Today, we cover a character that was as much a surprise to Tolkien himself as he was to readers.
A character of which Tolkien would state “I am sure I did not invent him.
I did not even want him, though I like him.”
In the end, he would become a fan favorite and even lead Tolkien to later acknowledge
“As far as any character is “like me”, it is Faramir.
Today, on Nerd of the Rings, we cover the Life of Faramir - the brother of Boromir,
the love of Eowyn, and the future Steward of Gondor.
Faramir is born in the year 2983 of the Third Age to his father Denethor and mother Finduilas.
At the time of his younger brother’s birth, Boromir is five years old.
Even at a young age, Boromir is heavily favored by his father.
Faramir in turn is primarily raised by his mother, whose health is steadily declining.
In 2984, when Faramir is a mere baby of 1 year old, his grandfather Ecthelion dies and
his father becomes the Ruling Steward of Gondor.
Four years later, Finduilas dies, the shadow of Mordor having filled her with horror during
her time in Minas Tirith.
She leaves behind a grieving Denethor, a 10-year old Boromir and 5-year old Faramir.
While this tragedy would cause the Steward to become more grim and silent, it would form
an even greater bond between the brothers.
Like his brother, he would grow to become a brave warrior who was greatly admired by
the soldiers of Gondor.
Although he differed from Boromir in that he didn’t much care for weapons and warfare.
Instead, he came to love history and lore and music.
At times, when Mithrandir - or Gandalf - would visit Minas Tirith, he would gain wisdom from
speaking with the wizard.
This friendship, along with Faramir’s more gentle nature, greatly displeased Denethor.
And while Denethor heavily favored Boromir over him, the brothers were in no way rivals.
They were as close as ever, with Boromir often being helpful to and protective of his younger
brother.
Years later, as the brothers are well into adulthood, Faramir repeatedly experiences
a prophetic dream.
Finally, Boromir shares the same dream once, which he recounts at the Council of Elrond.
In that dream I thought the eastern sky grew dark and there was a growing thunder, but
in the West a pale light lingered, and out of it I heard a voice, remote but clear, crying:
Seek for the Sword that was broken: In Imladris it dwells;
There shall be counsels taken Stronger than Morgul-spells.
There shall be shown a token That Doom is near at hand,
For Isildur's Bane shall waken, And the Halfling forth shall stand.
The day after this dream, Sauron attacks Osgiliath (June 20, 3018), seeking to test Gondor’s
strength and provide cover for the Nazgul to begin searching Middle-earth for the ring.
Interpreting the location of Imladris, Denethor and the elders of Minas Tirith send Boromir
to seek out the elven realm of Rivendell.
Faramir would never again see his brother alive.
Months later, on February 26, 3019, Faramir in Gondor hears the Great Horn of Boromir
as his brother fights his last fight at Amon Hen.
A few days later, (Feb 29) we would witness the funeral boat of his beloved brother as
he sits along the shore of the great river Anduin.
His beloved son dead, Denethor sends Faramir to Ithilien on March 1, where he commands
a group of Gondorian Rangers.
We should note these rangers are different from Dunedain Rangers of the North.
The Rangers of Ithilien use their guerilla tactics to disrupt the plans of Sauron as
best they can.
They ambush groups of Haradrim marching to ally with Sauron and keep evil things from
entering Ithilien from Minas Morgul.
During one of these attacks, Faramir discovers Frodo, Sam, and Gollum witnessing the ambush.
Believing them to be spies, the rangers capture Frodo and Sam.
After questioning the hobbits and revealing Boromir’s death to them, Faramir takes them
blindfolded to the secret Gondorian hideout of Henneth Annun.
In the course of their conversations, Faramir mentions that he would have no desire to take
the mysterious weapon of Saron, whatever it may be:
'What in truth this Thing is I cannot yet guess; but some heirloom of power and peril
it must be.
A fell weapon, perchance, devised by the Dark Lord.
If it were a thing that gave advantage in battle, I can well believe that Boromir, the
proud and fearless, often rash, ever anxious for the victory of Minas Tirith..., might
desire such a thing and be allured by it.
Alas that ever he went on that errand!
I should have been chosen by my father and the elders but he put himself forward...,
and he would not be stayed.
'But fear no more!
I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway.
Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon
of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory.
No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.'
Shortly afterwards, Sam let’s slip exactly what his master carries...
'So it seems,' said Faramir, slowly and very softly, with a strange smile.
'So that is the answer to all the riddles!
The One Ring that was thought to have perished from the world.
And Boromir tried to take it by force?
And you escaped?
And ran all the way — to me!
And here in the wild I have you: two halflings, and a host of men at my call, and the Ring
of Rings.
A pretty stroke of fortune!
A chance for Faramir, Captain of Gondor, to show his quality!'....
He stood up, very tall and stern, his grey eyes glinting.
Frodo and Sam sprang from their stools and set themselves side by side with their backs
to the wall, fumbling for their sword-hilts....
But Faramir sat down again in his chair and began to laugh quietly, and then suddenly
became grave again.
'Alas for Boromir!
It was too sore a trial!' he said.
'How you have increased my sorrow, you two strange wanderers from a far country, bearing
the peril of Men!
But you are less judges of Men than I of Halflings.
We are truth-speakers, we men of Gondor.
We boast seldom, and then perform, or die in the attempt.
Not if I found it on the highway would I take it I said.
Even if I were such a man as to desire this thing, and even though I knew not clearly
what this thing was when I spoke, still I should take those words as a vow, and be held
by them.
'But I am not such a man.
Or I am wise enough to know that there are some perils from which a man must flee.
Sit at peace!
And be comforted, Samwise....
Your heart is shrewd as well as faithful....
For strange though it may seem, it was safe to declare this to me.
It may even help the master that you love.
It shall turn to his good, if it is in my power.
So be comforted.
But do not even name this thing again aloud.
Once is enough.'
The hobbits came back to their seats and sat very quiet....
'Well, Frodo, now at last we understand one another,' said Faramir.
'If you took this thing on yourself, unwilling, at others' asking, then you have pity and
honour from me.
And I marvel at you: to keep it hid and not to use it.'....
'Fear not!
I do not wish to see it, or touch it, or know more of it than I know (which is enough),
lest peril perchance waylay me and I fall lower in the test than Frodo son of Drogo.'
That night, the rangers capture Gollum fishing in the Forbidden Pool.
The following day, they release Frodo, Sam, and Gollum to continue on their quest - as
Faramir urges them not to take the pass of Cirith Ungol.
As the hobbits head to the Morgul Vale, Faramir and his men make for Osgiliath to oversee
the defence of the city.
On March 10, Faramir retreats across the Pelennor Fields.
As he makes his way to the city, he is pursued by Nazgul on their Fell Beasts, but is saved
by Gandalf, who had arrived in Minas Tirith earlier.
There, he reports to Denethor and Mithrandir all of what occurred in Ithilien, including
meeting Frodo and Sam.
The next day, at his father’s command, he returns to Osgiliath to once again supervise
its defense.
The host of the Witch-King attacks Osgiliath and on March 12, Faramir is forced back to
the Causeway Forts.
He is stricken with the Black Breath - an evil device of the nazgul.
Fortunately, he and the rest of the wounded Gondorians are saved by a group led by Prince
Imrahil of Dol Amroth.
On March 13, Faramir is brought back to Minas Tirith.
Faramir would lie in in his his Black Breath-stricken state for the coming days.
His father, overcome with grief and despair, attempts to burn Faramir and himself during
the Battle of Pelennor Fields on March 15.
Fortunately, Faramir is saved by Pippin, Gandalf, and Beregond, a soldier of Gondor.
In the books, it is Beregond who delays the burning of Faramir, being forced to strike
down three of his fellow soldiers to prevent Faramir’s death as Pippin goes to find Gandalf.
After Faramir is rescued, Denethor actually persists by pulling a knife in an attempt
to kill his son by other means.
Beregond bravely moves to save his beloved captain, blocking the steward of Gondor.
At this point, Denethor gives up and sets himself ablaze.
After helping take Faramir to the Houses of the Healing, Beregond stands guard over him
until his captain should awake once again.
This moment would come later that night, as Aragorn would prove his kingship by fulfilling
the prophecy “the hands of the king are the hands of a healer”.
Aragorn heals Faramir, Eowyn, and Merry, all of whom were suffering under the Black Breath,
calling them back from the darkness.
All three would spend the rest of the War of the Ring in the Houses of Healing.
There, Faramir would meet Eowyn of Rohan.
As they meet, Faramir is looking eastward, where the host of Aragorn has marched, where
all the hopes of men now rode.
After their meeting, and Eowyn returning to the Houses of Healing, it is said Faramir’s
glance now strayed rather to the house than to the eastern walls.
After spending the coming days together, Faramir professes his love for the shieldmaiden of
Rohan.
Then the heart of Éowyn changed, or else at last she understood it.
And suddenly her winter passed, and the sun shone on her.
She says that to be a queen is not what she desires, nor to
vie with great riders or to take joy only in the songs of slaying.
But rather to be a healer and love all things that grow and are not barren.
And to marry Faramir of Gondor.
After the victorious Aragorn returns to Minas Tirith, Faramir leads a ceremony outside the
walls of the city.
As the final Ruling Steward of Gondor, he leads the people in declaring Aragorn Elssar
to be their king.
As Faramir lays aside the title of Ruling Steward, Aragorn insists that Faramir remain
in the role of Steward, the king reinstating the role as it had been prior to the failing
of line of Kings of Gondor.
Faramir is also made Prince of Ithilien, serving as one of Aragorn’s chief commanders.
As the Prince of Ithilien, he would go on to establish Emyn Arnen as his home and guard
Gondor’s eastern borders.
There, he defeats the remaining enemies to the free peoples and cleanses the Morgul Vale.
On August 10, 3019, as the feast honoring the life of King Theoden drawing to a close,
Eomer announces the betrothal of Eowyn and Faramir, bringing a joyful new bond between
the great realms of Rohan and Gondor.
In 3020 TA, the year after the War of the Ring, Faramir and Eowyn are married, living
as the Lord and Lady of Emyn Arnen.
We don’t know for certain how many children they had, but we do know they had at least
one son, Elboron.
Faramir dies in the year 82 of the Fourth Age.
Due to a likely large percentage of Dunedain ancestry, he lives to be 120 years old.
It is probably that the lady Eowyn preceded her husband in death.
At this time, Elboron succeeds his father, becoming the Steward of Gondor and Prince
of Ithilien under a still reigning King Aragorn Elessar.
It is possible that Elboron’s son was Barahir, the grandson of Faramir and Eowyn who would
write The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen - a story found in full in the appendices of The Lord
of the Rings.
In honor of his friend, Pippin would name his son Faramir Took.
Tolkien’s Faramir would leave a legacy of love, mercy, and empathy that would make him
a fan favorite for generations to come.
Caring not for war or glory, but for his people:
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
Today’s video is part of a special Tolkien Reading Day collaboration with a tremendous
group of Tolkien-loving YouTubers.
So be sure to check out the entire playlist in the description or here on
the end slide.