相信大家都看过电影《魔戒》（又名《指环王》），这部书是它的前传，讲的是电影开头那个老霍比特人的冒险故事，也说到了甘道尔夫和精灵族、侏儒族、鹰族之间的联系。
什么是霍比特人？
霍比特人是比作儒还矮的小矮人，他们爱好和平。喜欢安静。他们不喜欢机器，但是他们很善于使用工具；他们动作敏捷，但却不喜欢做事匆促。他们有敏锐的眼睛和耳朵；他们可能有点胖。他们喜欢笑和吃（他们一天可以吃六餐）。他们很好客，喜欢送礼和收到礼物。霍比特历险记是一部非常精彩的传奇故事，充满了预言的色彩。书中主角比尔博·巴金斯原本是一个远离尘嚣的霍比特人，但却在无意中发现了魔成且经历了他一生中水难忘怀的事件。霍比特历险记于一九三六年完成，于一九三七年发行，同年，作者便开始着手写续集——魔戒之主，于是，霍比特历险记成了魔戒之主的序曲。经过了十一年，魔戒之主三部曲终于在一九四八年完成，而于一九五五年全部发行。在出版期间，魔戒之主系列便已颇受各界好评，例如芝加哥论坛曾评其为：“……总之，这是一个很棒的故事，不仅文字优美且创造了一个如幻似真的世界，一个作家最好的作品就是如此了。”
Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into darker, deeper territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature (the "Tookish" side) and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.
Themes of personal growth and forms of heroism figure in the story. Along with conflict, these themes lead critics to cite Tolkien's own experiences, and the those of other writers who fought in World War I, as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature and interest in fairy tales are also often noted as influences.
Due to the book's critical and financial success, Tolkien's publishers requested a sequel. As work on The Lord of the Rings progressed, Tolkien made retrospective accommodations for it in one chapter of The Hobbit. These few but significant changes were integrated into the second edition. Further editions followed with minor emendations, including those reflecting Tolkien's changing concept of the world into which Bilbo stumbled.
The work has never been out of print since the paper shortages of the Second World War. Its ongoing legacy encompasses many adaptations for stage, screen, radio, and gaming, both board and video games. Some of these adaptations have received critical recognition of their own, including a video game that won the Golden Joystick Award, a scenario of a war game that won an Origins Award, and an animated picture nominated for a Hugo Award.
什么是霍比特人？
霍比特人是比作儒还矮的小矮人，他们爱好和平。喜欢安静。他们不喜欢机器，但是他们很善于使用工具；他们动作敏捷，但却不喜欢做事匆促。他们有敏锐的眼睛和耳朵；他们可能有点胖。他们喜欢笑和吃（他们一天可以吃六餐）。他们很好客，喜欢送礼和收到礼物。霍比特历险记是一部非常精彩的传奇故事，充满了预言的色彩。书中主角比尔博·巴金斯原本是一个远离尘嚣的霍比特人，但却在无意中发现了魔成且经历了他一生中水难忘怀的事件。霍比特历险记于一九三六年完成，于一九三七年发行，同年，作者便开始着手写续集——魔戒之主，于是，霍比特历险记成了魔戒之主的序曲。经过了十一年，魔戒之主三部曲终于在一九四八年完成，而于一九五五年全部发行。在出版期间，魔戒之主系列便已颇受各界好评，例如芝加哥论坛曾评其为：“……总之，这是一个很棒的故事，不仅文字优美且创造了一个如幻似真的世界，一个作家最好的作品就是如此了。”
Set in a time "Between the Dawn of Færie and the Dominion of Men", The Hobbit follows the quest of home-loving Bilbo Baggins to win a share of the treasure guarded by the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into darker, deeper territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic, fey and adventurous side of his nature (the "Tookish" side) and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.
Themes of personal growth and forms of heroism figure in the story. Along with conflict, these themes lead critics to cite Tolkien's own experiences, and the those of other writers who fought in World War I, as instrumental in shaping the story. The author's scholarly knowledge of Anglo-Saxon literature and interest in fairy tales are also often noted as influences.
Due to the book's critical and financial success, Tolkien's publishers requested a sequel. As work on The Lord of the Rings progressed, Tolkien made retrospective accommodations for it in one chapter of The Hobbit. These few but significant changes were integrated into the second edition. Further editions followed with minor emendations, including those reflecting Tolkien's changing concept of the world into which Bilbo stumbled.
The work has never been out of print since the paper shortages of the Second World War. Its ongoing legacy encompasses many adaptations for stage, screen, radio, and gaming, both board and video games. Some of these adaptations have received critical recognition of their own, including a video game that won the Golden Joystick Award, a scenario of a war game that won an Origins Award, and an animated picture nominated for a Hugo Award.
本片是英国鬼才导演彼得杰克森结合最新电影特效的魔幻新作，根据托尔金畅销全球的经典小说「魔戒三部曲」改编，并以三部曲的方式拍摄，【首部曲─魔戒现身】描述史前世界中，一位名叫佛罗多巴金的年轻人，无意中得到了一只魔戒。
这只戒指拥有无穷的神秘力量，戒指原来是黑暗君王索伦所有的，却意外地到了佛罗多手里。佛罗多决定将戒指摧毁，以免索伦夺回去巩固自己的势力。索伦为了阻止佛罗多，于是派出了手下的怪兽加以追杀，一场正邪大战眼看着一触即发…
本片背景是在神秘的史前时代，由一场正邪战役所引发的长篇故事，这个拯救人类的危险任务落在年轻的哈比族人─佛罗多巴金身上，他从表哥巴伯那里得到了一指无邪的魔幻戒指。
佛罗多发现这只戒指的制造者是黑暗魔君索伦，而索伦正急着要把戒指找回去。因为这只戒指是代表伟大邪恶势力的魔戒，将使索伦统治下的人民得到解放，而他统治的这片土地就是俗称的中土世界（Middle Earth）。
匆忙之下，佛罗多结合了一些救援力量包括了术士、小精灵、侏儒及人类，一起协助他前往中土世界，将戒指丢入魔宫之洞的末日山脉中加以摧毁。
然而，这群义勇之士却遭到索伦手下怪兽群的攻击，这些恐怖邪恶的猎杀军队残忍地追杀佛罗多和他的朋友 。佛罗多等一群人还必须对抗戒指中的邪恶力量，这股力量会让人产生难以抵挡的欲望，考验着每一个接触戒指者的意志力
Title and publication
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a multiple volume with six sections he called "books" along with extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts. It was also the publisher's decision to place the fifth and sixth books and the appendices into one volume under the title The Return of the King, in reference to Aragorn's assumption of the throne of Gondor. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred The War of the Ring as a title, as it gave away less of the story.
Before the decision to publish The Lord of the Rings in three volumes was made, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, or combined with The Silmarillion. At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book I was The First Journey or The Ring Sets Out. Book II was titled The Journey of the Nine Companions or The Ring Goes South. The titles The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South were used in the Millenium edition.
Plot summary
The Prologue is meant primarily to help people who have not read The Hobbit understand the events of that book, along with some other information that the author felt is relevant to set the stage for the novel.
Book I: The Return of the Shadow
The first chapter in the book begins quite lightly, following the tone of The Hobbit. Bilbo is celebrating his 111th (or eleventy-first, as it is called in Hobbiton) birthday on the same day that Frodo Baggins, his heir, is celebrating his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age'). At the birthday party, Bilbo disappears after his speech, to the surprise of all. Bilbo departs from the Shire, the land of the Hobbits, for what he calls a permanent holiday. He leaves his remaining belongings including his home, Bag End and, after some persuasion by the wizard Gandalf, the Ring he had found on his adventures (with which he used to make himself invisible), to Frodo. Gandalf warns Frodo to keep the Ring secret and safe from others, and leaves on his own business.
Over the next seventeen years Gandalf visits Frodo; staying briefly before going off again. Then one spring night Gandalf arrives to alert Frodo to the darker aspects of the Ring which Bilbo had previously only used to make himself invisible: it is the One Ring of Sauron, the Dark Lord. Sauron forged the Ring himself and used it to subdue and rule Middle-earth. In the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron was defeated by the Elven King Gil-galad and Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor, though they themselves perished in the deed. The Ring was cut off from Sauron by Isildur, son of Elendil. Sauron was thus overthrown and he fled, and so, for many years, peace returned to Middle-earth. But the Ring itself was not destroyed: Isildur kept the Ring for himself after cutting it from Sauron. However, Isildur was slain in the Battle of the Gladden Fields and the Ring was lost in the Great River, Anduin; whereupon it came into the hands of the creature Gollum, who possessed the Ring for many years. The Ring then passed to Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit, and so passes into the hands of Frodo. Sauron had now arisen once again, and had returned to his stronghold in the land of Mordor, and was exerting all his power to find the Ring. Gandalf details the evil powers of the Ring, and its ability to influence the bearer and those near him, if it is worn for too long a time. Gandalf warns that the Ring is no longer safe in the Shire because, after some investigation of his own, Gandalf has learned from Gollum himself that Gollum had gone to Mordor, where he was captured and was tortured into revealing to Sauron that a Hobbit named Baggins from the Shire possesses the Ring. Heeding Gandalf's advice, Frodo decides that it is best to remove the Ring from the Shire. Gandalf hopes Frodo can reach the elf-haven of Rivendell, where he believes Frodo and the Ring will be safe from Sauron, at least for a while, and where those of most concern of Middle-Earth can decide the fate of the Ring. Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's gardener, is discovered listening in on the conversation. Out of loyalty to his master, Sam decides to accompany Frodo on his journey.
Over the summer Frodo makes plans to leave his home at Bag End, under the guise that he is moving to a remote region of the Shire to retire. He makes plans to "move" in the Autumn after Bilbo's and his birthday. Helping with the plans are Frodo's friends Peregrin Took (or Pippin for short), Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Samwise Gamgee (Sam), and Fredegar Bolger (Fatty). However, Frodo does not tell them of his true intentions to leave the Shire, nor does he tell them about the Ring.
At midsummer, Gandalf informs Frodo that he must leave on pressing business, but will return before Frodo leaves. Frodo enjoys his last few weeks at home awaiting the return of Gandalf. But as his birthday and departure approach, Gandalf is not seen or heard from. Regretfully, Frodo decides to leave without Gandalf. Merry and Fatty take the last of Frodo's possessions by cart to his new home in Crickhollow. Frodo, Sam, and Pippin go by foot using the less used roads to travel unnoticed.
On their journey the three hobbits encounter the Black Riders; Ringwraiths or the Nazgûl who serve Sauron. There are nine such Ringwraiths and are "the most terrible servants of the Dark Lord." The hobbits discover that the Nazgûl are looking for Frodo and the Ring. But with help of some Elves and Farmer Maggot they eventually reach Crickhollow on the eastern borders of the Shire. There Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Fatty reveal that they know of Frodo's plan to leave the Shire and of the existence of the Ring. Sam, Merry, and Pippin decide to leave with Frodo, while Fatty stays behind as a decoy.
The Hobbits, in hopes of eluding the Nazgûl, travel through the Old Forest and Barrow-downs, and with the assistance of Tom Bombadil, are able to reach the village of Bree, where they meet Strider, a friend of Gandalf who becomes their guide to Rivendell.
Even with Strider's help, this portion of the journey is not without further hardships. The worst of these occurs when, while at the hill of Weathertop, five of the Nazgûl attack the travellers. Frodo is stabbed by the chief of the Nazgûl (the Witch-king of Angmar), with a cursed blade. The Nazgûl are driven off for a while by Strider. Part of the knife remains inside Frodo, causing him to become increasingly ill as the journey to Rivendell continues. Strider leads the hobbits on old paths avoiding the main road. As the travellers near their destination they meet Glorfindel, a mighty Elf-Lord from Rivendell, who helps them reach the River Bruinen on the border of Rivendell. But the Nazgûl, now at their full strength of nine, spring a trap at the Ford of Bruinen. Glorfindel's horse outruns the pursuers and carries Frodo across the Ford. As the Nazgûl attempt to follow, a giant wave in the shape of charging horses appears bearing down on the Nazgûl. The flood was commanded by Elrond, the mighty Lord of Rivendell, but the shape of galloping horses was an addition of Gandalf. The Nazgûl, trapped between the rushing water and seeing Glorfindel, an Elf-Lord revealed in his wrath, are swept away by the river, as Frodo finally collapses into unconsciousness on the riverbank.
Book II: The Fellowship of the Ring
Book II opens in Rivendell at the house of Elrond. Frodo is healed by Elrond and discovers that Bilbo has been residing in Rivendell. A Council is held by Elrond and is attended by Gandalf and many others, including Frodo and Bilbo. Elrond tells the history of the One Ring of Sauron, and about the War of the Last Alliance, and how the Ring was lost to Middle-Earth for a time after the Battle of the Gladden Fields. Gandalf continues the tale, and narrates how the Ring was found by Gollum. Bilbo and Frodo narrate their own adventures about the finding of the Ring and Frodo's journey to Rivendell. Gandalf also explains why he could not accompany Frodo from the Shire. He had gone to Isengard, where the powerful wizard Saruman dwells, to seek help and counsel. Saruman was head of the White Council and the greatest of the Istari. He had long studied Sauron's arts, and the lore of the One Ring. However, Saruman has turned against them, as Gandalf finds out much to his dismay; Saruman now desires the Ring for himself. Saruman imprisons Gandalf in his tower, Orthanc, rightly suspecting that Gandalf knew where the Ring was. Gandalf, however, does not yield and manages to escape from Orthanc. He learns that Saruman is not yet in Sauron's service, and was mustering his own force of Orcs. Gandalf spreads the tidings that Saruman was now a foe, and heads towards Rivendell, knowing that he could not reach the Shire in time to accompany Frodo. In the Council of Elrond, a plan is hatched to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, which will destroy the Ring and end Sauron's power once and for all. Frodo is chosen to be the Ring-Bearer, and sets forth from Rivendell with eight companions: two Men, Strider (revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir) and Boromir, son of the Steward of the land of Gondor; the Prince of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, Legolas; Frodo's old friend and powerful wizard, Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf; and Frodo's three Hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers (called the Fellowship of the Ring) were chosen to represent all the free races of Middle-Earth and as a balance to the Nazgûl. They are also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Strider and the Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse. Their attempt to cross the Misty Mountains is foiled by heavy snow, and they are forced to take a path under the mountains, the mines of Moria, an ancient dwarf kingdom, now full of orcs and other evil creatures. During the battle that ensues, Gandalf battles a Balrog of Morgoth, and both fall into an abyss.
The remaining eight members of the Fellowship escape from Moria and head toward the elf-haven of Lothlórien, where they are given gifts from the rulers Celeborn and Galadriel that in many cases prove useful later during the Quest. After leaving Lórien, the Ring's evil and corrupting powers begin to show. When Frodo is alone for a while to decide the future course of the Fellowship, Boromir tries to take the Ring from him. Frodo, to escape from Boromir, ends up putting on the Ring. While the rest of the Fellowship scatter to hunt for Frodo, Frodo decides that the Fellowship has to be parted, for the Ring was too evil and was setting to work within the Fellowship itself. Frodo decides to depart secretly for Mordor, but is joined by Sam and they set off together to Mordor. The Fellowship was broken.
Chapter summaries
Book I
* I - A Long-expected Party - details Bilbo and Frodo's birthday party, ending with Bilbo leaving the Shire. The name is a reference to "An Unexpected Party," the first chapter of The Hobbit.
* II - The Shadow of the Past - Gandalf reveals to Frodo the true nature of the Ring and that it must be taken to Mordor and destroyed. Sam, who has been listening at the window, agrees to accompany Frodo.
* III - Three is Company - Gandalf leaves the Shire for a short trip, but promises to return. Frodo sells Bag End to further the ruse that he is broke and thus retiring to a small house at Crickhollow in the area beyond Bucklebury in Buckland. In reality, Frodo plans to leave the Shire from Buckland without it being noticed. Mysteriously, Gandalf does not return, and so Frodo, Sam and Pippin set out walking through the East Farthing of the Shire towards Buckland and encounter a Black Rider. They also meet Gildor Inglorion an elf, with other elves, who warn them to fear the Black Riders.
* IV - A Short Cut to Mushrooms - The walking party meets Farmer Maggot, a fierce old hobbit from Frodo's childhood. Frodo finds that Maggot actually has a kind nature and also learns that the Black Riders are searching other parts of the Shire for 'Baggins.' Maggot sneaks the party to the Buckland Ferry in his waggon, where they meet up with Merry.
* V - A Conspiracy Unmasked - At Frodo's new house at Crickhollow, Frodo wrestles with how to tell Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Fredegar 'Fatty' Bolger, about his quest, only to learn that they have known much of it all along, All the hobbits except Fredegar decide to leave the next day through the Old Forest, while Fredegar remains behind to act as a decoy and inform Gandalf of Frodo's plans. The Old Forest is rumoured to be a dangerous place, but Frodo wants to avoid the main roads at all costs in order to evade the Black Riders.
* VI - The Old Forest - Although trying to avoid it, the hobbits are 'herded' by the trees to the River Withywindle, the "queerest part of the whole wood." The hobbits all suddenly fall asleep, lulled by the spells of Old Man Willow. Merry and Pippin are trapped inside the evil tree, but are freed by Tom Bombadil.
* VII - In the House of Tom Bombadil - The hobbits are invited to Tom's house and meet his "pretty lady," Goldberry. Tom gives them food and lodging and tells them stories about nature and history. Interestingly, Tom is not affected by the One Ring; it can neither make him invisible, nor hide Frodo from him. Tom tells the hobbits how to safely travel the Barrow-downs without running afoul of the evil wights who haunt them.
* VIII - Fog on the Barrow-downs - Travelling through the Barrow-downs, the hobbits are captured by a Barrow-wight, then rescued (again) by Tom Bombadil. The hobbits are given special weapons from the barrow: enchanted daggers of the Men of Westernesse that were forged to fight Sauron and his minions, including the Witch-king of Angmar.
* IX - At the Sign of the Prancing Pony - The hobbits reach the Inn of the Prancing Pony at Bree, where Frodo uses a false name, Underhill, rather than Baggins. Still, all the hobbits behave in a naïve fashion: after supper, Merry decides to go for a stroll while the other three go to the Common Room for a drink. There Frodo meets Strider, a menacing man who seems to know much about Frodo. Then Pippin, forgetting the need for secrecy, begins a tale of Bilbo. Frodo sings a song in order to stop Pippin from talking too much. In the middle of Frodo's song, he slips and falls, and his finger 'accidentally' slips through the Ring (the Ring may be trying to reveal Frodo), causing Frodo to vanish and starting a bigger commotion among the guests than Pippin's tale would have done. Frodo escapes into a corner, where Strider tells him that several people in the Inn saw what happened. Strider uses this to persuade Frodo to agree to meet with him in Frodo's rooms. Soon after, the innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, also requests a private audience with Frodo.
* X - Strider - Strider, after convincing Frodo he means no harm, pledges to save the hobbits from peril if he can. Butterbur gives Frodo a letter from Gandalf, which Butterbur had failed to deliver to him at the Shire as he was asked to by Gandalf. It tells Frodo that Strider is actually Aragorn, a friend of Gandalf's and confirms that Frodo may trust Strider. Shortly afterwards Merry runs into the room, frightened, having seen people from Bree talking to some Black Riders.
* XI - A Knife in the Dark - In Buckland, Fredegar Bolger flees the house before the Black Riders can enter and rouses Buckland. Some Bree folk, agents of the Black Riders, attack the Inn at night, destroying the room the hobbits were supposed to stay in and scaring away all the horses in Bree, including the hobbit's ponies. The hobbits are forced to buy a scrawny pony from Bill Ferny (a spy for the Riders). Strider decides that their chambers aren't safe and, after setting up decoys, has Butterbur move the hobbits to another room. With Strider, they quickly leave the town, passing through the Midgewater Marshes to reach a famous hill called Weathertop. Disaster follows when the party is attacked by five Black Riders. Frodo, succumbing to the Riders' command, puts on the Ring. He then tries to fight them off but to no avail. The Nazgûl's leader (the Witch-king of Angmar - Frodo now notices that he wears a crown), stabs Frodo with a Morgul-blade, poisoning him. Then the Riders seem to be driven off with fire by Strider. They believe, however, that they have only to wait until Frodo's wound overcomes him.
* XII - Flight to the Ford - Strider attempts to heal Frodo with a plant called athelas which relieves Frodo's pain, but Strider knows that only Elrond, Master of Rivendell, can heal this wound. On the way, the party passes the trolls that were turned to stone in The Hobbit. They get closer to Rivendell with no sign of the Riders. Eventually, they meet the Elf-lord Glorfindel from Rivendell, who has fought the Riders before and, as a High Elf, is feared by them. Glorfindel then accompanies them to the Ford of Rivendell. When they are within sight of the Ford, the Riders close in upon the party. Frodo is forced to flee on Glorfindel's horse. Frodo tries to make a last stand at the River, but is overcome by his wound and the power of the King of the Black Riders. The Riders are almost upon him when the River rises up in a flood caused by Elrond and Gandalf and washes the Black Riders away as Frodo falls unconscious.
Book II
* I - Many Meetings - After awakening from a sleep of four days, Frodo meets Gandalf and Bilbo again, as well as Glóin (one of the dwarves from The Hobbit), Elrond and others.
* II - The Council of Elrond - A council is attended by many emissaries of the Free Peoples; Gandalf tells the story of his escape from Saruman; they decide that the Ring must be destroyed and Frodo offers to take it to Mordor, and Gandalf and several others agree to accompany him. During the meeting Elrond proclaims the formation of the Fellowship of the Ring.
* III - The Ring goes South - The nine members of the Fellowship travel south through Hollin; they try to take the road over the mountain Caradhras but are forced to turn back.
* IV - A Journey in the Dark - They travel to the gates of Moria, where they have to deal with the Watcher in the Water, an aquatic monster in the lake in front of it. Gandalf eventually opens the doors. Throughout their journey in Moria, Frodo hears strange footsteps and spots glowing eyes in the darkness. After passing through the city of Dwarrowdelf, the Fellowship reaches the tomb of Balin.
* V - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm - Attacked by orcs in Balin's tomb, they make their way to the narrow bridge of Khazad-dûm, pursued by orcs and trolls. Before crossing the bridge, they encounter a Balrog. Gandalf holds the Balrog off, and both fall into the abyss, much to the dismay of the company.
* VI - Lothlórien - The company meets the elves of Lórien. The elves reluctantly agree to let Gimli the dwarf pass. Aragorn takes Frodo to the hill of Cerin Amroth.
* VII - The Mirror of Galadriel - The company meets Celeborn and Galadriel. Frodo and Sam are shown the mirror of Galadriel, in which they see several strange visions including the destruction of the Shire and the Eye of Sauron. Galadriel gives encouraging advice to Frodo and Sam.
* VIII - Farewell to Lórien - The elves give the company cloaks, waybread and other gifts; they leave Lórien in boats, travelling down the Great River Anduin.
* IX - The Great River - While travelling, the Fellowship notices Gollum following them along the river on a log; as the group travels, they must come to grips with several choices: they can either cross the east bank of the river and continue on the road towards Mordor, or they can go towards Gondor, and help fight off Mordor's forces. The third choice is the breaking of the Fellowship.
* X - The Breaking of the Fellowship - The company arrives at Parth Galen; they still face the various paths before them. The choice is given to Frodo, who thinks it over alone. Alone, that is until Boromir arrives, and attempts to convince Frodo to go towards Gondor. When that fails, he tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who puts it on to escape him. When Frodo does not arrive back at camp, and Boromir reveals what has happened, other members of the company scatter in an attempt to find the Ringbearer. Frodo and Sam go across the river and head towards Mordor alone. they both take off together in the land of shadows.
Members of the Fellowship of the Ring
See also: List of Middle-earth characters
Member Race
Frodo Baggins Hobbit Heir of Bilbo and Ring-Bearer. He is 50 years old as he leaves on his quest to Rivendell.
Samwise Gamgee (Sam) Hobbit Frodo's gardener, he was a loyal companion throughout the journey.
Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) Hobbit The son of the Master of Buckland, he is cousin to both Pippin and Frodo.
Peregrin Took (Pippin) Hobbit The son of the Thain in Tookland, he is the youngest member of the group and cousin to both Merry and Frodo.
Gandalf the Grey Maia Mysterious Wizard that leads the Fellowship until Moria.
Aragorn (Strider) Man Ranger of the North, who accompanies the hobbits from Bree to Rivendell, and then becomes a member of the Fellowship. His weapon is the sword. It is revealed that he is the Heir of Isildur and of Elendil.
Legolas Elf Elven archer. His weapon is the bow. His father is Thranduil, king of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, and he came to inform the council of the escape of Gollum.
Gimli Dwarf Son of Glóin. His weapon is the axe. He came to Rivendell from the Lonely Mountain with his father about trouble in the east.
Boromir Man Son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor. His weapon is the sword and the shield. He came to Rivendell seeking answers to a strange dream.
In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien mostly refers to the group as the "Company of the Ring", or "the Company" for short, rather than "Fellowship of the Ring" or "Fellowship". This is demonstrated by Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, which lists more page references for "Company..." than "Fellowship..." (and in fact the group appears under the entry "Company of the Ring".) However, since "Fellowship of the Ring" was used as the title of the first volume of the book, it has become the familiar term.
这只戒指拥有无穷的神秘力量，戒指原来是黑暗君王索伦所有的，却意外地到了佛罗多手里。佛罗多决定将戒指摧毁，以免索伦夺回去巩固自己的势力。索伦为了阻止佛罗多，于是派出了手下的怪兽加以追杀，一场正邪大战眼看着一触即发…
本片背景是在神秘的史前时代，由一场正邪战役所引发的长篇故事，这个拯救人类的危险任务落在年轻的哈比族人─佛罗多巴金身上，他从表哥巴伯那里得到了一指无邪的魔幻戒指。
佛罗多发现这只戒指的制造者是黑暗魔君索伦，而索伦正急着要把戒指找回去。因为这只戒指是代表伟大邪恶势力的魔戒，将使索伦统治下的人民得到解放，而他统治的这片土地就是俗称的中土世界（Middle Earth）。
匆忙之下，佛罗多结合了一些救援力量包括了术士、小精灵、侏儒及人类，一起协助他前往中土世界，将戒指丢入魔宫之洞的末日山脉中加以摧毁。
然而，这群义勇之士却遭到索伦手下怪兽群的攻击，这些恐怖邪恶的猎杀军队残忍地追杀佛罗多和他的朋友 。佛罗多等一群人还必须对抗戒指中的邪恶力量，这股力量会让人产生难以抵挡的欲望，考验着每一个接触戒指者的意志力
Title and publication
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a multiple volume with six sections he called "books" along with extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts. It was also the publisher's decision to place the fifth and sixth books and the appendices into one volume under the title The Return of the King, in reference to Aragorn's assumption of the throne of Gondor. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred The War of the Ring as a title, as it gave away less of the story.
Before the decision to publish The Lord of the Rings in three volumes was made, Tolkien had hoped to publish the novel in one volume, or combined with The Silmarillion. At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book I was The First Journey or The Ring Sets Out. Book II was titled The Journey of the Nine Companions or The Ring Goes South. The titles The Ring Sets Out and The Ring Goes South were used in the Millenium edition.
Plot summary
The Prologue is meant primarily to help people who have not read The Hobbit understand the events of that book, along with some other information that the author felt is relevant to set the stage for the novel.
Book I: The Return of the Shadow
The first chapter in the book begins quite lightly, following the tone of The Hobbit. Bilbo is celebrating his 111th (or eleventy-first, as it is called in Hobbiton) birthday on the same day that Frodo Baggins, his heir, is celebrating his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age'). At the birthday party, Bilbo disappears after his speech, to the surprise of all. Bilbo departs from the Shire, the land of the Hobbits, for what he calls a permanent holiday. He leaves his remaining belongings including his home, Bag End and, after some persuasion by the wizard Gandalf, the Ring he had found on his adventures (with which he used to make himself invisible), to Frodo. Gandalf warns Frodo to keep the Ring secret and safe from others, and leaves on his own business.
Over the next seventeen years Gandalf visits Frodo; staying briefly before going off again. Then one spring night Gandalf arrives to alert Frodo to the darker aspects of the Ring which Bilbo had previously only used to make himself invisible: it is the One Ring of Sauron, the Dark Lord. Sauron forged the Ring himself and used it to subdue and rule Middle-earth. In the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron was defeated by the Elven King Gil-galad and Elendil, High King of Gondor and Arnor, though they themselves perished in the deed. The Ring was cut off from Sauron by Isildur, son of Elendil. Sauron was thus overthrown and he fled, and so, for many years, peace returned to Middle-earth. But the Ring itself was not destroyed: Isildur kept the Ring for himself after cutting it from Sauron. However, Isildur was slain in the Battle of the Gladden Fields and the Ring was lost in the Great River, Anduin; whereupon it came into the hands of the creature Gollum, who possessed the Ring for many years. The Ring then passed to Bilbo Baggins, as told in The Hobbit, and so passes into the hands of Frodo. Sauron had now arisen once again, and had returned to his stronghold in the land of Mordor, and was exerting all his power to find the Ring. Gandalf details the evil powers of the Ring, and its ability to influence the bearer and those near him, if it is worn for too long a time. Gandalf warns that the Ring is no longer safe in the Shire because, after some investigation of his own, Gandalf has learned from Gollum himself that Gollum had gone to Mordor, where he was captured and was tortured into revealing to Sauron that a Hobbit named Baggins from the Shire possesses the Ring. Heeding Gandalf's advice, Frodo decides that it is best to remove the Ring from the Shire. Gandalf hopes Frodo can reach the elf-haven of Rivendell, where he believes Frodo and the Ring will be safe from Sauron, at least for a while, and where those of most concern of Middle-Earth can decide the fate of the Ring. Samwise Gamgee, Frodo's gardener, is discovered listening in on the conversation. Out of loyalty to his master, Sam decides to accompany Frodo on his journey.
Over the summer Frodo makes plans to leave his home at Bag End, under the guise that he is moving to a remote region of the Shire to retire. He makes plans to "move" in the Autumn after Bilbo's and his birthday. Helping with the plans are Frodo's friends Peregrin Took (or Pippin for short), Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), Samwise Gamgee (Sam), and Fredegar Bolger (Fatty). However, Frodo does not tell them of his true intentions to leave the Shire, nor does he tell them about the Ring.
At midsummer, Gandalf informs Frodo that he must leave on pressing business, but will return before Frodo leaves. Frodo enjoys his last few weeks at home awaiting the return of Gandalf. But as his birthday and departure approach, Gandalf is not seen or heard from. Regretfully, Frodo decides to leave without Gandalf. Merry and Fatty take the last of Frodo's possessions by cart to his new home in Crickhollow. Frodo, Sam, and Pippin go by foot using the less used roads to travel unnoticed.
On their journey the three hobbits encounter the Black Riders; Ringwraiths or the Nazgûl who serve Sauron. There are nine such Ringwraiths and are "the most terrible servants of the Dark Lord." The hobbits discover that the Nazgûl are looking for Frodo and the Ring. But with help of some Elves and Farmer Maggot they eventually reach Crickhollow on the eastern borders of the Shire. There Merry, Pippin, Sam, and Fatty reveal that they know of Frodo's plan to leave the Shire and of the existence of the Ring. Sam, Merry, and Pippin decide to leave with Frodo, while Fatty stays behind as a decoy.
The Hobbits, in hopes of eluding the Nazgûl, travel through the Old Forest and Barrow-downs, and with the assistance of Tom Bombadil, are able to reach the village of Bree, where they meet Strider, a friend of Gandalf who becomes their guide to Rivendell.
Even with Strider's help, this portion of the journey is not without further hardships. The worst of these occurs when, while at the hill of Weathertop, five of the Nazgûl attack the travellers. Frodo is stabbed by the chief of the Nazgûl (the Witch-king of Angmar), with a cursed blade. The Nazgûl are driven off for a while by Strider. Part of the knife remains inside Frodo, causing him to become increasingly ill as the journey to Rivendell continues. Strider leads the hobbits on old paths avoiding the main road. As the travellers near their destination they meet Glorfindel, a mighty Elf-Lord from Rivendell, who helps them reach the River Bruinen on the border of Rivendell. But the Nazgûl, now at their full strength of nine, spring a trap at the Ford of Bruinen. Glorfindel's horse outruns the pursuers and carries Frodo across the Ford. As the Nazgûl attempt to follow, a giant wave in the shape of charging horses appears bearing down on the Nazgûl. The flood was commanded by Elrond, the mighty Lord of Rivendell, but the shape of galloping horses was an addition of Gandalf. The Nazgûl, trapped between the rushing water and seeing Glorfindel, an Elf-Lord revealed in his wrath, are swept away by the river, as Frodo finally collapses into unconsciousness on the riverbank.
Book II: The Fellowship of the Ring
Book II opens in Rivendell at the house of Elrond. Frodo is healed by Elrond and discovers that Bilbo has been residing in Rivendell. A Council is held by Elrond and is attended by Gandalf and many others, including Frodo and Bilbo. Elrond tells the history of the One Ring of Sauron, and about the War of the Last Alliance, and how the Ring was lost to Middle-Earth for a time after the Battle of the Gladden Fields. Gandalf continues the tale, and narrates how the Ring was found by Gollum. Bilbo and Frodo narrate their own adventures about the finding of the Ring and Frodo's journey to Rivendell. Gandalf also explains why he could not accompany Frodo from the Shire. He had gone to Isengard, where the powerful wizard Saruman dwells, to seek help and counsel. Saruman was head of the White Council and the greatest of the Istari. He had long studied Sauron's arts, and the lore of the One Ring. However, Saruman has turned against them, as Gandalf finds out much to his dismay; Saruman now desires the Ring for himself. Saruman imprisons Gandalf in his tower, Orthanc, rightly suspecting that Gandalf knew where the Ring was. Gandalf, however, does not yield and manages to escape from Orthanc. He learns that Saruman is not yet in Sauron's service, and was mustering his own force of Orcs. Gandalf spreads the tidings that Saruman was now a foe, and heads towards Rivendell, knowing that he could not reach the Shire in time to accompany Frodo. In the Council of Elrond, a plan is hatched to cast the One Ring into the fires of Mount Doom in Mordor, which will destroy the Ring and end Sauron's power once and for all. Frodo is chosen to be the Ring-Bearer, and sets forth from Rivendell with eight companions: two Men, Strider (revealed to be Aragorn, Isildur's heir) and Boromir, son of the Steward of the land of Gondor; the Prince of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, Legolas; Frodo's old friend and powerful wizard, Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf; and Frodo's three Hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers (called the Fellowship of the Ring) were chosen to represent all the free races of Middle-Earth and as a balance to the Nazgûl. They are also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Strider and the Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse. Their attempt to cross the Misty Mountains is foiled by heavy snow, and they are forced to take a path under the mountains, the mines of Moria, an ancient dwarf kingdom, now full of orcs and other evil creatures. During the battle that ensues, Gandalf battles a Balrog of Morgoth, and both fall into an abyss.
The remaining eight members of the Fellowship escape from Moria and head toward the elf-haven of Lothlórien, where they are given gifts from the rulers Celeborn and Galadriel that in many cases prove useful later during the Quest. After leaving Lórien, the Ring's evil and corrupting powers begin to show. When Frodo is alone for a while to decide the future course of the Fellowship, Boromir tries to take the Ring from him. Frodo, to escape from Boromir, ends up putting on the Ring. While the rest of the Fellowship scatter to hunt for Frodo, Frodo decides that the Fellowship has to be parted, for the Ring was too evil and was setting to work within the Fellowship itself. Frodo decides to depart secretly for Mordor, but is joined by Sam and they set off together to Mordor. The Fellowship was broken.
Chapter summaries
Book I
* I - A Long-expected Party - details Bilbo and Frodo's birthday party, ending with Bilbo leaving the Shire. The name is a reference to "An Unexpected Party," the first chapter of The Hobbit.
* II - The Shadow of the Past - Gandalf reveals to Frodo the true nature of the Ring and that it must be taken to Mordor and destroyed. Sam, who has been listening at the window, agrees to accompany Frodo.
* III - Three is Company - Gandalf leaves the Shire for a short trip, but promises to return. Frodo sells Bag End to further the ruse that he is broke and thus retiring to a small house at Crickhollow in the area beyond Bucklebury in Buckland. In reality, Frodo plans to leave the Shire from Buckland without it being noticed. Mysteriously, Gandalf does not return, and so Frodo, Sam and Pippin set out walking through the East Farthing of the Shire towards Buckland and encounter a Black Rider. They also meet Gildor Inglorion an elf, with other elves, who warn them to fear the Black Riders.
* IV - A Short Cut to Mushrooms - The walking party meets Farmer Maggot, a fierce old hobbit from Frodo's childhood. Frodo finds that Maggot actually has a kind nature and also learns that the Black Riders are searching other parts of the Shire for 'Baggins.' Maggot sneaks the party to the Buckland Ferry in his waggon, where they meet up with Merry.
* V - A Conspiracy Unmasked - At Frodo's new house at Crickhollow, Frodo wrestles with how to tell Sam, Merry, Pippin, and Fredegar 'Fatty' Bolger, about his quest, only to learn that they have known much of it all along, All the hobbits except Fredegar decide to leave the next day through the Old Forest, while Fredegar remains behind to act as a decoy and inform Gandalf of Frodo's plans. The Old Forest is rumoured to be a dangerous place, but Frodo wants to avoid the main roads at all costs in order to evade the Black Riders.
* VI - The Old Forest - Although trying to avoid it, the hobbits are 'herded' by the trees to the River Withywindle, the "queerest part of the whole wood." The hobbits all suddenly fall asleep, lulled by the spells of Old Man Willow. Merry and Pippin are trapped inside the evil tree, but are freed by Tom Bombadil.
* VII - In the House of Tom Bombadil - The hobbits are invited to Tom's house and meet his "pretty lady," Goldberry. Tom gives them food and lodging and tells them stories about nature and history. Interestingly, Tom is not affected by the One Ring; it can neither make him invisible, nor hide Frodo from him. Tom tells the hobbits how to safely travel the Barrow-downs without running afoul of the evil wights who haunt them.
* VIII - Fog on the Barrow-downs - Travelling through the Barrow-downs, the hobbits are captured by a Barrow-wight, then rescued (again) by Tom Bombadil. The hobbits are given special weapons from the barrow: enchanted daggers of the Men of Westernesse that were forged to fight Sauron and his minions, including the Witch-king of Angmar.
* IX - At the Sign of the Prancing Pony - The hobbits reach the Inn of the Prancing Pony at Bree, where Frodo uses a false name, Underhill, rather than Baggins. Still, all the hobbits behave in a naïve fashion: after supper, Merry decides to go for a stroll while the other three go to the Common Room for a drink. There Frodo meets Strider, a menacing man who seems to know much about Frodo. Then Pippin, forgetting the need for secrecy, begins a tale of Bilbo. Frodo sings a song in order to stop Pippin from talking too much. In the middle of Frodo's song, he slips and falls, and his finger 'accidentally' slips through the Ring (the Ring may be trying to reveal Frodo), causing Frodo to vanish and starting a bigger commotion among the guests than Pippin's tale would have done. Frodo escapes into a corner, where Strider tells him that several people in the Inn saw what happened. Strider uses this to persuade Frodo to agree to meet with him in Frodo's rooms. Soon after, the innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, also requests a private audience with Frodo.
* X - Strider - Strider, after convincing Frodo he means no harm, pledges to save the hobbits from peril if he can. Butterbur gives Frodo a letter from Gandalf, which Butterbur had failed to deliver to him at the Shire as he was asked to by Gandalf. It tells Frodo that Strider is actually Aragorn, a friend of Gandalf's and confirms that Frodo may trust Strider. Shortly afterwards Merry runs into the room, frightened, having seen people from Bree talking to some Black Riders.
* XI - A Knife in the Dark - In Buckland, Fredegar Bolger flees the house before the Black Riders can enter and rouses Buckland. Some Bree folk, agents of the Black Riders, attack the Inn at night, destroying the room the hobbits were supposed to stay in and scaring away all the horses in Bree, including the hobbit's ponies. The hobbits are forced to buy a scrawny pony from Bill Ferny (a spy for the Riders). Strider decides that their chambers aren't safe and, after setting up decoys, has Butterbur move the hobbits to another room. With Strider, they quickly leave the town, passing through the Midgewater Marshes to reach a famous hill called Weathertop. Disaster follows when the party is attacked by five Black Riders. Frodo, succumbing to the Riders' command, puts on the Ring. He then tries to fight them off but to no avail. The Nazgûl's leader (the Witch-king of Angmar - Frodo now notices that he wears a crown), stabs Frodo with a Morgul-blade, poisoning him. Then the Riders seem to be driven off with fire by Strider. They believe, however, that they have only to wait until Frodo's wound overcomes him.
* XII - Flight to the Ford - Strider attempts to heal Frodo with a plant called athelas which relieves Frodo's pain, but Strider knows that only Elrond, Master of Rivendell, can heal this wound. On the way, the party passes the trolls that were turned to stone in The Hobbit. They get closer to Rivendell with no sign of the Riders. Eventually, they meet the Elf-lord Glorfindel from Rivendell, who has fought the Riders before and, as a High Elf, is feared by them. Glorfindel then accompanies them to the Ford of Rivendell. When they are within sight of the Ford, the Riders close in upon the party. Frodo is forced to flee on Glorfindel's horse. Frodo tries to make a last stand at the River, but is overcome by his wound and the power of the King of the Black Riders. The Riders are almost upon him when the River rises up in a flood caused by Elrond and Gandalf and washes the Black Riders away as Frodo falls unconscious.
Book II
* I - Many Meetings - After awakening from a sleep of four days, Frodo meets Gandalf and Bilbo again, as well as Glóin (one of the dwarves from The Hobbit), Elrond and others.
* II - The Council of Elrond - A council is attended by many emissaries of the Free Peoples; Gandalf tells the story of his escape from Saruman; they decide that the Ring must be destroyed and Frodo offers to take it to Mordor, and Gandalf and several others agree to accompany him. During the meeting Elrond proclaims the formation of the Fellowship of the Ring.
* III - The Ring goes South - The nine members of the Fellowship travel south through Hollin; they try to take the road over the mountain Caradhras but are forced to turn back.
* IV - A Journey in the Dark - They travel to the gates of Moria, where they have to deal with the Watcher in the Water, an aquatic monster in the lake in front of it. Gandalf eventually opens the doors. Throughout their journey in Moria, Frodo hears strange footsteps and spots glowing eyes in the darkness. After passing through the city of Dwarrowdelf, the Fellowship reaches the tomb of Balin.
* V - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm - Attacked by orcs in Balin's tomb, they make their way to the narrow bridge of Khazad-dûm, pursued by orcs and trolls. Before crossing the bridge, they encounter a Balrog. Gandalf holds the Balrog off, and both fall into the abyss, much to the dismay of the company.
* VI - Lothlórien - The company meets the elves of Lórien. The elves reluctantly agree to let Gimli the dwarf pass. Aragorn takes Frodo to the hill of Cerin Amroth.
* VII - The Mirror of Galadriel - The company meets Celeborn and Galadriel. Frodo and Sam are shown the mirror of Galadriel, in which they see several strange visions including the destruction of the Shire and the Eye of Sauron. Galadriel gives encouraging advice to Frodo and Sam.
* VIII - Farewell to Lórien - The elves give the company cloaks, waybread and other gifts; they leave Lórien in boats, travelling down the Great River Anduin.
* IX - The Great River - While travelling, the Fellowship notices Gollum following them along the river on a log; as the group travels, they must come to grips with several choices: they can either cross the east bank of the river and continue on the road towards Mordor, or they can go towards Gondor, and help fight off Mordor's forces. The third choice is the breaking of the Fellowship.
* X - The Breaking of the Fellowship - The company arrives at Parth Galen; they still face the various paths before them. The choice is given to Frodo, who thinks it over alone. Alone, that is until Boromir arrives, and attempts to convince Frodo to go towards Gondor. When that fails, he tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who puts it on to escape him. When Frodo does not arrive back at camp, and Boromir reveals what has happened, other members of the company scatter in an attempt to find the Ringbearer. Frodo and Sam go across the river and head towards Mordor alone. they both take off together in the land of shadows.
Members of the Fellowship of the Ring
See also: List of Middle-earth characters
Member Race
Frodo Baggins Hobbit Heir of Bilbo and Ring-Bearer. He is 50 years old as he leaves on his quest to Rivendell.
Samwise Gamgee (Sam) Hobbit Frodo's gardener, he was a loyal companion throughout the journey.
Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) Hobbit The son of the Master of Buckland, he is cousin to both Pippin and Frodo.
Peregrin Took (Pippin) Hobbit The son of the Thain in Tookland, he is the youngest member of the group and cousin to both Merry and Frodo.
Gandalf the Grey Maia Mysterious Wizard that leads the Fellowship until Moria.
Aragorn (Strider) Man Ranger of the North, who accompanies the hobbits from Bree to Rivendell, and then becomes a member of the Fellowship. His weapon is the sword. It is revealed that he is the Heir of Isildur and of Elendil.
Legolas Elf Elven archer. His weapon is the bow. His father is Thranduil, king of the Silvan Elves of Mirkwood, and he came to inform the council of the escape of Gollum.
Gimli Dwarf Son of Glóin. His weapon is the axe. He came to Rivendell from the Lonely Mountain with his father about trouble in the east.
Boromir Man Son of Denethor, Steward of Gondor. His weapon is the sword and the shield. He came to Rivendell seeking answers to a strange dream.
In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien mostly refers to the group as the "Company of the Ring", or "the Company" for short, rather than "Fellowship of the Ring" or "Fellowship". This is demonstrated by Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, which lists more page references for "Company..." than "Fellowship..." (and in fact the group appears under the entry "Company of the Ring".) However, since "Fellowship of the Ring" was used as the title of the first volume of the book, it has become the familiar term.
讲述护戒联盟中的哈比人梅利与皮平被奥克斯掳走，护戒使者们不得不分头行事：弗拉多与好友山姆继续向索隆领地莫都(Modor)进发，途中他们制服了也在疯狂寻找魔戒的怪物古鲁姆(Gollum)，魔戒曾经为他带来了长寿与隐身之道直到弗拉多的前辈毕尔博拿走了这枚戒指。由于通向莫都的路途十分艰险，而末日山就在莫都的北面，所以弗拉多与山姆不得不依靠古鲁姆的帮助。除了要时刻提防心怀鬼胎的古鲁姆，以及强大的魔戒幽灵，弗拉多还要抵御魔戒对其心灵愈来愈强的侵蚀，可谓生死一线，险情迭出……
另一面护戒使者阿拉贡、莱格拉斯与吉穆利则与成功逃离奥克斯营地的梅利与皮平会合，并加入人类族群罗翰国 (Rohan)的队伍准备对邪恶的白衣术士萨茹曼的领地伊森加德发动进攻。而此时黑魁首索隆也策动其奥克斯部队向罗翰的首都埃多拉斯进发，精灵族与人类的联盟将遭到黑魔法兽兵强大战斗力与萨茹曼邪恶魔法的双重挑战！紧要关头甘多夫再度现身，更从灰衣法师升至法力无边的白衣法师，双方一场恶战在所难免！
Title
The Lord of the Rings is composed of 6 "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and 6 appendices. The novel was originally published as 3 separate volumes due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The Two Towers covers Books III and IV.
Tolkien wrote, "The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books 3 & 4; and can be left ambiguous." At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book III was The Treason of Isengard. Book IV was titled The Journey of the Ringbearers or The Ring Goes East. The titles The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East were used in the Millennium edition.
A note at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and Tolkien's final illustration of the towers gives the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. However, in a letter to Rayner Unwin, Tolkien instead gives Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but felt such an identification was misleading due to the opposition between Barad-dûr and Minas Tirith. Loosely, any pair from the set of five towers in the story could fit the title: the tower of Cirith Ungol (Cirith Ungol being a pass), Orthanc, Minas Tirith, Barad-dûr and Minas Morgul.
However ambiguous the title may be in the book, director Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Two Towers designates the title as referring to the towers of Barad-dûr in Mordor and Orthanc in Isengard. In dialogue written for the film, the wizard Saruman says:
"The World is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman ... and the union of the two towers? Together, my Lord Sauron ... we shall rule this Middle-earth."
In different teaser trailers for the film, voice-over narration by Gandalf and Galadriel directly states the towers as Barad-dûr and Orthanc.
Structure
Because The Two Towers is the central portion of a longer work, its structure differs from that of a conventional novel. It begins and ends abruptly, without introduction to the characters, explanations of major plot elements, or a strict conclusion. This is characteristic of the technical classification novel sequence, not a book series — though it and the other two volumes are not individual novels themselves. The first section follows the divergent paths of several important figures from The Fellowship of the Ring, but tells nothing of its central character, on whose fate so much depends, enabling the reader to share in the suspense and uncertainty of the characters. The narrative of the second part returns to Frodo's quest to destroy the evil that threatens the world.
Plot summary
Book III: The Treason of Isengard
As Aragorn searches for Frodo, he suddenly hears Boromir's horn. He finds Boromir mortally wounded by arrows, his assailants gone. Before Boromir dies he reveals that Merry and Pippin had been captured by Orcs in spite of his efforts to defend them, and that Frodo had vanished after Boromir had tried to take the Ring from him and that he truly regretted attempting to take the Ring from Frodo. In his last moments, he charges Aragorn to defend Minas Tirith from Sauron. With Legolas and Gimli, who had been fighting Orcs themselves, Aragorn pays his last respects to the fallen hero and sends him down the Great River Anduin on a funeral boat, the usual methods of burial being impracticable. The three then resolve to follow the Uruk-hai captors. Meanwhile, after some hardship, the hobbits escape when the Uruk-hai are attacked by the horsemen of Rohan, called the Rohirrim or "Riders of Rohan".
Merry and Pippin escape into the nearby Fangorn Forest, where they encounter the giant treelike Ents. The Ents resembled actual trees, except they could see, talk, and move. These guardians of the forest generally kept to themselves, but after a long contemplation on whether or not the Hobbits were friends, or foes, their leader Treebeard persuades the Ent council to oppose the menace posed to the forest by the wizard Saruman, as suggested by Merry and Pippin, as Treebeard realizes that Saruman's minions have been cutting down large numbers of their trees to fuel the furnaces needed for Saruman's arming of his dark army.
Aragorn, Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf come across the Riders of Rohan led by Éomer, nephew of King Théoden. The trio learn that the horsemen had attacked a band of Orcs the previous night, and that they had left no survivors. However, Aragorn is able to track a small set of prints that lead into Fangorn, where they meet a wizard in white robes. They shortly afterward meet Gandalf, (they at first take him to be Saruman) whom they believed had perished in the mines of Moria. He tells them of his fall into the abyss, his battle to the death with the Balrog and his resurrection and his enhanced power. The four ride to Rohan's capital Edoras, where Gandalf rouses King Théoden from inaction against the threat Saruman poses. In the process, Saruman's spy in Rohan (and King Théoden's trusted advisor) Gríma Wormtongue, is expelled from Rohan. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas then travel with Théoden's troops to the fortress of Hornburg, in the valley of Helm's Deep. Gandalf rides away before the battle begins, though he gives no reason for doing so. At the Hornburg, the army of Rohan led by King Théoden and Aragorn resist a full-scale onslaught by the hosts of Saruman. Yet, things begin to go ill with Rohan, until Gandalf arrives with the remains of the army of Westfold that Saruman's forces had previously routed. The tide now turns in Rohan's favour, and Saruman's orcs flee into a forest of Huorns, creatures similar to Ents, and none escape alive. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, along with King Théoden and Éomer, head to Saruman's stronghold of Isengard.
Here, they reunite with Merry and Pippin and find Isengard overrun by Ents, who had flooded it by breaking a nearby dam of the river Isen, and the central tower of Orthanc besieged, with Saruman and Wormtongue trapped inside. After giving Saruman a chance to repent, who refuses, Gandalf casts him out of the Order of Wizards and the White Council. Gríma throws something from a window at Gandalf but misses, and it is picked up by Pippin. This object turns out to be one of the palantíri (seeing-stones). Pippin, unable to resist the urge, looks into it and encounters the Eye of Sauron, but emerges unscathed from the ordeal. Gandalf and Pippin then head for Minas Tirith in Gondor in preparation for the imminent war against Mordor, while Théoden and Aragorn remain behind to begin the muster of Rohan, to ride to the aid of Gondor.
Book IV: The Journey to Mordor
Frodo and Sam discover and capture Gollum, who has been stalking them in their quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, for Gollum hopes to reclaim the Ring for himself. Sam loathes and distrusts him, but Frodo pities the poor creature. Gollum promises to lead the pair to the Black Gate of Mordor and for a time appears to be a true ally. He leads them through a hidden passage of the Dead Marshes in order to avoid being spied by Orcs. Frodo and Sam learn that the Dead Marshes were once part of an ancient battlefield, upon which the War of the Last Alliance was fought. Upon reaching the Black Gate, Gollum persuades the hobbits not to enter, where they would have been surely caught. He tells them of a secret entrance to Mordor. Thus, they head south into Gondor's province of Ithilien and are accosted by a group of Gondorian rangers led by Faramir, the brother of Boromir. Frodo learns from Faramir of Boromir's death and Sam accidentally reveals to Faramir that Frodo carries the One Ring. As a result of this Frodo reveals the plan to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Later that night Gollum is captured diving into the sacred pool, the penalty for which is death. Frodo negotiates Gollum's freedom with Faramir. The following morning Faramir allows them to go on their way, but warns them that Gollum may know more about the secret entrance (Cirith Ungol) than he has been telling them.
Gollum leads them past the city of Minas Morgul and up a long, steep staircase of the Tower of Cirith Ungol into the lair of an enormous spider named Shelob. Gollum hopes to get the Ring from Frodo's bones after Shelob is done with him. The hobbits escape Shelob in her lair and mistakenly assume that they are safe. However, Shelob sneaks up on Frodo. Sam attempts to warn Frodo but is attacked by Gollum. Shelob stings Frodo in the back of the neck and he collapses to the ground.
Sam fends off Gollum and Gollum runs off back towards Shelob's cave. Sam then drives off Shelob. After seeing Frodo lifeless and pale, Sam assumes that Frodo is dead and debates chasing Gollum and abandoning the Quest in favour of vengeance. Sam resolves to finish the Quest himself and takes the Ring. But when Orcs take Frodo's body, Sam follows them and learns that Frodo is not dead, but only unconscious, and is now a prisoner. The book ends with the line, "Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy."
Chapter Summaries
Book III
* I - The Departure of Boromir - Aragorn finds Boromir wounded by many arrows. Boromir tells him that orcs took the Hobbits, and they were still alive. Boromir does not tell Aragorn which Hobbits were taken. He also reveals how he had attempted to seize the Ring from Frodo, and expresses his remorse at his actions. Boromir dies, and his body is sent down the river on a funeral boat by the three remaining members of the Company - Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli - who decide to follow the orcs.
* II - The Riders of Rohan - Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the Orcs for three days, eventually crossing into Rohan. On the fourth day of their chase, they instead encounter Éomer, who informs them that his company destroyed the Orcs the previous night, but had not spotted any hobbits. Éomer and Aragorn become friends, and he agrees to lend horses to the hunters to aid their search. Aragorn can find no signs on the edge of Fangorn, and in the middle night, the horses run off after a mysterious old man approaches the hunters' camp.
* III - The Uruk-hai - This chapter begins further back in time, telling the story of Merry and Pippin being captured by the orcs. As they flee west towards Isengard, the orcs are constantly arguing, for they serve different masters. The orcs camp near Fangorn, and Grishnákh, an Orc of Mordor, attempts to take the hobbits away with him, believing them to have the Ring. The hobbits escape as Grishnákh is killed by an arrow, and Éomer's company attacks the Orc-party.
* IV - Treebeard - Entering into Fangorn Forest, the hobbits meet Treebeard, leader of the Ents. The old Ent, initially labeling them as Orcs, eventually takes a liking to them, and leads them to his home, while discussing the history of the Ents and the treason of Isengard with the hobbits. Treebeard calls the Ents of Fangorn together at Entmoot, where they debate what should be done about Saruman. Merry and Pippin spend this time with another Ent, Quickbeam. Eventually, the Ents decide to attack Isengard, which lies just to the west.
* V - The White Rider - The chapter goes back to the story of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who discover signs that the hobbits escaped the orcs into the forest. In the forest, they encounter an old man whom they presume to be Saruman. Only after attempting to fight him do they realize it is Gandalf, returned from death. Gandalf sizes up the current situation and the impending war (and also gives an account on his epic battle against the Balrog) before leading the companions to their horses, and heading south to Edoras, capital city of Rohan
* VI - The King of the Golden Hall - Arriving at Edoras, Gandalf and his companions find Gríma Wormtongue controlling the city in the name of King Théoden. Gandalf exposes Wormtongue as Saruman's spy, and cures the King of his depression and idleness brought on by Gríma's poisoned words. Éomer is released from his imprisonment, and Wormtongue flees the city. Gandalf persuades Théoden to fight against Saruman, and the King rides west with Éomer, Gandalf, the three hunters, and one thousand Rohirrim. He leaves his niece and Éomer's sister, Éowyn, to lead his people.
* VII - Helm's Deep - Riding west, the army encounters a messenger warning them of an impending attack by Saruman's massive army of Uruk-hai and Wild Men. Gandalf urges the King to fight at the Hornburg in Helm's Deep, an ancient, almost impregnable fortress. He leaves to arrange for help. Aragorn and Éomer lead Rohan's outnumbered forces in the fierce Battle of the Hornburg. After having to abandon the outer wall, Aragorn and Théoden lead a cavalry charge at dawn into the Orcs. Taken by surprise, the Orcs are driven back right into approaching reinforcements led by Gandalf, and a waiting forest of trees from Fangorn. Saruman's army is defeated.
* VIII - The Road to Isengard - Gandalf leads Théoden and the companions to Isengard. Upon their arrival, they see that the Ents have destroyed Saruman's machinery and factories. Merry and Pippin guard the ruined gate, and introduce themselves to Théoden.
* IX - Flotsam and Jetsam - Merry and Pippin tell Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, the story of their adventures with both the Orcs and Ents. They recount how the Ents attacked Isengard, killing many Orcs and destroying Saruman's war-machines. The Ents then flooded the Ring of Isengard, drowning Saruman's underground smithies and barracks. The hobbits happily reveal that they found their favorite pipe-weed from the Shire in one of Saruman's store-rooms.
* X - The Voice of Saruman - Gandalf leads Théoden, Éomer, and the other Fellowship members to a parley with Saruman at the tower of Orthanc in the midst of Isengard. Saruman, while defeated in battle, is still able to use his voice to gain power over others. He nearly convinces the King to make peace with him. Gandalf and Théoden, however, see through Saruman's lies. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to repent and aid the forces of good in the war to come. When Saruman rejects the offer, Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and casts him from the White Council. As they leave, Wormtongue, who had returned to Saruman, throws Saruman's Palantír down at the company. Pippin picks it up before Gandalf takes it from him. Gandalf entrusts control of Isengard (and Saruman) to Treebeard and the Ents before the company leaves.
* XI - The Palantír - At the camp south of Isengard, Pippin takes the Palantír from Gandalf as he sleeps, and looks into it. He encounters the Eye of Sauron and sees Sauron's plans to attack Gondor's capital city of Minas Tirith. He escapes unscathed, and Gandalf takes the stone back before giving it to Aragorn for safekeeping. A winged Nazgûl flies over the camp, and Gandalf realizes the war is arriving. He rides of with Pippin to Minas Tirith, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Théoden, Éomer, and the Rohirrim ride back towards Helm's Deep. On the way to Gondor, Gandalf explains the Palantír to Pippin, revealing that it is the one of the last surviving Seeing-Stones which Elendil brough from Númenor.
Book IV
* I - The Taming of Sméagol - Frodo and Sam become lost in the Emyn Muil and eventually encounter the creature Gollum, who had been tracking them, desiring the Ring. After capturing him, Frodo makes Gollum lead them to Mordor in exchange for Sam untying him. Gollum agrees to this plan, swearing "on the Precious".
* II - The Passage of the Marshes - Gollum shows Frodo and Sam a secret way through the Dead Marshes in order to escape being noticed by Orcs. In the Marshes, Frodo and Sam discover more about their new guide. They also narrowly escape detection by a winged Nazgûl.
* III - The Black Gate is Closed - Arriving at the Black Gate of Mordor, Frodo and Sam see it is impenetrable. While hiding within sight of the Towers of the Teeth, Gollum persuades the hobbits to take a "secret way" into Mordor he knows of further to the south. Seeing that he has no chance to enter Mordor via the Black Gate, Frodo agrees to the southward route.
* IV - Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit - Frodo, Sam, and Gollum enter Ithilien, a pleasant land once belonging to Gondor. Making camp, Sam coaxes Gollum into procuring some rabbits for a meal. The smoke from Sam's fire catches the eye of Gondorian Rangers, led by Boromir's younger brother Faramir. Frodo and Sam watch while the Rangers engage a host of Haradrim, who are bringing a Mûmakil to Mordor. Meanwhile, Gollum runs off.
* V - The Window on the West - After the Rangers defeat the Haradrim, Frodo and Sam are taken by Faramir to the secret outpost of Henneth Annûn. There, Faramir questions Frodo about the circumstances of Boromir's death. When Sam accidentally reveals that Frodo carries the Ring, and that Boromir had attempted to seize it, Faramir reveals that he would not use the Ring or try to take it; he sees the evil it can do.
* VI - The Forbidden Pool - In the middle of the night, Faramir shows Frodo that his men have found Gollum in Henneth Annûn's forbidden pool. Frodo convinces Faramir not to shoot Gollum. Faramir questions the wretch over where he is leading Frodo. When Gollum reveals he intends to take the hobbits past Minas Morgul, Faramir grows alarmed and urges Frodo to not use that way. He warns of evil in the pass above the city.
* VII - Journey to the Cross-roads - Faramir sends Frodo and Sam off with provisions and directions to Morgul-vale. He also allows Gollum to leave, but denounces him as evil and untrustworthy. Gollum brings the hobbits to the road between Osgiliath and Minas Morgul, and leads them east towards the Mountains of Shadow. At the Cross-roads, where the Harad Road meets the Osgiliath Road, the hobbits encounter an old, headless statue of a Gondorian king. When Frodo sees the head lying nearby, he perceives that "The king has got a crown again". At this same time, darkness from Mordor covers the Sun.
* VIII - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol - Approaching the evil city of Minas Morgul, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum witness a great host of Sauron leaving the city to make war on Gondor. They are led by the Witch-king of Angmar. Climbing the stairs towards Gollum's secret pass, Gollum runs off for a short time. Sam suspects he may be alerting Orcs to their presence.
* IX - Shelob's Lair - Gollum returns and leads the hobbits into a dark tunnel, which is really the lair of Shelob the spider. Encountering the monsterous arachnid, Frodo and Sam realize Gollum has fled, leaving them to die. Making use of the Phial of Galadriel and his sword Sting, Frodo is able to drive Shelob back for a short time. However, as the hobbits escape the lair, Gollum subdues Sam while Shelob reappears and attacks Frodo.
* X - The Choices of Master Samwise - Sam overcomes Gollum and sends him fleeing in terror. Seeing that Shelob has attacked Frodo, Sam battles her fiercely, eventually wounding her with Sting and blinding her with the Phial. Sam sees that Shelob has stung Frodo, who lies seemingly dead in the pass. With Gollum's betrayal complete, Sam resolves to take the Ring and continue the Quest on his own, leaving his master's body. Shortly after taking the Ring, a company of Orcs from the nearby Tower of Cirith Ungol arrives and meets a company from Minas Morgul. They take Frodo's body back to the Tower. Sam, pursuing them, overhears the two commanders say that Shelob has not killed Frodo, but rendered him unconcious for several hours. The Orcs reach the Tower, but Sam cannot catch up to them in time. He is left out in a secret passageway, unable to enter as the novel ends.
Adaptations
Some of the events of The Two Towers along with The Fellowship of Ring were depicted in the 1978 film of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, directed by Ralph Bakshi.
In 1999, The Lifeline Theatre in Chicago presented the world premiere of The Two Towers, adapted for the stage by James Sie and Karen Tarjan, directed by Ned Mochel.
In 2002 the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson, was released. Both The Two Towers and the succeeding film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King abandoned the parallel storytelling of the volume in favour of a more chronological presentation. The first chapter from the volume actually appears at the end of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Later events of The Two Towers involving Frodo and Sam were filmed for Jackson's The Return of the King. Other significant changes were made in the plot line, partially to give each of the characters a story arc in which they could develop and change. Although all three of Jackson's films differ from their source material, "The Two Towers" arguably contains the most major alterations. There was initial concern over using the title "The Two Towers" due to the real-life association with the World Trade Center and the terrorist attacks the previous year. The WTC was also commonly called The Twin Towers and due to that similarity, the filmmakers were reportedly considering alternate titles. It was decided, eventually, to retain the original title.
Various games also adapt The Two Towers, including online role-playing games like The Two Towers Mud and graphically-oriented console games.
另一面护戒使者阿拉贡、莱格拉斯与吉穆利则与成功逃离奥克斯营地的梅利与皮平会合，并加入人类族群罗翰国 (Rohan)的队伍准备对邪恶的白衣术士萨茹曼的领地伊森加德发动进攻。而此时黑魁首索隆也策动其奥克斯部队向罗翰的首都埃多拉斯进发，精灵族与人类的联盟将遭到黑魔法兽兵强大战斗力与萨茹曼邪恶魔法的双重挑战！紧要关头甘多夫再度现身，更从灰衣法师升至法力无边的白衣法师，双方一场恶战在所难免！
Title
The Lord of the Rings is composed of 6 "books", aside from an introduction, a prologue and 6 appendices. The novel was originally published as 3 separate volumes due to post-World War II paper shortages and size and price considerations. The Two Towers covers Books III and IV.
Tolkien wrote, "The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent Books 3 & 4; and can be left ambiguous." At this stage he planned to title the individual books. The proposed title for Book III was The Treason of Isengard. Book IV was titled The Journey of the Ringbearers or The Ring Goes East. The titles The Treason of Isengard and The Ring Goes East were used in the Millennium edition.
A note at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring and Tolkien's final illustration of the towers gives the pair as Minas Morgul and Orthanc. However, in a letter to Rayner Unwin, Tolkien instead gives Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol, but felt such an identification was misleading due to the opposition between Barad-dûr and Minas Tirith. Loosely, any pair from the set of five towers in the story could fit the title: the tower of Cirith Ungol (Cirith Ungol being a pass), Orthanc, Minas Tirith, Barad-dûr and Minas Morgul.
However ambiguous the title may be in the book, director Peter Jackson's adaptation of The Two Towers designates the title as referring to the towers of Barad-dûr in Mordor and Orthanc in Isengard. In dialogue written for the film, the wizard Saruman says:
"The World is changing. Who now has the strength to stand against the armies of Isengard and Mordor? To stand against the might of Sauron and Saruman ... and the union of the two towers? Together, my Lord Sauron ... we shall rule this Middle-earth."
In different teaser trailers for the film, voice-over narration by Gandalf and Galadriel directly states the towers as Barad-dûr and Orthanc.
Structure
Because The Two Towers is the central portion of a longer work, its structure differs from that of a conventional novel. It begins and ends abruptly, without introduction to the characters, explanations of major plot elements, or a strict conclusion. This is characteristic of the technical classification novel sequence, not a book series — though it and the other two volumes are not individual novels themselves. The first section follows the divergent paths of several important figures from The Fellowship of the Ring, but tells nothing of its central character, on whose fate so much depends, enabling the reader to share in the suspense and uncertainty of the characters. The narrative of the second part returns to Frodo's quest to destroy the evil that threatens the world.
Plot summary
Book III: The Treason of Isengard
As Aragorn searches for Frodo, he suddenly hears Boromir's horn. He finds Boromir mortally wounded by arrows, his assailants gone. Before Boromir dies he reveals that Merry and Pippin had been captured by Orcs in spite of his efforts to defend them, and that Frodo had vanished after Boromir had tried to take the Ring from him and that he truly regretted attempting to take the Ring from Frodo. In his last moments, he charges Aragorn to defend Minas Tirith from Sauron. With Legolas and Gimli, who had been fighting Orcs themselves, Aragorn pays his last respects to the fallen hero and sends him down the Great River Anduin on a funeral boat, the usual methods of burial being impracticable. The three then resolve to follow the Uruk-hai captors. Meanwhile, after some hardship, the hobbits escape when the Uruk-hai are attacked by the horsemen of Rohan, called the Rohirrim or "Riders of Rohan".
Merry and Pippin escape into the nearby Fangorn Forest, where they encounter the giant treelike Ents. The Ents resembled actual trees, except they could see, talk, and move. These guardians of the forest generally kept to themselves, but after a long contemplation on whether or not the Hobbits were friends, or foes, their leader Treebeard persuades the Ent council to oppose the menace posed to the forest by the wizard Saruman, as suggested by Merry and Pippin, as Treebeard realizes that Saruman's minions have been cutting down large numbers of their trees to fuel the furnaces needed for Saruman's arming of his dark army.
Aragorn, Gimli the Dwarf and Legolas the Elf come across the Riders of Rohan led by Éomer, nephew of King Théoden. The trio learn that the horsemen had attacked a band of Orcs the previous night, and that they had left no survivors. However, Aragorn is able to track a small set of prints that lead into Fangorn, where they meet a wizard in white robes. They shortly afterward meet Gandalf, (they at first take him to be Saruman) whom they believed had perished in the mines of Moria. He tells them of his fall into the abyss, his battle to the death with the Balrog and his resurrection and his enhanced power. The four ride to Rohan's capital Edoras, where Gandalf rouses King Théoden from inaction against the threat Saruman poses. In the process, Saruman's spy in Rohan (and King Théoden's trusted advisor) Gríma Wormtongue, is expelled from Rohan. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas then travel with Théoden's troops to the fortress of Hornburg, in the valley of Helm's Deep. Gandalf rides away before the battle begins, though he gives no reason for doing so. At the Hornburg, the army of Rohan led by King Théoden and Aragorn resist a full-scale onslaught by the hosts of Saruman. Yet, things begin to go ill with Rohan, until Gandalf arrives with the remains of the army of Westfold that Saruman's forces had previously routed. The tide now turns in Rohan's favour, and Saruman's orcs flee into a forest of Huorns, creatures similar to Ents, and none escape alive. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, along with King Théoden and Éomer, head to Saruman's stronghold of Isengard.
Here, they reunite with Merry and Pippin and find Isengard overrun by Ents, who had flooded it by breaking a nearby dam of the river Isen, and the central tower of Orthanc besieged, with Saruman and Wormtongue trapped inside. After giving Saruman a chance to repent, who refuses, Gandalf casts him out of the Order of Wizards and the White Council. Gríma throws something from a window at Gandalf but misses, and it is picked up by Pippin. This object turns out to be one of the palantíri (seeing-stones). Pippin, unable to resist the urge, looks into it and encounters the Eye of Sauron, but emerges unscathed from the ordeal. Gandalf and Pippin then head for Minas Tirith in Gondor in preparation for the imminent war against Mordor, while Théoden and Aragorn remain behind to begin the muster of Rohan, to ride to the aid of Gondor.
Book IV: The Journey to Mordor
Frodo and Sam discover and capture Gollum, who has been stalking them in their quest to reach Mount Doom and destroy the One Ring, for Gollum hopes to reclaim the Ring for himself. Sam loathes and distrusts him, but Frodo pities the poor creature. Gollum promises to lead the pair to the Black Gate of Mordor and for a time appears to be a true ally. He leads them through a hidden passage of the Dead Marshes in order to avoid being spied by Orcs. Frodo and Sam learn that the Dead Marshes were once part of an ancient battlefield, upon which the War of the Last Alliance was fought. Upon reaching the Black Gate, Gollum persuades the hobbits not to enter, where they would have been surely caught. He tells them of a secret entrance to Mordor. Thus, they head south into Gondor's province of Ithilien and are accosted by a group of Gondorian rangers led by Faramir, the brother of Boromir. Frodo learns from Faramir of Boromir's death and Sam accidentally reveals to Faramir that Frodo carries the One Ring. As a result of this Frodo reveals the plan to destroy the Ring in the fires of Mount Doom. Later that night Gollum is captured diving into the sacred pool, the penalty for which is death. Frodo negotiates Gollum's freedom with Faramir. The following morning Faramir allows them to go on their way, but warns them that Gollum may know more about the secret entrance (Cirith Ungol) than he has been telling them.
Gollum leads them past the city of Minas Morgul and up a long, steep staircase of the Tower of Cirith Ungol into the lair of an enormous spider named Shelob. Gollum hopes to get the Ring from Frodo's bones after Shelob is done with him. The hobbits escape Shelob in her lair and mistakenly assume that they are safe. However, Shelob sneaks up on Frodo. Sam attempts to warn Frodo but is attacked by Gollum. Shelob stings Frodo in the back of the neck and he collapses to the ground.
Sam fends off Gollum and Gollum runs off back towards Shelob's cave. Sam then drives off Shelob. After seeing Frodo lifeless and pale, Sam assumes that Frodo is dead and debates chasing Gollum and abandoning the Quest in favour of vengeance. Sam resolves to finish the Quest himself and takes the Ring. But when Orcs take Frodo's body, Sam follows them and learns that Frodo is not dead, but only unconscious, and is now a prisoner. The book ends with the line, "Frodo was alive but taken by the Enemy."
Chapter Summaries
Book III
* I - The Departure of Boromir - Aragorn finds Boromir wounded by many arrows. Boromir tells him that orcs took the Hobbits, and they were still alive. Boromir does not tell Aragorn which Hobbits were taken. He also reveals how he had attempted to seize the Ring from Frodo, and expresses his remorse at his actions. Boromir dies, and his body is sent down the river on a funeral boat by the three remaining members of the Company - Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli - who decide to follow the orcs.
* II - The Riders of Rohan - Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli pursue the Orcs for three days, eventually crossing into Rohan. On the fourth day of their chase, they instead encounter Éomer, who informs them that his company destroyed the Orcs the previous night, but had not spotted any hobbits. Éomer and Aragorn become friends, and he agrees to lend horses to the hunters to aid their search. Aragorn can find no signs on the edge of Fangorn, and in the middle night, the horses run off after a mysterious old man approaches the hunters' camp.
* III - The Uruk-hai - This chapter begins further back in time, telling the story of Merry and Pippin being captured by the orcs. As they flee west towards Isengard, the orcs are constantly arguing, for they serve different masters. The orcs camp near Fangorn, and Grishnákh, an Orc of Mordor, attempts to take the hobbits away with him, believing them to have the Ring. The hobbits escape as Grishnákh is killed by an arrow, and Éomer's company attacks the Orc-party.
* IV - Treebeard - Entering into Fangorn Forest, the hobbits meet Treebeard, leader of the Ents. The old Ent, initially labeling them as Orcs, eventually takes a liking to them, and leads them to his home, while discussing the history of the Ents and the treason of Isengard with the hobbits. Treebeard calls the Ents of Fangorn together at Entmoot, where they debate what should be done about Saruman. Merry and Pippin spend this time with another Ent, Quickbeam. Eventually, the Ents decide to attack Isengard, which lies just to the west.
* V - The White Rider - The chapter goes back to the story of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, who discover signs that the hobbits escaped the orcs into the forest. In the forest, they encounter an old man whom they presume to be Saruman. Only after attempting to fight him do they realize it is Gandalf, returned from death. Gandalf sizes up the current situation and the impending war (and also gives an account on his epic battle against the Balrog) before leading the companions to their horses, and heading south to Edoras, capital city of Rohan
* VI - The King of the Golden Hall - Arriving at Edoras, Gandalf and his companions find Gríma Wormtongue controlling the city in the name of King Théoden. Gandalf exposes Wormtongue as Saruman's spy, and cures the King of his depression and idleness brought on by Gríma's poisoned words. Éomer is released from his imprisonment, and Wormtongue flees the city. Gandalf persuades Théoden to fight against Saruman, and the King rides west with Éomer, Gandalf, the three hunters, and one thousand Rohirrim. He leaves his niece and Éomer's sister, Éowyn, to lead his people.
* VII - Helm's Deep - Riding west, the army encounters a messenger warning them of an impending attack by Saruman's massive army of Uruk-hai and Wild Men. Gandalf urges the King to fight at the Hornburg in Helm's Deep, an ancient, almost impregnable fortress. He leaves to arrange for help. Aragorn and Éomer lead Rohan's outnumbered forces in the fierce Battle of the Hornburg. After having to abandon the outer wall, Aragorn and Théoden lead a cavalry charge at dawn into the Orcs. Taken by surprise, the Orcs are driven back right into approaching reinforcements led by Gandalf, and a waiting forest of trees from Fangorn. Saruman's army is defeated.
* VIII - The Road to Isengard - Gandalf leads Théoden and the companions to Isengard. Upon their arrival, they see that the Ents have destroyed Saruman's machinery and factories. Merry and Pippin guard the ruined gate, and introduce themselves to Théoden.
* IX - Flotsam and Jetsam - Merry and Pippin tell Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, the story of their adventures with both the Orcs and Ents. They recount how the Ents attacked Isengard, killing many Orcs and destroying Saruman's war-machines. The Ents then flooded the Ring of Isengard, drowning Saruman's underground smithies and barracks. The hobbits happily reveal that they found their favorite pipe-weed from the Shire in one of Saruman's store-rooms.
* X - The Voice of Saruman - Gandalf leads Théoden, Éomer, and the other Fellowship members to a parley with Saruman at the tower of Orthanc in the midst of Isengard. Saruman, while defeated in battle, is still able to use his voice to gain power over others. He nearly convinces the King to make peace with him. Gandalf and Théoden, however, see through Saruman's lies. Gandalf offers Saruman a chance to repent and aid the forces of good in the war to come. When Saruman rejects the offer, Gandalf breaks Saruman's staff and casts him from the White Council. As they leave, Wormtongue, who had returned to Saruman, throws Saruman's Palantír down at the company. Pippin picks it up before Gandalf takes it from him. Gandalf entrusts control of Isengard (and Saruman) to Treebeard and the Ents before the company leaves.
* XI - The Palantír - At the camp south of Isengard, Pippin takes the Palantír from Gandalf as he sleeps, and looks into it. He encounters the Eye of Sauron and sees Sauron's plans to attack Gondor's capital city of Minas Tirith. He escapes unscathed, and Gandalf takes the stone back before giving it to Aragorn for safekeeping. A winged Nazgûl flies over the camp, and Gandalf realizes the war is arriving. He rides of with Pippin to Minas Tirith, while Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Merry, Théoden, Éomer, and the Rohirrim ride back towards Helm's Deep. On the way to Gondor, Gandalf explains the Palantír to Pippin, revealing that it is the one of the last surviving Seeing-Stones which Elendil brough from Númenor.
Book IV
* I - The Taming of Sméagol - Frodo and Sam become lost in the Emyn Muil and eventually encounter the creature Gollum, who had been tracking them, desiring the Ring. After capturing him, Frodo makes Gollum lead them to Mordor in exchange for Sam untying him. Gollum agrees to this plan, swearing "on the Precious".
* II - The Passage of the Marshes - Gollum shows Frodo and Sam a secret way through the Dead Marshes in order to escape being noticed by Orcs. In the Marshes, Frodo and Sam discover more about their new guide. They also narrowly escape detection by a winged Nazgûl.
* III - The Black Gate is Closed - Arriving at the Black Gate of Mordor, Frodo and Sam see it is impenetrable. While hiding within sight of the Towers of the Teeth, Gollum persuades the hobbits to take a "secret way" into Mordor he knows of further to the south. Seeing that he has no chance to enter Mordor via the Black Gate, Frodo agrees to the southward route.
* IV - Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit - Frodo, Sam, and Gollum enter Ithilien, a pleasant land once belonging to Gondor. Making camp, Sam coaxes Gollum into procuring some rabbits for a meal. The smoke from Sam's fire catches the eye of Gondorian Rangers, led by Boromir's younger brother Faramir. Frodo and Sam watch while the Rangers engage a host of Haradrim, who are bringing a Mûmakil to Mordor. Meanwhile, Gollum runs off.
* V - The Window on the West - After the Rangers defeat the Haradrim, Frodo and Sam are taken by Faramir to the secret outpost of Henneth Annûn. There, Faramir questions Frodo about the circumstances of Boromir's death. When Sam accidentally reveals that Frodo carries the Ring, and that Boromir had attempted to seize it, Faramir reveals that he would not use the Ring or try to take it; he sees the evil it can do.
* VI - The Forbidden Pool - In the middle of the night, Faramir shows Frodo that his men have found Gollum in Henneth Annûn's forbidden pool. Frodo convinces Faramir not to shoot Gollum. Faramir questions the wretch over where he is leading Frodo. When Gollum reveals he intends to take the hobbits past Minas Morgul, Faramir grows alarmed and urges Frodo to not use that way. He warns of evil in the pass above the city.
* VII - Journey to the Cross-roads - Faramir sends Frodo and Sam off with provisions and directions to Morgul-vale. He also allows Gollum to leave, but denounces him as evil and untrustworthy. Gollum brings the hobbits to the road between Osgiliath and Minas Morgul, and leads them east towards the Mountains of Shadow. At the Cross-roads, where the Harad Road meets the Osgiliath Road, the hobbits encounter an old, headless statue of a Gondorian king. When Frodo sees the head lying nearby, he perceives that "The king has got a crown again". At this same time, darkness from Mordor covers the Sun.
* VIII - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol - Approaching the evil city of Minas Morgul, Frodo, Sam, and Gollum witness a great host of Sauron leaving the city to make war on Gondor. They are led by the Witch-king of Angmar. Climbing the stairs towards Gollum's secret pass, Gollum runs off for a short time. Sam suspects he may be alerting Orcs to their presence.
* IX - Shelob's Lair - Gollum returns and leads the hobbits into a dark tunnel, which is really the lair of Shelob the spider. Encountering the monsterous arachnid, Frodo and Sam realize Gollum has fled, leaving them to die. Making use of the Phial of Galadriel and his sword Sting, Frodo is able to drive Shelob back for a short time. However, as the hobbits escape the lair, Gollum subdues Sam while Shelob reappears and attacks Frodo.
* X - The Choices of Master Samwise - Sam overcomes Gollum and sends him fleeing in terror. Seeing that Shelob has attacked Frodo, Sam battles her fiercely, eventually wounding her with Sting and blinding her with the Phial. Sam sees that Shelob has stung Frodo, who lies seemingly dead in the pass. With Gollum's betrayal complete, Sam resolves to take the Ring and continue the Quest on his own, leaving his master's body. Shortly after taking the Ring, a company of Orcs from the nearby Tower of Cirith Ungol arrives and meets a company from Minas Morgul. They take Frodo's body back to the Tower. Sam, pursuing them, overhears the two commanders say that Shelob has not killed Frodo, but rendered him unconcious for several hours. The Orcs reach the Tower, but Sam cannot catch up to them in time. He is left out in a secret passageway, unable to enter as the novel ends.
Adaptations
Some of the events of The Two Towers along with The Fellowship of Ring were depicted in the 1978 film of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, directed by Ralph Bakshi.
In 1999, The Lifeline Theatre in Chicago presented the world premiere of The Two Towers, adapted for the stage by James Sie and Karen Tarjan, directed by Ned Mochel.
In 2002 the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, directed by Peter Jackson, was released. Both The Two Towers and the succeeding film, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King abandoned the parallel storytelling of the volume in favour of a more chronological presentation. The first chapter from the volume actually appears at the end of Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Later events of The Two Towers involving Frodo and Sam were filmed for Jackson's The Return of the King. Other significant changes were made in the plot line, partially to give each of the characters a story arc in which they could develop and change. Although all three of Jackson's films differ from their source material, "The Two Towers" arguably contains the most major alterations. There was initial concern over using the title "The Two Towers" due to the real-life association with the World Trade Center and the terrorist attacks the previous year. The WTC was also commonly called The Twin Towers and due to that similarity, the filmmakers were reportedly considering alternate titles. It was decided, eventually, to retain the original title.
Various games also adapt The Two Towers, including online role-playing games like The Two Towers Mud and graphically-oriented console games.
《魔戒三部曲》随着最后的战斗以及黑暗军团的集合，甘多夫迫切的想把冈多的残兵旧部重整旗鼓，甘多夫得到了罗翰国王塞奥顿的帮助。人类的力量伴随着勇气和那种充满热情的忠诚，他们面临着有史以来最大的考验。但是伊奥温和merrt藏在暗处，无法与冈多的敌人相抗衡。面对这种种损失和不利，他们继续冲锋在战斗的最前列，他们靠着一种忠诚和目标使得黑暗魔君索伦变得心烦意乱，并且给了魔戒的守护者一个机会去完成他的请求。他们剩下的期望就是和弗拉多一起跨越狡猾的敌人的地界去把魔戒扔到末日山脉的火焰中。离最后的目的地越近，弗拉多的负担就越重，他必须依靠山姆•甘姆齐和古鲁姆。魔戒会在这过程中来测试弗拉多的忠诚，本性以及他的人性本身……
Title
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single volume comprising six "books" plus extensive appendices. The original publisher split the work into three, publishing the fifth and sixth books with the appendices under the title The Return of the King. Tolkien felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and indicated he preferred The War of the Ring as a title.
Tolkien may have hoped to publish the one large volume together with The Silmarillion, and to give names to the individual six books. The proposed title for Book V was The War of the Ring. Book VI was to be The End of the Third Age. These titles were used in the Millenium edition.
The Return of the King was in the end published as the third and final part of The Lord of the Rings, on October 20, 1955.
Plot summary
Book V: The War of the Ring
Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith in the kingdom of Gondor, delivering the news to Denethor, the Lord and Steward of Gondor, that a devastating attack on his city by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor is imminent. Pippin then enters the service of the Steward as repayment of a debt he owes to Boromir, Denethor's dead son and preferred heir.
Now clad in the uniform of the tower guard, Pippin watches the fortunes of war unfold, while the Lord Denethor descends into madness as the hosts of Mordor press ever closer to Gondor's capital city of Minas Tirith. Faramir, Boromir's younger brother, returns from his campaign with the shattered remnants of his company and is soon ordered to ride out and continue the hopeless defence of Osgiliath against a horde of orcs. Osgiliath is soon overrun and a gravely wounded Faramir is carried back to Denethor. His people seemingly lost and his only remaining son all but dead, Denethor orders a funeral pyre built that is to claim both him and his dying son. Minas Tirith stands encircled and besieged by the Dark Lord's Orcs.
Meanwhile, in far-off Rohan, Théoden and his Rohirrim are recovering from the Battle of the Hornburg, in which they defended Rohan against the forces of Saruman at great cost. Aragorn, having confronted Sauron through the palantír of Isengard, sets out to find the lost army of the undead oathbreakers who dwell in the Paths of the Dead, a mountain hall where they have been enslaved since their treachery ages ago. Helped by his companions Legolas and Gimli as well as a Company of Rangers from Arnor in the north (the "Grey Company"), he sets out to recruit the Army of the Dead to his cause. As Aragorn departs on his seemingly impossible task, King Théoden musters the Rohirrim to come to the aid of Gondor. Merry, eager to go to war with his allies, is refused by Théoden several times. Finally Dernhelm, one of the Rohirrim, takes Merry up on his horse, and secretly rides with the rest of the Rohirrim.
The hosts of Mordor, led by the dreaded Witch-king of Angmar, succeed in breaking through the gates of Minas Tirith, but are in turn crushed by the arriving cavalry of Rohan. The battle is also joined by a "black fleet with black sails". The forces of Mordor initially rejoice at its arrival; and then are horrified to see the banner of the King upon the ships. Aragorn has succeeded in using the Oathbreakers to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar; the men of Gondor who were once slaves on the ships are brought back to fight the host of Mordor. In the following Battle of the Pelennor Fields the Witch-king is slain by Dernhelm, revealed to be Éowyn the niece of King Théoden, with help from Merry. Thus the siege is broken, but at heavy cost: many warriors of Gondor and Rohan fall, among them King Théoden. Denethor immolates himself and Faramir on his funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin succeed in saving Faramir, who is subsequently healed by Aragorn. Aragorn also heals Merry and Éowyn, who were hurt by the Witch-king before he fell.
Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Sauron rebuilds his forces for another attack, Aragorn and Gandalf decide to draw out the hosts of Mordor with an assault on the Black Gate, providing a distraction so that Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee may have a chance of reaching Mount Doom and destroying the One Ring, unseen by the Eye of Sauron. Gandalf and Aragorn lead an army to the Black Gate of Mordor and lay siege to Sauron's army. The battle begins and the body of a troll he had killed falls onto Pippin, and he loses consciousness just as the Great Eagles arrive.
Book VI: The Return of the King
Sam, who now bears the One Ring in Frodo's place, rescues his master from torture and death by Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol. The two navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor and are overtaken by a company of Orcs but escape and are forced to disguise themselves in Orcish armour. Gandalf's plan to distract Sauron from the Ring is successful: Mordor is almost empty as all the remaining Orcs have been summoned to defend the land against the assault of the army led by Gandalf and Aragorn.
The two Hobbits, after a weary and dangerous journey, finally reach the Crack of Doom. Yet just as he is about to throw the Ring into Mount Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and refuses to let it go. Just then, Gollum, who had been following the pair still, attacks Frodo and bites off his finger with the Ring. Gollum gloats over his prize, but loses his balance and falls into the lava below, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is destroyed, freeing Middle-earth from Sauron's power. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the Great Eagles who carry them from Mount Doom. Upon Sauron's defeat, his armies at the Gate flee.
Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor outside the walls of Minas Tirith in a celebration during which all four hobbits are greatly honoured for their contribution to the War of the Ring. A healed Faramir is appointed Steward of Gondor and Aragorn marries Arwen, daughter of Elrond of Rivendell. After a series of goodbyes, the Hobbits return home to find the Shire in ruins, its inhabitants oppressed by Lotho Sackville-Baggins (usually called "The Boss") who is in reality controlled by a shadowy figure called "Sharkey". Sharkey has taken complete control of the Shire using corrupt Men, and begins felling trees in a gratuitous program of industrialization (which actually produces nothing except destruction and misery for the locals). Merry, Pippin - now experienced warriors -, Frodo and Sam make plans to set things right once more. They lead an uprising of Hobbits and are victorious at the Battle of Bywater which effectively frees the Shire. At the very doorstep of Bag End, they meet Sharkey, who is revealed to be the evil wizard Saruman, and his servant Gríma. Obstinate in defeat, Saruman abuses Gríma, who responds by slitting his master's throat. Gríma is himself slain by hobbit archers as he attempts to escape.
Over time the Shire is healed. The many trees that Saruman's men cut down are replanted; buildings are rebuilt and peace is restored. Sam marries Rosie Cotton, with whom he had been entranced for some time. Merry and Pippin lead Buckland and Tuckborough to greater achievements. Frodo, however, cannot escape the pain of his wounds, having been stabbed by the Witch-king and poisoned by Shelob. Eventually he departs for the Undying Lands in the West, with Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and many Elves. Sam, Merry and Pippin watch them depart and return home. Now heir to all of Frodo's possessions, Sam is greeted by his wife Rosie and his daughter Elanor. In the last line of the book, Sam says to Rosie: "Well, I'm back".
Chapter summaries
Book V
* I - Minas Tirith - Gandalf and Pippin arrive in the great but decaying city of Minas Tirith, where they talk with Denethor, Steward of Gondor. Pippin enters the service of the Steward to repay the debt he owed Boromir. Pippin then is taken through the city by Beregond, a soldier of the Guard, and later by Beregond's son Bergil. Pippin and Bergil end the day watching men from other lands in Gondor march in to defend the city. The Darkness begins.
* II - The Passing of the Grey Company - The story continues back at Dol Baran, where Gandalf and Pippin left the company. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, and Éomer are overtaken by the Grey Company riding from Rivendell. They ride to Helm's Deep, where Merry offers his sword to Théoden and Aragorn looks into the palantír of Orthanc, reveals himself to Sauron, and wins the struggle for the Stone. Aragorn then decides to take to the Paths of the Dead and goes to Edoras and then Dunharrow. There, Éowyn tries to both dissuade Aragorn from taking to the Paths and attempt to accompany him on the journey. They pass through the underground tunnel of the Dead and come across the remains of an heir of Rohan. The Grey Company comes to the Stone of Erech in Gondor where they summon the Host of the Dead to fulfil their oath. The Company then rides into the darkness of Mordor.
* III - The Muster of Rohan - Théoden, Éomer, and Merry come down from the hills into Dunharrow and climb the stair of the Hold. There they learn that Aragorn has travelled the Paths of the Dead, and Théoden explains to Merry the story of the deadly road. Théoden then receives an emissary from Denethor, bearing the Red Arrow, who begs him to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. Merry is ordered to stay behind on account of his small stature, but he is secretly taken to Minas Tirith anyway by a rider called Dernhelm.
* IV - The Siege of Gondor - The story returns to Gandalf, and Pippin, who goes to wait on the Steward. Pippin and Beregond witness the return of Faramir and his remaining company, and the Nazgûl's attack on him thwarted only by Gandalf. Faramir comes to the city and reports that he had met Frodo and allowed him to continue into Morgul Vale. Faramir endures his father's wrath until Gandalf quells the argument and states that the Ring would not have in the end saved Minas Tirith. The next day Faramir is ordered to go and command the hopeless defence of the ruined Osgiliath, and is returned gravely wounded. After the Orcs overrun the Gondorian defences on the Pelennor, Minas Tirith is besieged. Denethor, mad with grief over the apparent loss of (now) both his sons, withdraws from leadership and leaves the defending of the city to Gandalf. The Orcs set the first circle of the city on fire and Denethor in his madness tries to burn himself and Faramir alive on a funeral pyre. The gates of Minas Tirith are broken, with only Gandalf blocking the Witch-king from entering. As the two appear set to clash, the horns of Rohan are heard in the distance.
* V - The Ride of the Rohirrim - The Rohirrim pass through the Drúadan Forest and the Stonewain Valley, with the aid of the native wild men and their leader, Ghân-buri-Ghân. The army arrives at Minas Tirith to see the breaching of its gate, and then charges into the battle.
* VI - The Battle of the Pelennor Fields - The warriors of Rohan and Gondor desperately engage the armies of Mordor, Rhûn and Harad. Théoden is thrown and crushed by his horse, mortally wounded. The Lord of the Nazgûl prepares to let his fell beast consume the body. Dernhelm, now revealed to be Éowyn, slays the Lord of the Nazgûl with Merry's help. Théoden names Éomer to be his heir and the new King of the Mark before passing away. As the reserves of Mordor and the Haradrim slam into the forces of Minas Tirith and the Riders of Rohan, the Black Fleet arrives, heartening Sauron's forces. But the first ship bears the standard of the King of Gondor; Aragorn has arrived with Gondorian reinforcements. Together, the Gondorians and Rohirrim destroy Sauron's forces.
* VII - The Pyre of Denethor - Back at the ruined Gate, Pippin tells Gandalf of Denethor's madness. The two return to the hallows where Beregond is defending the wounded Faramir from immolation. He has been forced to kill several men in the process. Gandalf ends the conflict and takes Faramir off the pyre, and Denethor momentarily appears to regain his senses. However, it is soon revealed that Denethor has been using a palantír and has thus lost all hope of victory, and that he does not wish to serve under Aragorn. Denethor then sets himself on fire. Faramir is taken to the houses of healing. Gandalf explains how Denethor rejected Sauron in the palantír but was tricked by the Dark Lord and despaired of all hope.
* VIII - The Houses of Healing - Théoden is laid in state in the main hall of Gondor. Éowyn, Merry, and many others are injured and placed in the houses of healing where Gandalf calls for Aragorn to come and assist, stating that the "hands of the king are the hands of a healer." Aragorn uses kingsfoil to save Faramir, Éowyn, Merry, and many more who are injured. The people of Minas Tirith now begin to see that their true king has come back among them.
* IX - The Last Debate - Gimli and Legolas enter Minas Tirith and meet Merry and Pippin again, telling the hobbits of their journey with Aragorn. They recount how the Dead Men had attacked the invading Corsairs and Haradrim, and how Aragorn used the captured ships to reach Minas Tirith in time. The Captains of the West hold a counsel on their next action; they decide to send 7,000 men against Mordor to march on the Black Gate to keep Sauron distacted, giving the Ringbearer time to complete his task.
* X - The Black Gate Opens - The army, with Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Pippin (but not Merry) marches to the Black Gate. The Mouth of Sauron comes out to discuss terms, and presents tokens which were owned by Sam and Frodo. The Mouth of Sauron calls for an unconditional surrender and claims the lands east of the Great River for Sauron. Gandalf asks to see the hostages, but the emissary hesitates; thus Gandalf rejects the terms. The Mouth of Sauron then departs and the entire might of Mordor assails them. Pippin and Beregond are attacked by a Troll chieftain who is slain by Pippin. They ready themselves for death; but Pippin hears the cries that the Eagles are coming before losing consciousness.
Book VI
* I - The Tower of Cirith Ungol - Leaving Shelob's lair, Sam goes to find Frodo in the Orc tower. Sam discovers that the Orcs have killed each other in a quarrel over Frodo's possessions — especially his mithril coat. Sam finds Frodo in the top chamber of the tower and returns the Ring to him.
* II - The Land of Shadow - Sam and Frodo make their way into Mordor. They discover that Gollum is still on their trail. As they approach the vale of Udûn, they are captured by an Orc company. Just as Frodo nears exhaustion and death, Sam engineers an escape off the road.
* III - Mount Doom - After a torturous journey through Gorgoroth, Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom. Gollum appears and tries to attack them, but Frodo overpowers him. Sam prepares to kill Gollum, but relents out of pity when Gollum begs for his life. Moments later, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, exposing him at last to Sauron. Gollum knocks aside Sam and attacks Frodo, biting off his finger and taking the Ring, but then he slips and falls into the Cracks of Doom, destroying himself and the Ring. Frodo and Sam witness the fall of the Dark Tower as the mountain collapses around them.
* IV - The Field of Cormallen - The story returns to the Black Gate, continuing from Book Five, chapter X; the eagles arrive and the Captains of the West stand as they witness the destruction of Mordor and hear Gandalf proclaim the success of the Ringbearer; Gandalf then mounts an Eagle and flies south to Mount Doom where he and the Eagles rescue Frodo and Sam; Sam awakes to find himself in Ithilien and realizes that he has not dreamt; Frodo and Sam are honoured on the Field of Cormallen near Cair Andros with a great feast; they are reunited with Strider—now proclaimed as King—and the rest of the Fellowship.
* V - The Steward and the King - Continuing from Book V, Éowyn is ill at ease from her wound and brooding over Aragorn. She is taken to see Faramir, who is immediately attracted to her. Merry is also in Minas Tirith and tells Faramir much of Éowyn's suffering. Éowyn and Faramir slowly fall in love and agree to marry. Later they see the arrival of the armies with Aragorn, Gandalf and the four hobbits. Gandalf crowns Aragorn King of Gondor. Aragorn makes Faramir prince of Ithilien and bids him keep the office of Steward, appointing the pardoned Beregond as his chief captain. Gandalf takes Aragorn to Mount Mindolluin to survey the lands of his kingdom where they find a sapling of the White Tree, which Aragorn uproots and plants in the court of the King. On midsummer's eve, Elrond, Galadriel, Arwen and the elves arrive in the city from the north, and Aragorn weds Arwen.
* VI - Many Partings - The company rides north to Rohan where they bury Théoden and then celebrate his life and reign in a great feast at Meduseld. They then ride to Isengard where they find that the Ents have replanted the trees in the valley, but have released Saruman and Gríma Wormtongue out of pity. Gimli and Legolas head north through Fangorn; Aragorn, taking the keys to Orthanc, returns to his kingdom; the rest of the company heads north where they meet Saruman and Gríma. Saruman refuses to repent and even steals Merry's pipeweed pouch. Galadriel and the Lórien elves leave over the pass of Caradhras; and the hobbits and Gandalf later arrive in Rivendell where they visit Bilbo, who has now grown incredibly aged.
* VII - Homeward Bound - The hobbits and Gandalf travel to Bree where they stay at the Prancing Pony, and are told by Butterbur that there has been trouble in Bree while they have been away. They assure Butterbur that things will become better because Aragorn, who Butterbur knew as Strider, is now the King, and then depart for the Shire. Gandalf leaves the hobbits near the Barrow-downs to visit Tom Bombadil, affirming their abilities to handle their own affairs from this point forward.
* VIII - The Scouring of the Shire - The hobbits arrive in the Shire to find it taken over by Frodo's distant cousin Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who is a puppet of 'Sharkey.' The Shire has been submitted to tyranny by the bigger men and their dupes — the Sheriffs (with the exception of the land belonging to the Tooks, which is under a state of semi-siege). Merry and Pippin help "raise the Shire" and lead a revolt against the ruffian Isengard men and half-orcs controlling the Shire. The Battle of Bywater is fought in which the main group of ruffians are defeated and expelled from the Shire. The hobbits find Saruman ('Sharkey') and Wormtongue at Bag End and expel Saruman from the Shire, which has suffered vast ecological damage from Saruman's forced industrialization. Saruman tries to kill Frodo but is foiled by the mithril coat. Frodo spares the evil wizard, but Wormtongue—who has murdered Lotho—kills Saruman, and is then killed himself by hobbit archers, thus ending the War of the Ring at the doorstep of Bag End.
* IX - The Grey Havens The cleaning up of the Shire. The hobbit resistors are released from prison. Sam discovers the gift that Galadriel has given him and uses the dust in the box to replant the Shire, culminating in the planting of the mallorn tree of Lórien. Several years pass, and Frodo begins to show signs of declining health and damage due to his wounds and the long burden of the Ring. Sam and Frodo go to meet the elves, Galadriel, and Bilbo travelling west through the Shire, and they travel to the Grey Havens where they meet Gandalf. Merry and Pippin arrive; Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and the elves set sail to the west; Sam returns to Rose and their daughter Elanor at Bag End. In the later appendix it is noted that a lone ship eventually returned to the Grey Havens. Samwise Gamgee, the one time Ring-bearer, is at the end of his life taken to the Undying Lands.
Structure
The structure of The Return of the King mirrors somewhat that of The Two Towers in that the first section recounts the various adventures of several characters including a massive battle, and the second section resumes the quest of the Ring-bearers.
* Book V
* Book VI
* Appendices
A Annals of the Kings and Rulers
I The Númenórean Kings
(i) Númenor
(ii) The Realms in Exile
(iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur
(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion
(v) Here follows a part of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen
II The House of Eorl
III Durin's Folk
B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)
C Family Trees (Hobbits)
D Calendars
E Writing and Spelling
I Pronunciation of Words and Names
II Writing
F
I The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age
II On Translation
* Indices
I Songs and Verses
II Persons, Beasts and Monsters
III Places
IV Things
Adaptations
* The Return of the King, 1980 animated feature made for television, featuring the voices of Orson Bean and John Huston.
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003 Academy Award winning theatrical film directed by Peter Jackson.
* Stage: The Lord of the Rings
Title
Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single volume comprising six "books" plus extensive appendices. The original publisher split the work into three, publishing the fifth and sixth books with the appendices under the title The Return of the King. Tolkien felt the chosen title revealed too much of the story, and indicated he preferred The War of the Ring as a title.
Tolkien may have hoped to publish the one large volume together with The Silmarillion, and to give names to the individual six books. The proposed title for Book V was The War of the Ring. Book VI was to be The End of the Third Age. These titles were used in the Millenium edition.
The Return of the King was in the end published as the third and final part of The Lord of the Rings, on October 20, 1955.
Plot summary
Book V: The War of the Ring
Gandalf and Pippin arrive at Minas Tirith in the kingdom of Gondor, delivering the news to Denethor, the Lord and Steward of Gondor, that a devastating attack on his city by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor is imminent. Pippin then enters the service of the Steward as repayment of a debt he owes to Boromir, Denethor's dead son and preferred heir.
Now clad in the uniform of the tower guard, Pippin watches the fortunes of war unfold, while the Lord Denethor descends into madness as the hosts of Mordor press ever closer to Gondor's capital city of Minas Tirith. Faramir, Boromir's younger brother, returns from his campaign with the shattered remnants of his company and is soon ordered to ride out and continue the hopeless defence of Osgiliath against a horde of orcs. Osgiliath is soon overrun and a gravely wounded Faramir is carried back to Denethor. His people seemingly lost and his only remaining son all but dead, Denethor orders a funeral pyre built that is to claim both him and his dying son. Minas Tirith stands encircled and besieged by the Dark Lord's Orcs.
Meanwhile, in far-off Rohan, Théoden and his Rohirrim are recovering from the Battle of the Hornburg, in which they defended Rohan against the forces of Saruman at great cost. Aragorn, having confronted Sauron through the palantír of Isengard, sets out to find the lost army of the undead oathbreakers who dwell in the Paths of the Dead, a mountain hall where they have been enslaved since their treachery ages ago. Helped by his companions Legolas and Gimli as well as a Company of Rangers from Arnor in the north (the "Grey Company"), he sets out to recruit the Army of the Dead to his cause. As Aragorn departs on his seemingly impossible task, King Théoden musters the Rohirrim to come to the aid of Gondor. Merry, eager to go to war with his allies, is refused by Théoden several times. Finally Dernhelm, one of the Rohirrim, takes Merry up on his horse, and secretly rides with the rest of the Rohirrim.
The hosts of Mordor, led by the dreaded Witch-king of Angmar, succeed in breaking through the gates of Minas Tirith, but are in turn crushed by the arriving cavalry of Rohan. The battle is also joined by a "black fleet with black sails". The forces of Mordor initially rejoice at its arrival; and then are horrified to see the banner of the King upon the ships. Aragorn has succeeded in using the Oathbreakers to defeat the Corsairs of Umbar; the men of Gondor who were once slaves on the ships are brought back to fight the host of Mordor. In the following Battle of the Pelennor Fields the Witch-king is slain by Dernhelm, revealed to be Éowyn the niece of King Théoden, with help from Merry. Thus the siege is broken, but at heavy cost: many warriors of Gondor and Rohan fall, among them King Théoden. Denethor immolates himself and Faramir on his funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin succeed in saving Faramir, who is subsequently healed by Aragorn. Aragorn also heals Merry and Éowyn, who were hurt by the Witch-king before he fell.
Knowing that it is only a matter of time before Sauron rebuilds his forces for another attack, Aragorn and Gandalf decide to draw out the hosts of Mordor with an assault on the Black Gate, providing a distraction so that Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee may have a chance of reaching Mount Doom and destroying the One Ring, unseen by the Eye of Sauron. Gandalf and Aragorn lead an army to the Black Gate of Mordor and lay siege to Sauron's army. The battle begins and the body of a troll he had killed falls onto Pippin, and he loses consciousness just as the Great Eagles arrive.
Book VI: The Return of the King
Sam, who now bears the One Ring in Frodo's place, rescues his master from torture and death by Orcs in the Tower of Cirith Ungol. The two navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor and are overtaken by a company of Orcs but escape and are forced to disguise themselves in Orcish armour. Gandalf's plan to distract Sauron from the Ring is successful: Mordor is almost empty as all the remaining Orcs have been summoned to defend the land against the assault of the army led by Gandalf and Aragorn.
The two Hobbits, after a weary and dangerous journey, finally reach the Crack of Doom. Yet just as he is about to throw the Ring into Mount Doom, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and refuses to let it go. Just then, Gollum, who had been following the pair still, attacks Frodo and bites off his finger with the Ring. Gollum gloats over his prize, but loses his balance and falls into the lava below, taking the Ring with him. The Ring is destroyed, freeing Middle-earth from Sauron's power. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the Great Eagles who carry them from Mount Doom. Upon Sauron's defeat, his armies at the Gate flee.
Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor outside the walls of Minas Tirith in a celebration during which all four hobbits are greatly honoured for their contribution to the War of the Ring. A healed Faramir is appointed Steward of Gondor and Aragorn marries Arwen, daughter of Elrond of Rivendell. After a series of goodbyes, the Hobbits return home to find the Shire in ruins, its inhabitants oppressed by Lotho Sackville-Baggins (usually called "The Boss") who is in reality controlled by a shadowy figure called "Sharkey". Sharkey has taken complete control of the Shire using corrupt Men, and begins felling trees in a gratuitous program of industrialization (which actually produces nothing except destruction and misery for the locals). Merry, Pippin - now experienced warriors -, Frodo and Sam make plans to set things right once more. They lead an uprising of Hobbits and are victorious at the Battle of Bywater which effectively frees the Shire. At the very doorstep of Bag End, they meet Sharkey, who is revealed to be the evil wizard Saruman, and his servant Gríma. Obstinate in defeat, Saruman abuses Gríma, who responds by slitting his master's throat. Gríma is himself slain by hobbit archers as he attempts to escape.
Over time the Shire is healed. The many trees that Saruman's men cut down are replanted; buildings are rebuilt and peace is restored. Sam marries Rosie Cotton, with whom he had been entranced for some time. Merry and Pippin lead Buckland and Tuckborough to greater achievements. Frodo, however, cannot escape the pain of his wounds, having been stabbed by the Witch-king and poisoned by Shelob. Eventually he departs for the Undying Lands in the West, with Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins, and many Elves. Sam, Merry and Pippin watch them depart and return home. Now heir to all of Frodo's possessions, Sam is greeted by his wife Rosie and his daughter Elanor. In the last line of the book, Sam says to Rosie: "Well, I'm back".
Chapter summaries
Book V
* I - Minas Tirith - Gandalf and Pippin arrive in the great but decaying city of Minas Tirith, where they talk with Denethor, Steward of Gondor. Pippin enters the service of the Steward to repay the debt he owed Boromir. Pippin then is taken through the city by Beregond, a soldier of the Guard, and later by Beregond's son Bergil. Pippin and Bergil end the day watching men from other lands in Gondor march in to defend the city. The Darkness begins.
* II - The Passing of the Grey Company - The story continues back at Dol Baran, where Gandalf and Pippin left the company. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Théoden, and Éomer are overtaken by the Grey Company riding from Rivendell. They ride to Helm's Deep, where Merry offers his sword to Théoden and Aragorn looks into the palantír of Orthanc, reveals himself to Sauron, and wins the struggle for the Stone. Aragorn then decides to take to the Paths of the Dead and goes to Edoras and then Dunharrow. There, Éowyn tries to both dissuade Aragorn from taking to the Paths and attempt to accompany him on the journey. They pass through the underground tunnel of the Dead and come across the remains of an heir of Rohan. The Grey Company comes to the Stone of Erech in Gondor where they summon the Host of the Dead to fulfil their oath. The Company then rides into the darkness of Mordor.
* III - The Muster of Rohan - Théoden, Éomer, and Merry come down from the hills into Dunharrow and climb the stair of the Hold. There they learn that Aragorn has travelled the Paths of the Dead, and Théoden explains to Merry the story of the deadly road. Théoden then receives an emissary from Denethor, bearing the Red Arrow, who begs him to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. Merry is ordered to stay behind on account of his small stature, but he is secretly taken to Minas Tirith anyway by a rider called Dernhelm.
* IV - The Siege of Gondor - The story returns to Gandalf, and Pippin, who goes to wait on the Steward. Pippin and Beregond witness the return of Faramir and his remaining company, and the Nazgûl's attack on him thwarted only by Gandalf. Faramir comes to the city and reports that he had met Frodo and allowed him to continue into Morgul Vale. Faramir endures his father's wrath until Gandalf quells the argument and states that the Ring would not have in the end saved Minas Tirith. The next day Faramir is ordered to go and command the hopeless defence of the ruined Osgiliath, and is returned gravely wounded. After the Orcs overrun the Gondorian defences on the Pelennor, Minas Tirith is besieged. Denethor, mad with grief over the apparent loss of (now) both his sons, withdraws from leadership and leaves the defending of the city to Gandalf. The Orcs set the first circle of the city on fire and Denethor in his madness tries to burn himself and Faramir alive on a funeral pyre. The gates of Minas Tirith are broken, with only Gandalf blocking the Witch-king from entering. As the two appear set to clash, the horns of Rohan are heard in the distance.
* V - The Ride of the Rohirrim - The Rohirrim pass through the Drúadan Forest and the Stonewain Valley, with the aid of the native wild men and their leader, Ghân-buri-Ghân. The army arrives at Minas Tirith to see the breaching of its gate, and then charges into the battle.
* VI - The Battle of the Pelennor Fields - The warriors of Rohan and Gondor desperately engage the armies of Mordor, Rhûn and Harad. Théoden is thrown and crushed by his horse, mortally wounded. The Lord of the Nazgûl prepares to let his fell beast consume the body. Dernhelm, now revealed to be Éowyn, slays the Lord of the Nazgûl with Merry's help. Théoden names Éomer to be his heir and the new King of the Mark before passing away. As the reserves of Mordor and the Haradrim slam into the forces of Minas Tirith and the Riders of Rohan, the Black Fleet arrives, heartening Sauron's forces. But the first ship bears the standard of the King of Gondor; Aragorn has arrived with Gondorian reinforcements. Together, the Gondorians and Rohirrim destroy Sauron's forces.
* VII - The Pyre of Denethor - Back at the ruined Gate, Pippin tells Gandalf of Denethor's madness. The two return to the hallows where Beregond is defending the wounded Faramir from immolation. He has been forced to kill several men in the process. Gandalf ends the conflict and takes Faramir off the pyre, and Denethor momentarily appears to regain his senses. However, it is soon revealed that Denethor has been using a palantír and has thus lost all hope of victory, and that he does not wish to serve under Aragorn. Denethor then sets himself on fire. Faramir is taken to the houses of healing. Gandalf explains how Denethor rejected Sauron in the palantír but was tricked by the Dark Lord and despaired of all hope.
* VIII - The Houses of Healing - Théoden is laid in state in the main hall of Gondor. Éowyn, Merry, and many others are injured and placed in the houses of healing where Gandalf calls for Aragorn to come and assist, stating that the "hands of the king are the hands of a healer." Aragorn uses kingsfoil to save Faramir, Éowyn, Merry, and many more who are injured. The people of Minas Tirith now begin to see that their true king has come back among them.
* IX - The Last Debate - Gimli and Legolas enter Minas Tirith and meet Merry and Pippin again, telling the hobbits of their journey with Aragorn. They recount how the Dead Men had attacked the invading Corsairs and Haradrim, and how Aragorn used the captured ships to reach Minas Tirith in time. The Captains of the West hold a counsel on their next action; they decide to send 7,000 men against Mordor to march on the Black Gate to keep Sauron distacted, giving the Ringbearer time to complete his task.
* X - The Black Gate Opens - The army, with Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Pippin (but not Merry) marches to the Black Gate. The Mouth of Sauron comes out to discuss terms, and presents tokens which were owned by Sam and Frodo. The Mouth of Sauron calls for an unconditional surrender and claims the lands east of the Great River for Sauron. Gandalf asks to see the hostages, but the emissary hesitates; thus Gandalf rejects the terms. The Mouth of Sauron then departs and the entire might of Mordor assails them. Pippin and Beregond are attacked by a Troll chieftain who is slain by Pippin. They ready themselves for death; but Pippin hears the cries that the Eagles are coming before losing consciousness.
Book VI
* I - The Tower of Cirith Ungol - Leaving Shelob's lair, Sam goes to find Frodo in the Orc tower. Sam discovers that the Orcs have killed each other in a quarrel over Frodo's possessions — especially his mithril coat. Sam finds Frodo in the top chamber of the tower and returns the Ring to him.
* II - The Land of Shadow - Sam and Frodo make their way into Mordor. They discover that Gollum is still on their trail. As they approach the vale of Udûn, they are captured by an Orc company. Just as Frodo nears exhaustion and death, Sam engineers an escape off the road.
* III - Mount Doom - After a torturous journey through Gorgoroth, Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom. Gollum appears and tries to attack them, but Frodo overpowers him. Sam prepares to kill Gollum, but relents out of pity when Gollum begs for his life. Moments later, Frodo succumbs to the Ring's power and puts it on, exposing him at last to Sauron. Gollum knocks aside Sam and attacks Frodo, biting off his finger and taking the Ring, but then he slips and falls into the Cracks of Doom, destroying himself and the Ring. Frodo and Sam witness the fall of the Dark Tower as the mountain collapses around them.
* IV - The Field of Cormallen - The story returns to the Black Gate, continuing from Book Five, chapter X; the eagles arrive and the Captains of the West stand as they witness the destruction of Mordor and hear Gandalf proclaim the success of the Ringbearer; Gandalf then mounts an Eagle and flies south to Mount Doom where he and the Eagles rescue Frodo and Sam; Sam awakes to find himself in Ithilien and realizes that he has not dreamt; Frodo and Sam are honoured on the Field of Cormallen near Cair Andros with a great feast; they are reunited with Strider—now proclaimed as King—and the rest of the Fellowship.
* V - The Steward and the King - Continuing from Book V, Éowyn is ill at ease from her wound and brooding over Aragorn. She is taken to see Faramir, who is immediately attracted to her. Merry is also in Minas Tirith and tells Faramir much of Éowyn's suffering. Éowyn and Faramir slowly fall in love and agree to marry. Later they see the arrival of the armies with Aragorn, Gandalf and the four hobbits. Gandalf crowns Aragorn King of Gondor. Aragorn makes Faramir prince of Ithilien and bids him keep the office of Steward, appointing the pardoned Beregond as his chief captain. Gandalf takes Aragorn to Mount Mindolluin to survey the lands of his kingdom where they find a sapling of the White Tree, which Aragorn uproots and plants in the court of the King. On midsummer's eve, Elrond, Galadriel, Arwen and the elves arrive in the city from the north, and Aragorn weds Arwen.
* VI - Many Partings - The company rides north to Rohan where they bury Théoden and then celebrate his life and reign in a great feast at Meduseld. They then ride to Isengard where they find that the Ents have replanted the trees in the valley, but have released Saruman and Gríma Wormtongue out of pity. Gimli and Legolas head north through Fangorn; Aragorn, taking the keys to Orthanc, returns to his kingdom; the rest of the company heads north where they meet Saruman and Gríma. Saruman refuses to repent and even steals Merry's pipeweed pouch. Galadriel and the Lórien elves leave over the pass of Caradhras; and the hobbits and Gandalf later arrive in Rivendell where they visit Bilbo, who has now grown incredibly aged.
* VII - Homeward Bound - The hobbits and Gandalf travel to Bree where they stay at the Prancing Pony, and are told by Butterbur that there has been trouble in Bree while they have been away. They assure Butterbur that things will become better because Aragorn, who Butterbur knew as Strider, is now the King, and then depart for the Shire. Gandalf leaves the hobbits near the Barrow-downs to visit Tom Bombadil, affirming their abilities to handle their own affairs from this point forward.
* VIII - The Scouring of the Shire - The hobbits arrive in the Shire to find it taken over by Frodo's distant cousin Lotho Sackville-Baggins, who is a puppet of 'Sharkey.' The Shire has been submitted to tyranny by the bigger men and their dupes — the Sheriffs (with the exception of the land belonging to the Tooks, which is under a state of semi-siege). Merry and Pippin help "raise the Shire" and lead a revolt against the ruffian Isengard men and half-orcs controlling the Shire. The Battle of Bywater is fought in which the main group of ruffians are defeated and expelled from the Shire. The hobbits find Saruman ('Sharkey') and Wormtongue at Bag End and expel Saruman from the Shire, which has suffered vast ecological damage from Saruman's forced industrialization. Saruman tries to kill Frodo but is foiled by the mithril coat. Frodo spares the evil wizard, but Wormtongue—who has murdered Lotho—kills Saruman, and is then killed himself by hobbit archers, thus ending the War of the Ring at the doorstep of Bag End.
* IX - The Grey Havens The cleaning up of the Shire. The hobbit resistors are released from prison. Sam discovers the gift that Galadriel has given him and uses the dust in the box to replant the Shire, culminating in the planting of the mallorn tree of Lórien. Several years pass, and Frodo begins to show signs of declining health and damage due to his wounds and the long burden of the Ring. Sam and Frodo go to meet the elves, Galadriel, and Bilbo travelling west through the Shire, and they travel to the Grey Havens where they meet Gandalf. Merry and Pippin arrive; Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and the elves set sail to the west; Sam returns to Rose and their daughter Elanor at Bag End. In the later appendix it is noted that a lone ship eventually returned to the Grey Havens. Samwise Gamgee, the one time Ring-bearer, is at the end of his life taken to the Undying Lands.
Structure
The structure of The Return of the King mirrors somewhat that of The Two Towers in that the first section recounts the various adventures of several characters including a massive battle, and the second section resumes the quest of the Ring-bearers.
* Book V
* Book VI
* Appendices
A Annals of the Kings and Rulers
I The Númenórean Kings
(i) Númenor
(ii) The Realms in Exile
(iii) Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur
(iv) Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion
(v) Here follows a part of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen
II The House of Eorl
III Durin's Folk
B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)
C Family Trees (Hobbits)
D Calendars
E Writing and Spelling
I Pronunciation of Words and Names
II Writing
F
I The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age
II On Translation
* Indices
I Songs and Verses
II Persons, Beasts and Monsters
III Places
IV Things
Adaptations
* The Return of the King, 1980 animated feature made for television, featuring the voices of Orson Bean and John Huston.
* The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003 Academy Award winning theatrical film directed by Peter Jackson.
* Stage: The Lord of the Rings