Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Kings and Bloodlines
One of quite a few similarities between Aragorn and Arthur that wasn't really touched on in class today is how their lineage seems to be directly related to their kinghood. I thought it was cool how Tolkien seemed to be going against the mold of the Arthurian king when he created Aragorn, but at the same time, this idea of lineage making a king "great" is present in both texts and kinda confuses me. It seems to be Arthur's and Aragorn's royal blood that largely gives them the right to the throne and the ability to be "great" kings. I know Aragorn proved his worth as king in many other ways, but I guess I'm just curious about why his bloodline is so emphasized. Is it just another medieval element/idea that Tolkien was using?
5 comments:
I would say that yes, I do think this a midieval element Tolkien uses or just a common element that a king's line passes through his bloodline. So, it gives Aragorn a right to the thrown I think. But I also like how Tolkien made Aragorn prove he was worthy of being the king; it gives more respect to him than just the fact that he is next in line I think.
What interests me is Aragorn's resistance to the throne. I feel like he knew for a long time that he was the rightful king of Gondor but he didn't do anything about it. I think it makes him more kingly and a better leader that he was more concerned with being a Ranger and helping out the Fellowship than running off to Gondor to claim his thrown.
I think it is quite common in medieval literature and fantasy for kings and heroes to come from a royal or heroic background. This gives them advantages as far as destiny and fate are concerned. However, there are also several examples of heroes and kings that rise up from common beginnings to rule or rescue their people.
Going off of what Haleth said, I would agree that being a ranger and all of his experiences and decisions during that time of his life made Aragorn a better king when he took the thrown. However, I would question the fact that he didn't go to Gondor sooner. He knew he was the rightful king and that he would be there eventually, so why did he wait? He just didn't feel like it yet? I love Aragorn and think he's awesome, but why would he wait to claim the thrown? He just knew it wasn't time yet or something? Ideas?
Maybe he thought that assuming the throne during a time of despair would change the tone of affairs. It's also possible that he felt that assuming the throne earlier would be less productive than other work. I wonder what would have happen if he hadn't tracked down Gollum.
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