# Aragorn's Greatest Journey



## Urambo Tauro (Mar 11, 2005)

_The Return of the King_- _The Passing of the Grey Company_ tells us that after Aragorn & Co. camp at the Stone of Erech,...


> ...the dawn came, cold and pale, Aragorn rose at once, and he led the Company forth upon the journey of greatest haste and weariness that any among them had known, save he alone, and only his will held them to go on.


What was Aragorn's journey of greatest haste and weariness?


----------



## Valandil (Mar 11, 2005)

Hard to say. Maybe for him, this one just seemed like any other.


----------



## Helm (Mar 13, 2005)

Perhapes it was when he caught Gullom.


----------



## Greenwood (Mar 13, 2005)

The passage doesn't say that Aragorn was ever on a journey of greater "haste and weariness" than this one. Just that none of the others had ever been on a journey like this one. Aragorn was considered the greatest traveler of his age. The passage merely says he has been on other journeys comparable to this one, not that any were necessarily worse.


----------



## Barliman Butterbur (Mar 13, 2005)

Urambo Tauro said:


> _The Return of the King_- _The Passing of the Grey Company_ tells us that after Aragorn & Co. camp at the Stone of Erech,...
> 
> What was Aragorn's journey of greatest haste and weariness?



The Sunday morning journey to East L.A. for his weekly bucket of _menudo con chorizo y tripas..._ 

Barley


----------



## Urambo Tauro (Sep 17, 2006)

Thread resurrection!



Greenwood said:


> The passage doesn't say that Aragorn was ever on a journey of greater "haste and weariness" than this one. Just that none of the others had ever been on a journey like this one. Aragorn was considered the greatest traveler of his age. The passage merely says he has been on other journeys comparable to this one, not that any were necessarily worse.


 
I hope you don't mind if I disagree there. Tolkien writes that Aragorn "led the Company forth upon the journey of greatest haste and weariness that any among them had known, save he alone...." This certainly was "the journey...." for everyone, _save Aragorn alone_. I looks to me as if Aragorn is the only one who's been through something more hasty and wearying.

I could understand if his pursuit of Gollum was the "greatest journey". I'm sure he lost a lot of sleep (weariness), and therefore wanted to hurry back (haste).

Thoughts?


----------



## Alcuin (Sep 17, 2006)

Let’s think. As a young man under the pseudonym Thorongil, Aragorn had served in both the Rohirrim and the armies of Gondor. No mention is made of his exploits with the Rohirrim, but we know he led a raid on Umbar while in the service of Ecthelion II. He told Boromir he had been into the East (Rhûn? Khand?) and far into the south “where the stars are strange,” but he never mentions any journey like the ride from Erech to Pelargir. The only thing he mentions in the search for Gollum is when he “walk[ed] in sight of the Black Gate, [and] tread the deadly flowers of Morgul Vale.” 

My own sense of the passage is not that it refers to any single event in Aragorn’s life that was conducted with the same “haste and weariness” that the Dúnedain and the sons of Elrond experienced on that wild ride, but that Aragorn alone had before experienced anything comparable to it, and that without his leadership, determination, and experience, they would have been unable to successfully complete the journey. 

Bear in mind, too, that the Dúnedain of the North were extremely tough: anyone who was not would swiftly die living the life they led not out of choice but by necessity. Tougher even than they were Elladan and Elrohir, who had fought against the orcs and Sauron’s other creatures for nearly 3,000 years, including the many wars Arnor fought against Angmar, and their own private war against the orcs of the Misty Mountains. Together, this little expeditionary force of 32 men and elves was a formidable force, probably the toughest and strongest group its size that could be assembled anywhere in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. To say that only Aragorn had known anything approaching such “haste and weariness” is quite an expression of toil, suffering, and anxiety to complete the mission. 

But I can’t think of any single event in Aragorn’s life Zthat Tolkien related to us that matched the ride from Erech to Pelargir.


Hammond and Scull in _ Reader’s Companion_ note the similarity of the ride of the Dúnedain followed by the Dead Men of Dunharrow from Erech to Pelargir to the northern European legends of “the Wild Hunt, ‘one of the most common elements in the folklore of Northern Europe, and especially Britain. The Hunt is led by a warrior or hero god … accompanied by either wild hounds; or warriors similar to himself. … The Hunter and his followers are fierce, terrible to look upon or to hear, and dangerous.’” (There is a Wikipedia article on the  Wild Hunt, but it is rather weak, IMO.)


----------



## Halasían (Oct 9, 2006)

Alcuin said:


> As a young man under the pseudonym Thorongil, Aragorn had served in both the Rohirrim and the armies of Gondor. No mention is made of his exploits with the Rohirrim, but we know he led a raid on Umbar while in the service of Ecthelion II. He told Boromir he had been into the East (Rhûn? Khand?) and far into the south “where the stars are strange,” but he never mentions any journey like the ride from Erech to Pelargir. The only thing he mentions in the search for Gollum is when he “walk[ed] in sight of the Black Gate, [and] tread the deadly flowers of Morgul Vale.”
> 
> My own sense of the passage is not that it refers to any single event in Aragorn’s life that was conducted with the same “haste and weariness” that the Dúnedain and the sons of Elrond experienced on that wild ride, but that Aragorn alone had before experienced anything comparable to it, and that without his leadership, determination, and experience, they would have been unable to successfully complete the journey.
> 
> Bear in mind, too, that the Dúnedain of the North were extremely tough: anyone who was not would swiftly die living the life they led not out of choice but by necessity. Tougher even than they were Elladan and Elrohir, who had fought against the orcs and Sauron’s other creatures for nearly 3,000 years, including the many wars Arnor fought against Angmar, and their own private war against the orcs of the Misty Mountains. Together, this little expeditionary force of 32 men and elves was a formidable force, probably the toughest and strongest group its size that could be assembled anywhere in Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. To say that only Aragorn had known anything approaching such “haste and weariness” is quite an expression of toil, suffering, and anxiety to complete the mission.


 I would think Aragorn's raid on Umbar, his journey into the south and east, and his treading in sight of the Black Gate and Morgul Vale could have been in weariness, if not in haste. But one has to wonder if the Sons of Elrond had in their many years encountered anything near the ride from Dunharrow to Pelargir.


----------



## HLGStrider (Nov 16, 2006)

I would put forth that the whole of Aragorn's life had been such a journey. For Aragorn this was simply the home stretch with the end in sight.

I mean, if you consider his life, as a young man of (correct me if I'm wrong) nineteen, has his heritage and so a heavy burden laid upon him by his foster father, immediately goes out, falls in love (hopelessly . . . but Aragorn's life is defined by the ability to keep faith through hopelessness), and knowns he can't earn her unless he achieves what his forefathers have failed to do for ages, restore and unite Arnor and Gondor, defeat Sauron and the evil caused in part by his ancestor (who refused to destroy the ring). Immediately he sets out to do this, to protect and fight and further a cause. From here on out everything Aragorn does is aimed towards the end. There are only a few periods of respite (Lothlorien is the only one I can think of).

So, Aragorn's life is the harder journey.


----------



## Valandil (Nov 21, 2006)

And if you're still looking for one more "toughie"... remember that he had been in Moria prior to the Fellowship's entrance there.


----------



## Urambo Tauro (Nov 22, 2006)

Maybe it's another one of those "unsolved mysteries of Middle-earth".

None of Aragorn's companions on the Journey from Erech had ever been in such _haste_, but Aragorn had; they had not experienced such _weariness_ before, but he had. Because Legolas and Gimli are part of this Company, and had _not_ been on such a gruelling journey, that rules out any exeriences following the Fellowship's departure from Rivendell. (Otherwise, I might have considered the Three Hunters' Orc pursuit.)

Now _weariness_ can be encountered on any journey, but _haste_ really narrows it down. What could have required more desperate _haste_ than the Journey from Erech? A sense of _haste_ seems to point to an event rather than an account of his overall life.


I'm beginning to think this is one of those "throw-away" phrases Tolkien used and never elaborated on. There's more to the story, but it's left to the imagination. What this phrase does for the reader is to highlight Aragorn as even more of a hero than we thought already.

It's fun to speculate, though.


----------



## Greenwood (Jan 13, 2007)

Urambo Tauro said:


> Thread resurrection!
> 
> I hope you don't mind if I disagree there. Tolkien writes that Aragorn "led the Company forth upon the journey of greatest haste and weariness that any among them had known, save he alone...." This certainly was "the journey...." for everyone, _save Aragorn alone_. I looks to me as if Aragorn is the only one who's been through something more hasty and wearying.



The quote does not state that Aragorn has ever been on a journey of *greater* haste or weariness than this one, but that none of the others have been. It merely states that Aragorn has been on journeys that have been at least *comparable* to this. (They may have been worse, but there is nothing in the quote to prove that.)




Urambo Tauro said:


> I'm beginning to think this is one of those "throw-away" phrases Tolkien used and never elaborated on. There's more to the story, but it's left to the imagination. What this phrase does for the reader is to highlight Aragorn as even more of a hero than we thought already.



That, I agree with.


----------



## Grond (Apr 17, 2007)

I think the hunt for Gollum was Aragorn's greatest challenge. Read the description in the Fellowship of the Ring and you'll see what I mean. I don't have my books in front of me but the words "a weariness the likes of which I've never known..." comes to mind. Someone please look it up and see if I'm right.

Cheers,

grond


----------



## Snaga (Jun 18, 2007)

Grond, I think in this case your memory is mistaken. I can't see anything like that in the Council of Elrond. I think perhaps you are thinking of this, from TT, The Riders of Rohan:


> "There is something strange at work in this land. I distrust the silence. I distrust even the pale Moon. The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow. There is some will that lends speed to our foes and sets an unseen barrier before us: a weariness that is in the heart more than in the limb."


Obviously this cannot be the comparable journey, since Legolas and Gimli were there. That however WAS quite a hike, as we all know!


----------



## Urambo Tauro (Jun 23, 2007)

Looking at the wording of Aragorn's statement, there's a small hint of a previous "greatest journey"....


> "The stars are faint; and I am weary as I have seldom been before, weary as no Ranger should be with a clear trail to follow."


He could have said "I am weary as I have _never_ been before", but instead uses the word _seldom_. Not only does this point to _a_ more gruelling experience, it also seems to hint at _multiple incidents_.

Talk about a guy with a history of mystery!


----------

