Boromir

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

"It is a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt over so small a thing. Such a little thing."

- Boromir

Boromir was a valiant warrior known in Gondor for his greatness, having already achieved great merit in Gondor prior to the Council of Elrond. His strength and forceful mood made him a great commander of Gondor who would have protected his people no matter what. Even the people of Rohan, particularly Éomer, admired him.

Before the War of the Ring
Boromir son of Denethor II, the second to last ruling Steward of Gondor and Finduilas was born in the year TA 2978. He was the eldest child of Denethor II having only one brother Faramir, and so would have taken over as Steward after Denethor's death. When his mother died he was only ten years of age. His father became a grim person that visibly preferred Boromir over his brother Faramir. Despite this fact, Boromir looked after his younger brother and they became great friends. Boromir devoted himself to protecting his people and was 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
One day he 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,
 * An the Halfling forth shall stand.

Boromir lost his horse in Tharbad and traveled 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. Soon he 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 the Dwarven realm of Moria, where Gandalf would fall while fighting the Balrog. When the Fellowship made it to Lórien he was disturbed by Galadriel testing his mind. Soon he left with an elven-cloak and a golden belt, riding the river Anduin in the elven boats Celeborn gave the Fellowship.



Death
Boromir disliked the idea of destroying the One Ring so he tried to convince Frodo to give him the ring. When Frodo refused Boromir tried taking it from him, perhaps even 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 told the Fellowship about Frodo's vanishing. They were soon after attacked by Orcs and Uruk-hai. During the battle he was mortally wounded while defending Merry and Pippin. It took many arrows to finally fell Boromir, son of Denethor II, Steward-prince of Gondor. The Uruk-Hai who killed Boromir was labeled in the movies as Lurtz, but Boromir was killed by many unknown orcs in the books. All it says is that they find him dying under a tree.

It is also worth noting that though in the books, Boromir died in the beginning of The Two Towers (novel), in the film version he was killed in the last portion of The Fellowship of the Ring (film).

Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli laid him to rest 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.

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. Pippin recounted how Boromir died to save himself and Merry. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields Denethor attempted to burn himself and the presumed dead Faramir in a pyre.

Boromir was also remembered by the other members of the Fellowship because he died at the time the Fellowship broke up. The only members of the Fellowship that initially knew of his death were Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. Frodo and Sam later learned of his death by Faramir.

Armour
Boromir's armor is the standard armor of a Gondorian foot soldier. He also carries a Gondorian shield and a sword. His most important tool for defense is his horn. This horn, when sounded, drives the courage out of an enemy, and brings aid to the blower as well.

Shield
The shield that Boromir carried was circular and unique by its design. It would have been easy to recognize him where ever he went because of the rarity of his shield. 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 would have carried it over his shoulder by using 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 have been 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 outthrust and exposed arm and neck. Whereas 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 his arm and wrist, both of which this skilled warrior had in abundance. 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 effectively for slashing against lightly armored opponents and for that it was formed from a square-edged piece of steel that had been twisted before being curved into a crescent. The guard was the same shape as that on his father’s sword, as well as those on all Third Age Gondorian 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 enchanted 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 of a single piece of shaped bronze. Unusually for a dagger, the wide blade was fullered so that in all respects it resembled the tip of Boromir's sword.

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 (his shield disappears at this stage).

In the books

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

In the movies

 * The Fellowship of the Ring
 * The Two Towers (Extended Edition only) (Flashback only)
 * The Return of the King {Flashback only)