Aragorn And The Way Of Exile

The origins that inspired the character of Aragorn and their European anchoring give rise to many interpretations. Aragorn seems illusive in the way he corresponds to the classic model of the mythological hero. Although born into a royal family, he descends from a line of exiled kings, whose prestigious genealogy dates back almost to the dawn of time. Aragorn is raised in obscurity and does not reveal his true identity until he reaches adulthood. Then he follows a long initiation over the course of innumerable voyages, while secretly protecting his kingdom. He is trained in how to govern, he learns how to handle weapons while serving the men of Rohan and Gondor, and gains wisdom through the teachings of Gandalf, as well the study of ancient traditions and legends. He falls in love with the half-Elf Arwen, but cannot act on his feelings, focusing his faith beyond this, until he has proven himself and regained his kingdom. In the manner of Hamlet, he is a man of spirit and wisdom, courage and moral strength.

The parallel between Hamlet and Aragorn deserves to be made because the two men share several traits. As mentioned above Hamlet is derived from Amleth, found in the works of Saxo Germanicus. In the last lines of the third book of Gesta Danorum, the nature of the Danish Prince is depicted in this way:

O valiant Amleth, and worthy of immortal fame, who being shrewdly armed with a feint of folly, covered a wisdom too high for human wit under a marvelous disguise of silliness! And not only found in his subtle means to protect his own safety, but also by its guidance found opportunity to avenge his father. By this skillful defense of himself, and strenuous revenge for his parent, he has left it doubtful whether we are to think more of his wit or his bravery.

Aragorn and Amleth both, in the end, manage to recover their throne and kingdom, to restore their lineage to its former glory. That is an inventible return to heroism that Gandalf predicted in a letter he leaves for Frodo under the sign of an inn called The Prancing Pony in Bree—a letter which is certainly one of the most admirable passages in verse in the Lord of the Rings:

All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadow shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.

In order for heroism to come in to being, there is often a need, in ancient texts, to resort to exile as a necessary passage of great destiny. The theme of wandering is relatively common in European literature: for example, Ulysses or Aeneas in the Greco-Latin tradition. In the Germanic world, this topos is often used, both in Old English literature and in the Norse texts. Thus, among many examples, the story of Olaf Haraldsson, the future saint Olaf, who goes into exile in easter Scandinavia to return to Norway a better man and to become the king that unites it. Like the great kings of yesteryear, Aragorn is pursued by a fate that inevitably brings him to fulfill his duty: to reclaim his ancestral domain and return to his roots. 

-excerpted from “Tolkien, Europe, and Tradition: From Civilization to the Dawn of Imagination” by Armand Berger (2022)