Editor’s note: I first met Aragorn son of their Arathorn on a binge shortly after college. At the time I was experiencing a high degree of wanderlust, so I took off with my backpack on a walk about. Eventually I booked travel to middle earth.
After one particularly long and dusty day, I found myself in Bree at the Prancing Pony and stopped in for a pint. It was there I met Mithrandir and Strider, and we knocked a few back together. I had no idea this Ranger from the North was really the King of Gondor, but that’s a story for another day.
I recently sat down with Aragorn for an interview because I have questions about his administration’s rise to power. It turns out the timing for the interview was perfect as the Gondor Legislature is on a brief midsummer break. The truth is, Aragorn rarely grants interviews, governing a large country is time consuming, but he agreed to an interview with an old friend.
EB
Thank you for sitting down with me, Aragorn son of Arathorn. I have a few questions I would like to ask. Is that okay? I know there is quite the back story to your rise to the monarchy- years in the wilderness, restlessness, self-doubt, the forging of your identity, etc., But it seems a key event in your transformation took place when Elrond of Rivendell gave you the sword Anduril at Dunharrow. Would you agree?
AA
Yes, that’s absolutely true. I was in a deep sleep and actually dreaming about Elrond’s daughter, Aarwen at the time. It was a little embarrassing and I felt slightly guilty that Elrond appeared so suddenly while I was dreaming about his daughter, but it worked out okay. He seemed to be trying to say something about my political future. I would say that was a pretty key moment for me. I was still struggling with the idea of being King, but the gift of Anduril was a big factor in my choice to run for office.
EB
There are some on social media who believe Elrond giving you a used, hand me down sword was a slight. A trollish move. Some go further and maintain that Elrond didn’t really want you to succeed. They say he was really setting you up to fail so he could sail off with Aarwen. What do you say to those who doubt Elrond’s intentions were good?
AA
I don’t really see it that way. I mean, I get where they are coming from. I had my doubts about the sword at first too, but there was a prophecy linked to it and it’s a really cool sword, so I don’t think of it as a bad gift.
Honestly, Elrond was pretty hard to win over. He wasn’t accepting of the idea of a human and an Elf as a couple. He’s Old School and a mixed relationship was unheard of for his generation. It took some time to win him over, but I do feel he eventually was supportive of the relationship. Giving me the sword was how he expressed his support to me.
Elrond is not one for really sharing his emotions, another common thing for his generation. He’s definitely the strong, silent type. Aarwen is constantly on him about this, especially with the grand kids.
I felt the sword was his way of saying he was okay with the relationship, but he never said that openly (Aragorn chuckles). He was pretty pissed that Aarwen gave up her elf immortality for some homeless Ranger from the North. It took him a long time to get over it.
EB
Sure, it was a lot for him to take in, no doubt. Another thing that puzzles me though, is that Elrond asked you to recruit soldiers from the dead. And although Elrond is certainly a master war strategist with proven success, it seems that recruiting an army with such a dubious past was more than a little bit risky. And again, there are some who suggest that this was yet another example of Elrond being passive aggressive- that is, he didn’t really want you to succeed. Do you have any thoughts on this?
AA
Well, to be honest, that’s exactly what I thought at the time. It didn’t seem to me like a solid battle plan. I mean, I know we were outmanned and when Elrond advised that Sauron had recruited the Uruk-Hai and their naval fleet, it was tough. I knew we were really up against it.
At first I was skeptical this plan would work. And it crushed Theoden that I left as he was marshalling an army to support the war effort in Gondor. I never felt like he really understand what I was doing by leaving. That was hard.
But as I thought more about it, I realized there were some things about a ghost army that could be really helpful in battle. For example, you can’t really kill them, can you? They are already dead. This gives them a lot of power in a fight.
Eventually I decided to go with it and with the new sword I knew I could keep them under control. Gimli was super skeptical at first too, but he came around by the end of the battle. I think it turned out okay and they were very helpful for us in winning the battle. At the same time, it was a little touchy at first, no question.
EB
Well, there are a lot more questions I could ask, but I do want to respect your time. Thank you for this interview and I wish you well as you lead middle earth.
AA
Thank you. Have a nice day.