Curated category
The Lord of the Rings characters
- Company of the RingIn the dark lands of Mordor, nine shadowy figures known as Black Riders or Ringwraiths ride in silence. They are the enemy that demands a counterforce. J.R.R.
- Frodo BagginsFrodo Baggins is a hobbit of the Shire who, on the 22nd of September, shares a birthday with his cousin Bilbo. That shared birthday is one small thread in a…
- BoromirBoromir stood ten years old when his mother Finduilas died. He inherited the Horn of Gondor that same year, becoming heir apparent to Denethor II, the 26th…
- Pippin TookPeregrin Took is the youngest of the four hobbits who walk out of the Shire and into the greatest war Middle-earth has ever seen.
- ElrondElrond Half-elven stood beside Círdan at the moment Gil-galad fell, watched Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, and then urged Isildur, right there…
- FaramirFaramir is the younger son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor, and in Tolkien's telling, the one character most like the author himself.
- Merry BrandybuckMeriadoc Brandybuck, the hobbit the world knows simply as Merry, begins The Lord of the Rings as a conspirator. Long before Frodo Baggins set foot on the…
- ShelobHigh in the Ephel Dúath mountains, a creature named Shelob waited. She lived on the borders of Mordor before Sauron built his dark tower.
- Balin (Middle-earth)The year Balin turned seven, the dragon Smaug sacked Erebor. Dwarves fled into exile while their father Fundin later died in the Battle of Azanulbizar.
- GlorfindelJ. R. R. Tolkien wrote the first draft of The Fall of Gondolin between 1916 and 1917, introducing a character named Glorfindel at that time.
- SarumanSaruman the White arrives in Middle-earth as one of five angelic emissaries, dispatched by the godlike Valar to challenge the dark lord Sauron without…
- GandalfGandalf the Grey, one of the most recognized figures in twentieth-century fantasy literature, first appeared as a name borrowed from a list of dwarves in an…
- Bilbo BagginsIn the quiet village of Hobbiton, a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins sits at his breakfast table. He enjoys tobacco and waits for guests who never arrive until the…
- Gríma WormtonguePsychologists Deborah and Mark Parker identified Gríma Wormtongue as the archetypal sycophant in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
- DenethorIn the besieged city of Minas Tirith, Denethor II orders his servants to burn him alive on a funeral pyre prepared for himself and Faramir.
- ThéodenThéoden, King of Rohan and Lord of the Mark, first appears in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as a ruler who has already lost himself.
- ÉomerÉomer is the son of Théodwyn and Éomund. After their parents' death, he and his sister Éowyn were adopted by their uncle Théoden, king of the Rohirrim.
- AragornAragorn first appears in The Lord of the Rings as a scruffy, travel-worn stranger going by the name Strider, nursing a drink at an inn in Bree.
- SauronSauron is the main antagonist of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, a figure who rules the land of Mordor and covets dominion over all of Middle-earth.
- IsildurIsildur carried a stolen fruit through a royal court in disguise, bleeding from wounds he suffered escaping with it. That fruit was all that remained of…
- ÉowynIn the great hall of Edoras, a young woman named Éowyn stands behind her uncle King Théoden. Her father has died fighting orcs and her mother has passed from…
- Samwise GamgeeIn the dark mountain pass of Cirith Ungol, a hobbit named Samwise Gamgee hoisted his master onto his broad shoulders. Frodo Baggins could no longer walk…
- TreebeardAt the southern end of the Misty Mountains, a vast and humid forest stretches for many miles. The River Limlight flows from these woods to form the northern…
- GaladrielGaladriel is one of the most elaborately imagined figures in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, appearing across The Lord of the Rings, The…
- Gimli (Middle-earth)Gimli, son of Glóin, is a fictional Dwarf warrior in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and one of the primary characters in that story.
- ArwenThe name Arwen Undómiel means noble maiden in the ancient tongue of Sindarin. She was born into the House of Finwë, a lineage stretching back to the first…
- GollumGollum is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, and he may be the most pitiable monster in the history of English…
- LegolasLegolas, a Sindar Elf of the Woodland Realm, appears in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings as one of nine companions chosen to carry out the most…
- NazgûlIn the Second Age, nine mortal men received Rings of Power from the Dark Lord Sauron. These rings granted them immortality but slowly stripped away their…
- Tom BombadilThe Oxford Magazine printed a poem called The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1934. This publication introduced the character to readers before he appeared in…