inzilbeth | Aragorn quiz part 2 answers (Reply)

Here are the answers to the second part of the quiz. A huge thank you to everyone who played along and made it fun. It was a tough one but I'm delighted to say Estelcontar got them all right. [And knowing that she is every bit as obsessive as I am, I'm not really surprised!]

I hope some of the facts prove to be interesting; they certainly interested me.

1. To which character did Tolkien originally give the name ‘Aragorn’?

Gandalf’s horse [Return of the Shadow]

2. Of his distant kin, which two characters is Aragorn said to most resemble?

Elendil [The Rings of Power, Silm] Elendur, Isildur’s eldest son [Disaster at the Gladden Fields, UT]

3. To whom did Aragorn say the words: ‘Good and ill have not changed since yester-year.’

Eomer [on first meeting him]

4. In his letters, Tolkien explains the problems of informing the reader of Aragorn’s adventures after he passed through the Paths of the Dead and yet also of bringing him unexpectedly to battle on the Pelennor. Provided in full, to what tale did he say this story would belong?

The Saga of Aragorn Arathorn’s son [ oh how I wish he had written this!] Letters 186

5. As a king in the Numenorean tradition, what additional role would Aragorn automatically have assumed on becoming monarch?

Priest. Letters 156

6. Which of these characters are not generally considered to have been among Tolkien’s inspirations for Aragorn?

1. Beowulf

2. Charlemagne

3. Sigurd

4. Tristan

5. King Arthur

6. Henry V

Tristan

7. ‘Nay, it is the last move in a great jeopardy, and for one side or the other it will bring the end of the game.

What did Aragorn do immediately after speaking these words?

“He drew Andúril and held it up glittering in the sun” and said “You shall not be sheathed again until the last battle be fought”

8. How many Chieftains of the Dúnedain had been fostered at Rivendell prior to Aragorn?

Fourteen [Arahael, the 2^nd Chiefain was the first, Aragorn, the 16^th was the last.]

9. In the early days of his evolution, which of the following names were given to, or considered for, the character that later became Aragorn son of Arathorn?

Trotter

Peregrin Boffin

Ingold son of Ingrim

Padathir

Aragorn son of Aramir

Fosco Took

Tarkil

Rimbedir

Aragorn son of Celegorn

Eldamir son of Eldakar

Bilbo

All of them! Interesting that, isn’t it!

Padathir was the original name Glorfindel called him, Rimbedir was the name Gandalf used, Keleborn called him Ingold son of Ingrim, Tarkil became Telcontar [and the orc insult, Tark]. Bilbo was never actually used but was considered. I could also have included Amin, the early name for Estel given in HOME 12.

10. The book ‘The Master of Middle-earth’ includes a chapter entitled ‘Aragorn’. Name the author.

Paul H Kocher

11. Who was the lord of Lamedon whom Aragorn named ‘the fearless’?

Angbor

12. Who did Aragorn make Chief Councilor of the Great Council of Gondor?

Faramir Letters 244

13. Which actors provide the voice of Aragorn in:-

The 1978 Ralph Bakshi film

The 1981 BBC radio adaptation

John Hurt and Robert Stephens

14. What was the original reason the character who later became Strider was missing from the feast at Rivendell?

I’m copying and pasting Estelcontar’s answer to this one!

Still as the ranger hobbit Trotter, a.k.a. Peregrin Boffin, he was “in the kitchens, for his help was as much esteemed by the cooks as by the poets” - A Poet and an Cook! What else can you ask from a Mortal. Noooooooooooooooooothing. *grin*

15. ‘For a moment it seemed to the eyes of Legolas that a white flame flickered on the brows of Aragorn like a shining crown.’

In which chapter would you find this sentence?

The Riders of Rohan

16. What is the only known definition that Tolkien ever gave to explain the meaning of the name ‘Aragorn’?

‘Kingly Valour’ Forward, The Peoples of M-e.

17. Of Aragorn’s many talents, name three unusual abilities he possessed which were inherited traits.

Potentially controversial this one!

The gift of healing; the gift of foresight; the ability to summon the Army of the Dead, were the three I was thinking of.

Also you could include keen eyesight, long life, MAYBE the ability to understand the speech of the beasts and the birds although Beren was the only man who definitely had this gift. Very controversially - the ability to give up his own life. At the end of the Third Age this was probably unique to him but quite when his immediate ancestors stopped doing this we simply don’t know.

And by popular demand, I have to allow ‘rugged good looks’. How could I possibly not permit that one!

18. What does Envinyatar mean and to what does it specifically refer?

The Renewer. Refers to the restoration of the kingship to both Arnor and Gondor, the renewal of the fortunes of the Dúnedain. [Hammond & Scull]

19. Explain how each of the two Elendilmirs came to be in Aragorn’s possession.

The first he received was brought to him from Rivendell by the Sons of Elrond. This was the replacement one made for Valandil. The second one, the original worn by Silmariën and lost with Isildur, was found by him and Gimli in Saruman’s hoard after the Ring War.

20. In the early drafts of LOTR, which other member of the fellowship is given an emerald brooch and names himself ‘Elfstone’?

Gimli

21. At Aragorn’s coronation, he repeated the following words first spoken by Elendil: Et Earello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn’ Ambar-metta!

What does this mean in English?

Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come. In this place will I abide and my heirs unto the ending of the world.

22. In the ‘The War of the Ring’, which injured horse does Aragorn tend?

Snowmane

Aragorn was away behind the defences tending the wound in Snowmane’s shoulder and speaking gentle words to the horse. As the fragrance of athelas rose in the air, his mind went back to the defence on Weathertop, and to the escape from Moria. ‘It is a long journey,’ he said to himself. ‘From one hopeless corner we escape but to find another more desperate. Yet alas, Frodo, I would be happier in heart if you were with us in this grim place. Where now do you wander?’

I just love this. Why oh why, did Tolkien delete it from the final draught? This is much a rare glimpse inside Aragorn’s head, it’s one of my favourite moments in the entire HOME.

23. What was the original name Tolkien gave to Narsil reforged?

Branding

24. Which king fashioned the crown used at Aragorn’s coronation?

Atanatar II Alcarin [Appendices]

25. When Aragorn told Legolas and Gimli that he had dared to look in the Palantir, Gimli was surprised, but Aragorn replied: ‘you forget to whom you speak.’ However in the first published edition of LOTR his reply was quite different. What were his original words?

‘What do you fear that I should say: that I had a rascal of a rebel dwarf here that I would gladly exchange for a serviceable orc?’

[Interesting that Tolkien toned this down]

26. How tall was Aragorn;

a. In feet and inches

b. In relation to the rest of the Company

At least 6’6” tall [Hammond and Scull]. He was the tallest in the Company. [The Ring Goes South]

27. According to the various versions in UT and HOME, the Elessar might have been made by one of three different Elves. What were their names?

Enerdhil, Celebrimbor, [UT] Feanor [War of the Jewels ‘He [Feanor] gives the green stone to Maidros.’ CT’s note: This can hardly be other than a reference to the Elessar that came in the end to Aragorn.]

28. Who was Aragorn’s paternal great grandfather?

Argonui

29. After Eowyn is troth plighted to Faramir, she says to Aragorn: ‘Wish me joy, my liege-lord and healer!’

How does Aragorn reply?

‘I have wished thee joy ever since first I saw thee. It heals my heart to see the now in bliss’

30. ‘And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.’

To what does ‘the breaking of the world’ refer?

The Downfall of Númenor and the reshaping of the world.

[Hammond & Scull.]