advise the councils of the world against an impending danger.
- Sauron: The Dark Lord, searching for the One Ring so that he might cover all the world in shadow and defeat the world of Men.
- Barliman Butterbur: Man; inn-keeper and owner of the Prancing Pony in Bree. Very forgetful.
- Old Willow: A malicious willow tree in the Old Forest.
- Isildur: The Man who first defeated Sauron, but failed to destroy the One Ring, taking it as an heirloom for his line. Son of Elendil.
- Gollum: A creature destroyed by the Ring, searching for it forever more.
- Samwise Gamgee: A simple Hobbit, son of Gaffer Gamgee. He is Frodo and Bilbo's gardener and completely faithful to Frodo.
- Peregrin Took (Pippin): A semi-distant relative of Frodo. He is the youngest of the four Hobbits, and by far the most irresponsible of the bunch. He is humorous and lighthearted. He becomes a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. More familiarily known as Pippin.
- Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry): Frodo's friend from his days living in Brandybuck Hall before Bilbo adopted him. Merry and Pippin seem to be as close as brothers and Merry is the responsible one; becomes a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
- Farmer Maggot: Hobbit; a shrewd farmer of Bamfurlong, who thinks that Frodo and his friends are nothing but trouble.
- Tom Bombadil: A mysterious figure, the Master of the Old Forest. Red of face and draped in blue with a large hat.
- Goldberry: Tom Bombadil's wife; the River's daughter.
- Aragorn: A Ranger of the North, asked by Gandalf to keep the young Hobbits safe. Son of Arathorn who goes by various names.
- Glorfindel: Elf-lord of Rivendell. Aids Aragorn and the Hobbits. Dwells in the house of Elrond.
- Elrond: Halfelven. Keeper/Lord of Rivendell.
- Saruman: Wizard; called "the White". Gandalf's boss. Head of the Council of the Wise.
- Boromir: Man: son of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor; becomes a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. Has a brother named Faramir.
- Legolas: Elf; Prince of the sylvan Elves of Mirkwood; becomes a member of the Fellowship of the Ring
- Gimli: Dwarf: son of Glóin. He becomes a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
- Galadriel: Elven woman: Lady of Lothlórien. Last of the high Elf lords who saw the light of the Blessed Realm.
- Celeborn: Elf: Lord of Lothlórien.
- Drogo Baggins: Father of Frodo Baggins.
- Primula Brandybuck: Mother of Frodo Baggins.
- Otho & Lobelia Baggins: Husband and wife who are from Sackville.
- Folco Boffin: Hobbit: Young friend of Frodo.
- Fredegar Bolger: Hobbit: Young friend of Frodo. Known to his friends as Fatty Bolger.
- Gil-galad: Elven King who overthrew Sauron but died doing so.
- Arwen: Daughter of Elrond. Aragorn loves her.
- Elladan & Elrohir: Sons of Elrond
- Gloin: Dwarf: One of the 12 companions of the great Thorin Oakenshield. He has a son: Gimli.
- Radagast the Brown: Wizard
- Haldir: Elf who lives in Lorien. A Galadhrim (i.e. Tree-people).
Quotes edit
-
“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like, and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve!”
Bilbo Baggins -
“Deserves it! I dare say he does. Many that live deserve death and some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be so eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the wise cannot see all ends.”
Gandalf -
“Are you afraid? Not nearly enough... If I had killed the real Strider, I could kill you. And should have killed you already without so much talk. If I was after the Ring, I could have it - NOW!”
Strider -
“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 -
“Memory is not what the heart desires.”
Gimli -
“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 the 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 -
“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 -
“All you have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to you.”
Gandalf -
“Shelter! If this is shelter, then one wall and no roof make a house.”
Samwise Gamgee -
“You can trust us to stick to you, through thick and thin – to the bitter end. And you can trust us to keep any secret of yours – closer than you keep it yourself. But you cannot trust us to let you face trouble alone, and go off without a word. We are your friends, Frodo.”
Meriadoc Brandybuck -
“Faithless is he who leaves when the road darkens.”
Gimli -
“Even the smallest person can change the course of the future.”
Galadriel -
“Gandalf was shorter in stature than the other two; but his long white hair, his sweeping beard, and his broad shoulders, made him look like some wise king of ancient legend. In his aged face under great snowy brows his eyes were set like coals that could suddenly burst into fire.”
-
“Me go and see Elves and all! Hooray!”
Sam Gamgee -
“And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”
Gandalf
-
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 judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.
Highlighted by 225 Kindle customers -
All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost;
Highlighted by 176 Kindle customers -
‘I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo. ‘So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.
Highlighted by 175 Kindle customers -
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.
Highlighted by 157 Kindle customers -
The wide world is all about you: you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot for ever fence it out.’
Highlighted by 151 Kindle customers -
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out of your door,” he used to say. “You step into the Road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there is no knowing where you might be swept off to.
Highlighted by 139 Kindle customers -
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the Darkness bind them.
Highlighted by 109 Kindle customers -
“And he that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.”
Highlighted by 107 Kindle customers -
‘He hated it and loved it, as he hated and loved himself. He could not get rid of it. He had no will left in the matter.
Highlighted by 85 Kindle customers -
At that time Frodo was still in his tweens, as the hobbits called the irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three.
Highlighted by 68 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
Middle-earth is a fictional place which is the setting for most of the stories of author J. R. R. Tolkien. These stories include The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and Silmarillion.
- Rivendell: Rivendell (Imladris) is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth (four or five thousand years before the events of The Lord of the Rings). In addition to Elrond and his family, notable Elves who lived there included Glorfindel and Erestor. Rivendell is a direct translation or calque of the Sindarin name Imladris, both meaning "deep valley of the cleft".
- The Shire: he Shire is a region of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, described in The Lord of the Rings and other works. The Shire refers to an area settled exclusively by Hobbits and largely removed from the goings-on in the rest of Middle-earth. It is located in the northwest of the continent, in the large region of Eriador and the Kingdom of Arnor. Its name in Westron was Sûza "Shire" or Sûzat "The Shire". Its name in Sindarin was i Drann.
- Rohan: Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy. It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry. Rohan is also referred to as Riddermark or the Mark. The realm is of significant importance in the author's most famous book, The Lord of the Rings.
- Gondor: Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. According to the Lord of the Rings, Gondor was founded by brothers Isildur and Anárion, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor, and together with Arnor in the north served as last strongholds of the Men of the West. Gondor gradually declined in course of the Third Age, being continually weakened by the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron, and was only restored in dominance after his final defeat.
- Mordor: Mordor is the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, the sole mountain in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to destroy the One Ring. Mordor was unique because of the three enormous mountain ridges surrounding it, from the North, from the West and from the South. The mountains both protected the land from an unexpected invasion by any of the people living in those directions and kept those living in Mordor from escaping.
- Lothlórien: In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Lothlórien is the fairest forest realm of the Elves remaining in Middle-earth during the Third Age The realm plays an important part in The Lord of the Rings as the Elven centre of resistance against Sauron and is a symbol for the Elves' aesthetics of preservation which provides a space 'out of time' for the characters who both live and visit there.
Organizations edit
- The Fellowship of the Ring: The Nine Walkers pitted against the Nine Riders of Mordor, compiled by Elrond. Composed of Frodo the Ring-Bearer, Aragorn and Boromoir to represent the world of men, Legolas for the elves, Gimli for the dwarves, Gandalf of the wizards, and Sam, Merry, and Pippin to accompany Frodo.
First Sentence edit
When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.
Table of Contents edit
Book One
1. A Long-expected Party
2. The Shadow of the Past
3. Three is Company
4. A Short Cut to Mushrooms
5. A Conspiracy Unmasked
6. The Old Forest
7. In the House of Tom Bombadil
8. Fog on the Barrow-downs
9. At the Sign of the Prancing Pony
10. Strider
11. A Knife in the Dark
12. Flight to the Ford
Book Two
1. Many Meetings
2. The Council of Elrond
3. The Ring goes South
4. A Journey in the Dark
5. The Bridge of Khazad-dum
6. Lothlorien
7. The Mirror of Galadriel
8. Farewell to Lorien
9. The Great River
10. The Breaking of the Fellowship
Glossary edit
- Wain: A horse-drawn wagon.
- Dearth: An acute insufficiency.
- Doughty: Brave, strong, courageous and stouthearted.
- Warren: A system of dwelling places, often underground, especially for rabbits.
- Provender: A stock or supply of food.
- Coppice: A grove of small growth.
- Tussock: A tuft or clump of green grass or similar verdure, forming a small hillock
- Sloe: The small, bitter, wild fruit of the blackthorn; also, the tree itself.
- Bole: The trunk of a tree; the main structural member of a tree that supports the branches and is supported by and directly attached to the roots.
- Brake: Bracken; a thicket, or an area overgrown with briers, etc.
- Wight: An archaic term for a human being or another sentient creature. (Undead, as it happens in this case.)
- Barrow: A very large mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Common in prehistoric England.
- Down: An area of land characterized by hilly, rolling grassland. Grassy, barren chalk bluffs, as in south England.
- Bower: A bedroom or private apartments, especially for women.
- Bollard: A strong vertical post of timber or iron, fixed to the ground or to the deck of a ship.
- Ewer: A pitcher; an open vessel with a handle and a spout for pouring.
- Damasked: Decorated in figured designs.
- Ostler: A person employed at an inn, hostelry, or stable to look after horses.
- Swarthy: Tawny, dusky, or dark; weathered, or rough.
- Bolster: A long narrow pillow or cushion filled with cotton, down, or fibre; usually placed at the head of bed and functions as head or back support.
- Sallow: A sickly yellowish skin color.
- Ere: Before.
- Errantry: The state of roving in search of chivalrous adventure.
- Panoply: A complete suit of armor.
- Habergeon: A light sleeveless coat of chain mail worn under the hauberk.
- Chalcedony: A mineral with a waxy luster, which may be semitransparent or translucent; most commonly white to gray, grayish-blue or a shade of brown.
- Adamant: Diamond.
- Carcanet: A jeweled necklace, collar, or headband.
- Flammifer: A noun form coined by Tolkien of the word "flammiferous". Its meaning is "bringer or bearer of flame". Appearing only once in Tolkien's lexicon, it refers to the Silmaril of Eärendil.
- Silmaril: One of the three jewels wrought by Fëanor of the light from the Two Trees of Valinor.
- Baldric: A belt used to hold a sword, sometimes richly ornamented, worn diagonally from shoulder to hip.
- Weregild: A reparational payment usually demanded of a person guilty of homicide or other wrongful death.
- Bulwark: A defensive wall or rampart; metaphorically, something that serves a defensive purpose.
- Glede: A live coal; an ember.
- Mere: A pool, lake or marsh.
- Halter: A rope or canvas headgear for a horse, with a rope for leading.
- Silvan: Relating to, or characteristic of, forests or wooded regions.
- Furlong: A measure of distance, equal to 220 yards.
- Cordial: A strong, highly flavored sweet liquor, usually drunk after a meal.
- Dolven: An old word for delven; past participle of delve. (to mine, quarry, dig)
- Lode: A deposit of valuable ore occurring within definite boundaries separating it from surrounding rocks.
- Corslet: A piece of body armor for the main part of the body; usually consists of a breastplate and back piece.
- Affray: A noisy fight.
- Truncheon: A stick or club of less than arm's length, usually made of wood or metal.
- Scimitar: A curved saber, with the edge on the convex side of the blade.
- Descried: Caught sight of.
- Sward: An expanse of land covered in grass; a lawn or meadow.
- Freshet: The occurrence of a water flow, resulting from sudden rain or melting snow.
- Lee: Downwind, or towards the side away from the wind.
- Mew: A sea-gull.
- Fosse: A ditch or a moat.
- Wont: Habit or established custom. Usually in the expression "as is <his/her/my> wont."
- Wrack: Dried seaweed, especially that cast ashore; the destruction or collapse of something.
- Hythe: A landing-place in a river; a harbour or small port.
- Phial: A small glass vessel or bottle.
- Wold: An unforested or deforested plain, a grassland, a moor; in this case, likely barren and treeless. Also can be used to mean: a wood or forest, especially a wooded upland.
- Eyot: A little island, especially in a river or lake.
- Gunwale: The topmost planking of a wooden vessel.
- Writhen: Contorted or twisted.
- Thrawn: Twisted or misshapen; difficult or awkward.
- Clamber: To climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 3 in The Lord of the Rings. (standard series)
Followed by The Two Towers.
This is book 494 of 1272 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Floating Opera, and followed by The Talented Mr. Ripley.
This is book 15 of 23 in Middle-Earth. (universe)
Preceded by The Hobbit, and followed by The Two Towers.
This is book 50 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
Preceded by Wicked, and followed by Of Mice and Men.
This is book 801 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Eagle of the Ninth, and followed by Lord of the Flies.
This is book 1 of 157 in Fantasy Book Review Top 100 fantasy books of all time. (community list)
Followed by Dust of Dreams.
This is book 1 of 196 in BBC 'Big Read' Top 200 Novels, 2003. (authoritative list)
Followed by Pride and Prejudice.
This book is in 100 Fantabulous Book Challenge. (community list)
This is book 53 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Chronicles of Narnia, and followed by The Lightning Thief.
This is book 50 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Return of the King, and followed by Wicked.
This is book 55 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Chronicles of Narnia, and followed by One Hundred Years of Solitude.
This is book 1 of 100 in National Public Radio's Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy. (authoritative list)
Followed by The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
Authors & Contributors edit
- J. R. R. Tolkien (Author)
Other Contributors:
- J. R. R. Tolkien (Cover Artist) - ISBN: 0345272587
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: George Allen & Unwin
Country: England
Publication Date: July 24, 1954
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 531
Publisher: George Allen & Unwin
Country: England
Publication Date: July 24, 1954
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 531
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PR6039.O32 L6
- Dewey: 828'.912
Subjects edit
- Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Authors, A-Z › ( T ) › Tolkien, J.R.R.
- Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Series
- Books › Science Fiction & Fantasy › Fantasy › Epic
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Contemporary
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
Movie Connections edit
More Books Like This edit
Books with Additional Background Information edit
Books That Influenced This Book edit
Books Influenced by This Book edit
We’re hiding the themes, errata, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
