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Spent his early life in Minas Tirith; after the War of the Ring, Faramir was made Prince of Ithilien and removed to Emyn Arnen
Pronunciation
fa'rameerr (where 'rr' emphasises that the final r sound should be pronounced)
Meaning
Uncertain1
Titles

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About this entry:

  • Updated 28 July 2005
  • Updates planned: 25

Faramir

Last of the Ruling Stewards

Stewards of Gondor

Younger son of Steward Denethor II of Gondor, and brother to Boromir of the Company of the Ring. He fought among the Rangers of Ithilien, and was wounded in the last retreat from Osgiliath before the overwhelming forces of Sauron. After the installation of Aragorn II Elessar as King, Faramir was given the princedom of Ithilien.


Notes

1

The -mir ending of Faramir's name is almost certainly 'jewel' or 'precious thing', but Fara- is much more difficult to translate. The Elvish root far- means 'sufficient' or 'adequate', so it may be that the brothers Boromir and Faramir have names related to their father's attitude toward them. As Denethor's favourite son, Boromir was perhaps the 'faithful jewel', while the less favoured Faramir was merely the 'sufficient jewel'. These speculations, of course, belong to the realm of guesswork, since Tolkien makes no definitive statement about the names' origins.

2

Though it's established beyond doubt that Faramir and Éowyn had a grandson named Barahir, their son - and Faramir's heir as Prince of Ithilien - is never conclusively identified. In the drafts of the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings, given in volume XII of The History of Middle-earth, he is shown as 'Elboron'. However, no name is given anywhere in the canonical works, and it is difficult to be sure whether Tolkien meant the name 'Elboron' to stand or not.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 28 July 2005
  • Updates planned: 25

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