FELLOWSHIP
OF THE RING
BOOK
1
Sixty years
after mr. Bilbo Baggins had returned to the Shire from
his adventure at Erebor, he passes his possessions to his younger
nephew, Frodo Baggins. Besides the beautiful hole at
Bag's End, Frodo also inherits Bilbo's secret magic ring. The
wizard Gandalf suspects that it is not an ordinary ring
and, for almost 25 years, he visits Bags End on and off.
Finally, he tells Frodo of the Making of the Rings of Power,
and Sauron, the Dark Lord, who created the Master Ring
to rule all other Rings. Sauron was defeated centuries ago by
a Last Alliance of Elves and Men. After Sauron had been defeated
by Elendil and Gil-Galad, Elendil's son, Ilsildur, took
Saurons master Ring. After Isildur had been ambushed, the Ring
was lost for many years. Until it came into the possession of
the creature Gollum, who, as has been told in the Hobbit,
lost his Ring to Bilbo.
Gandalf
proves the Ring to be the One Ring by putting it into the fire
of the hearth at Bag's End. Flaming letters appear on the Ring
saying "ash nazg durbatuluk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash
nazg thrakatuluk, agh burzum ishi krimpatul", which
means "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them".
Frodo is in the possession of the Master Ring and the Enemy
is coming for him....
Gandalf
advises him to leave the Shire within a few months. Samwise
Gamgee ("Sam") is involuntarily appointed to be
his travelling companion. Gandalf has business to attend to,
and leaves. But at the moment agreed, Gandalf does not return.
Frodo leaves the Shire, so to say "to live in Crickhollow",
a place in the east of the Shire. During their journey through
the Shire they encounter an evil Dark Rider, who almost
discovers them, save Frodo and his company are saved by a group
of passing Elves (leaded by Gildor). They venture forth
through the fields of Farmer Maggot, who is an old "acquaintance"
of Bilbo. They reach Crickhollow safely. There a "conspiracy"
is unmasked. Frodo thought to leave the Shire secretly, but
his relatives Peregrin Took ("Pippin") and
Meriadoc Brandybuck ("Merry") already know
what his plans are. They insist joining Frodo on his trip.
The next
goal is the city of Bree. To avoid the Black Riders, Frodo decides
to travel through the Old Forest. This is a forest of which
many rumours are told. They are lost in this forest and Merry
and Pippin are captured by the Old Willowman, an evil tree.
Screaming for "Help", a strange man, named Tom
Bombadil, comes to their aid. He takes them to his home
and they meet his wife Goldberry. Tom Bombadil is a "Master
of things", "the oldest creature on Arda". After
a few days, they continue their journey through the Barrow-downs,
where they are all captured by a Barrow-wight, an evil
spirit. By strong will, Frodo manages to break the wights spell,
and he calls for help. Soon, Tom Bombadil appears and defeats
the barrow-wight. In the barrow, they find a treasure of which
the hobbits take swords, forged in Westernesse.
They reach
Bree withouth any further problems. They are to meet Gandalf
in the inn "The Prancing Pony". They are welcomed
by the innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur. Gandalf is nowhere
to be found. While joining the company, Frodo ("Mr.
Underhill" as he calls himself), makes a stupid mistake
by singing a merry song and slipping on the Ring while singing.
His disappearance is the news of the day in Bree. Frodo is approached
by a mysterious man called Strider. He warns Frodo and
asks to take him along on his journey. Meanwhile, the inn-keeper
remembers he has an unsent letter for Frodo by Gandalf. This
letter urges Frodo to have left the Shire months ago, because
he is being hunted. Strider appears to be a friend of Gandalf.
That night, while hiding in Striders room, the hobbits room
is attacked.
Next day
they leave Bree, venturing into the Wilderland. Their target
is Rivendell. They travel with Strider through woods, mountains
and marches untill they reach the Weathertop (Amon Sul).
There, they are attacked by the Black Riders, who appear to
be the Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths; nine Men, enslaved
by their Rings. Frodo is stabbed by a Morgul sword, but the
words "Elbereth Gilthoniel" and the brave Strider
save him. They manage to escape, although Frodo is badly wounded.
He is fading into the land of the Shadows. They have to reach
Rivendell quickly to find a cure. After a hard and long travel,
they meet Glorfindel, an Elven Lord, who puts Frodo on
his horse, which races the Nazgûl to the Fords of the
River Bruinen. Having reached the Fords, Frodo is almost fading.
While crossing the river, the Nazgûl are overtaken by
a huge flood, caused by Elrond and Gandalf.
BOOK
2
Frodo wakes
up in Rivendell, the House of Elrond. There they meet again
with Gandalf. During dinner, Frodo learns that Strider is actually
Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the heir of Elendil. He is
one of the Rangers, Men from Westernesse, who roam in Middle
Earth, defending the innocent. He is the only one who can claim
the kingdom of Gondor. From this country, Boromir,
son of Denethor the Steward of Gondor, has arrived in
Rivendell. After dinner the hobbits meet Bilbo, who gives
Frodo his old sword Sting and a chainmail made of the
precious but very strong mithril.
A council
is being held. Gandalf reveals being held captive by the wizard
Saruman, who once was the head of the White Council.
Apparently, Saruman has betrayed the Elves and Men and has made
his own plans to team up with Sauron. Legolas, an elf
from Mirkwood, tells that Gollum escaped their enprisonment.
Gimli, son of Gloin, brings news from the dwarven realm
of Erebor, where messengers of Sauron asked for "Baggins"
and "the Shire". The discovery of the One Ring by
Gandalf and Frodo is revealed. Boromir is surprised to hear
that, because a mystic riddle, telling of "Isildurs Bane",
brought him to Rivendell. His opinion is to use the Ring against
Sauron, using the enormous power of the Ring. Elrond tells that
using the Ring would turn everything into evil, because the
Ring is Evil itself, and all its actions will turn into evil.
The only possibility to destroy the Ring is to cast it into
the fires of Mount Doom, where the Ring was forged by
Sauron.
A fellowship
is formed to destroy the Ring: Nine Walkers against Nine Black
Riders. Frodo volunteers to fullfill the task of destroying
the Ring. Sam will join him. Gandalf will lead the fellowship
and representatives of Men (Aragorn and Boromir), Elves (Legolas)
and Dwarves (Gimli) are included. Finally, Merry and Pippin
claim the last two places.
The Fellowship
leaves Rivendell. They travel through the empty land of Hollum.
Gandalf wants to take the pass over the mountain Caradhras,
but this evil mountain sets up a magic snow storm, through which
no one can get through. The alternative Gandalf comes up with
is a way under the mountains, through the lost Dwarf Realm of
Moria. They reach the doors of Moria, which are closed
by magic. Gandalf, with the aid of Merry, discovers the word
that opens the door: "Mellon", which means "friend".
The company and especially Sam, have to say goodbye to their
faithfull pony Bill. At the time the door opens, multiple
arms reach from the lake in front of the door. The Watcher in
the Water grabs Frodo, who can barely be saved by Aragorn and
Boromir. The Fellowship flies into the mines of Moria, while
the watcher destroys their way out.
In Moria
Gandalf leads the way. After a few days in the dark, they reach
the Room of Mazarbul, which contains the tomb of Balin,
one of Gimli's relatives. Balin was planning to become the new
Dwarven King of Moria. He appears to be killed by Orcs and a
mysterious evil. Too late the company realises they are trapped.
Suddenly they are surrounded by Orcs. With united forces, they
fight a way out. Frodo is hit by a spear, but his mithril chainmail
saves him. At the bridge of Khazad-Dum (Moria), they meet their
greatest enemy until then: a Balrog, a demon of Flames from
the ancient world. The Balrog and Gandalf fight on the Bridge,
and, just as Gandalf appears to have beaten the Balrog, he is
dragged with it into the depths under the Bridge. His last words
were "fly, you fools".
The company
flies out of Moria into the woods of Lothlorien. There
they are grieved because of their loss. They are captured by
the Elves of Lothlorien, who lead them all blindfolded to their
King and Queen: Celeborn and Galadriel. They rest
for a while as honoured guests in Lorien. Frodo looks into Galadriels
mirror and sees a vision: He realises that he only bears the
task of destroying the Ring. He offers the Ring to Galadriel,
but she passes the test and refuses it.
They venture
forth in boats given to them by the Elves. At their farewell,
Galadriel has a message and gifts for everyone. Frodo receives
a phial with the bright light of the Eärendils star. Aragorn
receives a new sheath for his blade Anduril (Flame of
the West), which is the reforged blade Narsil. Isildur used
it to cut the Ring off of Saurons finger.
They travel
in boats over the river Anduin, until they reach the
Argonath, where mighty statues of Kings are. There, at the island,
Boromir is tempted by the Ring and tries to take it away from
Frodo. Frodo, in terror flies away and realises he has to fullfill
this task alone. He sets off. At the same time the Fellowship
is under attack by Orcs. Merry and Pippin are captured after
Boromir is slain. Sam realises what Frodo is up to and catches
up with him. Together they enter Mordor.
The Fellowship
is scattered: Sam and Frodo are off to Mordor; Merry and Pippin
are captured by Sarumans Orcs; Boromir and Gandalf are slain.
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RELATED
LINKS:
Lord
of the Rings
-=[RBoW]=-
Lord of the Rings : background on LOTR
-=[RBoW]=-
The Two Towers : summary of the 2nd book of the trilogy
-=[RBoW]=-
Return of the King: summary of the last book of the trilogy
-=[RBoW]=-
FOTR the movie : New Line Cinema's motion picture "Fellowship
of the Ring"
Other books
-=[RBoW]=-
The Hobbit : summary of the Hobbit
-=[RBoW]=-
The Silmarillion : summary of the Silmarillion
-=[RBoW]=-
Bilbiography : a list of Tolkien's books
- J.R.R. Tolkien:
The Lord of the Rings. London: HarperCollins Publishers,
1994. ISBN0-261-10320-2
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