inzilbeth | Why March 1st? (Reply)

Today, as we all know, is the day upon which Aragorn was born and upon which he died. Have you ever wondered though precisely why the date of Aragorn’s birth and death is March 1^st? I certainly have and I’m quite sure that this date wasn’t just selected at random and that there will be a reason why Tolkien chose it. Googling ‘happenings’ on this day turns up many interesting events associated with March 1^st but none of them appears to be of greater significance than St David’s Day. Having several Welsh relatives, St David is fairly well known to me but is there any reason why Tolkien chose this date specifically for Aragorn? David was a sixth century monk who became the patron saint of Wales but any possible connections with Aragorn seem fairly tenuous. David was a very devout man who spent most of his life in his monastery. There he enforced an austere regime making his monks work hard and wouldn’t allow them to drink anything but water; no Barliman’s best brew there!

He was though descended from kings on both sides of his family, his mother possibly even being a niece of King Arthur. As a child, he was educated by Saints and, when he was old enough, he travelled far and wide, teaching and preaching about Christ. A renowned healer, he was well loved since he performed many miracles such as restoring the sight to the blind.

March 1st was the date upon which he died and I wonder if it is in the manner of his death that the main connection to Aragorn can be found. David was a great age when he died, over one hundred years old, and was keen to depart this life to dwell at peace in the presence of God. When, therefore, an angel visited him and told him he would die in one week’s time, he was glad and at the time of his death, a host of angels apparently filled the monastery. Such a peaceful death, departing in full knowledge that his time had come and trusting in a life beyond, would certainly seem to be very in keeping with the way Aragorn gave up his life.

I’ve no idea if I’m right about this. Any thoughts?

And, of course, we must have a pic to celebrate! See under the cut for one of my favourites.