Middle-Earth is filled to the brim with all kinds of magical beings and creatures - and
while many of them live fairly short lives, others can grow to be very old indeed. Of course,
nowhere is this more evident than with the members of the Fellowship of the Ring themselves.
Peregrin Took is by far the youngest member of the Fellowship of the Ring, coming in at a youthful 29
years old when the Ring is destroyed. This makes Pippin extraordinarily young, even for a hobbit.
Hobbits tend to age slowly, drawing out their adolescent years right through their 20s.
In fact, in The Fellowship of the Ring, this extended adolescence is defined as:
"The irresponsible twenties between childhood and coming of age at thirty-three."
In other words, Pippin is so young that he still has four years to go before he even comes of age,
according to the standards of his own people. So while he might be a little
young to go traipsing around the continent on life-or-death, world-saving adventures,
Pippin ultimately makes the case for his youthful presence in a number of ways.
For one, he indirectly helps the cause by giving into temptation and looking in the
palantír - preventing Gandalf from accidentally doing so himself, which would have revealed the
wizard's thoughts to Sauron and meant disaster for the Free Peoples. On top of that, the young hobbit
helps convince the ents to attack Isengard, and ultimately saves Faramir from being burned alive
by his own father. Heck, in the books he even single-handedly takes down a huge hill troll chief
in the final battle at the Black Gate. Young or not, it's a pretty lucky thing he's on the team.
Meriadoc Brandybuck is the second-youngest member of the Fellowship, at 37 years old
when the Ring falls into the fires of Mount Doom, making him nearly a decade
older than his cousin and best friend Pippin. While still young for a hobbit,
Merry demonstrates a distinct level of maturity that his younger compatriot tends to lack.
For instance, when Pippin casually shrugs off the repercussions of looking into Saruman's
seeing stone, it's Merry who calls his friend out on his flippant attitude.
He sees the inherent danger that they're facing and chastises Pippin for his foolishness,
even throwing in the jab that his friend smokes too much. This wouldn't be the first time Merry
has had Pippin's back, either — as he watches Pippin race away with Gandalf on Shadowfax,
Merry points out to Aragorn that he's always been there to get his friend out of trouble.
"I would get him into the worst sort of trouble. But I was always there to get him out."
And sure, Merry does spend most of his time indulging in drink and stealing fireworks,
but he does turn out to be just as valuable an addition to the crew as Pippin.
If it weren't for Merry's help, for example, the ents likely wouldn't have attacked Isengard.
It's also Merry's small act of bravery that helps Éowyn kill the Witch-king,
once again vindicating his small yet critical presence in such an old and venerable fellowship.
As far as hobbits go, Samwise Gamgee is much closer to a proper adult - but a young one.
By the last days of the Third Age, Sam is 39 years old. Even at his relatively young age,
Sam's temper, mood, and general demeanor tack toward the more mature side of things. Compare
him with his hobbit companions, for example: Merry and Pippin tend to be distracted by the slightest
opportunity to eat, drink, smoke, and generally mess around. But Sam has no problem prioritizing
and tending to his responsibilities, whether they consist of caring for the Bag End garden,
pursuing Rose Cotton, or helping his master travel across the world to throw a ring into a volcano.
That said, Sam does still have his youthful moments. For instance,
early in The Fellowship of the Ring, he's informed that the hobbits will be taking
a shortcut across the Shire in order to avoid a run-in with the Black Riders. Predictably,
Sam goes along with this, knowing it's his duty to follow his master wherever he goes.
Inside, however, he has his own misgivings - due to a deep regret at the fact that they
won't get to pass by an inn on the road that's particularly well-known for its excellent beer.
"Hobbits."
But for the most part, Sam is perfectly capable of demonstrating wisdom and endurance far
beyond his years. He remains faithfully by Frodo's
side, correctly predicts Gollum's treachery, fends off Shelob by himself,
keeps his master focused, and ultimately carries him halfway up a mountain. So yeah, go Sam.
While he doesn't live to see the Ring destroyed, Boromir is 41 years old when he joins the
Fellowship of the Ring, putting him just a tad older than Sam. Boromir is a man of war through
and through who, in spite of his years, still possesses a decent amount of youthful vigor.
Brave, strong, and daring, the heir to the steward of Gondor displays equal
parts experience and energy throughout the Fellowship's early adventures.
While he's most known by fans for his betrayal and attack on Frodo,
before that point, Boromir had cultivated a stellar military reputation, and is widely
known as a fierce warrior, a cunning captain, and a brave leader of men. He's
also idolized by both the soldiers of Gondor and the riders of Rohan.
In fact, even the recklessly brave Éomer describes him as a worthy man, adding that:
"More like to the swift sons of Eorl than to the grave Men of Gondor he seemed to me,
and likely to prove a great captain of his people when his time came."
Even after he falls to the lure of the Ring, Boromir is able to rally his spirit and sacrifice
himself in defense of his younger companions. In the end, however, it's not enough - and Boromir
becomes the only member of the Fellowship to truly perish during the War of the Ring.
Frodo Baggins has a full ten years on Boromir,
making him 51 years old by the end of his adventures.
In fact, he pretty much kicks things off by leaving Bag End the day after his 51st birthday.
While this puts him squarely in the middle of a hobbit's lifespan, the truth is, the 51-year-old
Ring Bearer actually has the body and demeanor of a 33-year-old when he sets out on his quest.
Frodo receives the Ring from his cousin Bilbo during his 33rd birthday party - which happens to
exactly coincide with Bilbo's 111st birthday.
From that day forward, the hobbit doesn't age a day. The magic of the Ring prevents his body
from aging, keeping him young and attracting the envy of his rapidly aging neighbors.
So, while Frodo is technically older than Merry, Sam,
and Boromir, in a certain sense, he's physically younger than all of them.
This ends up bringing him the perfect mix of youthful strength and middle-aged wisdom
that makes Frodo the perfect candidate for the job of carrying and destroying the One Ring.
Aragorn is practically unique among the men of Middle-earth, particularly during
the events of The Lord of the Rings - and this comes down to his noble bloodline,
which can trace its lineage back to the elves. Back in the very beginning of the Second Age,
Aragorn's ancestor, the half-elf Elros, chose to become a mortal man. While this
decision made him mortal, Elros nonetheless lived to be an impressive 500 years old.
Over time, his descendants lived shorter and shorter lives - but
they still tended to age far slower than most other men.
Now, in the movie version of The Two Towers, Aragorn tells Éowyn that he's 87 years old.
"You cannot be eighty.
"Eighty-seven."
But it just so happens that Aragorn's birthday occurs in the same month that the Ring is
destroyed. As a result, Aragorn has lived an impressive 88 years by the end of the Third Age.
This puts the ranger head and shoulders over the younger members of the company.
He's almost twice as old as Frodo, and he's triple Pippin's age. But while he remains
a steadfast warrior, Aragorn's age also makes him a particularly deft leader of men - priming
him for his role as the eventual high king of Gondor and Arnor. In the end,
Aragorn goes on to rule for another 120 years, finally dying at the ripe old age of 210.
Gimli tends to be the one to provide the occasional dose of comic relief,
especially in the movies, and this might sometimes make him seem like a fairly young dwarf.
And, to be fair, he is young - by dwarvish standards. In fact, he's just 140 years old
during the War of the Ring. For context, when Thorin Oakenshield is killed during the Battle
of Five Armies, he's nearly 200 years old. When Balin falls in his attempt to retake Moria,
he's 231 years old. Heck, when Dain Ironfoot dies in battle during the War of the Ring,
he's 250 years old - and still swinging a battle ax like it's nobody's business.
Suffice it to say that Gimli is still in his youth when he joins the Fellowship. In fact,
in J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumously published work Unfinished Tales, Gimli points out that he was
around during the events of The Hobbit, and wanted to join the Quest of Erebor to
reclaim his people's lost home and treasure. The only reason he didn't is that, as he explains:
"I was not allowed to go on the quest; too young, they said,
though at 62, I thought myself fit for anything."
Fortunately, by the time of The Lord of the Rings, he's more than doubled in age,
making him the perfect dwarf to bring a little muscle to the ranks of the Nine Walkers.
Being an elf, Legolas is immortal. As a result, his age means little to him, and,
apparently, it meant little to Tolkien, too. The author provides very little
backstory for the elven prince, which is kinda strange considering how important Legolas is
in the larger story. With that said, it's possible to at least figure out enough about the Mirkwood
princeling to understand that he's much older than almost everyone else in the Fellowship.
Specifically, there's a line spoken by Legolas in The Two Towers as he,
Aragorn, Gimli, and Gandalf approach Edoras and discuss the history of the kingdom of
men. When Gandalf mentions the building of the Golden Hall, Legolas points out:
"Five hundred times have the red leaves fallen in Mirkwood in my home since then,
and but a little while does that seem to us."
In other words, Legolas' life stretches way back to before Rohan was ever founded,
making him at least 500 years old and likely much, much older than that.
Gandalf is hands down the oldest member of the Fellowship of the Ring for a number of
different reasons - and likely by a good margin, too. Let's start with his physical form - Gandalf
the wizard arrived in Middle-earth roughly 2,000 years before the Ring was destroyed.
Now, if this were his actual birth date, you might be able to make an
argument that Legolas could well be older than Gandalf. But the truth is,
Gandalf's time as an old man in Middle-Earth is just one small part of a very long life.
This is because Gandalf is one of the maiar - a host of angelic, spiritual beings that
serve the god-like valar in the Undying Lands. Gandalf was only given his elderly body when he
was sent to Middle-Earth to help guide the Free Peoples in their war against Sauron.
For millennia before that, he existed as the spirit Olórin, and was more than likely around
before the creation of the universe itself. It might not come as much of a surprise, considering
he's the wisest and most powerful member of the Fellowship, but it's true enough regardless:
Gandalf is the oldest member of the company, by a long, long way indeed.
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