Boromir
Boromir, son of Denethor; Captain of Gondor; one of the Fellowship of the Ring
Name and Lineage
Boromir — the elder son and heir-loved child of Denethor II, the Steward of Gondor, and brother of Faramir — was a man of great might and pride, “a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed”, of the stern line of the Dúnedain of Gondor. He was the hope of his father as the Captain of Gondor, the heir of the long defence against Mordor.
The Messenger to Rivendell
- When a “true vision” came to Boromir in a sleep of Seven Stars — the dream that spoke of a blade broken and a light in the dark, of Isildur’s Bane that should be found — he made the long road alone through Harondor and the paths of men, until he came at last to the Council of Elrond in Rivendell, bearing the word of Gondor to the gathering of the Wise. There he heard of the passing of the One Ring, and counselled that the Sword that was Broken be reforged and used against the Enemy; and he declared that “Gondor needs no master and no king” — the pride of his house in the Stewards.
The Fellowship of the Ring
- Boromir was chosen with the eight others of the Fellowship of the Ring that set out from Rivendell, the heir of Gondor’s strength on the road toward Mordor. On the way he showed his worth and his weakness alike: at the gates of Moria the weight of the Ring pressed on his fair words; and in Lothlórien he was the spokesman of its danger.
- The Breaking of the Fellowship: on the banks of the Anduin, amid the trees of Amon Hen, the Ring consumed his former counsel. He urged Frodo, he entreated, he threatened — and sought to take the Ring by force, crying “It is ours! It is my own” — and in that act the Company was sundered. By the grace of his own true nature, repentance came quickly: he declared the madness of his deed, and wept that he had “started from his own counsel”.
The Death of the Captain
- The last stand: at Amon Hen, when the Orcs of Saruman fell upon the Company, Boromir, unarmed of his bow but with his sword and horn, made a last stand for Merry and Pippin, slaying many Orcs until at the last, pierced by many arrows, he fell. His last word to the coming Aragorn was the word of his house’s honour: “I would have followed you to the end — into the very fires of Mordor”; and he confessed the attempt upon the Ring and bade Aragorn go to Gondor. He was borne away in the Elven-boat of Lórien down the Falls of Rauros, his horn and his sword laid at his side.
Significance
Boromir is the proud and fallible heir of Gondor — the man whose strength the Ring corrupted in the very quest meant to destroy it; his repentance in the Orcs’ ambush, and his redeeming death, show that even the Ring’s sway could not wholly claim him. His passing is the price the Fellowship pays for the temptation of the Ring.