While everyone knows Aragorn is awesome, it turns out that he actually had quite an impressive
resume before the entire One Ring business even kicked off. If you've ever wondered what
he was up to in the years before The Lord of the Rings, keep watching.
To understand how this ranger from the wilderness winds up claiming the throne of the kingdom,
you've first got to back up about 6,000 years.
At the beginning of the Second Age, a kingdom of men was founded on the island of Númenore,
to the west of the coasts of Middle Earth. The first of the kings of the Númenoreans
was a man named Elros, the brother of Elrond of Rivendell. While Elrond famously chose
to live an immortal life, Elros opts to live out his life as a mortal man.
Elros was the first of a long line of kings that rules Númenor for over 3,000 years.
Even when the powerful island nation was destroyed, the bloodline continued to rule over the offshoot
kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor on the mainland. Eventually, though, the family line faded
into oblivion, ruling a scattered people under the title of the "chieftains of the Dúnedain."
In Gondor, the last king of the bloodline died a thousand years before The Lord of the
Rings takes place, leaving the stewards in charge of the kingdom until a king should
come and reclaim the throne. This is what leads to the Steward Denethor leading the
city when it's attacked in The Return of the King.
In the north, though, there are no stewards to serve as long-term place holders. Instead,
the kingdom of Arnor is completely destroyed. In reaction to this, the surviving members
of the royal family and their descendants eventually head into a sort of semi-exile
under the new title of the "chieftains of the Dúnedain." Under this new name, the chieftains
rule over the scattered remnants of their people, who quietly fight against the Dark
Lord as rangers. The chieftains of the Dúnedain rule for a thousand years before the last
one, Aragorn, arrives on the scene.
As the last century of the Third Age begins, Aragorn's parents, Arathorn and Gilraen, get
married, and little baby Aragorn is born one short year later. Two years after that, his
father is shot through the eye with an arrow while helping Elrond's sons fight orcs. This
leaves toddler Aragorn as the new heir to the thrones of the kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.
Naturally, this isn't a great position to be in, since Aragorn's people aren't able
to properly defend him, and Sauron has servants specifically trying to hunt down and kill
off the bloodline. So his distant relative Elrond agrees to take in the child and his
mother. In Rivendell, Elrond comes to love Aragorn as his adoptive son. He gives him
the name Estel, which means "hope," and he keeps the young Númenorean in the dark regarding
his lineage for a long time. It isn't until the boy turns 20 that the elven lord feels
his ward is ready for the responsibility. At that point, he tells him his true name
and title.
When Elrond tells Aragorn who he is, he also takes the opportunity to give him some of
the heirlooms of his ancestors. The most important of these is the shards of Narsil, the splintered
pieces of a sword that had belonged to Aragorn's ancestors for thousands of years.
Aragorn's ancestor Elendil had used it in battle against Sauron, but he'd been defeated,
and the sword had been broken. However, Elendil's son, Isildur, used the broken pieces to strike
out in desperation, cutting off the Ring in the process. After that, the sword shards
had been carefully preserved as an heirloom of the royal house.
"The shards of Narsil. The blade that cut the ring from Sauron's hand."
Aragorn would eventually use the reforged sword in battle against Sauron during The
Lord of the Rings.
At 20 years old, Aragorn is doing pretty well for himself. He already has a reputation in
battle, and he's just found out that he's the heir to not one, but two thrones. The
day after Elrond tells him who he really is, he heads out into the woods, strolling along
and singing to himself. As he walks, he suddenly runs into a beautiful elf maiden whom he's
never met before. Aragorn introduces himself and finds out that the elven woman is none
other than Elrond's daughter, Arwen, and yes, that does make them very distant relatives.
At this point, Arwen is already nearly three millennia old, and she's regarded as one of
the most beautiful elves that ever lived in Middle Earth. Age differences aside, it's
love at first sight for the young man. His mother warns him that, as a mortal man, he's
aiming way above his pay grade. Elrond recognizes the lovesick glances in his face, too, and
isn't too happy about it. However, he tells Aragorn that they'll leave the matter for
another day, and the forlorn ranger leaves Rivendell soon afterward.
When Aragorn leaves Rivendell, he heads into some of the wilder regions of Middle Earth.
Here, he spends the next few decades developing his skills as a ranger.
Just a few short years into his wanderings, Aragorn meets Gandalf the Grey. The wizard
and the exiled king become fast friends, and they even head out on several journeys together.
While Aragorn is already a good warrior at this point, the relationship with Gandalf
helps the young man learn a good deal of wisdom, too. Eventually, the pair of wanderers begin
to travel together less often, but their well-established friendship carries on over the years until
they find themselves once again side by side as the events of The Lord of the Rings unfold.
Aragorn's first visit to the green fields of Rohan takes place during the reign of Théoden's
father, Thengel. While very little is reported about his specific actions, it's said in the
appendix of The Return of the King that Aragorn fights in Thengel's armies. On top of that,
Aragor tells Éomer in The Two Towers that,
"I have been in this land before, more than once, and ridden with the host of the Rohirrim,
though under other name and in other guise."
However, for all of his time spent in Rohan, the real action doesn't pick up until he heads
south into Gondor. Once again, though, as in Rohan, he goes under another name.
"He's one of them rangers. Dangerous folk, they are, wandering the wilds. What his right
name is, I've never heard, but round here, he's known as Strider."
One of Aragorn's most triumphant moments in The Return of the King comes when he captures
the fleet of Black Ships and uses them to arrive at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
just in the nick of time. However, it turns out that this isn't the first time he's tangled
with these piratical foes of Gondor. The first time happened way back when he was still a
youngster.
After serving King Thengel of Rohan, Aragorn heads south in order to pay Gondor a visit.
At the time, he goes by the name of Thorongil, which means "Eagle of the Star." Using this
secret identity, he becomes a valued adviser and ally of the steward of Gondor, Ecthelion.
At the time, the maritime people of Umbar are threatening Gondor with their black ships,
and the young adviser offers to deal with the problem.
"I do not know what strength is in my blood. But I swear to you, I will not let the white
city fall."
With the blessing of the steward, Aragorn gathers a small fleet and sails to Umbar,
where he arrives at night and burns most of their ships. Aragorn himself kills their leader
in single combat and then successfully withdraws his tiny armada with just a few casualties.
While Aragorn is spending time in Gondor as Thorongil, he has a notable run-in with the
steward's son, Denethor. Just four years away from becoming the steward himself, Denethor
is one of the few Gondorians who's not enamored with the mysterious savior from the north.
The situation isn't helped by the fact that even though Denethor is the heir to his father's
stewardship, everyone seems to elevate the disguised Aragorn above him.
"This is no mere ranger. He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."
Even Denethor's own dad appears to put him second to the wandering hero, which may go
a long way in explaining his future behavior to his own son, Faramir.
The greatest issue between the two men, though, comes in the form of their wizardly affiliations.
Denethor is a supporter of Saruman, while Aragorn is team Gandalf. Of course, Aragorn
isn't ready to reclaim the throne yet, so instead of heading for Minas Tirith, he leaves
Gondor before Denethor becomes the steward. However, rumors later spread that before he
left, Denethor figured out Aragorn's true identity.
Instead of going to Minas Tirith after the raid on Umbar, Aragorn says farewell to his
future subjects and abruptly takes off, traveling towards Sauron's domain. While scarce on details
of Aragorn's adventures, the appendix of The Return of the King tells us that,
"He passed out of the knowledge of Men of the West, and went alone far into the East
and deep into the South, exploring the hearts of Men, both evil and good, and uncovering
the plots and devices of the servants of Sauron."
And at the Council of Elrond, Aragorn explains,
"The leagues that lie between here and Gondor are a small part in the count of my journeys."
Basically, after his epic deeds with the Rohirrim and the Men of Gondor, Aragorn disappears
from the history books. While the details are virtually non-existent, over the following
years, he wanders across the lands of Middle Earth, learning about its people and studying
Sauron's plans.
After Aragorn's adventures in Rohan, Gondor, and the lands beyond, he stops by Lothlórien
to get some well-earned rest. It's been nearly 30 years since he first left Rivendell at
this point, and he's almost 50 years old. He's matured quite a bit during this time,
thanks largely to his wanderings, along with the fact that the line of Númenorean kings
live very long lives and don't fully mature until well into their first century.
"You cannot be eighty?"
"Eighty seven."
Aragorn happens to arrive in Lothlórien right when Arwen is there, visiting her grandmother,
Galadriel. The two reunite in the Golden Wood, and this time, Aragorn isn't the only one
feeling lovestruck. Rather than seeing him as a young buck head over heels in love, Arwen
now sees this young king in exile as a sober, mature man, and the two seriously fall in
love. When Elrond hears about it, he reluctantly gives his permission to the match, but he
says they can only marry if Aragorn defeats Sauron and becomes king.
We don't hear much more about Aragorn's specific activities for quite a while after the events
in Lothlórien. At some point, he visits Moria, although he doesn't love the experience, calling
his memory of the place, "very evil."
He shows up one more time before The Fellowship of the Ring. Not long after Bilbo's birthday
party, Aragorn agrees to help Gandalf hunt down the mischievous Gollum. While he fails
to find the tortured creature before Gollum is captured by Sauron and leaks some important
information about the Shire, Aragorn does eventually track Gollum down.
He catches him on the edges of the Dead Marshes. The two don't get on very well, as Gollum
bites his captor, leading Aragorn to roughly gag him and lead him on a leash. According
to his arrangement with Gandalf, the ranger takes Gollum on a long trek north to Mirkwood,
where he leaves him in prison for the wizard to question later. The next time we see Aragorn
is in Bree during The Fellowship of the Ring.
During the story told in The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn proves himself worthy of the crowns
of Gondor and Arnor, and ultimately, becomes the king of both kingdoms. His success opens
the door for him to finally marry Arwen, and the two become king and queen of the ancient
realms.
"I choose a mortal life."
Aragorn rules the reunited kingdom under the name Elessar, which means "Elfstone," for
120 years. During this time, he restores Orthanc, the tower that had been flooded by the Ents,
and he names Faramir the prince of Ithilien. He also reaffirms the alliance with King Éomer
of Rohan and declares the Shire to be a free land under his protection. Eventually, at
the ripe old age of 210, Aragorn becomes weary and willingly surrenders his life, bringing
an end to his long and illustrious career in Middle Earth. Arwen dies in the following
year from grief, and their son becomes the new king of the reunited realm.
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite
stuff are coming soon. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss
a single one.