Why Aragorn Lives So Long In The Lord Of The Rings

Static Media Add Looper on Google: Preferred Source Google Discover When Éowyn tries to guess Aragorn’s age in “The Two Towers,” she’s shocked to discover that he’s in his late 80s. Despite his looks, Aragorn is one of the older members of the Fellowship of the Ring. But how? Gandalf is an angelic Wizard, so his age makes sense. Legolas is an immortal Elf. Dwarves live for centuries. But Aragorn is a dude. He’s a man. How is he almost 90 years old leading armies in battle — and even crazier, how does Aragorn’s long reign after “The Lord of the Rings” go on for more than a century before he dies at the ripe old age of 210?

The short answer is that, while Aragorn is technically a mortal Man, he isn’t your average human. He’s a blue blood from a special line of royalty, one that includes extremely long-lived men, ageless Elves, and even an angel. There are even multiple points where his ancestors are given the choice to pick between a mortal or immortal life. However, if they choose the mortal path, the option doesn’t get passed down to their descendants (hence Aragorn’s lack of a choice).

The whole thing is pretty confusing. Let’s break it down. Starting at the beginning, here are a few of the reasons Aragorn lives so long in “The Lord of the Rings.”

Amazon Studios Aragorn lives at the end of the Third Age of Middle-earth history. To understand why he lives so long, though, you have to go way back, thousands of years earlier. Aragorn’s family tree includes a ton of really important people, but as far as lifespans are concerned, one of the most important contributors to the DNA pool is the ancient, angelic queen Melian. This spiritual being takes an incarnate body and marries another immortal, the Elven king Thingol. Their descendants inherit a uniquely Elven/Angelic bloodline. There are several other Elves in Aragorn’s family tree after this point, too.

The obvious follow-up observation, of course, is that Aragorn is a mortal Man. Where does the Human part come in? There are several mortal connections throughout the First Age, all of which culminate in one of the Ranger’s most important ancestors: a fella named Eärendil. He’s the ultimate crossroads of angel, Elf, and Human. Eärendil lives in the late First Age, and — long story short — after he helps save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Morgoth, he picks between his immortal and mortal heritage, opting to become immortal. One of his sons, Elrond, is also given this choice and goes for the whole eternal living schtick.

But Elrond’s twin brother, Elros, breaks the pattern. He opts to become a mortal Man and becomes the king of the new island nation of Númenor. Even though he’s mortal, the mix of immortal blood means he ends up living for 500 years. (Aragorn doesn’t look quite that old now, does he?) Over the centuries after Elros, his descendants remain long-lived, but their lifespans slowly shrink. By the time Aragorn is born, a long life for one of his royal family members is a couple of centuries — and Aragorn himself makes it to 210 years old.

Warner Bros. When Aragorn reaches the end of his life, he isn’t a decrepit old man clinging to his throne. He’s actually still fairly spry. He only dies at this point because he gives up the gift of his extra-long lifespan — willingly. In the appendices of “The Return of the King,” we get a summary of what this means.

The book starts by saying: “Yet at last [Aragorn] felt the approach of old age and knew that the span of his life-days was drawing to an end, long though it had been.” When Arwen says he’s going “before his time,” he responds, “Not before my time … for if I will not go now, then I must soon go perforce.” Translation: if he doesn’t lay down his life willingly, he’ll grow old, lose his faculties, and die one way or another. Instead, he goes to the House of Kings, where the members of his family are entombed. He lays down on a prepared bed and says goodbye to his loved ones.

After a hard conversation with a distraught Arwen, the king’s final words to his queen are, “Behold! We are not bound for ever to the circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!” The book says he kisses Arwen’s hand and falls asleep, adding, “Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so that all who after came there looked on him in wonder; for they saw that the grace of his youth, and the valour of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were blended together.” We get the final note: “And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.” It’s a fitting ending for a long-lived but ultimately mortal hero.