Faramir

The early years of Faramir's life are described in the main narrative of The Lord of the Rings only briefly, with more detail revealed in the appendices. It is stated that Faramir was born in the year 2983 of the Third Age; his father, Denethor II, was a man of noble descent and the heir to the Stewardship of Gondor, ascending a year after Faramir's birth.[T 4] Denethor had married Finduilas, daughter of Prince Adrahil of Dol Amroth;[T 5] however, she died untimely when Faramir was five, and is said to have remained to him "but a memory of loveliness in far days and of his first grief".[T 6]

After her death Denethor became sombre, cold, and detached from his family, but the relationship between Faramir and Boromir, who was five years older, only grew closer. The brothers greatly loved and highly esteemed each other, and neither in childhood nor in later years was there any jealousy or rivalry between them, even though Denethor openly favoured his elder son. Tolkien wrote that Faramir was used to giving way and not airing his own opinions.[T 7] Among other things, Faramir displeased his father in that he welcomed the wizard Gandalf who occasionally visited Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor. Being eager for knowledge, Faramir learned much from Gandalf about the history of the realm and about the death of Isildur.[T 5][T 8]

Gondor had long been threatened by the nearby realm of Mordor, and in 3018 (when Faramir was 35) the Dark Lord Sauron began the War of the Ring, attacking the ruined city of Osgiliath that guarded the passage to Minas Tirith.[T 4] Faramir and Boromir commanded the defence, and were among those few who survived when the eastern half of Osgiliath was captured and the bridges across the River Anduin were destroyed.[T 9]

In The Fellowship of the Ring it is recounted that shortly before the battle Faramir had a prophetic dream, which later often recurred to him and once to Boromir. In this dream a voice spoke about the "Sword that was Broken" that was to be found at Imladris far to the north, about the awakening of "Isildur's Bane", approach of "Doom", and appearance of "the Halfling". Faramir decided to journey to Imladris and seek advice of Elrond the Half-elven, but Boromir claimed the errand for himself, fearing for his brother, and was approved by Denethor and a council of the elders; Faramir remained to defend Gondor.[T 8][T 9]

Faramir first encountered the hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee in Ithilien and recognized them to be the Halflings mentioned in his dreams. Faramir questioned Frodo of his quest, and Frodo revealed that he, along with eight other companions including Boromir, had set out from Rivendell. During the interrogation, Faramir asked often about Boromir, since he knew, although Frodo at that point did not, that Boromir was already dead. One night, while on guard, Faramir waded down to the Anduin river after seeing a boat there. It contained the dead body of his brother, who had been killed by Orcs after Frodo left the group.

Faramir also asked about the purpose of Frodo's mission, but Frodo tried to avoid the subject. Faramir determined that Frodo was carrying one of Sauron's great weapons. In the Rangers’ secret refuge behind the waterfall, Henneth Annûn, Sam accidentally spoke of Boromir's desire for the One Ring, thus revealing the item Frodo was carrying. Faramir then showed the crucial difference between him and his proud brother:

But fear no more! I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway. Not were Minas Tirith falling in ruin and I alone could save her, so, using the weapon of the Dark Lord for her good and my glory. No, I do not wish for such triumphs, Frodo son of Drogo.[T 8]

Despite the Hobbits’ fears, Faramir was wise enough to realize that such a weapon was not to be used and if desired, should be resisted. With this knowledge, he also realized what his brother had to face, and wished that he had gone on the quest himself — knowing that Boromir would not have been able to resist the temptation to seize the Ring for himself. Giving the Hobbits provisions, he sent them on their way to continue their quest, but warned Frodo that their guide, Gollum, was a treacherous creature, and that an unknown terror lived in Cirith Ungol, where Gollum was leading them.

The following evening in Cair Andros, Faramir sent his company south to reinforce the garrison at Osgiliath, while he and three of his men rode to Minas Tirith. Along the way, they were pursued by Sauron's servants, the Nazgûl. Faramir rode back to help the fallen. Immediately, Gandalf rode out to their aid, temporarily banishing the Nazgûl.

Faramir arrived at Minas Tirith and reported to Denethor and Gandalf of his encounter with Frodo and Sam. Denethor became angry that Faramir had let Frodo and Sam pass into Mordor with the Ring, instead of bringing the Ring to Minas Tirith to be hidden.

Sauron's second-in-command, the Witch-king of Angmar, led a much larger force from Minas Morgul, and attacked Osgiliath. After Osgiliath was conquered, Faramir decided to stay with the rearguard in order to make sure that the retreat over Pelennor would not turn into a rout. He was gravely wounded by a Southron arrow and the Black Breath of the Nazgûl. Fortunately, all of the mounted soldiers in the city rode to his aid and brought him back to Denethor in Minas Tirith.

When Faramir returned unconscious, Denethor believed him to be fatally injured. That blow, coupled with a vision in the palantír of the forces arrayed against him, drove him insane. He ordered his servants to build a funeral pyre in the House of Stewards for him and his son. Denethor's temporary servant, the Hobbit Peregrin Took, went to alert Gandalf and Beregond, one of the Tower Guards he had befriended. Gandalf and Beregond stopped the impending sacrifice just in time. Mad with grief, Denethor jumped onto the lit pyre, burning himself alive.

Two days later, the battle over, Aragorn came and revived Faramir with athelas in the Houses of Healing. During his subsequent recuperation there, Faramir met the Lady Éowyn of Rohan; moved by her sorrow, pride, and beauty, he eventually fell in love with her. At first, Éowyn refused his advances, only desiring to go to war to find honour in death. But soon Éowyn realized that she had come to love him in return.

Faramir took up his office as Steward, and began preparing the city for the arrival of Aragorn, who was now King of Gondor. On the day of the King's official coronation, Faramir surrendered his office. Aragorn, however, renewed the office, and announced that as long as his line would last, Faramir and his descendants would be Stewards of Gondor.

In addition, Aragorn created Faramir Prince of Ithilien and appointed Beregond Captain of Faramir's guard, the White Company. Faramir, as Prince of Ithilien, together with the Prince of Dol Amroth became King Elessar's chief commanders. In a draft letter to a reader of The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien writes that as Prince of Ithilien, Faramir's duties also included acting as resident march-warden of Gondor's main eastward outpost, rehabilitating the lost territories, as well as clearing it of outlaws and Orcs and cleansing Minas Morgul (an old Gondorian city, once named Minas Ithil, that Sauron had taken) of evil remnants.[T 10] Faramir also fulfilled the traditional role of Steward, acting as the King's chief counsellor and ruling Gondor in his absence.

With Éowyn, he settled in Emyn Arnen, where the two had a son named Elboron. After Faramir's death at the age of 120, his son succeeded him in all of his titles. Barahir, Faramir's grandson, wrote The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, which was inserted (in an abbreviated form) in the Thain's Book by the writer Findegil,[T 11] and appears in The Lord of the Rings as part of Appendix A.

Faramir's personality is prominently described in the appendices to The Lord of the Rings:

He read the hearts of men as shrewdly as his father, but what he read moved him sooner to pity than to scorn. He was gentle in bearing, and a lover of lore and of music, and therefore by many in those days his courage was judged less than his brother's. But it was not so, except that he did not seek glory in danger without a purpose.[T 5]

Tolkien recorded that Faramir greatly resembled Boromir in appearance,[T 5][T 12] who in his turn is described as "a tall man with a fair and noble face, dark-haired and grey-eyed, proud and stern of glance".[T 9] Members of the line of the Stewards were wont to be of a nobler appearance and bearing than most of the inhabitants of Gondor;[T 5] in case of Faramir, it is stated that "by some chance the blood of Westernesse [ran] nearly true" in him, which was rare.[T 13] This trait was elaborated by Tolkien through the speech of Pippin:

Here was one with an air of high nobility such as Aragorn at times revealed, less high perhaps, yet also less incalculable and remote: one of the Kings of Men born into a later time, but touched with the wisdom and sadness of the Elder Race. [...] He was a captain that men would follow, [...] even under the shadow of the black wings.[T 12]

Faramir's leadership, skill-in-arms, and swift but hardy judgement proved valuable in battle, and earned him Gondor's respect during the War of the Ring.[T 13] He defended Gondor from Sauron on many fronts, but did not enjoy fighting for its own sake.[T 8] Long after completing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien would write, "As far as any character is 'like me', it is Faramir".[T 3] Faramir's relationship to war in Tolkien's story reflected that of the author himself, who served as an officer in the British Army during the First World War and fought in the Battle of the Somme in the latter half of 1916.[1]

Tolkien bestowed his dream of "darkness unescapable" upon Faramir's character, who relates it to Éowyn in the chapter "The Steward and the King" in The Return of the King. Of this, Tolkien wrote, "For when Faramir speaks of his private vision of the Great Wave, he speaks for me. That vision and dream has been ever with me — and has been inherited (as I only discovered recently) by one of my children, Michael."[T 3]

The meaning of the name Faramir was not explained by Tolkien; apparently he intended it to come from Sindarin, an Elven language constructed by him and stated to have been used by the Stewards of Gondor for naming.[T 14] The first part of Faramir could have been derived from Sindarin stems meaning 'suffice' and 'hunt',[T 15] and the final syllable is likely to have been the same as in his brother's name.[2] Boromir was described by Tolkien as a name "of mixed form",[T 16] and possibly combines Sindarin bor(on)- 'steadfast' with either Sindarin mîr or Quenya míre 'jewel'.[T 17] However, it is also stated that the Stewards of Gondor often bore names "remembered in the songs and histories of the First Age",[T 16] without paying a special attention to meaning. Thus one Boromir appears in The Silmarillion,[T 18] and the appendices to The Lord of the Rings introduce Faramir, son of King Ondoher of Gondor,[T 19] although in this case the name was supposedly in Quenya, as the Kings are stated to have borne High-elven names,[T 14] and similarly did Ondoher's elder son, Artamir.[T 19]

Throughout The Lord of the Rings, Faramir is given several titles and ranks, such as the Captain of Gondor[T 20] and Captain of the White Tower.[T 21] (Boromir is given the latter title at an earlier point in the storyline,[T 5] and in The Two Towers he is referred to as Captain-General of Gondor and High Warden of the White Tower.[T 20]) After his father's death, Faramir became the Steward of Gondor,[T 21][T 22] but only briefly as he laid down his office at the crowning of Aragorn;[T 6] Tolkien stated that it was Denethor who was the last of the Ruling Stewards.[T 14] Later Aragorn renewed Faramir's hereditary appointment as Steward to the King, and granted him the titles of the Prince of Ithilien and Lord of Emyn Arnen.[T 14][T 6]

Anke Eißmann's portrayal of Faramir interrogating Frodo

Faramir appears in several illustrations created by John Howe, Ted Nasmith and Anke Eißmann for The Lord of the Rings and related products.[4] One of the scenes from the book that received many depictions is Faramir and Éowyn's meeting at the top of Minas Tirith.[5] Eißmann apparently follows the book in presenting Faramir as dark-haired and beardless, also emphasising his recent recovery in the illustration for the dialogue with Éowyn; Nasmith depicts Faramir as bearded and brown-haired.

In the BBC's 1981 radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Faramir is voiced by Andrew Seear. The radio drama is known for adhering faithfully to the books, and Peter Jackson gives BBC's 1981 radio adaptation credit in the production of his film trilogy.[6][7] The characterisation of Faramir follows that of the original closely; the character is able to resist the One Ring, in direct contrast to the portrayal in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

In Rankin/Bass' 1980 adaptation of The Return of the King, a dark-haired man is shown next to Éowyn in greeting Aragorn as he arrives to Minas Tirith. This character could be interpreted as Faramir.[8]

David Wenham as Faramir in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

In the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, Faramir is played by David Wenham. The actor jokes that he got the role because he and Sean Bean, who played Boromir, both had large noses.[9] Faramir and his brother's appearances were slightly altered from the book: in the films, they have fair hair and are slightly bearded, whereas in the book they were dark-haired and, following a statement in Unfinished Tales,[10] lacked beards.

The plot of the second film, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, introduces a significant deviation from the book: Faramir does not at first let Frodo, Sam, and Gollum go, but decides to bring them and the Ring to Gondor. He takes them to Osgiliath and not until the Nazgûl attack the city and Frodo comes under the threat of capture does he release them.

Jackson's explanation is that he needed another adventure to delay Frodo and Sam, because the episode at Cirith Ungol was moved to the third movie, and so a new climax was needed.[11] In fact, according to the timeline given by Tolkien, Frodo and Sam had only reached the Black Gate at the time of the fall of Isengard.[T 4] Jackson also argues that it was necessary for Faramir to be tempted by the Ring because in his films everyone else was tempted, and letting Faramir be immune would be inconsistent in the eyes of a film audience.[11] Co-screenwriter Philippa Boyens and actor David Wenham defended the changes to Faramir's character in order to increase dramatic tension: Faramir's "sea-green incorruptible" nature in the book would not have "translate[d] well filmically".[12]

Many readers remain unconvinced by the cast and crew's justifications,[13] and others note that Faramir was rendered too much like Boromir and thus the contrast between the two was severely weakened.[14] A scene that received additional criticism is the Rangers' treatment of Gollum, who is beaten up, and Faramir's implicit compliance.[15][16] In the book, Faramir calls the creature Sméagol instead of Gollum, and tells his men to "treat him gently, but watch him".[17]

In the extended edition of The Two Towers, Jackson included an invented flashback scene showing that Denethor had neglected him in favour of Boromir when sending him to Rivendell, so that Faramir wanted to please his father by bringing him the Ring. (The relationship is similarly strained in the book, but his father's favouritism does not seem to affect his decisions in Ithilien.) Reviewers have opined that the extended edition presents Faramir in a more favourable light.[18][19]

Faramir is a bonus playable character in the video game The Return of the King. In a bonus video track within this game, Wenham says that "Faramir and Boromir were brothers, and it isn't beyond possibility that Faramir would have gone to Rivendell instead. And if that happened, Faramir could have survived and returned to Gondor."[20]

He appears as a playable hero in E.A.'s The Battle for Middle-earth, and The Battle for Middle-earth II as well as its expansion pack, The Rise of the Witch-king. Faramir has the unique ability within the game to change between three different classes. At the beginning of battle Faramir is set as an archer but can be changed to use his sword for melee combat and can change to a rider for cavalry assaults. While in archer form he has reasonable attack strength but lacks the speed of Legolas. Faramir has the ability to raise the experience of a select group of archers once he reaches a certain level.

Faramir appears as a playable hero in The Lord of the Rings: Conquest. Faramir can be controlled in the Osgiliath level where you need to defend the city against battalions of orcs and afterwards defend the ring bearer Frodo until he reaches the city limits. He makes a guest hero appearance twice in The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. As with Conquest Faramir appears to help you during the Osgiliath level and helps the party take on the Orc leader Gothmog. Faramir is featured as a playable character in Lego Lord of the Rings, in a similar role to that played in the Jackson films.

This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.