Changes: The Return of the King

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The Return of the King is the third novel in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Return5 — Nostalgic cover for Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien.

This article is about the book, for the film see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)

The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.

Title

Return of the king-cover — One other cover of The Return of the King.

Tolkien conceived of The Lord of the Rings as a single volume comprising six sections he called "books" and extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts, publishing the fifth and sixth books and the appendices under the title The Return of the King, in reference to Aragorn's assumption of the throne. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred The War of the Ring as a title, as it gave away less of the story.

Structure

The structure of The Return of the King mirrors somewhat that of The Two Towers in that the first section recounts the various adventures of several characters including a massive battle, and the second section resumes the quest of the Ring-bearers.

The story begins as Gandalf delivers news to Denethor, the steward of Gondor, that war is imminent. Gandalf brings Pippin with him, who enters the service of the steward. Aragorn, by his courage and leadership, proves himself a worthy ruler of men. He is destined to find a lost army of men now dead yet entrapped in a curse set forth long ago by their own disobedience, in the place known as the paths of the dead. The remnants of the Fellowship lead the forces of Gondor and Rohan in defence of Gondor's capital city, Minas Tirith, resulting in the cataclysmic Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Those characters who manage to survive the battle are led by Aragorn on an assuredly suicidal feint-attack against the Black Gates of Mordor, partly to distract Sauron from defending his other borders so that Frodo and Sam can gain a clear passage into Mordor. Aragorn's company now surrounds the Black Gates of the Morannon exchanging idle words with the Mouth of Sauron.

Chapters

I - Minas Tirith - Gandalf and Pippin arrive in Minas Tirith; they talk with Denethor; Pippin enters the service of the steward.
II - The Passing of the Grey Company - Follows Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli as they pass through the Paths of the Dead between Rohan and Gondor.
III - The Muster of Rohan - Rohan prepares for war; Merry heads off for Minas Tirith, on a horse with a rider who calls himself Dernhelm.
IV - The Siege of Gondor - Back to Gandalf and Pippin, and the preparations of the city of Minas Tirith for the attack by the armies of Mordor; Minas Tirith is besieged; chapter ends with the gate of Minas Tirith broken, and the army of Rohan finally arriving.
V - The Ride of the Rohirrim - The Rohirrim pass through the Druadan Forest with the aid of the wild men who live there, who are led by Ghan-buri-Ghan; the army arrives in Minas Tirith.
VI - The Battle of the Pelennor Fields - Armies of Rohan and Gondor fight the armies of Mordor, Rhun and Harad as described in Battle of the Pelennor Fields; Merry and Eowyn together kill the chief of the Nazgûl, the Witch-king of Angmar.
VII - The Pyre of Denethor - Denethor goes mad and tries to burn Faramir alive (believing him to be dead); he is saved by Gandalf; Denethor then sets fire to himself. They discover that Denethor has been using a Palantir.
VIII - The Houses of Healing - Merry, Faramir, Eowyn and many others are injured and placed in the houses of healing; Aragorn uses kingsfoil to help treat the injured.
IX - The Last Debate - Gimli and Legolas meet Merry and Pippin again; the captains of the west hold a counsel on their next action; they decide to send 7000 men against Mordor to march on the Black Gate.
X - The Black Gate Opens - The army, with Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas and Pippin (but not Merry) marches to the Black Gate. The Mouth of Sauron comes out to discuss terms, and presents tokens, which were owned by Frodo; he then departs and the army of Mordor attacks them.

Book VI: The End of the Third Age/ The Return of the King

In the meanwhile, the brave and loyal Sam Gamgee (who for a short time had himself become the ring-bearer) enables the long-suffering Frodo Baggins to navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor. For part of the way, they are captured by a company of Orcs and must pretend to be orcs before they are able to escape. The company, tired and half-alive, finally reaches the Crack of Doom, where the One Ring is destroyed along with Gollum, freeing Middle-earth from Sauron's power forever. This happens when Frodo at the last moment decides to keep the ring rather than destroy it, and is attacked by Gollum who bites off Frodo's finger to take the ring, trips, and falls into the lava while still holding the ring. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the giant eagles whom Gandalf rides to Mount Doom, from the black gates of Morannon. After Sauron is defeated, his armies at the black gates flee, and the men of Gondor and Rohan are victorious in the battle.

Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor at Minas Tirith. After a series of goodbyes, the Hobbits return home, only to find the Shire under the control of 'Sharkey' who they find out is Saruman, diminished in power but not in malevolence. Merry and Pippin, now experienced warriors of Rohan and Gondor respectively, take the lead in setting things right again, and lead an uprising of hobbits against Saruman, freeing the shire. Time passes. The Shire heals, but Frodo does not. Eventually Frodo departs for the Undying Lands to find healing, along with Bilbo Baggins, Gandalf and the Elves. Sam, Merry and Pippin watch them depart and return home in silence. Sam is greeted by his wife Rose and his daughter Elanor. In the last line of the book Sam says to Rose; "Well, I'm back".

Chapters

I - The Tower of Cirith Ungol - Sam infiltrates the Orc tower to find Frodo.
II - The Land of Shadow - Sam and Frodo make their way into Mordor; they are captured by an Orc company.
III - Mount Doom - Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom; the final battle for the ring between Gollum and Frodo.
IV - The Field of Cormallen - The story returns to the Field of Cormallen, continuing from Book Five, chapter X; the eagles arrive; Captains of the west victorious; Frodo and Sam rescued by Gandalf; all the company meets again in Ithilien.
V - The Steward and the King - chapter begins in Minas Tirith at the Houses of Healing after the armies departed for the black gate; Eowyn taken to see Faramir; Merry is also in Minas Tirith; later they see the arrival of the armies with Aragorn, Gandalf and the four hobbits; Gandalf crowns Aragorn King of Gondor; Aragorn makes Faramir prince of Ithilien and keeps the office of steward; Gandalf takes Aragorn to Mount Mindolluin to survey the lands of his kingdom. On midsummer’s eve Elrond, Galadriel, Arwen and the elves arrive in the city from the north; wedding of Aragorn and Arwen.
VI - Many Partings - The company rides north to Rohan, then Isengard, where Gimli and Legolas head north through Fangorn; Aragorn returns to his kingdom; the rest of the company heads north where they meet Saruman and Wormtongue who were just released from Isengard; Galadriel and the Lorien elves leave over the pass of Caradhras; the hobbits and Gandalf then arrive in Rivendell.
VII - Homeward Bound - The hobbits and Gandalf travel to Bree where they stay at the Prancing Pony, and are told by Butterbur that there has been trouble in Bree while they have been away.
VIII - The Scouring of the Shire - The hobbits arrive in the Shire to find it taken over by 'the Chief' or 'Sharkey' at Bag End; Battle of Bywater; the hobbits find Saruman and Wormtongue at Bag End; Wormtongue kills Saruman, and is then killed himself by hobbit archers.
IX - The Grey Havens - cleaning up of the Shire; several years pass; Sam and Frodo meet the elves and Bilbo travelling west through the Shire; they travel to the Grey Havens where they meet Gandalf, and Merry and Pippin arrive; Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and the elves set sail to the west; Sam returns to Rose and their daughter Elanor at Bag End.

Appendices

A Annals of the Kings and Rulers

B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)

C Family Trees (Hobbits)

D Calendars

E Writing and Spelling

Pronunciation of Words and Names
Writing

F

The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age
On Translation

Indices

Songs and Verses
Persons, Beasts and Monsters
Places
Things

Adaptations

The Return of the King, 1980 animated feature made for television, featuring the voices of Orson Bean and John Huston.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, 2003 theatrical film directed by Peter Jackson.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at The Return of the King. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with The One Wiki to Rule Them All, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Commons Attribution-Share Alike license.

Previous novel:
The Two Towers

Lord of the Rings
novels

Next novel:
Last in series

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.P.R. Tolkien
Books:	The Fellowship of the Ring \| The Two Towers \| The Return of the King
Movie trilogy:	The Fellowship of the Ring \| The Two Towers \| The Return of the King
Animated movies:	J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings \| The Return of the King (TV special) \| The War of the Rohirrim
Miscellaneous:	The History of The Lord of the Rings \| Lord of the Rings radio series

External links

la:Dominus Annulorum: Regressus Regis (liber)

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 '''''The Return of the King''''' is the third and final volume of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', following ''[[The Fellowship of the Ring (book)|The Fellowship of the Ring]]'' and ''[[The Two Towers (book)|The Two Towers]]''.
-== Title ==
+==Title==
 [[File:Return_of_the_king-cover.jpg|left|thumb|200px|One other cover of The Return of the King.]]
 Tolkien conceived of ''The Lord of the Rings'' as a single volume comprising six sections he called "books" and extensive appendices. The original publisher made the decision to split the work into three parts, publishing the fifth and sixth books and the appendices under the title ''The Return of the King'', in reference to [[Aragorn]]'s assumption of the throne. Tolkien indicated he would have preferred ''The War of the Ring'' as a title, as it gave away less of the story.
-== Structure ==
+==Structure==
 The structure of ''The Return of the King'' mirrors somewhat that of ''The Two Towers'' in that the first section recounts the various adventures of several characters including a massive battle, and the second section resumes the quest of the [[Ring-bearer]]s.
-== Contents ==
+==Contents==
-=== Book V: The War of the Ring ===
+===Book V: The War of the Ring===
-The story begins as Gandalf delivers news to Denethor, the steward of Gondor, that war is imminent. Gandalf brings Pippin with him, who enters the service of the steward. [[Aragorn II|Aragorn]] by his courage and leadership proves himself a worthy ruler of men. He is destined to find a lost army of men now dead yet entrapped in a curse set forth long ago by their own disobedience, in the place known as the paths of the dead. The remnants of the Fellowship lead the forces of Gondor and Rohan in defence of Gondor's capital city, [[Minas Tirith]], resulting in the cataclysmic [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]. Those characters that manage to survive the battle are led by [[Aragorn]] on an assuredly suicidal feint-attack against the Black Gates of Mordor, partly to distract Sauron from defending his other borders so that Frodo and Sam can gain a clear passage into Mordor. Aragorn's company now surrounds the Black Gates of the Morannon exchanging idle words with the Mouth of Sauron.
+The story begins as [[Gandalf]] delivers news to [[Denethor II|Denethor]], the steward of [[Gondor]], that war is imminent. Gandalf brings [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] with him, who enters the service of the steward. [[Aragorn II|Aragorn]], by his courage and leadership, proves himself a worthy ruler of men. He is destined to find a lost army of men now dead yet entrapped in a curse set forth long ago by their own disobedience, in the place known as the paths of the dead. The remnants of the Fellowship lead the forces of Gondor and [[Rohan]] in defence of Gondor's capital city, [[Minas Tirith]], resulting in the cataclysmic [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]. Those characters who manage to survive the battle are led by Aragorn on an assuredly suicidal feint-attack against the [[Morannon|Black Gates of Mordor]], partly to distract [[Sauron]] from defending his other borders so that [[Frodo_Baggins|Frodo]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]] can gain a clear passage into Mordor. Aragorn's company now surrounds the Black Gates of the Morannon exchanging idle words with the [[Mouth of Sauron]].
+====Chapters====
-==== Chapters ====
 *'''I - [[Minas Tirith]]''' - [[Gandalf]] and [[Pippin]] arrive in [[Minas Tirith]]; they talk with [[Denethor II|Denethor]]; Pippin enters the service of the steward.
 *'''II - [[The Passing of the Grey Company]]''' - Follows [[Aragorn]], [[Legolas]] and [[Gimli]] as they pass through the [[Paths of the Dead]] between [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]].
 *'''III - [[The Muster of Rohan]]''' - [[Rohan]] prepares for war; [[Merry]] heads off for [[Minas Tirith]], on a horse with a rider who calls himself [[Dernhelm]].
-*'''IV - [[The Siege of Gondor]]''' - Back to [[Gandalf]] and [[Pippin]], and the preparations of the city of [[Minas Tirith]] for the attack by the armies of [[Mordor]]; [[Minas Tirith]] is besieged; chapter ends with the gate of [[Minas Tirith]] broken, and the army of [[Rohan]] finally arriving.
+*'''IV - [[The Siege of Gondor (chapter)|The Siege of Gondor]]''' - Back to [[Gandalf]] and [[Pippin]], and the preparations of the city of [[Minas Tirith]] for the attack by the armies of [[Mordor]]; [[Minas Tirith]] is besieged; chapter ends with the gate of [[Minas Tirith]] broken, and the army of [[Rohan]] finally arriving.
 *'''V - [[The Ride of the Rohirrim]]''' - The [[Rohirrim]] pass through the Druadan Forest with the aid of the wild men who live there, who are led by Ghan-buri-Ghan; the army arrives in [[Minas Tirith]].
-*'''VI - [[The Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]''' - Armies of [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]] fight the armies of [[Mordor]], [[Rhun]] and [[Harad]] as described in [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]; [[Merry]] and [[Eowyn]] together kill the chief of the [[Nazgul]], the [[Witch-king]] of [[Angmar]].
+*'''VI - [[The Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]''' - Armies of [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]] fight the armies of [[Mordor]], [[Rhun]] and [[Harad]] as described in [[Battle of the Pelennor Fields]]; [[Merry]] and [[Eowyn]] together kill the chief of the [[Nazgûl]], the [[Witch-king]] of [[Angmar]].
-*'''VII - [[The Pyre of Denethor]]''' - [[Denethor]] goes mad and tries to burn [[Faramir]] alive (believing him to be dead); he is saved by [[Gandalf]]; [[Denethor]] then sets fire to himself. They discover that [[Denethor]] has been using a [[palantir]].
+*'''VII - [[The Pyre of Denethor]]''' - [[Denethor]] goes mad and tries to burn [[Faramir]] alive (believing him to be dead); he is saved by [[Gandalf]]; [[Denethor]] then sets fire to himself. They discover that [[Denethor]] has been using a [[Palantir]].
 *'''VIII - [[The Houses of Healing]]''' - [[Merry]], [[Faramir]], [[Eowyn]] and many others are injured and placed in the houses of healing; [[Aragorn]] uses [[kingsfoil]] to help treat the injured.
 *'''IX - [[The Last Debate]]''' - [[Gimli]] and [[Legolas]] meet [[Merry]] and [[Pippin]] again; the captains of the west hold a counsel on their next action; they decide to send 7000 men against [[Mordor]] to march on the [[Black Gate]].
 *'''X - [[The Black Gate Opens]]''' - The army, with [[Gandalf]], [[Aragorn]], [[Gimli]], [[Legolas]] and [[Pippin]] (but not [[Merry]]) marches to the [[Black Gate]]. [[The Mouth of Sauron]] comes out to discuss terms, and presents tokens, which were owned by [[Frodo]]; he then departs and the army of [[Mordor]] attacks them.
-=== Book VI: The End of the Third Age ===
+===Book VI: The End of the Third Age/ The Return of the King===
-In the meanwhile, the brave and loyal [[Sam Gamgee]] (who for a short time had himself become the ring-bearer) enables the long-suffering [[Frodo Baggins]] to navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor. For part of the way, they are captured by a company of orcs and must pretend to be orcs before they are able to escape. The company, tired and half-alive, finally reaches the [[Crack of Doom]], where the [[One Ring]] is destroyed along with [[Gollum]], freeing [[Middle-earth]] from [[Sauron]]'s power forever. This happens when Frodo at the last moment decides to keep the ring rather than destroy it, and is attacked by Gollum who bites off Frodo's finger to take the ring, trips, and falls into the lava while still holding the ring. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the giant eagles whom Gandalf rides to Mount Doom, from the black gates of Morannon. After Sauron is defeated, his armies at the black gates flee, and the men of Gondor and Rohan are victorious in the battle.
+In the meanwhile, the brave and loyal [[Sam Gamgee]] (who for a short time had himself become the ring-bearer) enables the long-suffering [[Frodo Baggins]] to navigate the barren wasteland of Mordor. For part of the way, they are captured by a company of Orcs and must pretend to be orcs before they are able to escape. The company, tired and half-alive, finally reaches the [[Crack of Doom]], where the [[One Ring]] is destroyed along with [[Gollum]], freeing [[Middle-earth]] from [[Sauron]]'s power forever. This happens when Frodo at the last moment decides to keep the ring rather than destroy it, and is attacked by Gollum who bites off Frodo's finger to take the ring, trips, and falls into the lava while still holding the ring. Frodo and Sam are rescued by the giant eagles whom Gandalf rides to Mount Doom, from the black gates of Morannon. After Sauron is defeated, his armies at the black gates flee, and the men of Gondor and Rohan are victorious in the battle.
-Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor at Minas Tirith. After a series of goodbyes, the [[Hobbit]]s return home, only to find [[the Shire]] under the control of 'Sharkey' who they find out is [[Saruman]], diminished in power but not in malevolence. [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]], now experienced warriors of [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]] respectively, take the lead in setting things right again, and lead an uprising of hobbits against Saruman, freeing the shire. Time passes. The Shire heals, but Frodo does not. Eventually Frodo departs for the [[Undying Lands]] to find healing, along with [[Bilbo Baggins]], [[Gandalf]] and the [[elves]]. [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]], Merry and Pippin watch them depart and return home in silence. Sam is greeted by his wife Rose and his daughter Elanor. In the last line of the book Sam says to Rose; "Well, I'm back".
+Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor at Minas Tirith. After a series of goodbyes, the [[Hobbit]]s return home, only to find [[the Shire]] under the control of 'Sharkey' who they find out is [[Saruman]], diminished in power but not in malevolence. [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]] and [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]], now experienced warriors of [[Rohan]] and [[Gondor]] respectively, take the lead in setting things right again, and lead an uprising of hobbits against Saruman, freeing the shire. Time passes. The Shire heals, but Frodo does not. Eventually Frodo departs for the [[Undying Lands]] to find healing, along with [[Bilbo Baggins]], [[Gandalf]] and the [[Elves]]. [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]], Merry and Pippin watch them depart and return home in silence. Sam is greeted by his wife Rose and his daughter Elanor. In the last line of the book Sam says to [[Rosie Cotton|Rose]]; "Well, I'm back".
-==== Chapters ====
-*'''I - [[The Tower of Cirith Ungol]]''' - Sam goes to find Frodo in the orc tower.
+====Chapters====
-*'''II - [[The Land of Shadow]]''' - Sam and Frodo make their way into Mordor; they are captured by an orc company.
+*'''I - [[The Tower of Cirith Ungol]]''' - Sam infiltrates the Orc tower to find Frodo.
+*'''II - [[The Land of Shadow]]''' - Sam and Frodo make their way into Mordor; they are captured by an Orc company.
 *'''III - [[Mount Doom]]''' - Frodo and Sam reach Mount Doom; the final battle for the ring between Gollum and Frodo.
 *'''IV - [[The Field of Cormallen]]''' - The story returns to the Field of Cormallen, continuing from Book Five, chapter X; the eagles arrive; Captains of the west victorious; Frodo and Sam rescued by Gandalf; all the company meets again in Ithilien.
@@ Line 45: / Line 52: @@
 *'''IX - [[The Grey Havens]]''' - cleaning up of the Shire; several years pass; Sam and Frodo meet the elves and Bilbo travelling west through the Shire; they travel to the Grey Havens where they meet Gandalf, and Merry and Pippin arrive; Frodo, Bilbo, Gandalf and the elves set sail to the west; Sam returns to Rose and their daughter Elanor at Bag End.
-=== Appendices ===
+===Appendices===
-==== A Annals of the Kings and Rulers ====
+====A Annals of the Kings and Rulers====
-# The [[Númenor|Númenórean]] Kings
-# The House of [[Eorl the Young|Eorl]]
+# The [[Númenor|Númenórean]] [[King of Númenor|Kings]]
+# The [[House of Eorl]]
-# [[Durin]]'s Folk
+# [[Durin's Folk]]
-==== B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands) ====
+====B The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)====
 ====C Family Trees (Hobbits)====
-==== D Calendars ====
+====D Calendars====
 ====E Writing and Spelling====
 # Pronunciation of Words and Names
 # Writing
-==== F ====
+====F====
-#The [[Languages of Middle-earth|Languages]] and Peoples of the Third Age
-#On Translation
+#The [[Languages]] and [[Peoples and Races of Arda|Peoples]] of the [[Third Age]]
-=== Indices ===
+#On Translation
+===Indices===
 # Songs and Verses
 # Persons, Beasts and Monsters
@@ Line 65: / Line 78: @@
 # Things
-== Adaptations ==
+==Adaptations==
 * ''[[The Return of the King (1980 film)|The Return of the King]]'', 1980 animated feature made for television, featuring the voices of [[Orson Bean]] and [[John Huston]].
 * ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (film)|The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King]]'', 2003 theatrical film directed by [[Peter Jackson]].
@@ Line 82: / Line 96: @@
 {{lotr}}
-== External links ==
+==External links==
-* {{TGlink|The Return of the King}}
+*{{TGlink|The Return of the King}}
-* [http://www.indepthinfo.com/tolkien/index.shtml The World of J.R.R. Tolkien]
+*[http://www.indepthinfo.com/tolkien/index.shtml The World of J.R.R. Tolkien]
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Return of the King}}
-[[Category:Books]]
-[[Category:Novels]]
 [[de:Der Herr der Ringe: Die Rückkehr des Königs (Buch)]]
+[[es:El Señor de los Anillos: El Retorno del Rey]]
+[[fr:Le Retour du Roi]]
 [[it:Il ritorno del Re (libro)]]
 [[ja:王の帰還]]
+[[la:Dominus Annulorum: Regressus Regis (liber)]]
 [[nl:In de ban van de ring Deel 3: De Terugkeer van de Koning]]
 [[pl:Powrót króla (powieść)]]
 [[ru:Возвращение короля (книга)]]
+[[Category:Books]]
+[[Category:Novels]]
+[[Category:Lord of the Rings]]