Aragorn goes a'prowling where the stars are strange - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Anardil · 04-21-2003, 08:00 AM

From Appendix A, Part (iv) (Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion), The Stewards:

"In much of what he [Ecthelion] did he had the aid and advice of a great captain whom he loved above all. Thorongil men called him in Gondor ... He came to Ecthelion from Rohan, where he had served the King Thengel...[he] gathered a small fleet, and he came to Umbar unlooked for by night...But when they came back to Pelargir, to men's grief and wonder, he would not return to Minas Tirith... For he took boat and crossed over Anduin, and there he said farewell to his companions and went on alone; and when he was last seen his face was towards the Mountains of Shadow.
There was dismay in the City at the departure of Thorongil, and to all men it seemed a great loss, unless it were to Denethor, the son of Ecthelion, a man now ripe for the Stewardship, to which after four years he succeeded on the death of his father."

Since Denethor became Steward in 2984 (Appendix B, The Tale of Years), it follows that the victory at Umbar took place four years earlier, in 2980. It is also stated in Appendix A Part (v) that when Aragorn entered Lorien, he "returned from perils on the dark confines of Mordor", which seems to fit with his having been last seen facing the Mountains of Shadow.

Concerning the possibility of his having visited the lands during or between his service in Rohan and Gondor, I do not think that this would have happened during his service in Rohan. The Rohirrim had nothing to do with the Easterlings and Haradrim. If Aragorn had been sent by Thengel on any sort of spying mission, he would probably have been sent to Dunland or some such place. On the other hand, it would certainly make a lot of sense for Ecthelion to send Thorongil on a mission to gather information on the enemies of Gondor in Rhun and Harad. This would also explain Aragorn's knowledge of the threat represented by the Corsairs of Umbar.

04-21-2003, 08:00 AM	#7
Anardil Animated Skeleton Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 33	From Appendix A, Part (iv) (Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion), The Stewards: "In much of what he [Ecthelion] did he had the aid and advice of a great captain whom he loved above all. Thorongil men called him in Gondor ... He came to Ecthelion from Rohan, where he had served the King Thengel...[he] gathered a small fleet, and he came to Umbar unlooked for by night...But when they came back to Pelargir, to men's grief and wonder, he would not return to Minas Tirith... For he took boat and crossed over Anduin, and there he said farewell to his companions and went on alone; and when he was last seen his face was towards the Mountains of Shadow. There was dismay in the City at the departure of Thorongil, and to all men it seemed a great loss, unless it were to Denethor, the son of Ecthelion, a man now ripe for the Stewardship, to which after four years he succeeded on the death of his father." Since Denethor became Steward in 2984 (Appendix B, The Tale of Years), it follows that the victory at Umbar took place four years earlier, in 2980. It is also stated in Appendix A Part (v) that when Aragorn entered Lorien, he "returned from perils on the dark confines of Mordor", which seems to fit with his having been last seen facing the Mountains of Shadow. Concerning the possibility of his having visited the lands during or between his service in Rohan and Gondor, I do not think that this would have happened during his service in Rohan. The Rohirrim had nothing to do with the Easterlings and Haradrim. If Aragorn had been sent by Thengel on any sort of spying mission, he would probably have been sent to Dunland or some such place. On the other hand, it would certainly make a lot of sense for Ecthelion to send Thorongil on a mission to gather information on the enemies of Gondor in Rhun and Harad. This would also explain Aragorn's knowledge of the threat represented by the Corsairs of Umbar.