"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". It narrates the love of the mortal Man Aragorn and the immortal Elf-maiden Arwen, telling the story of their first meeting, their eventual betrothal and marriage, and the circumstances of their deaths. Tolkien called the tale "really essential to the story". In contrast to the non-narrative appendices it extends the main story of the book to cover events both before and after it, one reason it would not fit in the main text. Tolkien gave another reason for its exclusion, namely that the main text is told from the hobbits' point of view.
Introduction
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Introduction
It is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". No, it is part of the  Appendices It is a tale No, a story.
arwen's dad in lord of the rings
user
Her father was Elrond half-elven, a descendant of the Man Tuor.
assistant
what is an elven?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
who created the aforementioned character?
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J. R. R. Tolkien
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are there any other names of the character?
user
Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context.
assistant
is the character referred in any literature?
user
Yes, in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen".
assistant
what kind of literary work is it?
user
The tale is set in the Third and Fourth Ages of fictional universe.
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is it a novel?
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"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" is a story within the Appendices of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". It narrates the love of the mortal Man Aragorn and the immortal Elf-maiden Arwen, telling the story of their first meeting, their eventual betrothal and marriage, and the circumstances of their deaths. Tolkien called the tale "really essential to the story". In contrast to the non-narrative appendices it extends the main story of the book to cover events both before and after it, one reason it would not fit in the main text. Tolkien gave another reason for its exclusion, namely that the main text is told from the hobbits' point of view.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Introduction
The Third Age ends as Elrond departs Middle-earth never to return, and he and Arwen are "sundered by the Sea and by a doom beyond the end of the world".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Plot
It has been noted also that the tale's relegation deprives the main story of much of its love-interest, shifting the book's emphasis towards action.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Introduction
Men cannot climb the hierarchy, as Eru, Valar, and Elves are permanently above them. But the Elves voluntarily leave at the end of the Third Age, so men can take their place. Further, Burns writes, the marriage with Arwen infuses Aragorn's line with fresh Elven blood, bringing some of the Elves' actual power and nobility to Gondor.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | "History, true or feigned"
The tale is set in the Third and Fourth Ages of J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe, Middle-earth, and was published in 1955 in "The Return of the King" as the fifth part of the first section of Appendix A of "The Lord of the Rings". In the book itself, Aragorn is presented almost without detail of his relationships, other than a brief interaction with Éowyn, the lady of Rohan, while Arwen barely speaks and hardly features until her marriage at the end of the book. In a letter dated 6 April 1956 to his publisher Rayner Unwin, Tolkien stated that the tale was the only part of the Appendices that was "really essential to the story." The publishers wanted to omit the Appendices entirely for the first Swedish edition, the 1959-1961 "Sagan om ringen"; Tolkien insisted on keeping the tale, stating that it was "essential to the understanding of the main text in many places", and it and Appendix D formed the only appendices to that edition.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Context
The tale to some extent mirrors the "Tale of Beren and Lúthien", set in an earlier age of Middle-earth. This creates a feeling of historical depth, in what scholars note is an approach similar to that of Dante in his "Inferno". Aspects of the tale discussed by scholars include the nature of love and death; the question of why the tale, if so important, was relegated to an appendix; Tolkien's blurring of the line between story and history; the balance Tolkien strikes between open Christianity and his treatment of his characters as pagan; and the resulting paradox that although Tolkien was a Roman Catholic and considered the book fundamentally Catholic, Middle-earth societies lack religions of their own.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Introduction
Aragorn is the opposite of hobbitish: tall, not provincial, untroubled by the discomforts of the wild. At the start, in Bree, he appears as a Ranger of the North, a weatherbeaten man named Strider. Gradually the reader discovers he is heir to the throne of Gondor, engaged to be married to Arwen, an Elf-woman. He emerges as an unqualified hero, in Frye's "High Mimetic" or "Romantic" literary mode, making the whole novel indeed a heroic romance: he regains his throne, marries Arwen, and has a long, peaceful, and happy reign.
Man (Middle-earth) | From "clod" to hero
Rateliff praises and quotes the scholar of English literature Paul H. Kocher on this: "At the end of his epic Tolkien inserts ... some forebodings of [Middle-earth's] future which will make Earth what it is today ... he shows the initial steps in a long process of retreat or disappearance [of] all other intelligent species, which will leave man effectually alone on earth... Ents may still be there in our forests, but what forests have we left? The process of extermination is already well under way in the Third Age, and ... Tolkien bitterly deplores its climax today." In this tale of decline and fall, notes Marjorie Burns, Tolkien "clever[ly]" manages to include an element of rising to nobility.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | "History, true or feigned"
In reply, with "the foresight of his kindred", Aragorn prophesies that Elrond's time in Middle-earth is coming to an end, and that Arwen will have to choose between her father and staying in Middle-earth. Aragorn and Arwen meet again in Lothlórien, nearly thirty years later. Galadriel dresses Aragorn in "silver and white, with a cloak of elven-grey and a bright gem on his brow", so that he seems to be an elf-lord. Arwen sees him and makes her choice. They climb the hill of Cerin Amroth, from where they can see the Shadow (Mordor) in the East, and the Twilight (the fading of the Elves) in the West, and they "plighted their troth".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Plot
The Tolkien scholar John D. Rateliff writes that "Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" forms one of the "very final passages" of the internal chronology of "Lord of the Rings", and that it ends not just with Arwen's death, but the statement that her grave is on Cerin Amroth "until the world is changed, and all the days of her life are utterly forgotten by men that come after ... and with the passing of [Arwen] Evenstar no more is said in this book of the days of old." Rateliff observes that this points up a "highly unusual" aspect of the book among modern fantasy: it is set "in the real world but in an imagined prehistory." As a result, Rateliff explains, Tolkien can build what he likes in that distant past, elves and wizards and hobbits and all the rest, provided that he tears it all down again, so that the modern world can emerge from the wreckage, with nothing but "a word or two, a few vague legends and confused traditions..." to show for it.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | "History, true or feigned"
The novel is a retelling of the story of the Third Branch of the Mabinogion, "Manawydan Fab Llŷr" ("Manawyddan, son of Llŷr").
The Song of Rhiannon | Introduction
In Tolkien's fictional universe, the frame story is that the tale was written by Faramir and Éowyn's grandson Barahir after Aragorn's death, and that an abbreviated version of the tale was included in the copy of the Thain's Book made by Findegil. The Tolkien scholar Giuseppe Pezzini writes that the "meta-textual frame ... is duly harmonised in the text through the use of formal features; the appendixes are indeed full of scribal glosses, later notes, and editorial references that are meant to match the elaborate textual history detailed in the Note on the Shire Records." The narrative voice and the point of view from which the story is told is examined by the scholar of English, literature, and film Christine Barkley, who considers the main part of the tale to have been narrated by Aragorn.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Frame story
Aragorn, visiting Rivendell, sings the "Lay of Lúthien", an immortal Elf-maiden in the First Age who marries a man, Beren, thereby choosing a mortal life. As he does so, "Lúthien walked before his eyes": he sees Arwen in the woods, and calls out to her "Tinúviel! Tinúviel!" as Beren had done; she reveals that although she seems no older than he, she is of great age, having "the [immortal] life of the Eldar". He falls in love with her. Arwen's father, Elrond the Half-elven, sees without being told what has happened, and tells Aragorn that a "great doom awaits" him, either to be the greatest of his line since Elendil, or to fall into darkness; and that he "shall neither have wife, nor bind any woman to you in troth" until he is found worthy.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Plot
The literary historian and folklorist William Gray adds that the reason for the tale's relegation may be that it does not contribute to the interlacing of the narrative. Interlacing is the literary device where the narrative jumps between parallel threads. Gray notes that one effect of the relegation is an emphasis on dramatic action, at the price of "love-interest". All the same, Gray writes, the tale "is one of Tolkien's most moving pieces. It is a tale about enduring love, triumphing over seemingly impossible odds, and sealed with Arwen's sacrifice of her Elven immortality in order to live with her human husband for 'six score years of great glory and bliss'." Tolkien himself gave another explanation, which was that "This story is placed in an appendix, because I have told the whole tale [of "The Lord of the Rings"] more or less through 'hobbits'; and that is because another main point in the story for me is the remark of Elrond in Vol.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Relegated ending
The medievalist and scholar of Old English literature and its use in fantasy, Tom Shippey, analyses the tale for what it says about Tolkien's delicate balance between open Christianity and his treatment of his characters as heathens, a word that Shippey observes Tolkien uses very sparingly. Shippey notes that both Aragorn and Arwen are pagan, though Aragorn is "remarkably virtuous .. without even the faults of Theoden, and he foreknows his death like a [Christian] saint". Shippey notes that Arwen is inconsolable, seeing nothing after death, rejecting Aragorn's "we are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Missing religion
The scholar of English literature Chris Walsh describes "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" as an alternative ending to "The Lord of the Rings", with Aragorn's sombre last words to Arwen in place of the hobbit Sam Gamgee's cheery "Well, I'm back". Walsh notes that in a letter, Tolkien wrote "The passage over Sea [to Elvenhome in the West] is not Death ... I am only concerned with Death as part of the nature, physical and spiritual, of Man, and with Hope without guarantees. That is why I regard the tale of Arwen and Aragorn as the most important of the appendices; it is part of the essential story [...]".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Relegated ending
West speculates that Aragorn may be thinking here of the consequences of what will happen should Arwen marry him, and later states that he finds "the lonely death of Arwen the most moving tragedy within ["The Lord of the Rings"]". A similar conclusion regarding Aragorn's feelings at Weathertop is drawn by scholar of medieval English literature John M. Bowers in his work on the influence of Geoffrey Chaucer on Tolkien. Bowers, looking at both the Weathertop scene and 'The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen', states that like certain pilgrims in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", Aragorn's stories of his ancestors "open a window into his private desires and fears".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Love and death
Elrond tells Aragorn that they may marry only when he is King of both Gondor and Arnor, the ancient southern and northern Kingdoms of Middle-earth. Some years later, Aragorn helps the Fellowship and the forces of the West to victory in the War of the Ring against the forces of Mordor. At the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, he unfurls the standard made by Arwen and is hailed as King by the people of Gondor. The One Ring is destroyed, taking the power of the three Elven-rings, including Elrond's, with it. Aragorn becomes King of Gondor and Arnor, and at midsummer he and Arwen are married in Minas Tirith.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Plot
Yes, he was happily married, and yes, he did have a daughter. But his wife, Edith Mary, and daughter, Priscilla, seemed to have practically no influence on his writing." They quoted the scholar of medieval and Old English literature, Linda Voigts, as defending Tolkien, pointing out that, brought up in a male world and living among male scholars at a time when "Oxford was a boys' club", he could not have been expected to be a modern feminist. Butler and Eberhard wrote that the woman in the novel see little action, giving the example of Arwen. In their opinion, a strong-willed woman, Éowyn, was created when the teenaged Priscilla asked her father for a female character.
Women in The Lord of the Rings | A story about men for boys
Sarah Workman writes that the relegation of the tale to an appendix "does not subordinate its importance", citing the same letter. Walsh states that he is interested to find that while Tolkien had "reluctantly relegated" the tale to an appendix, it is part of the main story in Peter Jackson's film trilogy, "strategically placed almost exactly half-way through". The film's depiction of the tale differs from the book's, combining Arwen's arrival, the presentation of the banner, the coronation, and the wedding; in the tale, Aragorn "unfurled the standard of Arwen in the battle of the Fields of Pelennor". Walsh notes that Jackson includes a flash forward to Elrond's vision of Arwen as the King's widow, with the phrase "There is nothing for you here: only death" used both in the film of "The Two Towers" and again in "The Return of the King": in Walsh's view, death is the story's focus.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Relegated ending
Likewise, the historical events described in the book, such as the Battle of Pilleth and the signing of the Tripartite Indenture, are a mixture of fact and fiction; some of the incidents, such as the death of Hywel Sele, are based on legend or oral tradition.
Owen Glendower (novel) | Plot introduction
This novel involves a conspiracy in the court of Cormyr told in a series of stories set throughout the history of the kingdom, from the days of its foundations up to the date of the main story.
Cormyr: A Novel | Plot summary
The story of Beren and Lúthien, immortal elf-maiden marrying a mortal man, and choosing mortality for herself, is mirrored in Tolkien's "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen". Their names appear on the grave of Tolkien and his wife Edith.
Lúthien and Beren | Introduction
The youth Taran lives at Caer Dallben with his guardians, the ancient enchanter Dallben and the farmer and retired soldier Coll. He is dissatisfied with his life, and longs to become a great hero like the High Prince Gwydion. Due to the threat posed by a warlord known as the Horned King, Taran is forbidden from leaving the farm and charged with the care of Hen Wen, the oracular white pig. When the pig escapes, Taran follows her into the forbidden forest. After a long, fruitless chase he is attacked by a host of horsemen galloping toward his home, led by the Horned King himself.
The Book of Three | Plot summary
Whatever the case, Shippey considers the tale to give "the deepest sense of religious belief mentioned explicitly in Middle-earth", but that the result is an "only-slightly-qualified absence of religion", creating a "paradox of a 'fundamentally Catholic' work which never once mentions God." In her study of death and dying in "The Lord of the Rings", Amy Amendt-Raduege states that Aragorn's death "follows the step-by-step process outlined by the "Ars moriendi"", the Christian precepts on how to die well, namely "the acceptance of death, the refusal of temptation, the dispensation of worldly goods and the last farewell to the family, and the final affirmation of faith".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Missing religion
The original manuscript pages of the deathbed exchange between Aragorn and Arwen show that this key scene was almost unchanged from the published version, and had been written at great speed.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Context
He then married Arwen and ruled for 122 years. Tolkien developed the character over a long period, beginning with a hobbit nicknamed Trotter, and trying out many names before arriving at a Man named Aragorn.
Aragorn | Introduction
Yet it is not yours to give me, even if you would; and only through darkness shall I come to it", and in response is presented by Galadriel with a green elfstone (earning him the name "Elessar") set in a silver brooch from Arwen. West draws a further connection between the tale in the Appendices and the main text in his analysis of the scene at the camp on Weathertop where Aragorn (Strider) recounts to the hobbits in poetry and prose the "Tale of Beren and Lúthien", with West highlighting Aragorn's words and "pensive mood" as he tells them that Lúthien "chose mortality, and to die from the world, so that she might follow [Beren]" and that "together they passed, long ago, beyond the confines of this world" and that she "alone of the Elf-kindred has died indeed and left the world, and they have lost her whom they most loved".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Love and death
On their journey to Caer Dathyl, against Fflewddur and Doli's advice, Taran rescues an injured fledgling gwythaint, one of the great birds of prey that Arawn has enslaved. The gwythaint recovers quickly and escapes overnight, shortly followed by Hen Wen, who flees just before the Horned King's army spots them all. Fflewddur, Doli and Gurgi stand to fight, while Taran and Eilonwy go ahead on Melyngar chased by the Horned King. On the top of a hill, he attacks them, and breaks the boy's sword on the first blow. Taran seizes Dyrnwyn from Eilonwy, but lacks the "noble birth" needed to draw it.
The Book of Three | Plot summary
The novel is a retelling of the story of the Second Branch of the Mabinogion, "Branwen Ferch Llŷr" ("Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr").
The Children of Llyr | Introduction
The novel is a third-person narrative. Each chapter is from the perspective of a particular character, and takes its title from that character's name. Occasionally the same event is narrated twice from different characters' perspectives, illuminating the way in which the same event can be understood differently by different people. The novel's characters explicitly draw inspiration from the story of Tristan and Isolde and the novel's plot bears some resemblance to this medieval romance.
Hjartsláttur | Form
Thomas Love Peacock's novel of 1829 The Misfortunes of Elphin relates much of Elfin's story. The novel is in part a satire of contemporary British life and in part a playful and ironic version of Welsh legend. The novel includes the discovery of Taleisin as a baby and the attempted raper of Elfin's wife by Rhun - which is considerably toned down for a comic novel.
Elffin ap Gwyddno | Later literary references
As related in "The History of Middle-earth", Tolkien conceived the character of "Elrond's daughter" late in the writing. Prior to this, he considered having Aragorn marry Éowyn of the royal family of Rohan. Arwen is depicted as extremely beautiful; she is in Melissa Hatcher's view in "Mythlore" "a symbol of the unattainable, a perfect match for the unattainable Aragorn in Éowyn's eyes." Carol Leibiger wrote in the "J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia" that Arwen's lack of involvement follows the general Elvish pattern of retreating to safe havens already established in "The Silmarillion" and continued in "The Lord of the Rings". The scholar of English literature Nancy Enright wrote that Arwen, like Christ, is an immortal who voluntarily chooses mortality out of love, in her case for Aragorn.
Arwen | Concept and creation
I: 'Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world [...]'". The Tolkien scholar Christina Scull notes that as a result of this hobbit-centred viewpoint, first-time readers can be "as surprised as the hobbits when Arwen and her escort arrive at Minas Tirith".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Relegated ending
Farewell!"; as Shippey says, "Arwen is not comforted" by this; none of the traditional consolations of religion are present. He observes that Tolkien stated in a letter to a Jesuit priest that he had cut religion out of "The Lord of the Rings" because it "is absorbed into the story and the symbolism". Shippey explains that Tolkien, a devout Roman Catholic, "thought, or hoped, that God had a plan for [good pagan] pre-Catholics too", so that heroes like Aragorn would go to Limbo rather than to Hell. He notes that the tale contains another death-scene, that of Gilraen, Aragorn's mother; she too is not comforted by Aragorn's mention of "a light beyond the darkness", a phrase that Shippey writes could be a hope of salvation, or simply a hope of winning the War of the Ring.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Missing religion
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 10th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent psychic and magical abilities who are being systematically persecuted by both the Crown and the Church. The novel begins almost three years after the conclusion of "The Harrowing of Gwynedd", as the continuously poor health of young King Alroy Haldane has brought him to his deathbed.
King Javan's Year | Plot introduction
The novel is divided into five parts, each shorter in length than the preceding one (Part four being the only exception). As they progress chronologically, this structure evokes a sense of a person reflecting on his own memories, with an adolescence stretching out epically, and many later years simply flashing by.
Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle | Plot summary
"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", which is told in the appendices of "The Lord of the Rings", served as a sequel to this story. Indeed, both Aragorn and Arwen were descendants of Beren and Lúthien.
Beren and Lúthien | Development and versions
Arwen flees to an abandoned Lothlórien, where she dies.
Elf (Middle-earth) | Fourth Age
Child of the Northern Spring is the first novel in Persia Woolley's Guinevere trilogy, about the Arthurian legend. The novel is written in first person perspective narrated by Guinevere in the form of a frame narrative.
Child of the Northern Spring | Introduction
Some scenes are new to the films; a major addition is the attack on Aragorn by cavalry Orcs riding wolflike Wargs, leaving him wounded and unconscious. The entire episode is a digression from the main story; Tom Shippey suggests it was inserted to provide more of a role for the beautiful but distant Elf-woman Arwen, who helps to bring Aragorn back to life. An addition that critics felt worked well was the incorporation of an appendix, "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", as a secondary plot line on the "bittersweet love affair" between a man and an immortal Elf.
The Lord of the Rings: film versus book | Additions
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 12th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent physic and magical abilities who have been brutally persecuted and suppressed for over two centuries. The novel begins over two years after the conclusion of "High Deryni", shortly after the seventeenth birthday of King Kelson Haldane.
The Bishop's Heir | Plot introduction
Amendt-Raduege describes the death of Aragorn as "one of the most deeply moving scenes in the story".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Missing religion
West speculates that Aragorn may be thinking here of the consequences of what will happen should Arwen marry him, and later states that he finds "the lonely death of Arwen the most moving tragedy within ["The Lord of the Rings"]". A similar conclusion regarding Aragorn's feelings at Weathertop is drawn by the scholar of medieval English literature John M. Bowers in his work on the influence of Geoffrey Chaucer on Tolkien. Bowers, looking at both the Weathertop scene and 'The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen', states that like certain pilgrims in Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales", Aragorn's stories of his ancestors "open a window into his private desires and fears".
Half-elf | Interpretations
The scholar of English literature Anna Vaninskaya studies "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" to see how Tolkien uses fantasy to examine the issues of love and death, time and immortality. Given that Tolkien's Elves are immortal, they face the question of death from a unique vantage-point. Sarah Workman writes that in the tale, Arwen's mourning of Aragorn serves to overcome what Peter Brooks called (she writes) the "meaningless", interminable nature of immortality. Workman quotes Brooks's statement that "all narration is obituary" and states that it is in that conception that Tolkien valued Arwen's fate: it is Arwen's "mourning gaze that allows for the transmission of Aragorn's memory", or in Tolkien's words which she quotes, "And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Love and death
The first one-volume edition of "The Lord of the Rings" that appeared in 1968 omitted all the Appendices "except for "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen"". The process of the composition of the tale was explored by Tolkien's son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien in the 12th and final volume of "The History of Middle-earth". Working from his father's unpublished manuscripts and drafts, he traces the evolution of the tale through several versions and framing devices, including an "abandoned experiment at inserting it into [a] history of the North Kingdom", concluding that "the original design of the tale of Aragorn and Arwen had been lost".
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Context
The novel is in prose, with a few verses quoted (one as the epigraph and others by characters). It has two narrative threads: a frame story implicitly set in Iceland and more or less in the present; and the main narrative, told within this frame, set in a distant and fantastical past. The narratives converge as it emerges that events recounted in the inner story explain the causes of events in the frame story. The story contains elements of satire of modern society.
Tímakistan | Form
The Book of Three (1964) is a high fantasy novel by American writer Lloyd Alexander, the first of five volumes in "The Chronicles of Prydain". The series follows the adventures of Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper, a youth raised by Dallben the enchanter, as he nears manhood while helping to resist the forces of Arawn Death-Lord. The book provided many elements of plot for the 1985 Disney animated feature "The Black Cauldron".
The Book of Three | Introduction
Culhwch and Olwen () is a Welsh tale that survives in only two manuscripts about a hero connected with Arthur and his warriors: a complete version in the Red Book of Hergest, c. 1400, and a fragmented version in the White Book of Rhydderch, c. 1325. It is the longest of the surviving Welsh prose tales.
Culhwch and Olwen | Introduction
Aware of his daughter Arwen's feelings for Aragorn, Elrond would permit their marriage only if Aragorn could unite Arnor and Gondor as High King.
Elrond | Third Age
Great Alta The Young Merlin Trilogy (Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature) Tartan Magic
Jane Yolen bibliography | Novels
The story is told in the first-person through the protagonist, Elspeth Gordie, a teenage girl who has secret mental powers such as telepathy and the ability to communicate with animals. The story begins at Kinraide orphan home, where she and her brother Jes live, before moving briefly through Sutrium, the capital, and the countryside. However the majority of the narrative is set at Obernewtyn, which lies in the northern mountains of the Land, the fictional nation in which the "Obernewtyn Chronicles" is set.
Obernewtyn (novel) | Voice and setting
Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister is an anonymously published three-volume roman à clef playing with events of the Monmouth Rebellion and exploring the genre of the epistolary novel. It has been attributed to Aphra Behn, but this attribution remains in dispute. The novel has been of interest for several reasons. First, some argue that it is the first novel in English. Its connection to Behn means that it has been the subject of a number of books and articles, especially considering Behn's role in the development of the novel and amatory fiction. Secondly, its commentary on the political scandal of the times demonstrate the ways that amatory fiction interprets political appetite and ambition as sexual lasciviousness.
Love-Letters Between a Nobleman and His Sister | Introduction
The sorceress asks Gwydion to help her to overthrow Arawn (the powerful Death-Lord who was once her consort) and to join her in ruling Prydain together. When Gwydion refuses, he is imprisoned, but not in the same place as Taran. Princess Eilonwy, who lives in Spiral Castle to learn enchantment from her self-proclaimed "aunt" Achren, visits Taran's dungeon cell, and agrees to free first his companion, and then him. While travelling through a labyrinth of tunnels to join Gwydion and his horse Melyngar outside the castle, Taran and Eilonwy steal weapons from a tomb. As they emerge into the woods, Spiral Castle collapses; they later learn that this is because the weapon Eilonwy has taken is the legendary sword Dyrnwyn.
The Book of Three | Plot summary
On the scene where Old Nan offers to tell Bran stories, she claims that his favorites are the ones about Ser Duncan the Tall. The tales of Duncan and his squire Egg are a series of novellas written by author George R. R. Martin, taking place about a hundred years before the events of "Game of Thrones".
Lord Snow | Other
www.morgallion.com Historical Novel Set in the Barony of Morgallion.
Morgallion | Books
"The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" tells how it happened, as told in the main story, that an immortal elf came to marry a man, as Arwen's ancestor Lúthien had done in the First Age, giving up her immortality. It is told, too, that Sam gives his daughter Elanor the "Red Book of Westmarch", which contains the story of Bilbo's adventures and the War of the Ring as witnessed by the hobbits. It is said there was a tradition that Sam crossed west over the Sea himself, the last of the Ring-bearers; and that some years later, after the deaths of Aragorn and Arwen, Legolas and Gimli too sailed "over Sea".
The Lord of the Rings | Appendices
Bowman notes that when Aragorn first sees Arwen, he both sings about Lúthien Tinúviel and calls Arwen by that name "as if the story [of Lúthien and Beren] had come to life before his eyes" and later he compares his life with Beren's, saying "I have turned my eyes to a treasure no less dear than the treasure of Thingol that Beren once desired". To Bowman, this blurs the line between story and history, something that as she notes Tolkien much preferred, whether "true or feigned", in the same way that Dante in his "Inferno" (5.121-138) narrates that Paolo and Francesca were trying to imitate Lancelot and Guinevere of Arthurian legend.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | "History, true or feigned"
He can not let go of his past. Ultimately, Aragorn accepts and uses all of his names becoming more or less an anti-Túrin as Croft puts it.
The Lay of the Children of Húrin | Aragorn's Name Story
With scant clues, he secretly leads a party to the one place most likely to have the answer to any question, the great library at Sarth Abbey. All along his journey, he is tracked by Murad, one of Murmandamus's top generals. They manage to reach the abbey, but their enemies strike again with powerful sorcery, both attacks barely repulsed by the mighty defenses of Sarth Abbey and its priests. From information gathered at the abbey, Arutha's quest turns to the elves of Elvandar for more information.
Silverthorn (novel) | Plot
It is now full springtime, at least three years after "The Book of Three". Taran and Gurgi have returned to Caer Dallben after leaving Princess Eilonwy at the royal court of Dinas Rhydnant for education in the ways of a princess. Taran has come to realize that he loves Eilonwy; but although he has proven his worth as a man, he is restless and determined to know his parentage, partly in hopes that noble birth will support a marriage proposal. Dallben the enchanter tells him nothing but gives his approval for Taran and Gurgi to travel on their own in search of an answer.
Taran Wanderer | Plot summary
The story follows English professor Adam Snell as he realizes that someone is trying to kill both him and his book, "Sovrana Sostrata", a book about truth. As a metafiction work the novel parodies literary forms—each chapter is told in a different style ranging from traditional linear drama, to newspaper reports, to a playwright's script, to a carefully annotated scholarly work from the 19th century—to the point where the novel's footnotes come alive and literally try to take over the narrative.
Book – A Novel | Plot
Oberyn Martell is not a point of view character in the novels, and his actions are witnessed directly and interpreted through the eyes of Tyrion Lannister in the third book, and is later mentioned via the viewpoints of his niece Arianne Martell and the Norvosi captain of his brother Doran's royal guard Areo Hotah in the fourth and fifth books.
Oberyn Martell | Books
The four go on holiday in the Icelandic highlands, driving in a jeep to the south of Askja. Losing the road in foggy darkness, Hrafn accidentally drives the jeep into the wall of a house mysteriously located in the highland desert, making the jeep unusable and forcing the characters to demand the reluctant hospitality of the house's two inhabitants: an old woman, Ása; and an old man who in the characters' estimation is at an advanced stage of Alzheimer's disease. The novel is quick to imply that there is something strange and dangerous about the situation. With no mobile phone signal and unsure of their location, the characters seek to find a way to reach civilization and get help, and the plot of the novel largely comprises the failure of these efforts.
Hálendið (novel) | Plot
Morgawr is the third book in the "Voyage of the Jerle Shannara" fantasy trilogy by Terry Brooks. It was first published in 2002.
Morgawr (novel) | Introduction
The other three novels in the series are "The Island of the Mighty" (1936), "The Children of Llyr" (1971), and "The Song of Rhiannon" (1972). The novel is a retelling of the story of the First Branch of the Mabinogion, "Pwyll Pendefig Dyfed" ("Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed"), and hence is chronologically the first of Walton's Mabinogion novels, though published last.
Prince of Annwn | Introduction
The Castle of Argol () is a 1938 novel by the French writer Julien Gracq. The narrative is set at a castle in Brittany, where a man has invited a friend, who also has brought a young woman. The novel is loaded with symbols and uses narrative modes from Gothic horror literature, which it blends with Hegelian thinking and stylistic traits close to the surrealist movement, including a highly abstract plot. In his "Notice to the reader", Gracq describes the book as a "demonic version" of Richard Wagner's opera "Parsifal".
The Castle of Argol | Introduction
The Riddle is a 2004 fantasy novel by Alison Croggon. It is the second in her Pellinor tetralogy, continuing from The Naming.
The Riddle (novel) | Introduction
The Tolkien scholar Richard C. West notes the resemblance between Arwen and Lúthien, and analyses Arwen's understanding of her fateful choice, between love for Aragorn and mortality on the one hand, and her father's wishes and immortality on the other. Others such as Bill Davis analyse Tolkien's exploration of mortality through an elf's choosing to die. West further shows how Tolkien subtly weaves the tale into the main story of "The Lord of the Rings". West gives examples of direct and indirect references to Arwen that only make sense or become clearer once the tale in the Appendices has been read, such as the gift-giving scene in Lothlorien where Aragorn refers to Arwen with his words to Galadriel "Lady, you know all my desire, and long held in keeping the only treasure that I seek.
The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen | Love and death
Aragorn is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is one of the main protagonists of "The Lord of the Rings". Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, King of Gondor. He was a confidant of Gandalf and part of the quest to destroy the One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. He fell in love with the immortal elf Arwen, as told in The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen; her father, Elrond, forbade them to marry unless Aragorn became King of both Arnor and Gondor.
Aragorn | Introduction
Only in his work on the appendices for "The Lord of the Rings" did Tolkien record the full Tale of Aragorn and Arwen.
Aragorn | Development
Arwen was the youngest child of Elrond and Celebrían. Her elder brothers were the twins Elladan and Elrohir. Her name ""Ar-wen"" means 'noble maiden' in Sindarin. She bore the soubriquet "Evenstar" (Evening Star), as the most beautiful of the last generation of High Elves in Middle-earth. As told in "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen", Aragorn in his twentieth year met Arwen for the first time in Rivendell, where he lived under Elrond's protection. Arwen, then over 2,700 years old, had recently returned to her father's home after living with her grandmother, the elf-queen Galadriel in Lothlórien. Aragorn fell in love with Arwen at first sight.
Arwen | Literature
The Ealdwood Stories, also known as the Arafel Stories, are a collection of fantasy works by American writer C. J. Cherryh. The books are works of high fantasy based in part on Celtic mythology. Arafel, a main character, is a Daoine Sidhe, the highest of the Sidhe faery-folk. She dwells in the magical small forest of Ealdwood, from which the tales take their name.
Ealdwood Stories | Introduction
"Eldest" begins three days after the events of the preceding novel, "Eragon", in the dwarf city of Tronjheim, inside of a hollowed mountain named Farthen Dûr. Farthen Dûr is in the southeastern part of Alagaësia, the fictional continent where the "Inheritance Cycle" takes place. Throughout the novel, the protagonists travel to many different places: Ellesméra, the elven capital city in the forest Du Weldenvarden, on the northern portion of Alagaësia; Carvahall, a small town located on the northwestern part of Alagaësia in Palancar Valley; and Aberon, the capital of Surda, in the southern portion of Alagaësia.
Eldest | Setting
The Castle of Llyr (1966) is a high fantasy novel by Lloyd Alexander, the third of five volumes in "The Chronicles of Prydain". The story continues the adventures of Taran "Assistant Pig-Keeper", primarily on the Isle of Mona west of Prydain, far from the forces of Arawn, Lord of Death. Princess Eilonwy "faces the unavoidable (and in her view absolutely unnecessary) ordeal of becoming a young lady", says Alexander. Taran joins her escort to a royal court where she will continue her education, near to her ancestral home. Soon after arrival, she is kidnapped for the sorceress Achren. Taran and companions including Prince Rhun set out to rescue her.
The Castle of Llyr | Introduction
But she chose otherwise, marrying Aragorn II Elessar, king of the Reunited Kingdom, at the start of the Fourth Age, and bringing noble elvish blood into his dynasty. He ruled for 120 years, choosing to die at a great age for a man, but while still in full health. She died alone at the age of 2,901 years, grieving the brevity of her mortal happiness.
Half-elf | Aragorn and Arwen
The Song of Rhiannon is a fantasy novel by American writer Evangeline Walton, the third in a series of four based on the Welsh "Mabinogion". It was first published in paperback by Ballantine Books as the fifty-first volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in August, 1972. It has been reprinted a number of times since, and gathered together with Walton's other "Mabinogion" novels by Overlook Press as the omnibus "The Mabinogion Tetralogy" in 2002. The novel has also been published in translation in several European languages. The other three novels in the series are "The Island of the Mighty" (1936), "The Children of Llyr" (1971), and "Prince of Annwn" (1974).
The Song of Rhiannon | Introduction
In the film adaptation of "", the injured Aragorn is revived by a dream or vision of Arwen, who kisses him and asks the Valar to protect him.
Arwen | Adaptations
On the other hand, Eilonwy herself seems to have grown rather fond of Taran by this point, even if she will not admit it. Taran and Eilonwy's feelings for one another are much more evident throughout the 5th and final book of the Prydain Chronicles, "The High King". Although these feelings are never spoken of directly until the last few pages of the novel, Taran and Eilonwy's interactions with one another are noticeably different than in the previous books. Taran internally pines for Eilonwy, and fears for her safety in the midst of the escalating war. Eilonwy's change towards Taran is far more subtle, yet no less certain, and is experienced perhaps more gradually over the course of the entire series in contrast with Taran's very abrupt realization of his feelings towards the Princess in the first chapter of book three, "The Castle of Llyr".
Princess Eilonwy | Further novels
The book is a compilation of 10 short stories from various authors taking place in the fictional world of Krynn:
The Magic of Krynn | Plot introduction
The novel concerns an empire of invisible wizards and adventure in the realm of Annwyn.
Kinsmen of the Dragon | Plot introduction
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 12th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent psychic and magical abilities who have been persecuted, oppressed and suppressed for two centuries. The novel begins almost three years after the conclusion of "The Quest for Saint Camber", as King Kelson Haldane prepares to make a dangerous journey into the heart of the neighboring kingdom of Torenth.
King Kelson's Bride | Plot introduction
Eilonwy has also misunderstood Taran's request to free his companion, for the man waiting outside is not Gwydion, but another former prisoner of the castle: Fflewddur Fflam, a king by birth but a wandering bard by choice. The three search the ruins, then mourn Gwydion's presumed death, and decide to take up his task to warn Caer Dathyl. Rejoined by Gurgi, but pursued by the Cauldron-Born, the group is driven far east of their northward course, and ends up in the underground realm of the Fair Folk, who have rescued Hen Wen. The Fair Folk's King Eiddileg grudgingly agrees to let Taran have her back, to re-equip their party, and to provide a guide, a dwarf called Doli.
The Book of Three | Plot summary
Polgara the Sorceress is a fantasy novel by American writers David and Leigh Eddings, and the twelfth in the setting of "The Belgariad", "The Malloreon" and "Belgarath the Sorcerer". Like the latter novel, it is presented as a first-person narrative recounting the life of the eponymous character, Polgara, framed by a prologue and epilogue in the third person placing it in context relative to the earlier stories. The fictional character of Polgara is the (many generations removed) aunt of Belgarion and the daughter of Belgarath.
Polgara the Sorceress | Introduction
In the wake of the tragedy that befell the Children of Llyr, Prince Pryderi of Dyved returns to his realm with Manawyddan, the last survivor of the family. There Pryderi is reunited with his wife Cigfa and Manawyddan marries Pryderi's mother Rhiannon. An enchantment descends on the land, leaving it a wasteland empty of all domesticated animals and humans apart from the four protagonists. They support themselves by hunting at first, then move to the larger realm of Llogres where they make a living making saddles, shields and shoes. Their work is of such quality that the local craftsmen cannot compete, and drive them from town to town.
The Song of Rhiannon | Plot summary
Eilonwy is introduced in "The Book of Three". The companions are captured and taken to Spiral Castle, the stronghold of Achren, the former queen of all Prydain and mentor to Arawn, who later overthrew Achren and sent her into exile. At first, Eilonwy seems to be only a rather talkative, easily distracted girl, but she rescues Taran and Fflewddur Fflam (the latter by mistake, since Taran thought the only other person in the dungeons would be Gwydion, his companion, and asked Eilonwy to rescue the other person she described to him). She is described as being perhaps one or two years younger than Taran, the protagonist of the series, but Taran's own age is never given so we have no definite idea of how old either of the characters are.
Princess Eilonwy | "The Book of Three"
The autochthonous elves, driven back into the forest of Cerilia by the humans, who had in turn been forced out of their ancestral lands by lackeys of the Dark One, now live in uneasy peace with their invaders after centuries of war. The elves fear for the forest as the humans continue to carve out their civilization, but this concern is overshadowed by the matter of an empty throne.
War (novel) | Plot summary
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 12th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent physic and magical abilities who have been shunned and persecuted for centuries. The book takes place several months after "Deryni Rising", and details the consequences of the events that surrounded the coronation of young King Kelson Haldane.
Deryni Checkmate | Plot introduction
Physically, Eilonwy is described as blue-eyed, with red-gold hair (though the film "The Black Cauldron" depicts her as a blonde). She has a good heart, but is very determined to have her own way and quarrels frequently with Taran, although the quarrels do not last long. She is never without her "bauble" – a magical ball that she can make give off light, which sometimes shows things not visible under ordinary lights. "The Castle of Llyr", the third novel in the series, reveals that this is really the Golden Pelydryn, a magical artifact passed through Eilonwy's family from mother to daughter.
Princess Eilonwy | Post-"Book of Three"
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 11th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent psychic and magical abilities who have been persecuted and suppressed for almost two centuries. The novel details the early life of Alaric Morgan, a half-Deryni child chosen by King Donal Blaine Haldane to protect the royal legacy of arcane magic.
Childe Morgan | Plot introduction
The third novel sees the return of Arn to Västergötland, where he implements his learnings from the Crusades into his home society and takes a crucial part in the formation of Sweden.
Crusades trilogy | Main plot
The film is set during the time of "The Fellowship of the Ring". It takes place after Gandalf has discovered the true nature of Bilbo's ring and just before Frodo leaves the Shire for Rivendell.
Aragorn | Film
The Magic of Krynn is a "New York Times" bestseller fantasy novel released in April 1987. It is a collection of short stories written about the various characters set in the Dragonlance campaign series. This novel is the first of a trilogy of the Tales series.
The Magic of Krynn | Introduction
The "Shannara" novels are set during a future in which modern civilization has fallen and Earth is governed by various races, including humans, elves, dwarves, and others. In the second novel, "The Elfstones of Shannara", a teenaged princess named Amberle and the magic-user Wil must renew a spell which protects the world from demons. They are eventually joined by Eretria, an orphaned girl enslaved by thieves.
Eretria (Shannara) | Novel series
The book is a compilation of 10 short stories from various authors taking place in the fictional world of Krynn:
Kender, Gully Dwarves, and Gnomes | Plot introduction
The novel is set in the land of Gwynedd, one of the fictional Eleven Kingdoms. Gwynedd itself is a medieval kingdom similar to the British Isles of the 12th century, with a powerful Holy Church (based on the Roman Catholic Church), and a feudal government ruled by a hereditary monarchy. The population of Gwynedd includes both humans and Deryni, a race of people with inherent physic and magical abilities who have been shunned and persecuted for centuries. The novel begins three months after the events of "Deryni Checkmate", as young King Kelson Haldane struggles to resolve an internal ecclesiastical schism on the eve of an invasion by a powerful Deryni sorcerer.
High Deryni | Plot introduction
Most of the books are set in the fictional Kingdom of Gwynedd, one of the Eleven Kingdoms. The other kingdoms are Bremagne, The Connait, Howicce, Llannedd, Kheldour, Meara, Mooryn, Orsal, Tralia, and Torenth.
Deryni novels | Setting
The pair's relationship is one of the few romantic story arcs in "The Chronicles of Narnia" series. Devin Brown positively compared their courtship to that of Arwen and Aragorn from J. R. R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings." Brown also wrote that Lewis foreshadows to the relationship through Caspian X's failed courtship with the Duke of Galma prior to "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". While Lewis scholar Michael Ward cited the couple as an example of how the author was not "averse to his characters growing up and having romances", children's literature scholar Jennifer L. Miller felt that Lewis does not elaborate on their marriage in the novels.
Ramandu's daughter | Character analysis
The Chronicles of Prydain is a pentalogy of children's high fantasy Bildungsroman novels written by American author Lloyd Alexander. Henry Holt published one annually from 1964 to 1968; the second earned a 1966 Newbery Honor and the last won the 1969 Newbery Medal. The five novels follow the protagonist Taran from youth to maturity, most overtly in the fourth book, "Taran Wanderer". Taran has the title Assistant Pig-Keeper at Caer Dallben but initially dreams of being a grand hero. His most important companions in adventure are Princess Eilonwy, a girl his age; Fflewddur Fflam, a wandering bard and minor king; Gurgi, a wild man-beast; and Doli, a dwarf.
The Chronicles of Prydain | Introduction
The book resembles a novel in that the stories all have Aram as a hero, are written in the same style, and are placed in a roughly chronological order. The first story takes place when Aram is 9 years old, the last when he is a young man leaving his hometown for the first time. Each story has Aram interacting with a different member of his large family or with other people in Fresno. In the first story, "The Summer of the Beautiful White Horse," Aram and his crazy Cousin Mourad "borrow" their neighbor's horse. In the second, Aram accompanies his lazy but musical zither-playing Uncle Jorgi on "The Journey to Hanford," where Jorgi is supposed to find work as a day laborer.
My Name Is Aram | Plot summaries