Silmarillion Storybook

The Ring of Barahir

The Oath of Finrod to Barahir The eight companions sat around the campfire near the river. They would be crossing the lake at nightfall and heading for Mordor. Pippin decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "Strider," he said, "could you tell us about your ring?"

"This ring belonged to Finrod Felagund," Aragorn began, "who brought it from Valinor. Finrod led his people in the Battle of Sudden Flame. He had been cut off from his host, but Barahir my ancient kinsman rescued him. Finrod swore an oath of abiding friendship to Barahir and his kin, giving him this ring. The ring has been passed down from Barahir through many generations of my family."

"What happened to Finrod? How did he fulfill this oath?"

Aragorn answered Pippin with the following tale.

The Archers of Nargothrond "One of the guards entered Finrod's chamber in Nargothrond. 'The archers have taken a prisoner and are bringing him here now,' said the guard. He held out his hand and said, 'He was carrying this.'

"Finrod took a ring from the guard's hand. 'Bring him at once.' The guard left and Finrod looked at the ring carefully. It had been years since he had seen this ring. The twin serpents with emerald eyes had been the badge of Finarfin, his father; Finarfin had remained in Valinor and had not come to Middle-Earth with him. Finrod had brought this ring with him from Valinor.

"The doors were opened and the archers entered holding a man. It was not Barahir, but it was clearly one of his kin. 'Leave us,' said Finrod; the archers left and closed the doors.

Luthien " 'Orcs killed my father, and I am all that remains of his company,' said Beren. He told Finrod of his father's death and how he had recovered this ring from the orcs. He also told of Luthien, the elf-maiden with whom he had fallen in love, and of Thingol, her father, who would only allow Beren to wed Luthien if Beren brought Thingol a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. He asked Finrod to remember the oath to his father and aid him in this quest.

"After a long pause, Finrod answered, 'I will fulfill this oath and give you aid, Beren son of Barahir. We will gather a company tomorrow and set out north for Angband.'

"Guards escorted Beren to his guest chambers. Finrod could not sleep that night. He had felt this doom approaching long before. No other knew of his dark thoughts except his sister Galadriel -- when she first came to Nargothrond, he had told her that he would die fulfilling an oath. He knew he would never return to Nargothrond if he aided Beren, but his resolve was firm: he would keep his oath of friendship.

Finrod is Reminded of His Oath "The next day, ten elves joined Beren and Finrod. Finrod laid down his silver crown and appointed his brother Orodreth as steward. The twelve set out. They ambushed an orc party and took their gear; disguised as orcs, the company continued north.

"But Sauron, Morgoth's chief captain, was not deceived. He left his tower and confronted the company. Sauron challenged Finrod, and they battled in song. Finrod was powerful and his lore was great, but Sauron was of a higher order. The songs shifted back and forth, from the bliss of Valinor to the betrayal at Helcaraxe, and Sauron had the victory. He removed their disguises, but he could not determine their quest. Sauron shackled them in a prison beneath his tower, and he sent a werewolf to kill them -- one by one -- until they revealed to him their purpose.

"Many days went by until only Beren and Finrod remained alive. Finrod had spent countless hours in thought, considering their options. He knew that Sauron would send the werewolf after Beren next; Sauron would surely think that the high elf was the leader of the company. He thought long and hard about Barahir and his oath, and he knew what he must do to give Beren a chance at escape.

" 'The werewolf will be coming again soon,' Finrod told him.

" 'I cannot stand it any longer,' said Beren. 'Already ten elves have died on my behalf; I will not let you die as well. You have more than fulfilled your oath. I will tell Sauron about the purpose of my quest -- he will take me and let you go.'

Finrod " 'You do not know Sauron,' said Finrod. 'He will never let either of us go -- especially if you tell him who we are and where we are headed.'

"Some time passed before the two eyes of the werewolf appeared again in the dark. Finrod put forth all his strength and broke free from his shackles. As the wolf lunged at Beren, Finrod caught the wolf and threw it to the floor. They wrestled a long and gruesome battle: Finrod killed the werewolf, but the werewolf gave Finrod a fatal wound in the chest.

The Death of Finrod " 'I go now to the halls of Mandos, the house of the dead in this world,' he said. 'I will mostly likely never see you again, since at death men leave the world completely. Good-bye, Beren son of Barahir. I have fulfilled my oath, and so I leave Middle-Earth in peace.' "

So Aragorn finished the tale of Finrod Felagund and the Ring of Barahir. Merry returned with some wood and added more to the fire. "Where's Frodo?" he asked, suddenly. Aragorn glanced around and noticed that Frodo was not the only one missing; he saw Boromir's shield unattended, leaning against a tree.

Bibliography Ring of Aragorn