All That is Gold Does Not Glitter

So, it turns out yesterday was Aragorn’s birthday, and I missed it.  (Not a mistake I’m planning to make next year!)  And, if my friend hadn’t posted about it, I still wouldn’t know.  Thank you, Ellen! 🙂  So I thought now was a good time to post my thoughts on him.

Warning–there are several story-spoilers below, for those of you who are haven’t read or are reading The Lord of the Rings.  Sorry, I can’t talk about Aragorn without giving things away. 🙂

Aragorn’s my favorite character.  There’s stiff competition in The Lord of the Rings, but he’s still my all-time favorite.  (Faramir offers the only serious threat.)

He is one of the most rewarding characters I’ve ever seen.  To begin with, he’s awesome.

The Sword of Elendil was forged anew by Elvish smiths, and on its blade was traced a device of seven stars set between the crescent Moon and the rayed Sun, and about them was written many runes; for Aragorn son of Arathorn was going to war upon the marches of Mordor. (310) —The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

He’s one of the greatest warriors in the whole trilogy, but he has a soft side too.  I can’t stand characters that are harsh.  (I know, I know, Savannah.  Don’t worry, I really do like your character now.)  The fact that he can live through anything (and has lived through almost everything) doesn’t dull his awareness of others’ weaknesses.

Aragorn looked at him with kindly pity.  ‘Very well. . . you shall have an hour, and you shall be alone.’ (445) —The Fellowship of the Ring

He is the king. #ObviousOne  Read this article for more on that.

In the stern sat Aragorn son of Arathorn, proud and erect, guiding the boat with skilful strokes; his hood was cast back, and his dark hair was blowing in the wind, a light in his eyes; a king returning from exile to his own land. (442) —The Fellowship of the Ring

He is a king, and he is a leader.  He is not afraid to take command–but he doesn’t have to.  He is able to follow (as long as he is following a good leader), and he is humble.

‘I will,’ said Aragorn heavily.  ‘You followed my lead almost to disaster in the snow, and have said no word of blame.  I will follow your lead now.’ (333)  —The Fellowship of the Ring

And his example of servant leadership is astounding.

‘For it is said in old lore: the hands of the king are the hands of a healer.  And so the rightful king could ever be known.’ (842) —The Return of the King

He spends half his time carrying around hobbits and digging through bushes for athelas.  Without complaining.  It is simply what his role as King looks like in his mind.  (I guess you could say he complains about it once, but I don’t blame him for that. ‘Master Meriadoc, if you think that I have passed through the mountains and the realm of Gondor with fire and sword to bring herbs to a careless soldier who throws away his gear, you are mistaken. . . I have not slept in a such a bed as this, since I rode from Dunharrow, nor eaten since the dark before dawn.’  The Return of the King, page 851)

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king. (193)

The Fellowship of the Ring

Have you read/watched The Lord of the Rings?  Who’s your favorite character?  Is there any character/characters that you especially love, from any story?

14 thoughts on “All That is Gold Does Not Glitter”

  1. Savannah was quite mad at herslef for not knowing it was Aragon’s Birthday- She had seen it on Ellen;s blog, and was like WHAT?????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    #Totally -Jai

  2. Love this post!!!! Great quotes!!!!
    All thanks to Juliana!!! 😉
    Yes, I have read and watched them. Arwen(movie), Aragorn(book), Pippin(both), Gandalf(both), Samwise(book), Faramir(book), Eomer(movie)…………… I like all the characters. 🙂

  3. I LOVED THIS POST.
    Anyways 🙂 .
    This was so awesome, Hanna! Aragorn is one of my top-favorite characters in the LOTR. As Jaidyn mentioned, I was aghast that I didn’t know it was his birthday! Oh well, as you said, NOT a mistake I’m planning to make next year 😀 .
    I would make comments about everything you wrote in this post … but that would get long. And this comment is already long anyways 🙂 . But I have to say that I was quite pleased when I saw you had posted the whole ‘all that is gold does not glitter’ poem. It’s one of my top-favorites (might BE might favorite) from the book.

    1. I knew you’d love it. And I don’t care how long your comments are, don’t worry! It’s hard–maybe impossible?–to wear me out with LotR. 🙂
      Yes, that poem’s great! It was the first LotR poem I memorized!

    1. I know, right?! It’s hard for me to forget Frodo and Bilbo’s birthday though, because it is eleven days after mine 😀 . Skylar says I’m lucky to share a birth month with them.

      1. You are! I never thought of that!
        Well, Bilbo and Frodo’s birthday is mentioned IN LotR, while Aragorn’s is just in the Appendix. Maybe that’s why.

        1. Yeah, that’s probably why. But after Ellen posted about Aragorn’s birthday, I went and read almost the whole appendix and learned lots of interesting things 😀 .

  4. You already know my favorite LOTR character, but can you guess who comes in a close second? Here’s another hint: behind every great man is a woman. Of all the changes Peter Jackson made between the books and the movies, I was actually quite pleased that he used Arwin instead of Glorfindel to rescue Frodo from the Nazgul at Weathertop.

    Since you place Aragorn at the top of your list of all time favorite literary characters I will tell you mine: Hermoine. You don’t have to read the Harry Potter series if you really don’t want to, but if you want to meet one of the most amazing heroines in literature give it a try. Your friends didn’t like Harry, but here’s a spoiler they may not have understood: he was burdened by a darkness in his soul that is not so different than the ring that Frodo had to bear. Hermoine is Harry’s Sam.

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