The Fellowship of the Ring (novel)

The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings is a novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is divided into Book I and Book II. It was originally released on July 29, 1954 in the United Kingdom by Allen & Unwin. Its story is followed by The Two Towers and concluded by The Return of the King.
== Contents ==
===Prologue===
The book begins with a prologue summarizing the events of The Hobbit. It gives the backstory of the One Ring and how it came to be. It tells the backstory of Sméagol and his friend Déagol, and how they came upon the Ring after Sauron was temporarily defeated. It also explains how Bilbo Baggins found the Ring once Sméagol (who had become Gollum) had lost it. Bilbo returns to Bag End in the Shire, and the story of Frodo Baggins, Bilbo's nephew, begins.
===Parts===
*I- Concerning Hobbits
*II- Concerning Pipe-Weed
*III- Of the Ordering of the Shire
*IV- Of the Finding of the Ring
*V- Note on the Shire Records
===Book I: The First Journey / The Ring Sets Out===
The first sets the stage for the adventure and follows Frodo Baggins as he flees from his home in the Shire to escape the minions of the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron seeks the One Ring that will allow him to control the Bearers of the nineteen other Rings of Power and control the three major races of Middle-earth: Elves, Men, and Dwarves. The One Ring has been inherited by Frodo who finds himself unwittingly in the midst of a struggle for world domination.
The first chapter in the book begins quite lightly, following on from The Hobbit which is more of a whimsical children's story than The Lord of the Rings. It begins with Bilbo celebrating his 111th (or eleventy first, as it is called) birthday, on the same day that Frodo celebrates his 33rd birthday (his 'coming of age'). At the birthday party, Bilbo disappears after his speech, to the surprise of all. Frodo later learns about the ring which he had used to make himself invisible, and also about some of its darker powers.
Heeding the advice of the wizard Gandalf, Frodo leaves his home, taking the Ring with him. He hopes to reach Rivendell, where he will be safe from Sauron, and where those wiser than he can decide what to do about the Ring.
In his journey he is accompanied by three hobbit friends, Peregrin Took, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Samwise Gamgee, often referred to as Merry, Pippin and Sam. From the start they are pursued by Black Riders, the Ringwraiths who serve Sauron. Narrowly escaping these and other dangers and meeting other interesting characters en route (e.g., Tom Bombadil) they eventually come to Bree, where they meet Strider, another friend of Gandalf who leads them the rest of the way to Rivendell, through further hardships. Frodo is stabbed upon the mountain of Weathertop by the Lord of the Nazgûl with a Morgul-knife - as part of the knife stays inside him, he gets sicker on the rest of the journey. They also pass the trolls which had been turned to stone in the previous book, The Hobbit.
====Chapters====
*I - A Long-expected Party - details Bilbo and Frodo's Birthday Party; thumb|Trip taken in the novelchapter ends with Bilbo leaving the Shire.
*II - The Shadow of the Past - Gandalf tells Frodo the true nature of the ring, and how it must be taken to Mordor and destroyed. Sam, who has been listening at the window, is told to accompany Frodo.
*III - Three is Company - Frodo sells Bag End, and officially is going to move to a house at Crickhollow in the area beyond Bucklebury in Buckland; he actually plans to disappear without causing too much of a fuss. Frodo, Sam and Pippin set out through the South Farthing of the Shire towards Buckland, and encounter a black rider. They also meet Gildor, a High-elf, with other High Elves.
*IV - A Short Cut to Mushrooms - They meet Farmer Maggot while taking a short cut, and he gives them some of his prized mushrooms. Merry joins them at the end.
*V - A Conspiracy Unmasked - Takes place at Frodo's new house at Crickhollow. The title refers to Frodo about to tell Merry and Pippin about his quest, who he had previously believed not to know about it, and they tell him that they had known much of it all along. They also meet Fredegar Bolger. Frodo decides to leave the next day through the Old Forest, as it is an unexpected direction, rather than travelling on the roads.
*VI - The Old Forest - Although trying to avoid it, the hobbits get lost and travel to the River Withywindle, the "queerest part of the whole wood". Merry and Pippin are trapped inside Old Man Willow, and are freed only when Tom Bombadil arrives.
*VII - In the House of Tom Bombadil - Tom knows much about the hobbits, and even tries on the Ring, yet it does not have any effect on him - it doesn't even make him invisible. Frodo tries on the Ring then to see if it 'works', and Tom Bombadil is also able to see Frodo while he has the Ring on. They also meet Tom Bombadil's wife Goldberry.
*VIII - Fog on the Barrow-downs - Traveling through the Barrow-downs, the hobbits are imprisoned by Barrow-wights, where they are rescued again by Tom Bombadil. The hobbits are given daggers from the treasure in one of the barrows.
*IX - At the Sign of the Prancing Pony - The hobbits reach the The Prancing Pony inn at Bree, where Frodo uses a false name, Underhill. Later, after singing a song on a table, he trips and accidentally puts the Ring on his finger, disappearing, which causes a commotion.
*X - Strider - Strider, who had at first seemed menacing, turns out to be friendly. The innkeeper, Barliman Butterbur, gives Frodo a late letter from Gandalf, which tells him that Strider is a friend of Gandalf's whose real name is Aragorn.
*XI - A Knife in the Dark - The hobbits set out from Bree with Strider on foot after their horses had bolted when Black Riders arrived at the inn at night. The Riders had attacked the beds which they were supposed to be staying in, though in vain as Strider had them stay in another room. They buy a pony from Bill Ferny. They pass through the Midgewater Marshes, and reach Weathertop. There they are attacked by five Black Riders; Frodo puts on the Ring to escape them, and is stabbed in the shoulder by the Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the nine Nazgûl.
*XII - Flight to the Ford - They pass the trolls Tom, Bert, and William, which were turned to stone by Gandalf in The Hobbit. Eventually, they meet the Elf Glorfindel from Rivendell, who allows Frodo to take his white horse Asfaloth to escape the Ringwraiths on their way to Rivendell. The Black Riders are washed away in a flood over the Ford of Bruinen.
===Book II: The Journey of the Nine Companions / The Ring Goes South===
Book II chronicles Frodo's stay at Rivendell, where a plan is hatched at the Council of Elrond to destroy the Ring in Mordor. Early on Frodo meets his uncle Bilbo, whom he had not seen since he left Hobbiton seventeen years earlier. Frodo sets forth from Rivendell with nine companions: two Men, Aragorn and Boromir, son of the Steward of the land of Gondor; an Elven prince, Legolas; Frodo's old friend and powerful wizard, Gandalf; Gimli the Dwarf; and Frodo's original three hobbit companions. These Nine Walkers, the Fellowship of the Ring, were chosen to represent the free races of Middle-earth and as a balance to the Nine Riders. They were also accompanied by Bill the Pony, whom Strider and the Hobbits acquired in Bree as a pack horse. Their attempt to cross the Misty Mountains is foiled by heavy snow, so they are forced to take a path under the mountains via Moria, an ancient Dwarf kingdom, now full of Orcs and other evil creatures, such as the Watcher in the Water guarding the west gate. Just before escaping Moria, Gandalf falls into the abyss while battling a Balrog.
The remaining eight members of the Fellowship then spend some time in the elf-haven of Lothlórien, where they receive gifts from the Elf-lady Galadriel that in many cases prove useful later in the quest. They leave Lórien by river, but Frodo begins to realize the Ring is having a malevolent effect on some members of the party, especially Boromir, who tries to take the Ring from Frodo. In the process, Frodo puts on the Ring to escape him. Later Boromir is attacked by Orcs while trying to defend Merry and Pippin. This book ends when Frodo and Sam depart secretly for Mordor and the Fellowship of the Ring dissolves.
====Chapters====
*I - Many Meetings - After awakening from a sleep of four days, Frodo meets Gandalf and Bilbo again, as well as Glóin (one of the Dwarves from The Hobbit), Elrond, and others.
*II - The Council of Elrond - A council attended by many people; Gandalf tells the story of Saruman's betrayal and his escape from Saruman; they decide that the Ring must be destroyed and Frodo offers to take it to Mordor, and the Fellowship of the Ring is formed.
*III - The Ring goes South - The nine members of the fellowship travel south through Hollin; they try to take the pass over the mountain Caradhras but are forced to turn back.
*IV - A Journey in the Dark - They travel to the gates of Moria, where they have to deal with a creature in the lake in front of it. Gandalf eventually opens the doors by speaking the correct password. They reach the tomb of Balin.
*V - The Bridge of Khazad-dûm - Attacked by Orcs, trolls and a Balrog of Morgoth, they make their way to the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, where Gandalf and the Balrog fall.
*VI - Lothlórien - The company meets the Elves of Lórien. The Elves reluctantly agree to let Gimli the Dwarf pass. Aragorn takes Frodo to the hill of Cerin Amroth.
*VII - The Mirror of Galadriel - The company meets Celeborn and Galadriel. Frodo is shown the Mirror of Galadriel.
*VIII - Farewell to Lórien - The Elves give them cloaks, Elven bread, and other gifts; they then leave Lórien on boats down the Great River.
*IX - The Great River - they notice Gollum following them down the river on a log; Orc archers attack the boats; a Nazgûl on its steed is seen flying above the Fellowship's boats, and is shot down by Legolas, who fires an arrow at the rider's flying beast; passing the Argonath, they reach the Falls of Rauros, where they must choose between traveling on the east or west bank of the river to pass the falls.
*X - The Breaking of the Fellowship - They arrive at the lawn of Parth Galen; they still face the choice of whether to go east or west; Boromir tries to take the Ring from Frodo, who puts it on to escape him. The rest of the company splits up trying to find Frodo. Sam finds Frodo by the river and they cross it, thereby breaking up the Fellowship and continuing to Mount Doom on their own.
Behind the events that befall the Ring-bearer and the Fellowship, the reader begins to sense an awakening of the true nature of the story. There lurks always an idea of destiny, and in the end, it will be a concatenation of the effects spawned by the nature of Good itself, that undoes the greatest Evil. Frodo says of the ring's first slave, Gollum, "What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!" and Gandalf's response is
:"Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity."
==Appearances and mentions==
==Translations==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Afrikaans 	Die Genootskap van die Ring
Albanian 	Besëlidhja e Unazës
Alemannic German 	Die Gefährten der Ring
Arabic 	رفقة الخاتم
Aragonese 	A Comunidat de l'Aniello
Armenian 	Մատանու եղբայրությունը
Basque 	Eraztunaren Elkartea
Belarusian Cyrillic	Брацтва Пярсцёнка
Bengali 	দ্য ফেলোশিপ অফ দ্য রিং
Bosnian 	Prstenova družina
Breton 	Kevredigezh ar Walenn
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Задругата на пръстена
Burmese 	လက်စွပ်အဖွဲ့ဝင်များ
Catalan 	La Germandat de l'Anell
Cebuano 	Ang Panag-uban sa Singsing
Chinese 	护戒同盟队
Croatian 	Prstenova družina
Czech 	Společenstvo Prstenu
Danish 	Eventyret om Ringen
Dutch 	De Reisgenoten van de Ring
Esperanto 	La Kunularo de l' Ringo
Estonian 	Sõrmuse Vennaskond
Faroese 	Ringliðið
Finnish 	Sormuksen ritarit
French 	La Fraternité de l'Anneau
Frisian 	At Selskap faan a Ring (Northern) It Selskip fan de Ring (Western)
Galician 	A Irmandade do Anel
Georgian 	ბეჭდის საძმო
German 	Die Gefährten von der Ring
Greek 	Η Συντροφιά του Δαχτυλιδιού
Hebrew 	אחוות הטבעת
Hindi 	द फॅलोशिप ऑफ़ द रिंग
Hungarian 	A Gyűrű Szövetsége
Icelandic 	Föruneyti hringsins
Interlinque 	Le Fraternitate del Anello
Italian 	La Compagnia dell'Anello
Kazakh 	Сақина бауырластығы (Cyrillic) Saqïna bawırlastığı (Latin)
Korean 	반지 원정대
Kurdish 	یاران حلقه (Central) Rêhevala Gustîlê (Kurmanji)
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Шакектин тарапташтары
Latin 	Comitatus Anuli
Latvian 	Gredzena brālība
Lithuanian 	Žiedo brolija
Lombard 	La Compagnia de l'Anell
Luxembourgish 	D'Gesellschaft vum Rank
Malayalam 	ദ ഫെലോഷിപ്പ് ഓഫ് ദ റിങ്
Marathi 	द फेलोशिप ऑफ द रिंग
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Бөгжний ахан дүүс
Nepalese 	द फेलोशिप अफ द रिंग
Norwegian 	Ringens brorskap
Occitan 	La Comunautat de l'anèl
Old English 	Se Fēolagascipe þæs Hringes
Persian 	یاران حلقه
Polish 	Drużyna Pierścienia
Portuguese 	A Sociedade do Anel
Punjabi 	ਦ ਰਿੰਗ ਦੀ ਸੰਗਤੀ
Quechua 	Siwi masikuna
Romanian 	Frăția Inelului
Russian 	Братство Кольца
Sardinian 	Sa Cumpanzia de s'Aneddu
Scottish Gaelic 	An Comann na Fàinne
Sinhalese 	මුදුවේ සන්ධානය
Slovak 	Spoločenstvo prsteňa
Slovenian 	Bratovščina prstana
Spanish 	La Comunidad del Anillo
Swedish 	Sagan om Ringen (Old) Ringens brödraskap (New)
Telugu 	ది ఫెలోషిప్ ఆఫ్ ది రింగ్
Turkish 	Yüzük Kardeşliği
Turkmen 	Halkanyň arkalaşygy
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Братство Персня
Uzbek 	Узуклар иттифоқи (Cyrillic) Uzuklar ittifoqi (Latin)
Vietnamese 	Hiệp hội nhẫn thần
Welsh 	Cymdeithas y Fodrwy
Yiddish 	די כאַווערשאַפט פון די רינג
Previous novel:First in series	The Lord of the Ringsnovels	Next novel:The Two Towers
==External links==
*Detailed summary and analysis of The Fellowship of the Ring
* Detailed summary and analysis of characters, themes, and symbols of The Fellowship of the Ring
Category:Novels
Category:The Lord of the Rings books
Category:Primary literature
Category:Middle-earth source literature
de:Der Herr der Ringe: Die Gefährten (Buch)
es:El Señor de los Anillos: La Comunidad del Anillo
fr:La Communauté de l'Anneau
it:La Compagnia dell'Anello (libro)
ja:旅の仲間
nl:De Reisgenoten
pl:Drużyna Pierścienia (tom)
ru:Братство Кольца (книга)
tr:Yüzük Kardeşliği (Roman)
uk:Роман "Братство персня"