Middle-earth

Artifact

The Ring of Barahir

Also known as The Ring of the House of Hador

An ancient ring given by Finrod Felagund to Barahir as a token of friendship, later an heirloom of the Numenorean and Dunedain line, and finally a token of Aragorn inheritance.

Supplementary writingsFrom posthumously published works, notes, drafts or appendices.
Type
Heirloom
Forged by
Made in the Elder Days; in one account it is said to have been made by the Dwarves for Finrod

Description

The Ring of Barahir is a ring of great age, worked with the likeness of two serpents whose eyes hold emeralds, meeting beneath a crown of golden flowers. Finrod gave it to Barahir as a token of an oath of friendship after Barahir saved his life, and it passed down through the line of the Edain into Numenor and then into the northern kingdom in exile. Kept at Rivendell for long years, it was given to Aragorn as proof of his descent, and it stands in the story as a small object carrying an enormous span of history and obligation.

Powers

  • A token of undying friendship and of a sworn bond between Elf and Man.
  • As an heirloom it identifies its bearer as the heir of the line of Isildur and of the Edain.

Limitations

  • It has no magical power; its worth is the history and the claim it represents.

Line of owners

  1. 1

    Finrod Felagund

    First Age

    Given to Barahir in gratitude for his rescue.

  2. 2

    Barahir and the house of Hador

    First Age

    Kept as a family heirloom through the Edain.

  3. 3

    The Numenorean and Dunedain kings

    Second Age into the Third

    Passed down the line of Elros and afterward the heirs of Isildur.

  4. 4

    Elrond and Aragorn

    Third Age

    Kept at Rivendell and given to Aragorn as a token of his heritage.

Symbolism

Symbolism

Faithfulness across ages: a friendship sworn in the Elder Days still bearing fruit in the returning king. It binds the oldest Elven loyalty to the newest human hope.

Fate

Aragorn bears the ring as king. Its later keeping after his reign is not narrated in detail.

Interpretation

Reasoned analysis — not from the books

The ring maker is given differently in different accounts; the consistent point is the gift from Finrod to Barahir rather than the hand that first forged it.

Characters

In the histories

Sources

  • The Lord of the Rings · 1954–55

    Three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.

  • The Silmarillion · 1977

    Posthumously edited. Contains the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power.

  • Unfinished Tales · 1980

    Expanded and alternative accounts of the First, Second and Third Ages.

  • The History of Middle-earth · 1983–96

    Twelve volumes documenting the evolution of the legendarium.

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