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Book Home  Books Information Fellowship of the Ring
Fellowship of the Ring
The Fellowship of the Ring
is the first of three volumes of the epic novel The
Lord of the Rings. It is divided into two books, Book
I and II. It was originally released on July 29, 1954 in the
United Kingdom.
The first sets the stage for the adventure and
follows Frodo Baggins as he flees from his home in the Shire
to escape the minions of the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron seeks
the One Ring that will allow him to control the Bearers of the
nineteen Lower Rings and control the three major races of Middle
Earth, The Elves, The Men and The Dwarves. The One Ring has
been inherited by Frodo who finds himself unwittingly in the
midst of a struggle for world domination.
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Heeding the advice of the wizard Gandalf, Frodo leaves
his home, taking the Ring with him. He hopes to reach Rivendell, where
he will be safe from Sauron, and where those wiser than he can decide
what to do about the Ring.
In his journey he is accompanied by three hobbit friends,
Pippin, Merry, and Sam. From the start they are pursued by Black Riders,
the Ringwraiths who serve Sauron. Narrowly escaping these and other
dangers and meeting other interesting characters en route (e.g, Tom
Bombadil) they eventually come to Bree, where they meet Strider, another
friend of Gandalf who leads them the rest of the way to Rivendell,
through further hardships.
Book II chronicles Frodo's stay at Rivendell, where
a plan is hatched to destroy the Ring in Mordor. Frodo sets forth
with eight companions: two Men, Aragorn and Boromir, son of the Steward
of the land of Gondor; an Elven prince, Legolas; Frodo's old friend
and powerful wizard, Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf; and Frodo's original
three hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers were chosen to represent
all the free races of Middle-earth and as a balance to the Nine Riders.
They were also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Strider and the
Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse. Their attempt to cross the
Misty Mountains is foiled by heavy snow, so they are forced to take
a path under the mountains via Moria, an ancient Dwarf kingdom, now
full of Orcs and other evil creatures, where Gandalf falls into the
abyss after battling a Balrog. The remaining eight members of the
Fellowship then spend some time in the elf-haven of Lothlórien,
where they receive gifts that in many cases prove useful later in
the quest. They leave Lórien by river, but Frodo begins to
realize the Ring is having a malevolent effect on some members of
the party. This book ends when Frodo and Sam depart secretly for Mordor
and the Fellowship of the Ring dissolves.
Destiny
Behind the events that befall the Ring-Bearer and the Fellowship,
the reader begins to sense, there lurks always a sense of Destiny,
and in the end, it will be a concatenation of the effects spawned
by the nature of Good itself, that undoes Evil. Frodo says of the
ring's slave, Gollum, "What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that
vile creature, when he had a chance!" and Gandalf's response
is
"Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand.
Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well
rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil,
and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring
so. With Pity."
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