Faramir

Faramir was the second son of Denethor II and younger brother of Boromir. He was Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien and Captain of the White Tower upon his brother's death.
After the War of the Ring, Faramir became the first Prince of Ithilien and married Éowyn of Rohan.
== Biography ==
=== Early life ===
Faramir was born in the year TA 2983 to Denethor II and Finduilas, daughter of Adrahil of Dol Amroth., Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "The Third Age" The following year, his grandfather Ecthelion II died and his father, Denethor, succeeded him as the Ruling Steward of Gondor., Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iv): "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
When Faramir was five years old, Finduilas died. Her death caused Denethor to become detached from his family. The relationship between Faramir and Boromir, who was five years older, grew much closer and greater in love. Despite the obvious way that Denethor favored Boromir over Faramir, there was no jealousy or rivalry between them. Boromir protected and helped him, and Faramir looked up to his older brother. Although the siblings were very similar in appearance with their dark hair and grey eyes, it was not so in personality. Boromir was defined to be the more daring one, as well as the more fearless and strong warrior. Faramir’s boldness was incorrectly judged less due to his gentle nature and love of lore and music.
It was this interest that formed a friendship between Faramir and Gandalf the Grey. The youngest son of Denethor learned of what he could from Gandalf’s wisdom and mentoring. Denethor did not approve of Faramir as the "Wizard's pupil", for he neither trusted nor liked the Istar.
Faramir's leadership, skill-in-arms, and swift but hardy judgment proved handy on the battlefield. During the War of the Ring, he was the Captain of the Rangers of Ithilien, who often skirmished with allies of Sauron in that province. Faramir valiantly defended Gondor from the Enemy, but did not enjoy fighting for war’s sake.
=== War of the Ring ===
==== Defending Osgiliath ====
thumb|300x300px|Faramir and Boromir at the time of the Witch-king's assault on Osgiliath
In June of 3018, Sauron's forces attacked Osgiliath under the command of the Witch-king, whose presence caused the soldiers to flee across the Anduin. When the last bridge was destroyed, Boromir and Faramir were upon it. With two others, they swam ashore and managed to drive the Orcs back from the Anduin's west shores.
==== A fateful dream ====
The night before the assault on the city, Faramir had a prophetic dream in which a great wave covered all the land as darkness fell, with a voice out of the west speaking a riddle:
:‟Seek for the Sword that was broken:
::In Imladris it dwells;
:There shall be counsels taken
::Stronger than Morgul-spells.
:There shall be shown a token
::That Doom is near at hand,
:For Isildur's Bane shall waken,
::And the Halfling forth shall stand”
:—Faramir's dream, , Book Two, Chapter II: "The Council of Elrond"
It came to Faramir twice more, and once to his brother, and the brothers described it to Denethor, who only replied saying only that Imladris was an Elvish name for Rivendell, home of Elrond. Although Faramir had wanted to go for Gondor’s sake, Boromir decided to go instead, for he heard that the way was fraught with dark and danger, and he considered himself to be a better warrior that Faramir; and therefore better suited for the task at hand. Although he encountered some resistance from Denethor, who did not wish for Gondor's finest to leave him in those dark times, Boromir still went. Boromir traveled for nearly four months to reach Rivendell, and although he lost his horse near Tharbad, he still arrived just in time for the Council of Elrond.
On February 29, 3019 at midnight, Faramir, who was on guard duty on the western shore in Osgiliath, waded down to a boat floating down the Anduin river. To his grief, it contained the dead body of his brother which was pierced with many wounds. In it lay his sword, broken, but there was no sign of the Great Horn of Gondor, which he and his father had heard distantly blowing to the North three days prior.
==== Discovering the One Ring ====
During a battle with Southrons, Faramir, who had taken over his brother's position as the Captain of the White Tower, encountered the Hobbits Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee, recognizing them to be the Halflings his dream spoke of. After the skirmish, Faramir questioned Frodo about his riddle and Isildur's Bane, but, realizing what he was talking about, quickly switched to the topic of Boromir's death and sought answers as to its circumstances. He then decided to take the pair to Henneth Annûn., , Book Four, Chapter IV: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"
En route, Faramir continued questioning Frodo confidentially, and based on Frodo's answers and his own intuition determined that Frodo was carrying some great evil weapon of the Dark Lord of the Enemy. But rather than take it for himself or Gondor, he assured Frodo he would never use such as weapon.
Faramir ate with Frodo and Sam, and listened to Frodo's tales of their journey up to that point, and in turn told the Hobbits of Gondor's decline. During their discussion, Sam accidentally revealed Boromir's desire for the Enemy’s Ring, Isildur's Bane. Despite the hobbits’ fears, Faramir remained true to his vow, for he was wise enough to realize that such a weapon could not be used for good. With this knowledge, he also realized the peril his brother had faced.
On the very same night, Gollum was spotted fishing in the Forbidden Pool next to Henneth Annûn—an act punishable by death. However Faramir listened to Frodo’s pleas to spare Gollum’s life, and after interrogating the creature he decided that Frodo and Sam would be free in the Lands of Gondor and Gollum under Frodo's protection. Giving them provisions, he sent them on their way to continue their quest. At their parting, Faramir warned Frodo of Gollum's treacherous nature and that the path Gollum had proposed (Cirith Ungol) had an evil reputation of old., , Book Four, Chapter VI: "The Forbidden Pool"
==== Siege of Gondor ====
Faramir and his company retreated to Cair Andros, an island in the River Anduin that guarded the northern approaches to Minas Tirith. After noting that the sky was now covered in complete darkness, Faramir sent his company south to reinforce the garrison at Osgiliath while he and three of his men rode to Minas Tirith directly. Along the way, they were pursued by the Nazgûl, riding Fellbeasts. The men, except Faramir, were unhorsed and it was the Captain, a master of both beasts and men, who was still horsed and rode back to aid the fallen. If Gandalf had not intervened, they would have surely perished.
Arriving at Minas Tirith, Faramir reported to Denethor and Gandalf of his encounter with Frodo and Sam. Denethor was angered that Faramir had not brought the Ring to Gondor, wishing that he and his brother’s places had been reversed, since Denethor believed that Boromir would have brought the Enemy’s weapon to him.
Denethor sent his remaining son to hold Western Osgiliath against the hosts of the Enemy that outnumbered their own greatly. Although Faramir disagreed with his father’s strategy, he agreed to go.
After a day of fighting the Witch-king's army overwhelmed the men of Gondor and won Osgiliath. Faramir drew back to the Causeway Forts, the defence of which lasted another day, with many of the defenders being wounded or killed. Faramir decided to stay with the rear guard in order to make sure that the retreat over Pelennor Fields would not turn into a rout. As the force neared Minas Tirith it was overtaken by Orcs and Haradrim and Faramir was gravely wounded by a poisonous arrow. Fortunately, Gandalf and Faramir's uncle, Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, led a cavalry sortie that successfully covered the retreat. Imrahil bore Faramir back to Denethor, telling him that his son had done great deeds.
Regretting that he had thanklessly sent his son off in needless peril without his blessing, Denethor, after looking in the palantír, believed that the Ring was captured and the end was near. Thus he ordered his servants to build a funeral pyre for him and his son. Despite the protests of the Hobbit, Peregrin Took (serving the Steward in payment of Boromir's death) that Faramir was still alive, Denethor continued with his plans and released the Hobbit from his service., , Book Five, Chapter VII: "The Pyre of Denethor"
Horrified, Pippin went to alert Gandalf and Beregond, one of the Tower Guards. Beregond, who loved his captain enough to abandon his post and risk his life protecting him, stopped the servants from lighting the pyre, killing several. Pippin returned with Gandalf, who intervened by taking Faramir off the pyre as Faramir moaned out to his father in his fevered dreams. Denethor took out a knife, trying to take Faramir back, but Beregond placed himself in front of Faramir. Seeing that he could not win, Denethor lit the pyre and laid himself down upon it, burning himself alive.
==== Recovery and last days of the Third Age ====
Then, Faramir was laid in the Houses of Healing. His wound from the Haradrim arrow, along with weariness and grief concerning his constantly strained relationship with his father and the Black Breath of the Nazgûl (who had hunted Faramir ever since he had left Ithilien), all contributed to his near-death. After the battle, Aragorn came and revived him with athelas. When he awoke, Faramir immediately recognized Aragorn as his rightful king., , Book Five, Chapter VIII: "The Houses of Healing"
Before Aragorn left to lead the soldiers to the Black Gate, he commanded the Warden of the Houses of Healing to have Faramir and Éowyn to remain resting for at least ten days. After Éowyn demanded that the Warden take her to the Steward of the City to have her released so she could ride out in battle, Faramir, whose heart was moved with pity and pierced by her beauty, told Éowyn that he too, had to heed the advice of the Warden. He fulfilled her request to have her room look east to Mordor and asked her to talk with him at times.
Faramir and Éowyn walked together in the gardens nearly every day, and he learned from Merry Brandybuck of Éowyn's despair of feeling trapped, waiting on the waning of Théoden, and of Aragorn's rejection of her love.
On March 25, Faramir gave Éowyn a dark blue mantle sewn with silver stars that had once belonged to his mother Finduilas, as they stood at the wall that looked towards Mordor. There, they saw a threatening darkness towering over and seeing this, Faramir told her of his dream of the Downfall of Númenor and that the darkness threatening to overtake Middle-earth reminded him of the great wave that swallowed the island. Somehow, to Faramir and the people of the city, a hope and joy welled in their hearts and he kissed Éowyn’s brow. They were later informed by an eagle that Sauron had fallen for good, and that Aragorn would return as king., , Book Six, Chapter V: "The Steward and the King"
Éowyn, however, still felt languished and unfulfilled. Several days after he gave her the mantle, Faramir told her that he understood that she desired to be lifted in greatness and out of the cage she had felt trapped in, and when Aragorn only gave her understanding and pity, instead of love, she had wanted to die valiantly and gloriously in battle. He told her that though he had first pitied her, he now loved her. There, Éowyn’s grief was fully healed, and no longer did she desire glory or greatness and realized that she had come to love Faramir in return.
Faramir briefly served as the Ruling Steward of Gondor, and began preparing the city for the King's arrival. On the day of the King’s official coronation on May 1, Faramir surrendered his office, which was represented by the white rod of the Steward, kneeling as he did so. Aragorn however, gave the rod back, announcing that as long as his line would last, Faramir and his descendants would be Stewards of Gondor. After Faramir had asked the people of Gondor if they accepted Aragorn as their King (which they did), Faramir took the Crown of Gondor out and Aragorn was crowned King Elessar by Gandalf.
=== Later years ===
King Elessar appointed Faramir as the Prince of Ithilien, and Beregond to be the Captain of his guard, the White Company. As Prince of Ithilien, he and the Prince of Dol Amroth, Gondor's two highest-ranking nobles, became King Elessar's chief commanders. His duties also included acting as resident march-warden of Gondor's main eastward outpost, rehabilitating the lost territories, as well as clearing it of outlaws and Orcs and cleansing the Morgul Vale of evil remnants. Faramir also fulfilled the traditional role as Steward, acting as the King’s chief counsellor as well as ruling Gondor in the King's absence.
After the funeral of Théoden, Faramir married Éowyn in Edoras., , Book Six, Chapter VI: "Many Partings" After their marriage, the two settled in Emyn Arnen, where they had at least one son, named Elboron. Elboron would succeed Faramir as Steward of Gondor, Prince of Ithilien, and Lord of Emyn Arnen, after Faramir's death in FO 82., Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands), "Later Events concerning the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring" Faramir lived to be 120 years old, becoming the first Steward since Belecthor II to pass 100, as by a quirk, the blood of Númenor ran true in him. One of his grandsons, Barahir, wrote the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen., Prologue, V: "Note on the Shire Records", Vol. XII: , VII: "The Heirs of Elendil"
==Etymology==
Faramir is a name with an unclear language and meaning. It is possible that Faramir has a mixed name like Boromir,, Appendix F: Family Trees (Hobbits), I: "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Men", footnote containing the Quenya word mírë ("gem;Parma Eldalamberon XIX, "Quenya Phonology", pg. 96 a treasure, precious thing; jewel").Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in ", pgs. 24, 37, 73The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, pg. 224
It is also possible that Faramir is a name in Sindarin,, Vol. VIII: , pg. 149 containing the words mîr ("a treasure, a jewel, precious thing")Parma Eldalamberon XVII, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in ", pgs. 37, 73, 165 and fara- ("hunter").David Salo, A Gateway to Sindarin, Appendix II: Sindarin-English Glossary, entry "F"
== In other versions ==
In early drafts of , Faramir was named Falborn in Noldorin, the predecessor to Sindarin.
== Quotes ==
== Character significance ==
According to Tolkien, Faramir was "modest, fair-minded and scrupulously just, and very merciful"., Letter 244: "From a draft to a reader of The Lord of the Rings" He mentioned once that he did not invent Faramir, though he liked the character very much., Letter 66: "From a letter to Christopher Tolkien, 6 May 1944" As a soldier in World War I, Tolkien connected himself with Faramir, who only loved swords for "which they defend". Among the characters, Tolkien wrote, ""As far as any character is 'like me', it is Faramir"., Letter 180: "To 'Mr Thompson' [draft]"
It is for this reason that Tolkien bestowed his dream of a great wave (that recurred in his family) to Faramir. In one of his letters, he wrote, "For when Faramir speaks of his private vision of the Great Wave, he speaks for me. That vision and dream has been ever with me—and has been inherited (as I only discovered recently) by one of my children, Michael"., Letter 340: "From a letter to Christopher Tolkien, 11 July 1972"
== In adaptations ==
=== In Rankin/Bass's The Return of the King ===
In the 1980 animated film , during Aragon's Coronation precession, there is a minor character that is seen on a horse next to Éowyn, it is speculate that this character is Faramir as the couple exchange an affectionate look and are later seen riding out together behind Aragorn.
=== In Peter Jackson's film trilogy ===
David Wenham portrays Faramir in Peter Jackson's , appearing in and . His depiction in the films differs significantly from his appearance in the novels.
In The Two Towers, Faramir captures Frodo and Sam in Ithilien and holds them prisoner. After capturing and interrogating Gollum, Faramir discovers how Boromir died and that Frodo carries the One Ring. Wishing to impress his father Denethor, Faramir plans to take Frodo and the One Ring to Minas Tirith. It is only in Osgiliath, where he realizes the great evil of the Ring, that he lets Frodo, Sam and Gollum go. A flashback from the extended edition elaborates on Faramir's complex relationship with his father and brother.
In The Return of the King, Faramir is still in command of Osgiliath when it is overrun by Mordor's armies. After Faramir retreats to Minas Tirith, an enraged Denethor orders him to lead a suicide mission to recapture Osgiliath; Denethor also reveals that he wishes that Faramir had died instead of Boromir. Plagued by guilt, Faramir takes on the mission but is grievously injured. 
After Faramir is dragged back to Minas Tirith unconscious, a deranged Denethor plans to burn himself and his younger son alive. Only Gandalf and Pippin's intervention saves Faramir's life. He recovers from his injuries and is present at Aragorn's coronation alongside Éowyn.
In the extended edition, it is revealed that he falls in love with Éowyn in the Houses of Healing while they are both recovering from their injuries.
==== Criticism of movie appearance ====
Many fans of the book criticize the changes Jackson made to Faramir's character, claiming that it seriously damages his persona; some have jokingly dubbed this interpretation "Filmamir" or "Farfromthebookamir", among other names .
Jackson's explanation is that he needed another adventure to delay Frodo and Sam, because the episode at Cirith Ungol was moved to the third movie, and so a new climax was needed. Another explanation often cited is that it was felt that for dramatic reasons it was necessary to show character development, which meant that Faramir had to go through some kind of struggle or difficult decision. Jackson also argued that it was necessary for Faramir to be tempted by the Ring because everyone else was tempted, and letting Faramir be immune would be inconsistent, at least in the eyes of a film audience, and would weaken the films' portrayal of the Ring, which was that of a seduction of normal men.
A number of fans however, remain unimpressed and unconvinced by Jackson's explanations, and have complained that Faramir was changed into a carbon copy of Boromir and have commented that Tolkien himself, who once likened himself to Faramir, would not have liked the way the film characterized him. Jackson counters that the important difference between Boromir and Faramir is retained: Boromir was completely incapable of resisting the temptation of the Ring. Faramir, realizing what his brother went through, what Frodo and Gollum must endure, and his own morals and personality in check, realizes the danger, and freely decides to let Frodo and company go.
Criticism was also leveled at the Rangers' treatment of Gollum. Fans bitterly pointed out that Faramir, whose gentle heart was easily moved by pity, would have never let his men treat a prisoner (no matter how evil) in any way but with kindness. In the book, Faramir refers the to creature as Sméagol instead of Gollum, and told his men to "treat him gently...but watch him".
In the extended edition of , Jackson included a new flashback scene showing that Denethor has been neglecting him and favoring Boromir instead, so that Faramir wanted to please his father by bringing him the Ring. (The relationship is similarly strained in the books, but there his father's favoritism never seems to affect his decisions in Ithilien.) Overall, however, new Definitive Edition scenes with Faramir brought the character closer to the sympathetic treatment of the books (the line he is given regarding a fallen Southron belongs to Sam in the books, but is not out of keeping with Faramir's character).
Furthermore, instead of numerous captains and commanders taking charge of Gondor's defense, it is heavily implied throughout the films that when Boromir leaves all responsibility lies on Faramir to take command and defend Gondor, he does this to the best of his ability leading Gondorian forces through a prolonged battle that lasts from Midnight to the afternoon following, despite having legions of Orcs pouring over the Anduin, thankfully his ability to lead a prolonged retreat that lasted the whole night, gave time for Gandalf the White to take over command of Minas Tirith and lead the oncoming siege.
David Wenham joked that he got the role because he and Sean Bean, who played Boromir, both had large noses. A minor change is that in the book, Faramir and his brother are dark-haired and lack beards, but in the films, they have fair hair and are slightly bearded.
=== In The Battle for Middle-earth II ===
In the RTS game , the hero Faramir is voiced by Paul Mercier.
=== In The Lord of the Rings Online===
In , Faramir's role in the War of the Ring is relatively minor in the game, as by the time the player reaches Minas Tirith Faramir has already been wounded and lies in a fever. His first prominent appearance is not until King Elessar's coronation. Afterwards, Aragorn charges the Steward and the Rangers of Ithilien with cleansing the evil of Minas Morgul and the Morgul Vale. Faramir leads the Rangers to establish several camps outside the dead city. Eventually he joins Damrod's team inside the walls Minas Morgul itself, working to combat the evil on the upper levels of the city.
=== Voice dubbing actors ===
Foreign Language 	Voice dubbing artist
Spanish (Latin America) 	Idzi Dutkiewicz
Spanish (Spain) 	Roger Pera
Portuguese (Brazil) (Television/DVD)	Márcio Araújo
German 	Nicolas Böll
Japanese 	Mitsuru Miyamoto
Korean 	김용준(Yong-jun Kim)
French (France) 	Jérôme Pauwels
Czech Republic 	Saša Rašilov
Slovak 	Štefan Skrúcaný
Hungarian 	Zoltán Rajkai
Italian (Italy) 	Francesco Bulckaen
=== In Radio ===
*In the BBC , Andrew Seear voices the part of Faramir.
== Gallery ==
File:Faramir's sword.jpg|Faramir hiding to ambush Orcs invading Osgiliath, in 
File:Faramir at the Houses of healing.JPG|Faramir in the House of Healing
File:Faramir.png|Faramir at Aragorn's coronation
File:Eowyn and Faramir - Rankin Bass.JPG|Possibly Faramir with Éowyn in Rankin-Bass's Return of the King (1980)
File:Faramirz.jpg|Faramir in EA's video game
File:Faramirs.jpg|Faramir in The Battle for Middle-earth series
File:Faramira.jpg|Faramir in 
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game.JPG|Faramir in - Assault on Osgiliath Adventure Pack 
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game (2).JPG|Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Land of Shadow Expansion
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game (ally).JPG|Faramir in 
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game (ally) 2.JPG|Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Shadow in the East Expansion
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game (objective-ally).JPG|Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Blood of Gondor Adventure Pack
File:Faramir - LOTR The Card Game Community.JPG|Faramir in The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game - The Siege of Annúminas Standalone Scenario 
== Translations ==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ፋራሚር
Arabic 	فارمير
Armenian 	Ֆարամիր
Belarusian Cyrillic	Фарамир
Bengali 	ফারামির
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Фарамир
Catalan 	Fàramir
Chinese (Hong Kong)	法拉墨
Dogri 	फरामीर
Georgian 	ფარამერი
Greek 	Φαραμίρ
Gujarati 	ફરામીર
Hebrew 	פאראמיר
Hindi 	फ़रामिर
Japanese 	ファラミア
Kannada 	ಫರಾಮಿರ್
Kazakh 	Фарамир (Cyrillic) Faramïr (Latin)
Korean 	파라미르
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Фарамир
Macedonian Cyrillic	Фарамир
Maithili 	फरामिर
Malayalam 	ഫറാമിർ
Marathi 	फरामीर
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Фарамир
Nepalese 	फरामिर
Pashto 	فارامیر
Persian 	فارامیر
Punjabi 	ਫਰਾਮੀਰ
Russian 	Фарамир
Sanskrit 	फरमिर्
Serbian 	Фарамир (Cyrillic) Faramir (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ෆරමීර්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Фарамир
Tamil 	ஃபராமிர்
Tatar 	Фарамир
Telugu 	ఫరామిర్
Thai 	ฟาราเมียร์
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Фарамир
Urdu 	فآرامیر
Uzbek 	Фарамир (Cyrillic) Faramir (Latin)
Yiddish 	פאַראַמיר
== References ==
== External links ==
*Faramir at The Thain's Book
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:The Lord of the Rings characters
Category:The Two Towers (film) characters
Category:The Return of the King (film) characters
Category:Major characters (The Lord of the Rings)
Category:Men of Gondor
Category:Princes of Ithilien
Category:Rangers of Ithilien
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Stewards to the King of Gondor
de:Faramir (Denethors II. Sohn)
es:Faramir
fr:Faramir
it:Faramir
pl:Faramir
pt-br:Faramir
ru:Фарамир
tr:Faramir
uk:Боромир