Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Appendix A, I The Númenórean Kings, (v) The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

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A black, white, and dark blue striped header image with the text Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Appendix A, I The Númenórean Kings, (v) The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen

After several weeks of somewhat dry lists and dates, I arrive at a story with dialog! The full name of this section is “(v) Here Follows Part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen”. The text existed in-universe as a longer body of work, but only a portion was appended to The Red Book of Minas Tirith, then copied into the Thain’s Book, part of the Shire Records that I discussed several weeks ago. As the title suggests, the section gives a short biography of Aragorn with a special focus on his relationship with Arwen Undómiel. The storyline of this section paralleled aspects of real-world history and culture including marriage customs, elves and fairies in folklore, royal standards or flags, epic poetry, and religious allegory.

Age of First Marriage and Fairy Foster Father

The section opens with Arathorn son of the chieftain Arador seeking a wife and wanting none but Gilraen the Fair. The one problem was that Arathorn was fifty-six years old, and Gilraen “had not reached the age at which the women of the Dúnedain were accustomed to marry” (Return of the King, 370). Tolkien shrouded Gilraen’s age in his infamous ambiguity, but both book and history give clues. Later in the section, Aragorn comes of age at twenty years old, suggesting that young adults with Númenórean ancestry age at the same rate as other Men until this point, when they begin aging at a significantly slower rate.

Scholars debate over what constituted the average age of first marriage (AAFM) in the Ancient Mediterranean, including regions like Greece, Rome, and Israel. Generally, men and women married much earlier than in the 21st century, with twelve to sixteen being acceptable for girls and fifteen to twenty-two being acceptable for boys; in fact, young men could be penalized for not being married by eighteen or twenty-one. Not until the Christianization of the Mediterranean did the AAFM reach what modern people would consider almost appropriate. Given this information, Gilraen was likely between twelve and fourteen years old when married to Arathorn, fourteen to sixteen when Aragorn was born two years later, and sixteen to eighteen when Arathorn was killed two years after that. Perhaps when Gilraen moved to Rivendell, Elrond intended to act as the foster parent for both of them.

This quick thinking by Gilraen aligned with three motifs within Stith Thompson’s Motif-Index of Folk Literature, which I originally discussed during “Of the Finding of the Ring”: “mortals place selves under protection of fairies” (F396), “fairies adopt human child” (F311), and “fairy foster-father” (F311.2). Elrond kept Aragorn’s past a secret and named him Estel, meaning “hope” in Sindarin. His new name fit into the family naming scheme, which included Elrond’s twin sons Elrohir and Elladan, his mortal twin brother Elros, and his father Eärendil doomed to be the evening star.

More Motifs!

The brilliance of Tolkien’s work, especially in this section, came not from a wholly original idea, but the blending of motifs found across Eurasian folklore. The story feels ancient even if written during the early to mid-20th century, and yet the characters are modern in their actions. Upon learning his true lineage from Elrond, twenty-year-old Aragorn walked through the forest singing the “Lay of Luthien”, a song appearing in the chapter “A Knife in the Dark” near the end of Book I that will receive its own essay in the future. When Arwen rode by on horseback, Aragorn believed he somehow gained “the gift of the Elf-minstrels” who give visions with their songs (Return, 371). This power has indeed been gained by mortals elsewhere in the book given the right conditions, as Frodo experienced “a dream of music” (The Fellowship of the Ring, 261) while Bilbo chanted “Eärendillinwë” in the Hall of Fire at Rivendell (Fellowship, 261-265).

This scene combined two separate types of motifs: “Fairies make music” (F261) being the overarching theme with “Fairies sing” (F262.1) and “Fairy Minstrel” (F262.3) being two subset motifs, and “Princess so lovely that everyone falls in love with her” (T15.1). Conversely, Arwen mentioned Luthien Tinúviel when speaking with Aragorn, ambiguously saying “maybe my doom will be not unlike hers” (Return, 372). This implied she had either fallen in love with Aragorn at first sight, or she had a vision that she would fall in love with a mortal and become mortal.

On a related note, I cannot understand how Aragorn did not immediately guess who Arwen was. In contrast, when Frodo first met Arwen while at Rivendell, he mentioned in his third-person narration, “so like was she in form of womanhood to Elrond that Frodo guessed that she was one of his close kindred” (Fellowship, 254). Both Arwen and Elrond were described at various points as being “fair” and having “dark hair” and “grey eyes”. Additionally, their Mannish ancestry made their gender identifiable to non-elven, until the androgynous full-elven. These visual descriptions aligned with motifs surrounding half-elven families, including “offspring of fairy and mortal” (F305) and its subset “offspring of fairy and mortal extraordinarily beautiful” (F305.2). How did Aragorn not guess Arwen’s ancestry? Was he nearsighted? Did he have prosopagnosia, a neurological condition that prevents facial recognition? Was he in denial that his crush looked exactly like his foster dad? The narrative did not explain this.

At any rate, Aragorn understood Arwen was too good for him but longed to become the motif “lowly hero marries princess” (L161). This sentiment was expressed three times in quick succession as the motif “three as a magic number” (D1273.1.1). Aragorn “felt that this high lineage, in which his heart had rejoiced, was now of little worth, and as nothing compared to her dignity and loveliness” (Return, 372). Upon returning to Rivendell, he heard the same from his mom Gilraen, “‘…this lady is the noblest and fairest that now walks the earth. And it is not fit that mortal should wed with the Elf-kin.’” (Return, 372). Finally, foster dad Elrond took him aside and laid out the situation again, “she is of lineage greater than yours… she is too far above you” (Return, 373), becoming the pair of motifs “fairy instructs mortal” (F345) and “fairy adviser” (F347).

Stepping back from the story, this exchange felt racially tinged. While Aragorn was a descendant of Elros, therefore giving him the blood of Elves and a Maiar, from where his magical abilities derived, his ancestor was so far removed that Elrond did not consider it valid. Despite being triracial, Elrond felt superior to mortal Men, adding a layer to the racial hierarchy of the Númenóreans who believed they were better than “lesser Men”. While Elrond included his fear of separation from Arwen as part of his argument against her marriage to Aragorn, as she would choose mortality and be banned from crossing the Sea, this was not his central argument. Interestingly, not all Elves felt the same as Elrond, which I will explore in a later section.

Prophecy, Heart Reading, and Romanticism

Both Aragorn and his mother have “in a measure the foresight of [their] people” (Return, 373). When Aragorn became dramatic after mom told him not to pursue Arwen, he declared, “‘I will walk in the wild alone’…” Gilraen replied, “‘That will indeed be your fate’…”. (Return, 373) Later, when speaking with Elrond, Aragorn correctly stated that “‘the choice [between mortality and immortality] must soon be laid on your children, to part either with you or with Middle-earth’”. In contrast, Elrond “read many hearts” (Return, 373) like the stewards Denethor and Faramir, as discussed last week in “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion”. Arwen had a similar power to her grandmother Galadriel, as “from afar she watched [Aragorn] in thought” (Return, 376), suggesting the power of remote viewing, a concept in the field of parapsychology with regular experiments conducted since the 1970s. As a motif, Arwen’s thought watching fell into the category of “magic sight and hearing” (D1820), specifically “magic power to see distant objects” (D1825.2).

Back to Aragorn’s young adult drama, the concept of a wandering hero was no stranger to the works of Tolkien, as legendary figures including Beren and Turin wandered, while a good portion of The Lord of the Rings is a long walk. Wandering heroes frequently appeared in works of German Romantics. The wanderer reached his spiritual and artistic goals, along with winning the woman he loved. This artistic style of fiction, song lyrics, and plays was popular in Germany during the 18th and 19th century as the culture entered the Industrial Revolution. Like Romanticism in other European countries, creators idealized human interaction with the natural world. Among the best know creators of this period was Richard Wagner, whose earlier works were a part of the movement, allowing him to develop ideas that led to his more famous series, Der Ring des Nibelungen.

Pledging Troth

After nearly thirty years of wandering, Aragorn went to Lórien, where Galadriel gave him a new outfit that she had made, showing her duality as a powerful leader with impeccable taste setting the beauty standards of Arda and a foster grandma giving presents to her foster grandson who finally decided to visit. Arwen had become the “sad-faced princess [who] cannot laugh” (F591.2), but she felt significantly better after spending time with Aragorn. They “pledged troth” or became engaged on Midsummer Day while standing atop Cerin Amroth, (Return, 375) a flower-covered hill named for an elven-king who may have drowned in the Sea while attempting to return to his love, Nimrodel, as sung by Legolas to his friends (Fellowship, 380-382). The engagement fulfilled the motif “princess declares her love for lowly hero” (T55.1), while Aragorn used the Ring of Barahir — its history was explained in detail during “(iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur” — as the engagement ring.

Despite much of the culture appearing ancient or medieval, this engagement was incredibly modern. Before the modern era, household patriarchs brokered marriages between their children. In Jewish families, the father of the groom would give a mohar or dowry to the father of the bride. In Classical Greece, men kept their daughters in a gynaekonites, an attic just for women, and selected who they would marry, while in Imperial Rome, children were sometimes engaged from infancy. Marriageable daughters outside of these areas faired no differently, as similar practices were recorded in Edo Era Japan, Dynastic China, the Aztec Empire, and the Inka Empire. In contrast, Arwen and Aragorn could become engaged to whoever they wanted, and while Elrond initially would not allow the marriage, he also did not punish them. Perhaps he was afraid to cross with Galadriel, who never cared about racial hierarchy and clearly approved the match.

Aragorn had become wiser, even looking like an elf-lord in his new clothes, but he was still not good enough for Elrond, just like the motif “princess cannot be married to someone of low caste, though he passes suitor test” (P41). Instead, Elrond raised the stakes: Aragorn must become king of both Arnor and Gondor, reuniting the long-separated empire of the Númenóreans. Perhaps this paralleled Elrond’s own status in Middle-earth as a uniter, as he connected immortal with mortal, Hobbits and Men of the West with Elves and Dwarves of the East, and Sindar Elves of Mirkwood to the North with Ñoldor and Sindar Elves of Lórien to the South. Elrond’s sense of superiority was tempered with hospitality and kindness. Maybe telling himself that he was superior helped him to overcome a demeanor so quiet and unassuming that Boromir thought he was “timid” (Fellowship, 447). Readers cannot know for sure since the text never entered the perspective of Elrond.

Royal Standards

Unable to help Aragorn with his physical battles enroute to reestablishing an empire, Arwen did the next best thing by offering moral support and distant magic. She created a standard for Aragorn to fly when he became king. The word “standard” meaning a flag used in battle to rally the military appeared in English around the mid-12th century. The standard-bearer was the soldier in charge of holding the flag, and this word comes from the 15th century. The word “standard” meaning a generally accepted measurement appeared in the late 14th century and probably came from the word for the flag, but etymologists are not sure how this happened.

I return to highlighting the traditions of the United Kingdom and Denmark, as started in “Overview of Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers” and continued through “(i) Númenor” and “(iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur”. The United Kingdom has used a royal standard since 1603 due to the Union of the Crowns, when Elizabeth I died and left the kingdom to her cousin James VI of Scotland, who became James I of England. England is represented by a trio of lions, while Scotland appears as a single lion. Ireland was later added to the mix as a Celtic harp, but Wales is never included. According to the official UK royals’ website, this flag “is never flown at half-mast… as there is always a Sovereign on the throne”.

The Royal Standard of Denmark is a much more confusing situation. The current shape is a unique swallow-tail flag, with the original version designed in 1731 and four subsequent variations appearing over the next two hundred and fifty some years. The rectangular portion of the flag has the same red-and-white cross pattern as the Danish flag, but different designs are placed in the middle depending on who the flag is representing. The “Royal Flag” variant has a Royal Coat of Arms and represents the King or Queen. The “Heir to the Throne” variant was first designed in 1914 and displays the Danish state coat of arms plus a fun elephant design circling the insignia. The “Regent” variant was introduced the same year and includes symbols of power like the crown, sceptre, orb, and sword. The “Family” variant shows just the crown. The most recent variation “Lord Chamberlain’s Office”, used a laurel wreath and the monograph of Queen Margrethe. I do not know if the monograph flag will still be used now that the queen has retired.

Sindarin Poetry

After years of wandering, Aragorn visited his mom, who had moved back to her birthplace in Eriador, the same region as the Shire, Buckland, and Bree-land. Gilraen let Aragorn know that she would die soon, and she sang a short song in Sindarin before he left: Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim. The footnote translation read, “I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself” (Return, 376). Gilraen used a pun on her son’s nickname, reminding him that she relinquished partial custody to Elrond hoping the elf-lord would teach Aragorn to save their people, but she would not live to see his victory. The poem was a linnod, an Elvish verse style, with lind meaning “song” and odog meaning “seven” in Sindarin. The prefix is also found in the name Lindir, an Elf from Rivendell who teased Bilbo about his poem “Eärendillinwë” (Fellowship, 265). This style is also called trochaic heptameter with seven beats per line and the emphasis on the odd-numbered syllables: “one and two and three and four and five and six and seven”. The best-known example in English language literature is “The Raven” by Edgar Allen Poe.

Similar to this style is trochaic tetrameter, the same beat pattern but with four beats in a line: “one and two and three and four and”. The style is found in “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (whose house I visited last year) and the Finnish national epic “Kaleva”, a favorite of Tolkien last mentioned during “Perspectives on the Sea” and “(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion”. Either of these styles would have worked for a rhythmic translation. Tolkien decided instead to give a literal translation, so the beat is in iambic tetrameter, or four beats in a line with the emphasis on the even-numbered syllables: “and one and two and three and four”. My own rhythmic translation is “I gave Hope to people mine. I keep no hope for myself”. I think it strikes the right balance between accuracy, using the heightened language spoken by Middle-earth nobility, and keeping the beat of the original song.

A Wedding and Death

When the War of the Ring ended and Aragorn took the throne, he and Arwen could at last marry. Elrond likely viewed the union as the motif “princess marries lowly man” (T121.3.1), while the Men of Gondor would have compared the relationship to a collection of motifs: “marriage or liaison with fairy.” (F300), “fairy lover” (F301), “mortal man marries or lives with fairy woman.” (F302), and “wedding of mortal and fairy” (F303).

More bleak was the constant acknowledgement of a fifth motif in that collection: “fairy gives up her fairy nature and becomes mortal to be able to return to her mortal husband” (F302.6.2.2) especially in death. Aragorn was no ordinary mortal, as he could choose his time to die like elves and half-elven (Return, 377). This appears to connect with the books’ reoccurring theme of free will, that the freest people made choices over every part of their lives, including when to peacefully end those lives. Aragorn seemed to believe he and Arwen could meet again in the afterlife, telling her on his deathbed, “we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory” (Return, 378), an incredibly Christian sentiment. Meanwhile, Tolkien yells in the background that “This was not a Christian myth anyhow”.

One of the most bizarre but important story arc completing moments came as Aragorn died, and “a great beauty was revealed in him…” (Return, 378). Throughout most of the books, Aragorn was sometimes seen as lordly, but never “fair” or possessing elven beauty like many other characters — including Arwen, Boromir, and Frodo — unless he was in the middle of an infrequent transfiguration, marked by “a light… in his eyes” and seeming “clothed in white” (Fellowship, 395). In fact, at their first encounter, Frodo suggested that Aragorn was “foul” in appearance, while Pippin openly teased him about his looks (Fellowship, 194-195). Although Aragorn took this in stride as Strider, the insults affected him. This may have even caused part of his animosity towards much fairer Boromir, who he could not admit to being fair until the final verse of his lament after Boromir’s death: “His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest” (The Two Towers). Only in death, when people viewed Aragorn as his true self, the Man he had become by caring for others, was he seen as beautiful.

The final paragraph described the last wandering of Arwen, who returned to Cerin Amroth and died. She would lay in “her green grave, until the world is changed”. This sentiment seems similar to the end times as discussed in 1 Corinthians 15:35-58: “‘We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed… the dead will be raised imperishable”. Tolkien is still yelling in the background.

Conflusion

Many occurrences in this story recalled not only historical cultures and motifs found throughout folklore but also places and events in the dialogue portion of the books. The hypothetical animated musical would carefully insert portions of the story into the main narrative to make these comparisons.

The first hints at Aragorn’s past would appear during his singing of “The Lay of Luthien” from Book I, Chapter XI: “A Knife in the Dark”. Each verse would visualize the past of a different character. While most of the dancing sequences would illustrate Beren’s pursuit of Luthien, one would show Aragorn’s initial meeting of Arwen. A flashback during Book II, Chapter II: “The Council of Elrond” would cover Elrond explaining to young Estel that he is really Aragorn son of Arathorn, along with giving him the Ring of Barahir and the shards of Narsil, but not the Sceptre of Annúminas because he had not earned it. At the end of Book II, Chapter 6: “Lothlorien”, Aragorn would remember pledging troth to Arwen on the top of Cerin Amoth among the “elanor and niphrendil”, with special emphasis on their discussion of “the Twilight” and “the Shadow” (Return, 375).

I have not yet determined where to put Gilraen’s song, but the melody would work as an ongoing leitmotif for Aragorn, and I imagine a flashback itself would fit into Book III as a reflection on the death of Boromir and resurrection of Gandalf. Aragorn would remember Elrond’s reminder that he was unworthy of Arwen unless he became king of both Arnor and Gondor, along with Arwen presenting him with the standard, just before he unfurls the flag at Book V: Chapter VI: “The Battle of the Pelannor Field”. A mini-flash of Elrond telling Aragorn about his heritage would occur as Elrond handed over the Sceptre of Annúminas at the end of Book VI, Chapter 5: “The Steward and the King”. Finally, in the framing device holding together the musical, and occurring after Book VI, Chapter 9: “The Grey Havens”, the narrating character would have a brief vision with a series of flash-forwards, including Arwen going to Cerin Amroth for the final time.


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