Lord of the Rings summary

This Lord of the Rings summary documents the major plotlines from JRR Tolkien’s famous fantasy series, most notably Frodo’s journey from the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom.

The One Ring as it appears in The Lord of the Rings movies, directed by Peter Jackson

The Lord of the Rings, published in 1954 and 1955, is one of the most successful fantasy series’ of all time. Its author, JRR Tolkien, intended it to be published as a single volume divided into six sections.

But the publishers decided to split it into three books instead, which continue to be sold separately to this day. They are The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

The following Lord of the Rings summary gives an overview of the entire series, focusing on the quest of the main character, Frodo Baggins.

The Lord of the Rings summary: Back-story

The central character in any Lord of the Rings summary is less Frodo and more the One Ring. The One Ring is the motivating factor behind all the characters and story events.

The Dark Lord Sauron forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom thousands of years ago. He used it to wield his influence over the leaders of Middle Earth. But during a great battle the king Islidur cut off Sauron's ring-bearing finger, destroying the Dark Lord (in body if not in soul) and claiming the Ring as his own.

Islidur lost the Ring in a river where it lay untouched for thousands of years until a creature called Gollum came across it and kept it for 500 years. Then one day a hobbit called Bilbo Baggins found the Ring and, ignorant of its origin, returned it to his home in The Shire.

CLICK HERE to read more about Bilbo and Gollum in The Hobbit characters

After 2,500 years in exile, Sauron has returned to Mordor, where he is building an army and bending all his will on recovering the One Ring - and so the story begins...

The Lord of the Rings summary: Leaving the Shire

The Lord of the Rings opens with Bilbo Baggins’s 111th birthday. Bilbo uses the One Ring to disappears from the party and then leaves it to his second cousin once removed, Frodo. Both he and Frodo are as yet unaware of its true power.

However, their wizard friend Gandalf grows suspicious of the Ring and goes on a fact-finding mission to uncover its true identity. He discovers that the ring Bilbo found in a cave all those years ago is in fact the One Ring and that Sauron’s deadly armies of Ringwraiths (undead human kings) are headed towards The Shire in search of it.

Gandalf returns to The Shire and convinces Frodo to leave home immediately and take the Ring with him. Frodo sets off and is soon accompanied by three other hobbits, his gardener Samwise Gamgee and the mischievous pair of cousins Merry and Pippin.

The hobbits outrun the Ringwraiths once but the Ringwraiths catch up with them on the top of Weathertop hill and stab Frodo with a venomous blade. The ranger Aragon helps drive the Ringwraiths away and leads them to the Elven town of Rivendell. There Frodo returns to health, although he never fully recovers from the wound.

The Elves call a meeting of all the leaders of Middle Earth and after some disagreement, they decide the only solution to Sauron’s threat is to destroy the One Ring – which can only be done by throwing it into the pit of fire where it was forged, in Mount Doom, Mordor.

Frodo, who seems strangely immune to the Ring’s influence, volunteers to take the Ring to Mordor. A company of eight, made up of three hobbits, two men, a dwarf, an elf and a wizard, go with him. Together with Frodo, they become known as the Fellowship of the Ring.

The Lord of the Rings summary: Frodo’s quest

The Fellowship has to pass through the Mines of Moira, where they are attacked by miserable hateful creatures called orcs and awaken a deadly demon, known as a Balrog. The Balrog seizes Gandalf and pulls him into the depths of the earth. The others flee to the forest realm of the Elves, Lothlórien, and take refuge there before continuing their journey.

When one of the Fellowship, a man called Boromir, tries to take the Ring from Frodo, Frodo realizes the extent of the Ring’s corruptive influence and decides to go to Mordor alone. But Sam catches him trying to slip away and insists he go with him.

Meanwhile, Saruman’s orcs catch up with their former comrades. They murder Boromir and seize Merry and Pippin. Aragorn, the elf Legolas and the dwarf Gimli pursue Merry and Pippin and re-encounter Gandalf, who has returned from the brink of death for the final battle that will decide the fate of Middle Earth.

Merry and Pippin escape from the orcs and end up in Fangorn forest where they befriend giant tree-like creatures called Ents. They convince the Ents to attack Saruman, who has been working with Sauron to destroy Middle Earth.

The Ents, cheered on by the hobbits, wipe out Saruman’s army and take over his base. Gandalf arrives and strips Saruman of his title and most of his powers. While Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, Merry and Pippin battle Sauron’s armies and defend Middle Earth, Frodo and Sam continue their journey to Mordor.

The Lord of the Rings summary: Into Mordor

Frodo and Sam capture Gollum and convince him to show them the way to Mordor. However, he betrays them and leads them instead into a cave occupied by a giant deadly spider called Shelob. Shelob attacks Frodo and injects him with her venom, which leaves him paralyzed.

Sam finds Frodo's body and mistaking him for dead, takes the Ring so he can finish the quest himself. Before he can dispose of Frodo’s body, a group of orcs come across it and recognize it as merely paralyzed. They return it to their base in Mordor. Cursing his stupidity Sam sets out after them. He rescues Frodo and they make their way across Mordor to Mount Doom together.

Meanwhile, the armies of Middle Earth join forces. In a final desperate attempt to divert Sauron's attention from Sauron, they gather at the Black Gate of Mordor to engage in a final and fierce battle with Sauron’s army.

Frodo and Sam make it to the fires of Mount Doom but Frodo's resolve fails him at the last moment and he decides to keep the Ring for himself. Gollum appears and fights him for it. He bites off Frodo’s ring-bearing finger and seizes the prize.

Gollum is so ecstatic at finding himself in possession of 'his precious' (as he calls the Ring) that he doesn't notice he's on the edge of a firey pit. He topples into the pit, carrying the Ring with him, so fulfilling Frodo's quest and saving Middle Earth from eternal doom.

The Lord of the Rings summary: Conclusion

The destruction of the Ring represents the destruction of evil in Middle Earth. The war ends, Sauron and the Ringwraiths disappear and Aragon becomes king at last. The hobbits return to The Shire and reclaim it from Saruman, who has taken it over in their absence. Finally Frodo, still afflicted by the wound he got from the Ringwraiths, sails away to the Undying Lands with Gandalf and Bilbo to live out his life in peace.

No Lord of the Rings summary can do justice to Tolkien's work, the magic of which lies in the linguistic expression and elaborate storyworld.

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