Boromir
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Boromir is a supporting character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King.
He was the eldest son of Denethor II, the last ruling Steward of Gondor. As befitting his Númenórean descent, he was tall, dark-haired, and had grey eyes.
Boromir was honorable and noble; he believed passionately in the greatness of his kingdom and would have defended its people to the very last. Boromir's great stamina and physical strength, together with a forceful and commanding personality, made him a widely-admired commander in Gondor's army: he was made a Captain of the White Tower, and eventually became Captain-General, also bearing the title High Warden of the White Tower. He was also heir apparent to the Stewardship. Boromir led many successful forays against Sauron's forces, prior to his journey north to Rivendell, which esteemed him greatly in his father Denethor's eyes. His greatest flaw — pride — would eventually prove to be his undoing, however. Template:Spoiler
Biography
Pre-War of the Ring
Template:Middle-earth portal Boromir was born in the year 2978 of the Third Age to Denethor II and Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth. His younger brother, Faramir, was born in the year 2983. The following year, Denethor became Steward of Gondor, succeeding his father, Ecthelion II.
After Finduilas' death, Denethor became somber, cold and detached from his family. As their father withdrew, the relationship between Faramir and Boromir grew closer and greater in love. Denethor always favoured Boromir over Faramir, but this caused no rivalry between the two brothers. Boromir always protected and helped Faramir. Boromir was judged to be the more daring one, as well as the more fearless. His fearlessness and greatness in battle was known beyond Gondor's borders.
Role in the War of the Ring
In response to a prophetic dream that he and his brother had, Boromir claimed the duty of riding to Rivendell from Minas Tirith in T.A. 3018. During the time of his arrival, the Council of Elrond was commencing. It is here that he first appears in The Fellowship of the Ring. There he tells his story of Gondor's attempts to keep the powers of Mordor at bay. He then attempted to persuade the Council to let him take the One Ring to Gondor so that it could be used in the defense of the realm, but was told that it could not be used without corrupting its user and alerting Sauron to its presence.
He subsequently joined the Fellowship of the Ring and travelled with them south from Rivendell. Before departing, Boromir blew the Horn of Gondor loudly, saying that he "would not go forth like a thief into the night". Elrond, lord of the Elves in Rivendell, then warned him not to blow it again until he had reached the border of Gondor.
The Fellowship, after failing to climb eastward over the Misty Mountains, passed through the former Dwarven realm of Moria and then the Elven realm of Lórien. In Lórien, Boromir was greatly disturbed by the Lady Galadriel's testing of his mind, telling the quest's leader, Aragorn, "not to be too sure of this lady and her purposes." Before Boromir left Lórien, he received the gifts of a golden belt and an Elven-cloak. On the quest he proved his worth and reputation. He slew many Orcs and at least one Warg on the journey.
Boromir was always in favour of taking the Ring to Minas Tirith despite his duty to help destroy it. He openly shared this with Aragorn after Gandalf's apparent death, but it was chosen that it would be taken to Mordor. Boromir felt that it would be better to use the Ring in Gondor's defense than to throw it away. Eventually, he plotted to take the Ring for himself, justifying his treachery to himself with his duty to his people and his belief in his own superiority.
"True-hearted Men, they will not be corrupted. We of Minas Tirith have been staunch through long years of trial. We do not desire the power of wizard-lords, only strength to defend ourselves, strength in a just cause. And behold! in our need chance brings to light the Ring of Power. It is a gift, I say; a gift to the foes of Mordor. It is mad not to use it, to use the power of the Enemy against him. The fearless, the ruthless, these alone will achieve victory. What could not a warrior do in this hour, a great leader? What could not Aragorn do? Or if he refuses, why not Boromir? The Ring would give me power of Command. How I would drive the hosts of Mordor, and all men would flock to my banner!"
— The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Breaking of the Fellowship"
After seeing that Ringbearer Frodo Baggins was unconvinced by his reasoning, Boromir simply commanded him to yield the Ring to him. Frodo still refused. Boromir then moved to seize the Ring for himself. Frodo put the Ring on and fled, intending to continue the quest alone. Boromir, realizing what had happened, repented of his actions, but it was too late. Searching unsuccessfully for Frodo, he notified the rest of the Fellowship of Frodo's absence. This and the subsequent attack by Orcs, led to the breaking of the Fellowship. The Fellowship of the Ring ends with Samwise Gamgee finding Frodo and going with him, leading directly to the start of The Two Towers, in which the Orc-attack and its aftermath is featured.
During the scattered fighting, Boromir was mortally wounded while defending Merry and Pippin in an attempt to prevent their capture — thereby redeeming himself for trying to take the Ring. The fighting is not directly depicted in the book, but rather through Pippin's thoughts in the second chapter of The Two Towers.
Blasts from Boromir's horn alerted Aragorn (who had not fought any Orcs), but he came too late to prevent the Hobbits' capture. Before he died, Boromir charged him to prevent his city, Minas Tirith, from falling, as he had failed it. Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas used one of their boats as a funeral boat for Boromir's body, placing his sword, belt, cloak, broken horn, and the weapons of his slain foes. Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas sang "Lament of the Winds" as his funeral song.
Through Rohan over fen and field where the long grass grows The West wind comes walking, and about the walls it goes. 'What news from the west, O wandering wind, do you bring to me tonight? Have you seen Boromir the Tall by moon or by starlight? 'I saw him ride over seven streams, over waters wide and grey; I saw him walk in empty lands, until he passed away Into the shadows of the North. I saw him then no more. The North Wind may have heard the horn of the son of Denethor.' 'O Boromir! From the high walls westward I looked afar, But you come not from the empty lands where no men are.
On February 26, 3019 T.A. he passed over the Falls of Rauros.
Three days later, Faramir found the boat bearing his dead brother floating down the River Anduin, to his and their father's great grief.
From "The Departure of Boromir"-
"But in Gondor in after-days it long was said that the elven-boat rode the falls and the foaming pool, and bore him down through Osgiliath, and past the many mouths of Anduin, out into the Great Sea at night under the stars."
Portrayal in adaptations
Films
In both Ralph Bakshi's animated film and in the subsequent BBC Radio serial, Boromir is played by Michael Graham Cox. In the former, he is dressed in barbarian garb.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Boromir is played by Sean Bean. In a departure from the structure of Tolkien's book, Boromir's death is shown at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring, instead of being related at the beginning of The Two Towers. In the film, Boromir is mortally wounded by the Uruk-hai]] leader Lurtz, a character created for the films, instead of by numerous, unknown Uruk-hai led by Uglúk.
Jackson's Fellowship does not specifically focus on the split of Boromir's horn though the editorial cut of the film strongly suggests that the horn is cleaved by Lurtz's third arrow. The breaking of the horn could reasonably be viewed as an allegory for Boromir's own death.
The Extended Edition of The Two Towers also includes a brief scene in which Boromir and his brother Faramir see each other for the last time, and we see their father's curious attitude toward his two sons. Interestingly, this encounter displays Boromir's intial refusal to go to Rivendell, desiring instead to continue protecting Osgiliath and Gondor, while Faramir volunteers to leave- Denethor refuses Faramir's offer and orders Boromir to travel, in the end.
He appears in a brief flashback in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, as Pippin remembers his heroic sacrifice. Due to that scene alone, Bean merited a portrait in the closing credits (while Christopher Lee and Brad Dourif, who played Saruman and Gríma respectively, did not have such portraits in the credits of the theatrical cut, since their scenes only appeared in the Extended Edition).
Other Boromirs
Other characters in Tolkien's legendarium named Boromir include Boromir, son of Boron and father of Andreth and Bregor of in the House of Bëor in the First Age, and Boromir son of Denethor I after whom Boromir of Gondor was named. He was a great captain, and even feared by the Witch-king of Angmar.
See also
External links
- Boromir at The Thain's Book
- 'Lament for Boromir' by Colin Rudd
