Boromir

For other uses of Boromir see also: Boromir (disambiguation)

"Why should we not think that the Great Ring has come into our hands to serve us in the very hour of need? Wielding it the Free Lords of the Free may surely defeat the enemy."

- Boromir, at the Council of Elrond

"The Ring! Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for so small a thing? So small a thing!"

- Boromir, at Amon Hen

Boromir was a valiant warrior known in Gondor for his greatness, having already achieved great merit in Gondor prior to the Council of Elrond. He was the eldest son of Denethor II, who was Steward of Gondor during the War of the Ring, and his wife Finduilas. Even the people of Rohan, particularly Éomer, admired him.

Before the War of the Ring


Boromir was born in the year TA 2978. He was the eldest child of Denethor II (the penultimate Steward of Gondor) and his wife Finduilas, and would have taken over as Steward after Denethor's death, had he lived. When Boromir was only ten-years old, his mother died. Consequently, his father became a grim person and visibly preferred Boromir over his brother, Faramir. Despite this fact, Boromir looked after his younger brother and they became very close. Boromir devoted himself to leading his people and fought in the battle for the eastern part of Osgiliath. He, his brother, and two others were the only survivors of the unit that held the bridge until its destruction; they had to swim the river Anduin to reach safety.

Boromir in the War of the Ring


Boromir, by order of his father, Denethor, set out from Minas Tirith to Rivendell to decipher a riddle that was given to him and his brother in their dreams.

Boromir lost his horse in Tharbad and travelled the rest of the way on foot. The journey took 110 days. He arrived at the beginning of the Council of Elrond where he talked about how Gondor was defending itself from Mordor and tried to convince them to give the One Ring to Gondor where he felt it would be kept safe. The council disagreed with the ring going to Gondor because of the possibility that Sauron would sense it there.


 * Seek for the Sword that was broken,
 * In Imladris it dwells,
 * There shall be counsels taken,
 * Stronger than Morgul-spells.
 * There shall be shown a token,
 * That Doom is near at hand,
 * For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
 * And the Halfling forth shall stand.

Boromir joined the Fellowship of the Ring and was warned by Elrond to not blow the Horn of Gondor until they were close to Gondor and in dire need. After the Fellowship failed to cross east of the Misty Mountains, they went through Moria, where Gandalf fell while fighting a Balrog. When the Fellowship made it to Lórien, Boromir was disturbed by Galadriel testing his mind. He was given the gift of an elven-cloak and a golden belt, riding the river Anduin in the elven boats Celeborn gave the Fellowship.

Death
"Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed."

- The Two Towers (novel), Chapter 1, Boromir's final words, spoken to Aragorn

"The halflings... Orcs took them. I think they are not dead."

- The Lord of the Rings (1978 film), Boromir's final words, spoken to Aragorn

"I would have followed you, my brother; my captain; my king."

- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Boromir's final words, spoken to Aragorn



Boromir disliked the idea of destroying the One Ring, he believed that it could be used to defeat Sauron once and for all, to save Gondor, and return it to its former glory; he tried to convince Frodo to give him the ring. When Frodo refused, Boromir tried to take it by force, threatening Frodo with death, but the hobbit put the One Ring on and fled.

After Boromir realized his actions were caused by the corruption of the One Ring, he repented, and upon returning to camp he was confronted by Aragorn about Frodo. Boromir told Aragorn that he had seen Frodo an hour ago where he had tried to convince Frodo to bring the One Ring to Minas Tirith. They had then had an argument and Frodo had walked off. After the argument Boromir had gone for a walk and had been walking around the whole time before returning to the camp just now. The Fellowship, especially Aragorn, didn't believe everything Boromir said and upon relating his story, they scattered looking for Frodo; Sam tore up the path, where he was joined shortly by Aragorn. The rest of the Fellowship all went off in different directions.

During the search, Merry and Pippin ran into a group of orcs who tried to capture them. Boromir came to their aid, and drove the orcs off, but more orcs came and Boromir was mortally wounded by many arrows. Aragorn found him dying under a tree, Merry and Pippin gone. He stayed with Boromir until he died from his wounds.

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli laid his body inside one of the boats of Lórien, and sent him down the Falls of Rauros, singing:

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.

— Aragorn

From the mouths of the Sea the South Wind flies, from the sandhills and the stones;

The wailing of the gulls it bears, and at the gate it moans.

What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve?

''Where now is Boromir the Fair? He tarries and I grieve.''

Ask not of me where he doth dwell -- so many bones there lie

On the white shores and the dark shores under the stormy sky;

So many have passed down Anduin to find the flowing Sea.

Ask of the North Wind news of them the North Wind sends to me!

''O Boromir! Beyond the gate the seaward road runs south,''

But you came not with the ailing gulls from the grey sea's mouth.

— Legolas

From the Gate of Kings the North Wind rides, and past the roaring falls;

And clear and cold about the tower its loud horn calls.

What news from the North, O mighty wind, do you bring to me today?

''What news of Boromir the Bold? For he is long away.''

''Beneath Amon Hen I heard his cry. There many foes he fought.''

His cloven shield, his broken sword, they do the water brought.

His head so proud, his face so fair, his limbs they laid to rest;

And Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, bore him upon its breast.

''O Boromir! The Tower of Guard shall ever northward gaz''e

To Rauros, golden Rauros-falls, until the end of days.

— Aragorn

Legacy
Three days after Boromir's death, his brother Faramir found his funeral boat. Boromir's death made his father Denethor even more morose, driving him to madness. When Gandalf and Pippin arrived at Gondor to give counsel to Denethor, they found him sitting on his throne holding the broken Horn of Gondor. This left Denethor forlorn and eventually Boromir's death made Denethor turn away from Gandalf's advice. During this time, Pippin recounted how Boromir died to save himself and Merry. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields Denethor attempted to burn himself and Faramir as his maddened mind believed Faramir was dead even though Pippin, his new guard of the citadel, said he was still alive. Denethor ignored the Hobbit's correct claim. He eventually released Pippin from his service, despite Pippin having gone in service in payment for Boromir's life. Pippin did not want Boromir's only brother nor the Steward to die, but Denethor had gone mad. Nonetheless, Pippin was fighting for Gondor in the memory of Boromir who fought, and died, valiantly to protect Merry and Pippin at Amon Hen — something Pippin would never forget; thus, in payment for Boromir's mighty sacrifice he saved Faramir from death by alerting Gandalf and pulling Faramir out of the fire.

Boromir won respect even from his enemies: in The Two Towers, Ugluk boasts that it was the Uruk-hai who "slew the mighty warrior," a clear reference to Boromir.

Appearance
Boromir shows many of the traits of his Númenórean ancestry, namely his great size and strength, which is greater than that of any normal man. However, he was "less Númenórean" than his brother Faramir or his father Denethor. This Gandalf mentions to Pippin in Gondor. More proof can be seen in the fact that he saw a dream that came to him only once but to his brother, it came multiple times, showing that he was less farsighted. He was large and powerful due to ancestry and his military life-style and was widely considered one of the greatest warriors in the world of men, and all the free peoples. At the time of the War of the Ring he was regarded as one of the finest mortal warriors.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
Boromir is portrayed by the English actor Sean Bean.

Armour
Boromir's armour is the standard armour of a Gondorian foot soldier. When he was travelling with the Fellowship of the Ring, Boromir was more lightly armoured, wearing only chain-mail, leather and a well-made pair of Gondor vambraces later worn by Aragorn.

Shield
The shield that Boromir carried was circular, unique by its design, and easily recognisable.

The wood frame had been dyed black, and in the middle was a large steel boss that was riveted to the back of the shield; fixed into the boss was a handle made of horn that was edged with bronze rings. Around the edge were engraved wings and the seven stars of Gondor's noble heritage. When not using it, Boromir carried the shield over his shoulder with the finely tooled leather gauge that was riveted to the boss and the steel rim that ran around the edge of the shield, again secured by a number of rivets.

It was a solid piece of work that could be wielded quickly and effectively; the curved, circular shield had no points that an enemy could catch on, so their blows would slide across and past the shield. When this happened, the attacker's forward movement would unbalance him, allowing Boromir to bring his sword down upon his out-thrust and exposed arm and neck. If the blow was light enough, the upraised shield would arrest the swing of the blow and Boromir could thrust under the foe's shield and into his belly.

Sword
Boromir's sword was like its owner: big, broad, and powerful. To use it single-handed required someone with great strength in the arm and wrist, both of which this skilled warrior had in abundance. It is a hand and a half sword meaning Boromir could wield it with one hand allowing him to use his shield and as a two handed sword. The blade was over three inches across at its widest point; it had a flattened diamond shape in section with an equally wide fuller in order to keep the weight down. However, the fuller ended some way short if the tip, thereby keeping as much strength in the end of the blade as possible. It was sharpened on both edges and tapered actually at the tip, which meant that it would have been equally effective for slashing against lightly armoured opponents.

The guard was the same shape as that on his father’s sword, as well as those on all Third Age Gondor-made swords. The handgrip was wide like the blade, matched to Boromir's hand, and the pommel was an elegant and simple piece of steel, again large to counterbalance the weight of this warrior's blade. The scabbard was wood covered in leather that had been decorated with crisscrossing strips of leather down its length together with a steel locket and an elegant steel chape that matched the shape of the pommel. It was attached directly to the belt that had been stamped with a delicate leaf pattern repeated along its length. It may be that this was a gift from his mother.

Dagger
Boromir also carried a dagger that was a little brother to his sword, matching its blade shape and pommel design. The only difference was that it was decorated with bronze details; the handgrip was wrapped in fine bronze wire instead of leather, the pommel was glided with bronze and the guard was formed from a single piece of shaped bronze. Unusual for a dagger, the wide blade was fuller so that in all respects it resembled the tip of Boromir's sword. In the movie it is last seen when he throws it into the neck of an Uruk-hai who was attempting to attack Merry and Pippin from behind.

Boromir is also mentioned as having a helmet, but it makes no appearance except once, when Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are arraying him for burial.

In the books

 * The Fellowship of the Ring (First appearance)
 * The Two Towers

In the movies

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers ( Stock Footage and Extended Edition only)

External link


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