Boromir

"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!"

- The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Breaking of the Fellowship"

Boromir was a losing valiant warrior known in Gondor for his loserness, 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.

War of the Ring
"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."

- The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"

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:


 * 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 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. But the council disagreed with the One Ring's being taken to Gondor, deciding that the only safe course was to destroy it.

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. In Lothlórien, Boromir was disturbed by what he felt was Galadriel's testing of his mind, and he was suspicious of her motives. Before leaving Lothlórien he was given the gift of an elven-cloak and a golden belt. "Farewell, Aragorn! Go to Minas Tirith and save my people! I have failed."

- The Two Towers,'' "The Departure of Boromir" (Boromir's final words, spoken to Aragorn)

Boromir disliked the idea of destroying the One Ring, as 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 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 then had an argument and Frodo walked off. After the argument Boromir went for a walk, until eventually returning to the camp. 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. Aragorn ordered Boromir to follow and look after Merry and Pippin.



During the search, Merry and Pippin ran into a group of Uruk-Hai, 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, with 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. Afterwards, they sang the Lament for Boromir.

Legacy


Three days after Boromir's death, his brother Faramir saw his funeral boat passing down the Anduin. Men of Gondor found Boromir's horn, the Horn of Gondor, broken in twain, and brought it to his father. This drove Denethor to despair, his grief driving him to madness. When Gandalf and Pippin arrived at Gondor to give counsel to Denethor, they found him sitting on the Steward's chair holding the broken Horn of Gondor. Denethor was forlorn, his grief at Boromir's death making him turn away from Gandalf's advice. Pippin recounted to Denethor how Boromir died to save him and Merry at Amon Hen.

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.

Personality
Boromir was headstrong, brave and intelligent. He was also the typical image of his father, Denethor. He was almost always respectful and rarely forgot his manners or his duty to his father. He was hot-tempered, sly and cold-hearted at times and showed great pride in his high-class heritage. In the films, he was rather spiteful of Aragorn being Isildur's heir, but in time grew to respect him. He was extremely brave, as he selflessly stood up against the orcs (Uruk Hai) at Amon Hen in order to defend Merry and Pippin. Before he died, he voiced his renewed trust in Aragorn. He honoured Aragorn as his captain and king.

The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
"I would have followed you, my brother; my captain; my king."

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

Boromir is portrayed by the English actor Sean Bean. He is portrayed as a very strong fighter, but the Ring seems to be corrupting him very easily. His portrayal makes the audience think that he is evil, but it is due to the Ring. In the film trilogy, his sidearm is a dagger. Instead of being killed by several orc archers, he is shot thrice through the chest by the Uruk commander Lurtz.

Boromir is known for two famous movie lines that have been the spark of many internet memes; "They have a cave troll," and "One does not simply walk into Mordor."

Non-canonical weapons

 * Armour

Boromir's armour was the standard armour of a Gondor foot soldier. When 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.

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.


 * 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 scent-topper 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 gilded 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.

Ralph Bakshi
"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)

In Ralph Bakshi's film, Boromir was portrayed by the English voice actor Michael Graham Cox in which the character has on a helmet that resembles a stereotypical viking's with two horns on each side.

Radio plays
In the 1955 BBC play, he was portrayed by the British voice actor Derek Prentice. In the Mind's Eye 1979 play, he was portrayed by the American voice actor Erik Bauersfeld. In the final BBC radio play of 1981, he was again voiced by Michael Graham Cox.

Video games

 * Boromir appears in the ''LEGO The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game, voiced by Sean Bean.
 * He also makes an appearance in an online game, The Lord of the Rings Online.

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)
 * The Return of the King ( Stock Footage and Extended Edition only)

External link


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