How old each Lord of the Rings Fellowship member really is

Despite popularity for decades, the age of The Lord of the Rings The letters are not always clear. Although JRR Tolkien’s Middle-earth is full of fascinating entities throughout its long fictional history, the main focus is naturally on the nine members of the Fellowship who are tasked with carrying the One Ring from Rivendell to the fiery Mount Doom in Mordor. The Fellowship of the Ring separated shortly after its formation due to their differences and the death of Boromir. Nevertheless, each character makes a strong impression that not only lasts throughout the trilogy itself, but is also etched into the history of Middle-earth, ushering in the dawn of a new era.

In Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings Movies, the images of most characters match the actual times of the actors. Apart from Gandalf and Legolas who are known to be ancient, Aragorn, Gimli and Boromir all feel like gruff, middle-aged adults compared to the fresh-faced youth of the hobbits. Unfortunately, the Fellowship in the books is different from the movies, adding some confusion to the character ages. Tolkien’s extensive writings reveal the lore and history of the fellowship and the races represented in it. As such, these are the ages of the Fellowship members when the group first formed in Rivendell.

Frodo Baggins

50 (books); 33 (movie)

help, The Fellowship of the Ring begins with a huge birthday party celebrating the “First eleven“Bilbo Baggins’ birthday and His nephew Frodo’s 33rd birthdayBut immediately Tolkien’s book and Jackson’s movie diverge from this point. In the original story, Frodo waits a full 17 years in Bag End between Bilbo’s departure and the start of his own adventure with the One Ring, putting him at a respectable 50 years old.

On the big screen, the length of time between the events is never specified, but it certainly doesn’t feel like 17 years, meaning Elijah Wood’s Frodo Baggins is younger than his book counterpart. Indeed, Wood was only 18 when filming began The Lord of the Rings. Hobbits consider 33 their “coming of age,“So 18 is perhaps the human equivalent of the Hobbit milestone. Frodo feels noticeably younger in Jackson’s movies, and this is surely an intentional move to attract a younger audience.

Samwise Game

38

in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, Frodo and Sam are portrayed as two best friends of similar ages, and Sam’s habit of referring to his companion as “Mr. Frodo” just feels like a reflection of the character’s humble personality. In Tolkien’s original story, however, the title actually comes from the honor Sam consistently shows to Frodo. Although the pair are undoubtedly friends, there is a clear difference in status between Frodo and sum due to the to the respective standings of their families in Hobbit culture and society.

Adding to the sense of age is the fact that Frodo is several years older than Sam in the books, which is only 38 when the fellowship was established. Curiously, Sean Astin is a full decade older than Elijah Wood despite the pair’s on-screen parity. Although make-up and performance cover the difference quite nicely, the casting suggests that Sam was meant to feel a bit older than Frodo in the movies, altering their dynamic as Tolkien originally wrote it.

Gandalf

Approximately. 2000 years

The The question of Gandalf’s age is unique In the sense that there are two equally legitimate answers. Gandalf’s story truly begins at the dawn of time itself, when he was brought into being as the Maia Olorin. He lived in the Undying Lands for some time among fellow immortals before he was convinced to go to Middle-earth and help deal with the growing issue of Sauron.

For this purpose, Olorin became the wizard Gandalf the Grey, arriving in the physical form that would later be loved by hobbits, humans and many others. The appearance of Gandalf came shortly after the first millennium of the Third Age, and the formation of the Fellowship took place in 3018. Gandalf’s physical body is, therefore, around 2000 years old, although his true form is decidedly more ancient.

Aragorn

87

Not many 87-year-old men could clash swords with ringwraiths and orcs, however Aragorn is certainly not a normal person. It is well documented that people are the “mortals“From Lord of the Rings‘Middle-earth, cursed with weak, fleeting life. But there are certain lines of people in Tolkien’s world who, although they are still undoubtedly mortal, possess more longevity than the average person. Aragorn is a descendant of the Dúnedain, a race of men who once helped defeat the evil Valar Morgoth.

As a reward for their help, the Dúnedain were gifted life spans of up to several hundred years. Historically, however, Sauron corrupted Númenor (the original home of the Dúnedain) and the gifts soon began to fade away gradually, a gift further hampered by constantly diluting bloodlines. Although Aragorn may not live as long as his ancestors once did, he is still part of the lineage, with his age directly referenced in The two towers.

Legolas

Very old

even more than Gandalf, The age of Legolas is very difficult to agreeAnd the elf is one of the few main ones Lord of the Rings Characters that Tolkien did not specifically date. As the elves are immortal and Legolas’ father was born in the First Age, Legolas could conceivably have been born as early as the Second Age, over 3000 years earlier The Fellowship of the Ring. It is equally possible that Legolas was born after these Rings of power timeline or some time in the third age, which could put him in “Only“Several hundred years old.

Clues in the text are conflicting. Legolas refers to his fellow Fellowship members (except Gandalf, of course) as children, suggesting that he is much older than any of them. The fact that Legolas never visited Lórien as his eleven ancestors in The Lord of the Rings Often would, and is not mentioned to have fought in the original battle against Sauron at the end of the Second Age, hints that Legolas is one of the younger elves. on the other hand, Legolas also describes 500 years in fleeting, flippant terms. According to the evidence, Legolas is most likely somewhere between 2000 and 3000 years old, although there is a lot of leeway on either side of that estimate.

Gimli

139

Gimli’s age in The Lord of the Rings is much clearer than that of its pointed-ground competitor. Middle Earth’s dwarves are distinct from elves and men in the sense that they were created by Aulë, a Valar, rather than Eru, the god. Although Eru decided that he had already foreseen the creation of the dwarves and therefore allowed their existence, the race would not be given the same immortality as the elves, but they would not suffer the same short life as humans, as they had to endure The dark influence of Morgoth.

Dwarves typically live between two and three hundred years, which counts Gimli in a relatively young light in 139. This is in contrast to Gimli’s solitary and introverted nature, although this can be considered a trait of Tolkien’s dwarves in general. Nevertheless, it is interesting that Thorin Oakenshield is older during the events of The Hobbit like Gimli was during The Lord of the Rings. In a way, how Gimli tried to destroy the One Ring insulted his youthful resolve despite being over a century old.

Meridoc Brandybuck

36

Like his fellow hobbits, Merry is portrayed on film as more or less the same age as FrodoHelping to sustain the idea of ​​a younger protagonist group, but this is not far removed from Tolkien’s books in Mary’s case. A little younger than Sam and only a few years away from his coming-of-age landmark, Merry is still a young hobbit. Merry is also Frodo’s cousin, so there is no class difference like with Sam Gamgee, but Merry still shows respect to Frodo, and their age difference may account for that.

Peregrine took

28

“Fool of a taking” Makes a lot more sense, considering Pippin was only 28 years old When you join Frodo’s quest to destroy the One Ring. In both iterations of The Lord of the RingsIt is Pippin who often makes the rash comment or mistake, and this can betray his younger, pre-coming of age years. Even in Jackson’s movie trilogy, there is a sense that Pippin is the most youthful of the group, without any discernible or overt indication to confirm this to the audience.

Boromir

40

Boromir’s age in The Lord of the Rings is the most surprising but explains more about his character than any previous example. Due to his noble bloodline, Boromir was gifted a longer life in the same manner as Aragorn. Unlike the future King of Gondor, however, Boromir is 40 years old compared to Aragorns 87which gives greater context to the dynamic between the two men of the Fellowship and how Aragorn reacts to Boromir’s death in Lord of the Rings.

Both in the books and in the movies, Boromir is less smart, less powerful, and of a lower status than Aragorn, and a large part of that comes down to their relationship as a rightful king and ruler. There’s also an age difference at play, with Aragorn being more than twice Boromir’s age in both mediums. The added experience undoubtedly contributes to the duo’s uneven dynamic, but with Viggo Mortensen and Sean Bean both the same age, the gulf isn’t as stark in the Lord of the Rings Movies.

Who is the oldest character in the Lord of the Rings movies

There are ancient characters in the movies

The Maia Olorin took the form of Gandalf on Middle Earth around the year 1,000 of the Third Age, according to Unfinished TalesBut this is nothing compared to his real age. All Istari (wizards) – Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman and the Blue Wizards – are Maiar, the same race as the 15 Valar (the demigods of Tolkien’s world). The Ainur were made by the One CreatorEru Iluvatar, for the time itself, although it is unknown whether he made them all at the same time or not. Gandalf, Radgast and Saruman therefore lived for infinitely longer than the 54,960 years documented in Middle-earth history.

This makes them all together the oldest living characters The Lord of the Rings Kino, along with Sauron, who is another Maia. Sauron is not considered one of the Istari, despite being a wizard. The Istari is the word commonly used to describe the group of five wizards sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to combat Sauron. At one point The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf described “Name things“As old as Sauron. The Watcher in the Water may be one of those names, but it was never fully confirmed by the books or movies.

The Lord of the Rings movies cut one of Middle-earth’s oldest inhabitants

Tom Bombadil was known as the eldest

The classic Tolkien character Tom Bombadil may be the oldest in Middle-earth, but Peter Jackson famously cut him from his movies. Tom explains his identity to the hobbits The Lord of the Rings. Tom said he was “Old. oldest… Here for the river and the trees“and he”Remember the first raindrop and the first acorn“And was in Middle-earth”Before the dark lord came from outside.“The Ainur, including Dark Lord Morgoth, entered Eä – the world – after they sang it into existence, triggering the beginning of time as humans know it.

When the Ainur enters the EA, “Everything was just on point to start and still unshaped, and it was dark.“There was basically nothing produced in Eä, only the flame imperishable imparted by Ilvatar. This flame was the fundamental means that the Valar needed to build the world from the ground up, which they did. The implication is that Tom may have been placed in Eä by Ilúvatar In some kind of spirit form before the Valar entered it. It is unknown whether Tom is another Ainur, of some unique purpose known only to Ilúvatar, or some other being entirely in The Lord of the Rings.