40 Brave Facts About Aragorn

February 8, 2018 | Sammy Tran

40 Brave Facts About Aragorn


"I am Aragorn son of Arathorn and am called Elessar, the Elfstone, Dúnadan, the heir of Isildur Elendil's son of Gondor. Here is the sword that was broken and is forged again! " —The Two Towers

One of the greatest characters in the history of both film and literature, Aragorn II has inspired generations of people with his bravery and humility. His conception by J.R.R Tolkien took years of gestation and dedication, while his portrayal by Viggo Mortensen in the live action trilogy of The Lord of the Rings has cemented the actor in the pantheon of greats.


40. Humble Beginnings

Aragorn II was a foster child. At the age of two, his father Arathorn II died while he was hunting orcs, and Aragorn grew up in the elven territory of Rivendell, “The Last Homely House East of the Sea.”

Aragorn facts Youtube

39. Name Foresight

The name Aragorn means “revered king,” and he was named after Aragorn I. Though, by naming him such, his parents clearly had some pretty lofty goals for their kid.

Aragorn facts Imgur

38. Hope For Future

After being fostered, Aragorn was renamed Estel—meaning hope—for fear that enemies would find out his true identity as the son of Arathorn and heir to the throne of Isildur. He was kept in the dark about who he was until he was 20 years old.

Aragorn facts The One Ring

37. Bilingual Boy

Because of his fostered upbringing in Rivendell, Aragorn was bilingual, and learned how to speak Elvish at a young age. Viggo Mortensen, who played Aragorn in the films, even requested to have more lines in Elvish. This was a way to display the character’s fluency and relationships with the elves.

Aragorn facts The Collision Blog

36. Age Old Friends

Aragorn's relationship with Gandalf the Grey goes way back to when Aragorn was only 25 years old, though how they met is a little cloudy. Regardless, the two would forge a great friendship, and Gandalf came to admire Aragorn as “the greatest traveler and huntsman of this age of the world.”

Aragorn facts Wallpaper jam

35. Love Has No Bounds

Aragorn was raised by Elrond, who would go on to eventually become his father-in-law after he married Arwen. Elrond initially didn’t give permission to Aragorn to take his daughter's hand, as they were immortal, and by marrying Aragorn, Arwen would accept mortality, thus separating her from her father.

Aragorn facts 1ZOOM

34. Marriage Conditions

When Elrond finally gave in, though he thought the pain of death would be too great for his daughter to bear, he granted their marriage permission under one stipulation: that first, Aragorn must become the King of Gondor and Arnor. Because if your daughter is going to give up immortality, it helps if it's for a king.

Aragorn facts Syfy

33. New Love

Aragorn and Arwen didn’t meet until Aragorn was 20 years old; they hadn’t known each other in their childhood.

Aragorn facts Youtube

32. Dad’s Doing

Their love was actually facilitated by Elrond, as he sent Arwen away to stay in her mother’s homeland, Lórien, during Aragorn’s youth; she visited her grandmother Galadriel.

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31. Boy Amongst Hobbits

As a young boy of only 10 years old, Aragorn was in Rivendell when Bilbo Baggins came during his journey around Middle Earth in the tale of The Hobbit.

Aragorn facts Slash film

30. The Hero’s Journey

After learning of his true identity, Aragorn set out on his own journey of Middle Earth, which lasted for 23 years. This proved vital to his development as a man and gave him the tools needed to be a king.

Aragorn facts Comic Vine

29. Ranger Heritage

At the beginning of his journey, he sought out the Rangers, of whom his father was a part, and worked with them as the 16th Chieftain of the Dúnedain. He spent years fighting the armies of Mordor and killing groups of Orcs.

Aragorn facts Comic Vine

28. Disguised Man

Aragorn spent time fighting for Gondor disguised under the name of Thorongil (meaning "Eagle of the Star"), and built up an incredibly esteemed reputation for himself while leading raids against the Corsairs of Umbar.

Aragorn facts Youtube

27. Many Names

In addition to his given name Aragorn, his adopted name of Estel, and his pseudonym Thorongil, he also had many nicknames, including Strider—which he is introduced as to the hobbits—Longshanks, and Wingfoot. He also took on the name Telcontar after founding the House of Telcontar. His full regnal name would be Elessar Telcontar.

Aragorn facts Mutually

26. Sowing His Oats

Though he fell in love with Arwen when they first met, Aragorn didn’t propose a marriage until he returned from his journeys around Middle Earth. That’s a long time to wait for love, though probably not for an elf.

Aragorn factsInsession film

25. Click-Clack

Though he was known as Strider, J.R.R. Tolkien's original nickname for him was "Trotter" based on the noise his wooden shoes made. He actually was also thought up first as a hobbit, not a man.

Aragorn factsFind A Grave

24. Ring Before The Rings

While The Rings of Power were all made during the Second Age of Middle Earth, the Ring of Barahir, which Aragorn wears, was crafted way back before in the First Age, making it one of the oldest objects in existence.

Aragorn factsYoutube

23. History With Gollum

Before the events of The Lord of the Rings  went down, Gandalf tasked Aragorn with tracking down Gollum to find out more information about The Ring. This made him familiar with Gollum and his ways.

Aragorn factsThe one ring

22. Royal On Royal On Royal

Aragorn isn't just the last descendant of the royal Isildur line, he's also directly related to the kingdom of Arnor. However, during the War of the Ring, Arnor no longer had as much power as it once did, and plays less of a role in the books.

Aragorn facts

21. Last Minute Choice

It's hard to imagine anyone else besides Viggo Mortensen in the role of Aragorn, but he wasn’t the first choice for the role. Nor was he even at the top of the list. Daniel Day-Lewis (because who doesn’t want him in their movie) turned the role down several times, while the likes of Nicolas Cage turned down the role as well. In fact, Stuart Townsend was actually cast in the role, but was fired almost as soon as filming began.

Aragorn factsHD Wall source

20. Talented Viggo

The fight choreography of the Lord of the Rings films was done by Bob Anderson, a British Olympic fencer who was the most renowned sword-fighting choreographer in Hollywood. Having trained many legendary actors, he believed Viggo Mortensen to be the best swordsman he had the opportunity to train.

Aragorn factsNew York Upstate

19. Not Playing Around

Speaking of swordsmanship, keeping true to Aragorn’s all-around badassery, Mortensen was the only member of the cast who didn’t use an aluminum and rubber prop while filming. Instead, he performed all of his own stunts with a real steel sword in hand. He was so badass that he even chipped a tooth while filming, calmly went to the dentist, and was back on set after lunch.

Aragorn factsArt Station

18. Aragorn as Aragorn

Mortensen was so convincing in his portrayal as Aragorn that during filming, director Peter Jackson had moments where he would lapse into calling him by Aragorn rather than Viggo, and neither of them would realize it.

Aragorn factsAXN White

17. Flying Daggers

In a scene in The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn is battling the orc leader Lurtz, who throws a dagger at Mortensen that he deflects in midair. This wasn’t movie magic: a real dagger was flying right at Mortensen, who then showed off his skills by deflecting it in the first take.

Aragorn factsYoutube

16. It’s Good to Be the King

One of the main differences between the Aragorn in the books and Aragorn in the films is his interest in fulfilling his destiny and reclaiming the throne of Gondor. In the books, he is actively pursuing the throne, while in the films he is more reluctant.

Aragorn factsTop Tenz

15. A King’s Duty

Aragorn was greatly admired and hugely popular in Gondor. Nonetheless, he declined to be proclaimed king until he was able to finish the war and defeat Sauron. He refused to even re-enter the capital city until he was crowned King.

Aragorn factsSyfy

14. Old Man Warrior

During the events of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers when Aragorn shows off some seriously impressive feats, he is actually about 87 years old. Not bad for a man of that age—granted, for a royal of the Númenórean line, that's the prime of life.

Aragorn factsMy precious

13. A Long Life

Aragorn was able to live much longer than most men because he had some elvish lineage. He is actually distantly related to Elrond, as Elrond came from a mixed blood lineage, meaning that he could choose to live as a mortal man or immortal elf. Elrond’s brother chose mortality, and many generations after his death, Aragorn was born from his legacy.

Aragorn factsLilga

12. The Other Side of Wisdom

While he was a great leader with wisdom and confidence, Aragorn still suffered from deep self-doubt. He was quite hard on himself and could be grim. While leading the Fellowship, he often doubted his wisdom and decisions, sometimes often blaming himself for their failures and misfortunes.

Aragorn factsMedium

11. Can’t Touch This

Still don't believe how skilled a warrior Aragorn was? Well, how's this: He emerged from the Battle of Pelennor Fields without a scratch, let alone a scar, from all of the fighting.

Aragorn factsMedievalists

10. Words of Love

Aragorn's last words to Arwen were: "In sorrow, we must go, but not in despair. Behold! We are not bound forever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!"

Aragorn factsDisqus

9. To Tell A New Story

While Aragorn is clearly the traditional hero of Tolkien’s story, he isn’t the main character. By doing this, Tolkien flipped the classical way to tell a story on its head, and showed an alternative perspective to where heroes come from and how they rise. Given this, Aragorn is wise enough to understand that the real heroes of the story are Frodo and Sam.

Aragorn factsIo9 gizmodo

8. King of Inspiration

Tolkien's inspiration to develop Aragorn in his particular arc came from the Anglo-Saxon King Oswald of Northumbria. King Arthur was an inspiration as well, and Aragorn also echoes some aspects of Edward the Confessor and Alfred the Great.

Aragorn factsDutch Anglo-Saxonist

7. Long Reign

Aragorn's reign lasted for 120 years, and he did much work to bring peace and protection across Middle Earth. After his death, his son Eldarion took the throne.

Aragorn factsBudstikka

6. No Match For Aragorn

The mental fortitude of Aragorn was unparalleled in Middle Earth. Sauron was able to control much of Middle Earth due to powerful crystal balls called Palantirs, and often poisoned peoples' minds with them. One tainted the wizard Saruman, and even Gandalf was afraid to touch one of these dark spheres. However, Aragorn was able to hold one in his hands and speak directly to Sauron without any adverse effect.

Aragorn factsEscapist magazine

5. Bearded

In an attempt to set Aragorn apart from the rest of the characters in the movies, Mortensen sports a bit of beard scruff. However, in the books, Aragorn is actually clean-shaven, like an elf.

Aragorn factsDigital spy

4. Call of the Dead

In a seriously cool move, in both the books and the film Aragorn is able to call forth the dead army from the mountains of Dunharrow to fight alongside him during the battle of Minas Tirith. In the films, it's just something he does without any help, but in the books, he uses an object called the Black Stone to call the army.

Aragorn factsInverse

3. The Power of Love

The tale of Aragorn and Arwen’s love is based on real life. Tolkien wrote this love story as a reflection of his love for his own wife, Edith, and the passages with Aragorn and Arwen are some of the most moving and beautiful prose he ever produced.

Aragorn factsGiphy

2. Oh, Viggo

Given how young Aragorn is supposed to be during The Hobbit, Mortensen turned down the opportunity to reprise his role for the Hobbit movies. When asked by a producer if he would join the cast, he replied, “You do know, don’t you ... That there is a 60-year gap between the books?”

Aragorn factsIGN

1. Time To Die

Aragorn died when he was 210 years old. He decided to end his own life because he didn’t want to suffer through the pains of old age and lose his wits, nor did he want Arwen to watch him deteriorate. With this wish, he chose to die before it was actually his time.

Aragorn factsLotr Wikia

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