Curated playlist
The Lord of the Rings characters
- Company of the RingThe Company of the Ring, also known as the Fellowship of the Ring and the Nine Walkers, is a band of nine travellers sent out to face nine enemies. J. R. R. Tolkien says he fixed the number on purpose. It was meant to match and oppose the…
- Frodo BagginsFrodo Baggins reached Mount Doom and then claimed the Ring. Gollum bit off his finger and fell into the fire.
- BoromirBoromir leaped to seize the Ring from Frodo, then wept at once. He later died defending two hobbits.
- Pippin TookPippin Took, a hobbit who dropped a stone down a hole, ends up Thain of the Shire.
- ElrondElrond watched Isildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand and urged him to destroy it. Isildur refused and walked away.
- FaramirFaramir is offered the One Ring and turns it down completely. He knows what its power would cost.
- Merry BrandybuckMerry Brandybuck stabbed the Lord of the Nazgul behind the knee. His blow let Éowyn kill the Black Captain.
- ShelobShelob, the giant spider, drove herself onto Sam's sword while trying to crush him.
- Balin (Middle-earth)Balin, the Dwarf in The Hobbit, died in the same valley where his father fell. Both were killed in Dimrill Dale.
- GlorfindelGlorfindel dies killing a Balrog in one Tolkien story, then appears alive in The Lord of the Rings.
- SarumanTolkien did not know Saruman existed when he began The Lord of the Rings. He grew out of a plot problem.
- GandalfIn early drafts of The Hobbit, the name Gandalf belonged to a dwarf-king, not the wizard.
- Bilbo BagginsBilbo Baggins won the dragon Smaug's fate with words, not a weapon.
- Gríma WormtongueGríma Wormtongue was captured by the Nazgûl and told them where the Shire was.
- DenethorDenethor never surrendered Gondor, but a palantír showed him only lies.
- ThéodenKing Théoden of Rohan was slowly poisoned by his own advisor. Gríma Wormtongue secretly served the wizard Saruman.
- ÉomerÉomer defies orders to lend Aragorn horses, then is jailed for it. He later becomes King of Rohan.
- AragornAragorn began as a hobbit in Tolkien's earliest drafts. He wore wooden shoes and was nicknamed Trotter.
- SauronSauron, the villain of The Lord of the Rings, never speaks in the novel. He is almost never seen.
- IsildurIsildur cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, then refused to destroy it. He later died to orcs at the Gladden Fields.
- ÉowynThe Witch-King trusted a prophecy that no man could kill him, and Éowyn was no man. A scholar links it to Macbeth.
- Samwise GamgeeTolkien called Samwise Gamgee, not Frodo, "the chief hero" of The Lord of the Rings. Sam mostly cooks and carries packs.
- TreebeardTreebeard, a tree-like Ent, floods Saruman's fortress of Isengard. He has the Ents divert the river Isen to drown it.
- GaladrielGaladriel refused the One Ring when Frodo offered it to her. She knew her own power would fade if it was destroyed.
- Gimli (Middle-earth)Gimli the Dwarf asked Galadriel for one hair and got three. She had refused the Elf Fëanor three times.
- ArwenTolkien first planned for Aragorn to marry Éowyn, not Arwen. He added Elrond's daughter late in the writing.
- GollumGollum began as Sméagol, who strangled his relative Déagol for a golden ring.
- LegolasLegolas earned a place in the Fellowship by delivering a message. He reported Gollum's escape from his father's realm.
- NazgûlThe first Black Rider in The Lord of the Rings was originally Gandalf. Tolkien called it "an unpremeditated turn."
- Tom BombadilThe One Ring, which rules so much of Middle-earth, holds no power over Tom Bombadil. He can wear it and stay visible.