Wait, Aragorn Has a Ring in Lord of the Rings, Too? Well, Sort Of
There are many interesting relics in The Lord of the Rings, but, as Bilbo Baggins (Ian Holm) would say, unfortunately we don’t know half of them half as well as we should like, and we like less than half of them half as well as they deserve. That’s because the movies just don’t have time to fit all of them, but one of them does show up quite a lot in Peter Jackson‘s trilogy, even if only as a detail: the Ring of Barahir, Aragorn’s (Viggo Mortensen) ring. The Ring of Barahir is not a Ring of Power, although it’s a deeply meaningful heirloom for both Humans and Elves.
The Ring of Barahir Is an Elven Heirloom From the First Age
In a scene of the extended edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Grima Wormtongue (Brad Dourif) describes the Ring of Barahir to Saruman (Christopher Lee): “Two serpents with emerald eyes; one devouring the other, crowned with golden flowers.” Aragorn wears it on his left index finger, marking not only his claim to the throne of Gondor, but also his deep bond with the Eldar, the highest of the Elves.
That’s because the Ring of Barahir is an Elven heirloom itself, with an incredible backstory. It was made in Valinor, and later given by Finrod Felagund to a nobleman called Barahir in the First Age as a token of friendship between their races. Barahir actually saved Finrod, who was Galadriel’s (Cate Blanchett) brother, during one of the bloodiest battles against Morgoth. To show his gratitude, Finrod pledged to aid Barahir and his descendants whenever they needed it, and gave Barahir a ring to serve as a token of this oath.
Barahir wore the ring from then on, but, when he was killed by a band of Orcs, their leader cut his hand and claimed the ring. Barahir’s son, Beren, eventually recovered it and began wearing it himself. When Beren was given a mission to reclaim a Silmaril from Morgoth in order to be allowed Lúthien’s hand in marriage, he used the Ring of Barahir as proof of his parentage and to request Finrod’s help. The mission was successful, but it ultimately claimed Finrod’s life.
The Ring Eventually Passed On to Elendil, Until It Was Lost in the Third Age
After they retrieved a Silmaril from Morgoth’s crown, Beren and Lúthien were finally allowed to marry and even had a son, Dior, who was Half-Elven. The Ring of Barahir then passed on to him and, after he died, to his daughter, Elwing, who would marry Eärendil. Because of their legendary feats, all descendants of Eärendil and Elwing, who were also Half-Elven, were allowed to choose whether they wanted to be counted as Elves, or Humans.
Eärendil and Elwing had twin sons, Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Elros, with the first choosing to be an Elf, and the latter choosing to be Human. The Ring of Barahir was ultimately passed on to Elros, as the legend surrounding it tells about an Elf giving it to a Human. He became the first king of Númenor in the Second Age, and the ring became a royal heirloom until the fourth king passed it on to his eldest daughter, not his son and heir, becoming instead an heirloom of the Lords of Andúnië until the Downfall of Númenor, when it came into Elendil’s possession, the last of said line.
With Elendil, the Ring of Barahir became an heirloom of the realm of Arnor, and, after it fragmented into three lesser realms in the Third Age, an heirloom of the kingdom of Arthedain. When Arthedain fell, its last king gave the ring to a tribe of snowmen who helped them as payment, until, centuries later, it was ransomed back by the Dúnedain via the Rangers of the North, and taken to Rivendell for safekeeping. Rivendell is the domain of Elrond, Elven brother of Elros, who once owned the Ring of Barahir.
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After the Way, the Ring Becomes a Symbol of Aragorn’s Ties and Respect Toward the Elves
In the year 2952 of the Third Age, the Ring of Barahir was finally passed on to Aragorn, son of Arathorn. He was fostered in Rivendell from a young age, and, in that year, Elrond told him about his heritage and birthright to the throne of Gondor, and gave him the ring. From then on, Aragorn would wear it at all times as proof of his status, and, some time later, he went on to become the Chieftain of the Dúnedain and the leader of the Rangers of the North. It was also around that time when he met and fell in love with Arwen (Liv Tyler), who returned to Rivendell from Lothlórien.
What happened to the Ring of Barahir after Aragorn died in the Fourth Age is unknown, but it likely passed on to his descendants, to keep the tradition of making it an heirloom and token of the bond between Humans and Elves. Aragorn himself is a descendant of Beren and Lúthien, living proof of the strength of this bond. He even names his son Eldarion, which is Quenya for “son of the Eldar.” With the Elves now having gone back to Aman, the Ring of Barahir is also one of the last heirlooms from Valinor that still resides in Middle-earth.
