Home > Council of Elrond

The account of the Council dominates Book II, Chapter 2 of the first volume, The Fellowship of the Ring, which is named after it.

Those present at the Council had arrived at Rivendell by different paths and on separate errands, yet they were all ultimately concerned with the Ring and its effect upon the people of Middle-earth.

Important participants at the Council included:

• Elrond - convener
• Gandalf - recently escaped from Saruman at Isengard
• Aragorn - having escorted Frodo and his companions from Bree
• Frodo Baggins, Hobbit - the RingbearerIn The Lord of the Rings by J. Tolkien, Frodo Baggins is appointed to be the Ring-bearer by the Council of Elrond in Rivendell. He was to carry the One Ring from Rivendell to the Crack of Doom in Mordor and destroy it before Sauron's minions, the Ringwrai
• Bilbo BagginsBilbo Baggins is the central character of J. Tolkien's The Hobbit''. He is the first in the history of Middle-earth to give up the One Ring voluntarily (see Ringbearer). He was born on September 22, 2890 of the Third Age, son of Bungo Baggins and Belladon, older cousin of Frodo, finder and former bearer of the Ring, long resident in Rivendell
• BoromirBoromir a fictional character from J. Tolkien's fantasy universe of Middle-earth, was the eldest son of Denethor, last ruling Steward of Gondor in the Third Age of Middle-earth. He was one of the Nine Walkers who made up the Fellowship of the Ring in The of GondorGondor is a fictional location from J. Tolkien's Middle-earth. History Like Arnor to the north, Gondor is a human kingdom founded by the line of Elendil after the Downfall of Numenor. It was located to the south of Rohan and to the west of Mordor, on the - arrived in response to a prophecyFor other uses of the term, see prophecy (disambiguation . Prophecy in its most general sense is the communication of some revelation of divine will. However, the term is most commonly used to refer to the prediction of future events by supernatural means
• GlóinGloin is a the name of two fictional characters of J. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth. Gloin was the son of Thorin I, and succeeded his father as the king of Durin's folk. He expanded the mines of the Ered Mithrin, and further abandoned Erebor. of the DwarvesKhazad" redirects here. See KHAZAD for the block cipher named after Khazad-dum. The Dwarves of J. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth are beings of short stature, often friendly with Hobbits although long suspicious of Elves. They are typically b - arrived seeking counsel after a messenger from MordorTolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor is the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of Middle-earth. Frodo and Sam went there to destroy the One Ring. Mordor was unique because of the three enormous mountain ridges surrounding it, from sought news of the Ring from the Dwarves
• Gimli the Dwarf, son of Gloin, accompanying his father
• Legolas, son of Thranduil, an Elf of the Woodland Realm - came to tell Elrond that Gollum had escaped from the Elves' captivity
• Glorfindel, a powerful Elf-lord of Rivendell
• Samwise Gamgee - Frodo's companion; not invited, he secretly eavesdropped on the Council until he gave himself away
• Galdor of the Havens, messenger of Cirdan

At the Council the full story of the Ring was told by Bilbo and Gandalf. Boromir was all for taking the Ring and using its power in the defence of Gondor, but Gandalf and Elrond were adamant that the Ring, having been forged by Sauron himself, would corrupt and ultimately destroy whoever tried to use it. Eventually Gandalf felt it necessary to employ shock tactics by reciting the Ring-inscription in the Black Speech, despite angering Elrond in the process.

Eventually it was decided that the only way to be free of Sauron and the Ring was to cast the Ring into the Crack of Doom in Mount Doom.

It then became necessary to decide who should take responsibility for such a perilous undertaking. Bilbo offered to finish the job he had started, but Gandalf told him he could not take back the Ring. Eventually Frodo surprised everyone including himself by telling them he would take the Ring. After some thought Elrond agreed. At this point Sam emerged from hiding and demanded to accompany Frodo, and since it was hardly possible to separate them Elrond agreed.

The matter of who else should accompany Frodo (later to be known as the Fellowship of the Ring, hence the title of the book and subsequent movie) was decided later, although the movie version of The Fellowship of the Ring depicts the choosing of the Fellowship as taking place at the end of the Council, and has Merry and Pippin also eavesdropping on the proceedings and demanding to accompany Frodo.