- "Nine companions. So be it. You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring."
The Fellowship of the Ring was formed as a brotherhood among members of the various Free Peoples of Middle-earth. Its purpose was to take the One Ring to Mordor that it might be cast into the fires of Mount Doom (Orodruin), the mountain in which it was forged, so that it would be destroyed, this would ultimately kill Dark Lord Sauron.
The Fellowship is also known the Company of the Ring, the Nine Walkers, or more simply the Fellowship or the Company. Each of the members of the Company were representatives of their respective races, with Legolas and Gimli being the only Elf and Dwarf chosen.
Formed after the Council of Elrond, The Fellowship consisted of nine members: four Hobbits, two Men, one Elf, one Dwarf, and one Istar wizard. It is the only known organisation/group ever formed in the history of Middle-earth, to hold members of each of these races within it (and with the departure of the Elves and Istar from Middle-earth, there would never be another like it), who largely lived and acted independently of one another (or in the case of Elves and Dwarves, felt active animosity toward each other). This number was chosen to match the number of Ring Wraiths, also known as Black Riders, the Nazgúl or the Nine Riders. Merry and Pippin were never intended to be a part of the Fellowship, with Elrond considering two Elf-lords from his own house. He wished to send the two younger hobbits back to the Shire as messengers to warn other Hobbits of the growing evil. However, the halflings persevere: Merry is chosen and Gandalf convinces Elrond of the loyalty of Pippin.
After a long and difficult journey south from Rivendell, and a near-catastrophic attempt to cross over the Misty Mountains, the Fellowship descended into Moria. In the former Dwarf-kingdom, they found evidence that Orcs had slain Gimli's kinsman Balin and other Dwarves who had returned there. They were soon confronted by the Balrog known as Durin's Bane, who had many Orc and Troll minions under his control. Gandalf fell facing this menace, and the Company was forced to go on without him.
Once they escaped Moria, the Fellowship headed to the Elven forest of Lothlórien where they spoke with the Elven Lord Celeborn and Galadriel, Lady of Light. Galadriel supplied them each with a special Elven Gifts from Lothlórien and boats and supplies so they could travel down the river Anduin. This route was quicker than an overland march, but the group was attacked by Orc archers and shadowed by Gollum, who had begun following them in Moria.
Forced to portage their boats around the waterfall called Rauros, the Fellowship soon ran into difficulties. Boromir finally succumbed to temptation, and attempted to seize the Ring from Frodo. This led to Frodo using the Ring to escape and he and Sam leaving to spare the others the lure of it. The repentant Boromir died trying to defend Merry and Pippin against a large force of Uruks from Isengard.
The Fellowship was dissolved on the banks of the Anduin that day. Frodo and Sam carried on towards Mordor; Boromir was given funerary rites and sent floating over the falls, and Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli departed on their way to save Merry and Pippin.
Breaking of the FellowshipEdit
After Boromir died the Fellowship split into three paths. From there Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli chased after the Uruk-Hai who took Merry and Pippin. Their plan was to take the hobbits to Saruman in Isengard. Along the way the trio crossed through the Gap of Rohan and came across Eomer who led the banished riders of Rohan across the land. After questioning Eomer, they found out that the riders had already slain the Uruk-hai they were meant to track, the night before in a bloody massacre. So upon arriving to site of battle, Aragorn discovers that the hobbits fled deep into Fangorn Forest.
Gandalf, though thought to be dead when he fell at the Bridge of Khazad Dum in Moria, came back to Middle-earth, reincarnated as Gandalf the White. He encountered Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in Fangorn, and they, mistaking Gandalf for Saruman, attempted to kill him. Gandalf assured them that Merry and Pippin were safe (knowing they were in the hands of Treebeard). From there they rode out to Edoras, capital of Rohan. It was there they saw King Theoden in ill-condition, poisoned by Saruman.
Frodo and Sam continued their journey, getting closer to Mordor. As they went farther, so did Gollum to them. While attempting to take "the precious" in their sleep, Frodo and Sam awoke and captured him. Frodo realizing who he was decided Gollum could be used as guide into Mordor.
The Second FellowshipEdit
In the book, Aragorn continues to call the company he leads (Legolas and Gimli, occasionally joined by Gandalf, Merry, and Pippin) the Fellowship of the Ring even after the original Fellowship breaks up following Boromir's death. The fellowship is reunited again after the War of The Ring up until Rohan, where the fellowship ends.
Translations around the WorldEdit
|Foreign Language||Translated name|
|Chinese (Hong Kong)||魔戒遠征隊|
|French||Communauté de l'Anneau|
|German||Gemeinschaft des Ringes|
|Spanish||Comunidad del Anillo|
|The Fellowship of the Ring|
|Frodo · Sam · Merry · Pippin · Gandalf · Aragorn · Legolas · Gimli · Boromir|