THE
FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING |
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concerned with the summary of Tolkien's bestseller, The Lord
of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (1954)
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FELLOWSHIP
OF THE RING
BOOK
1
Sixty years
after mr. Bilbo Baggins 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, Ilsildur, Elendil's son, 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 has already
started hunting 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. Fortunately, Frodo and his company are saved by a group
of passing Elves (lead by Gildor), whose presence causes
the Dark Rider to withdraw from the scene. They venture forth
through the fields of Farmer Maggot, who is an old "acquaintance"
of Frodo. 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
scary rumours are told. They are lost in this forest and Merry
and Pippin are captured by the Old Man Willow, 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 in the central hall of the inn,
Frodo ("Mr. Underhill" as he calls himself),
makes a stupid mistake by singing a merry song and accidently
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 leave
the Shire months ago, because the name Baggings and the Shire
are known to the Enemy. Strider appears to be a friend of Gandalf.
That night, while hiding in Striders room, the hobbits room is
attacked by Dark Riders.
Next day they
leave Bree, venturing into Wilderland. Their target is Rivendell.
They travel with Strider through woods, mountains and march
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 road through the wilderness, they meet Glorfindel,
an Elven Lord, who takes 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, he meets again with
Gandalf. During dinner, Frodo learns that Strider is actually Aragorn, son of Arathorn, the heir of Elendil. He is one
of the Dunadain Rangers, Men from Westernesse (Numenor), 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.
During the
Council of Elrond, representatives of the free people of Middle
Earth discuss the current situation. 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, because a mystic
riddle mentioning "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 Hollin.
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 ancient Dwarven magic. After several attempts trying to guess
the password, 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. When 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 travelled to Moria years ago 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 slain the Balrog, he is dragged with
it into the depths under the Bridge. His last words are: "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 has a vision: He realises that only hebears the task
of destroying the Ring and that the Fellowship is divded. 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 of Saurons finger.
They travel
in boats over the river Anduin, until they reach the Argonath,
where mighty statues of Kings are. There, Boromir is tempted by
the Ring and tries to take it away from Frodo. Frodo, flies for
Boromir's madness 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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