Denethor
In
J. R. R. Tolkien's most famous
novel,
The Lord of the Rings, which is set in the
fictional universe of
Middle-earth,
Denethor II is the twenty-sixth and last
Ruling Steward of
Gondor. He succeeded his father,
Ecthelion II, at his
death in
T.A. 2984.
Denethor was a noble man, valiant, proud, wise and farsighted in personal characteristics. He was of great will and intellect. Denethor was an able ruler, worthy of honour despite his ignoble end. Denethor was aged prematurely and became fixed in pride and despair. After his wife died he became grim and withdrawn. He retained, however, an air of nobility and power.
Denethor (T.A 2930–3019) is known to have secretly used a
palantÃr to probe
Sauron's strength. The effort aged him quickly, and the knowledge of Sauron's overwhelming force depressed him greatly. Sauron used the
palantÃr to drive him mad with despair.
In the Appendices found in
The Return of the King, he was widely considered a man of great will, farsight, and strength. However, he was disappointed in being placed second in the hearts and minds of the people to
Thorongil, an outsider who served
Denethor's father with great renown, even though Thorongil never openly vied to succeed him. (It was often said that Denethor was very much comparable to Thorongil, not only in capability, but also in likeness to
Elendil.) As a result, Denethor refused to trust Thorongil's advice,
Gandalf in particular whom Thorongil was a strong supporter of, and Denethor hardened his heart when he discovered that Thorongil was really of
Isildur's line, the legitimate but powerless heir of
Arnor and
Gondor.
In 2976 he married
Finduilas of Dol Amroth (2950–2988), daughter of Prince Adrahil of
Dol Amroth. She gave birth to two sons:
Boromir (2978–26 February 3019) and
Faramir (2983–F.A. 82), but died relatively soon. Denethor never remarried, and became more grim and silent than before. He began using the
palantÃr shortly after.
The danger of his madness is that it seems to follow a certain logic. Sauron
does have vastly superior forces, all of which he has shown to the Steward in the
palantÃr. His actions, however, do not immediately proclaim his insanity. The
warning beacons of Gondor were indeed lit, and forces were called in from all of Gondor's provinces. The civilian population of
Minas Tirith was sent away to safety. As war seems imminent even the
Red Arrow is sent to the
Rohirrim, although little help is expected. Denethor ordered Gondor's forces to the outer defences of
Osgiliath and the great wall of
Rammas Echor, wanting to make a stand since the defences had been built at great expense and not yet been overrun. His son
Faramir and the other commanders objected due to the Enemy's overwhelming numerical superiority and preferred instead to defend the city itself but Faramir nonetheless obeyed out of respect for his father's favourite and firstborn,
Boromir who had earlier been killed. Seeing Faramir's near death during the retreat, combined with apparent doom of his capital city to vastly superior forces, drove Denethor over the edge into insanity.
Denethor committed
suicide on 15 March 3019, having ordered his men to burn him alive on a
pyre prepared for him and Faramir. As a Steward for the House of
Anárion, he refused
Gandalf's request to vacate his office in favour of the legitimate heir,
Aragorn. He threw a torch onto the pyre. He took the white rod of his office and broke it on his knee, casting it into the flames, symbolizing the end of his stewardship and the end of the rule of the Stewards. He laid himself down on the pyre and so perished, clasping the
palantÃr in his hands. He also attempted to take the grievously injured and apparently dying Faramir with him, but was thwarted in that by the timely intervention of
Peregrin Took with the aid of
Beregond, a guard of the City, and ultimately
Gandalf the White.
The Stewardship passed to Faramir, who remained in the
Houses of Healing for a time, although the command of the city fell to the Prince of Dol Amroth during the remainder of the
Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Denethor was voiced by
William Conrad in
Rankin/Bass's
1980 animated adaptation of
The Return of the King, and by
Peter Vaughan in
BBC Radio's
1981 serialization.
In
Peter Jackson's
movie trilogy, Denethor was played by
John Noble. In the
movie, Denethor acts irrational and appears power-addicted, possibly having been driven mad by grief. He refuses to light the beacons of Gondor to call for the aid of
Rohan (Gandalf has to persuade Pippin to light the city's beacon), he raves about Théoden's "betrayal" when the latter does not appear â€" despite never having called for him in the first place, he calls for the abandoning of the city when he sees the Orc army (Gandalf hits him with his staff and takes command of the defence), and he sends his remaining son and all of his cavalry on a suicidal mission to enemy-captured
Osgiliath.
|
Robert Allen portrayed Denethor in the 2003 Cincinnati production of The Return of the King. |
Later, instead of dying on the pyre, a flaming Denethor runs out of the pyre chamber and off the top of
Minas Tirith during the siege, obviously falling to his death. His
palantÃr is never shown, neither in the movie's theatrical release nor in the extended version DVD, although one of Denethor's lines from the book that refer to it remains â€"
"The Eyes of the White Tower are not blind." Nevertheless, the
palantÃr of Minas Tirith appears in
The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game.
Jackson's version of Denethor was resented by many readers. Tolkien's version of Denethor portrayed a wise though haughty man who does rational things to defend his city, and though he undergoes much stress and grief at the wounding of Faramir, he is only driven mad after seeing the arrival or the Corsairs' ships in his
palantÃr. He does order the beacons of Gondor lit (which are set upon hills rather than mountains, and serve to alert Gondorians, not allies outside its territories), and despite his pride he has enough wisdom and sends the
Red Arrow to enlist the aid of King Théoden of Rohan. Denethor sends Faramir on a dangerous but more sensible mission â€" to defend Osgiliath (not recapture it) and the
Rammas Echor, since the fortifications outside Minas Tirith have been built at considerable expense.
Denethor was not included as a casted character in the 2006 Toronto adaptation of
The Lord of the Rings. In 2003,
Robert Allen portrayed Denethor in the
Clear Stage Cincinnati production of
The Return of the King, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
*
House of Húrin*
Stewards of Gondor*
Denethor at The Thain's Book
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Ecthelion II|next=
Faramir|list=
Stewards of Gondor
