Aragorn is one of the main characters in The Lord of the Rings. Introduced as Strider at the Prancing Pony Inn, he was the one who escorted the Hobbits to Rivendell and saved them from the wrath of the Nazgul. After that, he would later be a part of the Council of Elrond, where he would pledge his service to the new ringbearer, Frodo Baggins. Aragorn was easily the best swordsman in all of Middle-Earth at the time. Having the Numenorean blessing of unnaturally long life, Aragorn has had decades of experience fighting all sorts of foul creatures. Coming into The Lord of the Rings, he was more than prepared to take down the servants of Sauron.

On top of that, he is also the descendant of Isildur, the King of Gondor. Because the realm has no king, Aragorn must also see his legacy through and take the crown to rebuild the world of men. This is the journey that we get to see in the film trilogy, but there is still a lot about his character that was left out. True Middle-Earth fans could probably tell you these 15 things that you probably don't know about Aragorn, otherwise known as King Elessar.

15 HUNT FOR GOLLUM

Bilbo Baggins came across a strange ring while in the goblin tunnels. Belonging to the creature, Gollum, this ring had a lot of desire attached to it. Nonetheless, Bilbo seemed to be fairly resilient to it and kept it for himself. Taking it to the Shire, he held it there for decades. Gandalf was unassuming at first, but it wasn't long before he started to notice that Bilbo had a mysterious ring. Because of this, the Grey Pilgrim had to know more. In order to find out about this strange ring, he had to talk to the creature that last had it: Gollum.

Gandalf, not having the innate tracking ability to find this creature, contacted Aragorn of the Dunedain to get the job done for him. Aragorn spent a long time tracking the creature before eventually finding him. After tying him up, Aragorn took him to the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood, where he would then be questioned by both Gandalf and King Thranduil: the father of Legolas. It was this adventure that helped to convince Gandalf that the ring Bilbo had was, indeed, the One Ring of Power. It was also not the first time Aragorn and Gandalf had crossed paths.

14 LIFE WITH THE ELVES

Being one of the Dunedain rangers and descended from the dying race of Numenor, Aragorn didn't exactly have a solid home life growing up. His father was killed when he was a young boy, so his mother had to take him somewhere he would be safe from harm before she kicked the bucket as well. After thinking of all the places in Middle-Earth, Aragorn's mother took him to Rivendell, where he could be raised and cared for by the wise Elves west of Caradhras. He may or may not have also found an attractive mate there.

In The Lord of the Rings, we see Aragorn speaking fluent Elvish and getting along with a lot of that race. On top of that, he has also been shown to have the "magic" of Elves, as he uses it to calm Brego down. This is because he was raised in Aragorn for several years. He eventually left to go be with his Dunedain brothers and sisters, but took all of the knowledge of Rivendell with him. As a bit of closure to his childhood, his mother was buried in Rivendell, which is a grave that he visits in The Fellowship of the Ring.

13 DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HE CAME FROM

After Aragorn's father was killed in battle, his mother was paranoid about her son undergoing the same fate. After traveling to Rivendell and having him raised by the Elves, she decided to rename him "Estel." After all, most of the Mordor orcs knew the name Aragorn son of Arathorn as the heir of Elendil and the rightful king to the throne of Gondor. Because Sauron didn't want to see a new king take over the world of men, he was willing to stop at nothing to ensure that the heir of Gondor was killed before he could stand against him.

However, Aragorn's mother had a fairly smart idea when it comes to this. Aragorn went a large majority of his life going by the name "Estel" and even he didn't know about his true lineage until he was 20 years old. After he was informed of his true identity, he decided to leave the Elves and go fight alongside his Dunedain kin. While not the greatest idea when trying to stay in secret, Aragorn learned how to remain completely unseen and blend into the crowd. He also managed to lead the Dunedain and become their best fighter by a long shot.

12 THE GIFT OF A RING

In The Lord of the Rings, there are a few shots of Aragorn where we get to see that he constantly wears a ring on his finger. In The Two Towers movie, we learn from Grima Wormtongue that the ring was of two serpents with emerald eyes; one was devouring and the other was crowned all in golden flowers. While it just seems like another weird piece of Tolkien lore (and not an important detail), Saruman the White reveals that it is the Ring of Barahir.

Being one of the oldest objects in Middle-Earth (being crafted in the Undying Lands themselves), it was a marvel that it came to Aragorn and that he got to wear it. It was given to him by Lord Elrond of Rivendell because Aragorn saved his life in battle. In the film trilogy, it is implied that the ring symbolizes that its wearer is the heir to the throne of Gondor. While that was fine for the sake of the movies, there is a lot more history to this ring than meets the eye. For example, Aragorn sings about Beren and Luthien in the movies. Beren's father was Barahir, the original bearer of the ring.

11 GUARDIAN OF HOBBITS

Gandalf the Grey started to grow suspicious in the Third Age once he heard about how Bilbo managed to live a total of a whopping 111 years. Because of this, he went on adventures to try and find out more about the ring he came across while he was in the goblin tunnels. That's when he ran into Aragorn and the two became good friends. Having a hunch about Bilbo wearing the Ring of Power, Gandalf recommended that Aragorn and the rest of the Dunedain watch over the Shire and keep the Hobbits safe from harm.

Aragorn agreed and he and his men began guarding the area. Traveling throughout the lands, that was how he was given the nickname "Strider." He stopped guarding the Hobbits once Gandalf asked him to track down Gollum, but after the interrogation of the creature at Mirkwood, Aragorn resumed his post. This would lead him to the Inn of the Prancing Pony, where he would come across Frodo Baggins, thus forever tying him in with the fate of Middle-Earth. In a way, it is possible that Aragorn already knew that Frodo would've had the Ring or was sent to Bree by Gandalf the Grey himself.

10 FIGHTING IN DISGUISE

After the Battle of the Five Armies at the Lonely Mountain, everyone in Middle-Earth knew that Sauron was gaining strength and that he was holed up in the lovely land of Mordor. Soon after, people starting seeing orcs more frequently and there were several battles that would lead up to the War of the Ring. Aragorn fought in many of these battles during the time where was known as Strider. He decided to travel east and help the people of Rohan and Gondor fight against Sauron's forces.

During this time, he took the name "Thorongil" so that word wouldn't be able to spread that he was the heir of Gondor. He would fight alongside Thengel, the father of King Theoden of Edoras. He would also fight for Steward Ecthelion of Minas Tirith, the father of Lord Denethor and grandfather of Boromir. Aragorn participated in many battles under the guise of "Thorongil" and helped to push back Sauron's forces. He even led a party of men to Umbar, where he would wage war with the Corsairs and win the day, after which he would leave and travel west. Fun fact: the name that Aragorn chose for himself means, "Eagle of the Star."

9 PASSING THROUGH REALMS

When we meet Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, it's clear to both the Hobbits and the audience that this is a man who knows a lot about Middle-Earth and has seen a lot of different locations in his time. When he leads the group to Weathertop, he even explains the history of that location to them. Everywhere he travels, he also seems to be recognized by the people there. King Theoden recognized him from when he fought with his father. However, Aragorn traveled to more places than just the kingdoms of men.

Throughout his travels as a ranger, Aragorn would go to places like Minas Tirith, Edoras, and later the realms of other races. He would stay in Lothlorien for a time because Arwen was there and he even passed through the Mines of Moria, where he would get to know the dwarves. He also met Legolas because his hunt for Gollum lead him to Mirkwood. Not only that, but Aragorn also traveled to land of Harad, where its tenants would be preparing to fight in the War of the Ring with their Mumakil and javelins. We're not quite sure why Aragorn traveled to all these places, but it must've been great for him.

8 HIS FATHER'S LAST STAND

From a young age, Aragorn had no father. There isn't any mention of him in The Lord of the Rings other than the standard, "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn." Other than that, there isn't a lot we ever learn about Arathorn. What we do know is that he knew that he was the heir to the throne of Gondor and that he was just as good a fighter as his son would turn out. That said, Aragorn had no father when he was just two years old, meaning that something happened to Arathorn that caused his death.

Being a Dunedain ranger, Arathorn was very fond of hunting down orcs. He teamed up with Elladan and Elrohir: the sons of Elrond that didn't have room to fit in the movies. While they were tracking a party of orcs, one of them turned and fired an arrow straight through Arathorn's eye. The ranger died on the spot, leaving the lineage of Gondor in the hands of a two-year-old boy. It was a sad way to go, considering that Arathorn's father was also killed in battle, being captured and slain by Hill-Trolls that probably weren't as stupid as Bert, Tom, and Bill.

7 REBUILT MIDDLE-EARTH

Aragorn's arc in The Lord of the Rings is that he is the rightful King of Gondor but doesn't want to be. Unfortunately, without a king to take over lordship of the lands, Gondor is being led by Lord Denethor, who is a few layers short of the full lasagna. Because of this, Aragorn knew that he had to embrace his destiny and become who he was born to be, for better and worse. After the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and the defeat of Sauron's army there, Aragorn took over leadership of the remaining men and marched on the Black Gate. While there, Frodo cast the Ring into Mount Doom and Sauron was defeated.

After that, Aragorn was officially crowned the King of Gondor, and he was an excellent ruler. On top of making sure their borders were safe, he spent a lot of his efforts rebuilding the kingdoms of men in Middle-Earth. Gondor was restored to its former glory, and relations between Elves and Dwarves were completely re-established. During his reign, he created the "Reunited Kingdom" and became the first king of it rather than just living and dying with the throne of Minas Tirith. Talk about going above and beyond.

6 RULER OF ARNOR

Gondor and Rohan were the two big kingdoms that had an involvement in the War of the Ring during The Lord of the Rings. However, they weren't the only ones to exist. The Kingdom of Arnor was another realm of men that lives west of Caradhras and was fairly close to the Shire. It was an old kingdom that had seen its fair share of war and was nearly destroyed when the Witch King rose to power in Angmar and tried to raze it to the ground. As the heir of Isildur, Aragorn was not only the rightful King of Gondor, but the King of Arnor as well.

Once he was crowned the King of Gondor after the War of the Ring, he made a lot of effort to establish his reign in Arnor as well. Much like Gondor, they were without a proper king at the time, so the coming of Elessar was certainly a turn of luck for them. Over time, he was able to succeed in his plans, and Arnor and Gondor were united under one banner. This led Aragorn to create the Reunited Kingdom, which would be further maintained by the rule of his son, Eldarion.

5 THE MEANING OF HIS SONG

When Aragorn is crowned the King of Gondor, he turns to the crowd atop the White City and begins singing a song. While the melody is pleasant, it's in an entirely different language (and there are no subtitles to help decipher it this time around), meaning that most audience members aren't going to be able to understand it. The lyrics of the song look like this (and good luck trying to pronounce them if you're so inclined):

"Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta!"

This song was the oath of Elendil, who was the King of Gondor that was killed by Sauron in the Second Age. In singing this piece of music at his coronation, Aragorn was singing about what his reign would be like. The lyrics translate to, "Out of the Great Sea, to Middle-Earth I am come. In this place I will abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world." While there may have been a day of wolves and shattered shields as the age of men came crashing, Aragorn was there to ensure that day never came true. He was willing to bring prosperity to Middle-Earth, not just the realm of Gondor.

4 REIGNED FOR OVER A CENTURY

When we meet Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings, he looks like a strapping man well in his 30s or 40s. It becomes shocking to the audience when he reveals to Eowyn of Rohan that he is actually 87 years old. Being a descendant of the Numenoreans, Aragorn was blessed with unnatural long life for a man. Because of this, he had fought in several wars that would precede the War of the Ring. Because he became the King of Gondor at such an old age, it does make us wonder how many years he would have left.

Apparently, Aragorn reigned over the Reunited Kingdom for a total of 120 years, and led Middle-Earth into a prosperous Fourth Age. Altogether, he lives over 200 years in total. Unfortunately, his unnatural long life wouldn't be enough for him to live alongside Arwen for all of eternity. Arwen Evenstar remained alive in Middle-Earth until she died of a broken heart just a year later. In the absence of the King and Queen of Gondor, it was their son, Eldarion, who took over the throne and tried to continue his parents' legacy. There was originally going to be a follow-up novel about Eldarion.

3 OLD FRIENDSHIP WITH THE FELLOWSHIP

Aragorn, being as old as he was, got around quite a bit. Whether it be in the wilds of the Dunedain or the forests of Harad, you can bet that Aragorn has probably been there a time or two and everyone knows who he is. When we get to meet him in The Fellowship of the Ring, it's shown that he knows a lot more than most people as he whisks the Hobbits off to Rivendell. It's there that the Council of Elrond takes place, and many people there already know his name.

Gandalf and Aragorn had already been friends due to their hunting of Gollum and the guarding of the Shire. On top of that, Legolas Greenleaf, the Prince of Mirkwood, is also familiar with Aragorn (contrary to what The Hobbit movies may tell you, it is not because Thranduil snuck in a gratuitous reference to The Lord of the Rings). Even Boromir, the son of the Steward of Gondor, knows who this man is and has heard of his great deeds. The only one that wasn't familiar with Aragorn was Gimli. Needless to say, it was probably easy for Aragorn to journey with the Fellowship considering he already knew most of them.

2 INCORRECT AGE IN THE FILMS

The Lord of the Rings movies are an excellent adaptation of the books, having enough differences that were warranted over the source material to try and enhance the experience for a new audience. One key piece of them that was left out, though, was the time span in which Gandalf left the Shire after Bilbo's birthday party and returned to send Frodo on his quest. In the movies, it only seems like a few days. In the books, it was actually several years that Frodo kept the Ring hidden in Bag End.

This led to a timeline inconsistency when The Hobbit trilogy was created. Because everyone's age in The Lord of the Rings was kept the same, there were several years omitted between the two movies. When King Thranduil then tells Legolas to go seek out "Strider," he is 27 years old as far as the movies are concerned. However, in the proper timeline of the books, he is only ten years old at the time. This has led a lot of people to criticize The Battle of the Five Armies for blatantly sneaking in a reference to The Lord of the Rings just to serve as a shameless tie-in.

1 ALMOST IN THE HOBBIT

When Tolkien wrote The Hobbit, it was a very small-scale contained story about how a Hobbit, against all odds, became a renowned burglar and helped the Dwarves of Erebor sneak past a dragon who took their home. It was a story that took place in a single book. Due to the success of The Lord of the Rings movies, Warner Bros decided it was high time to give The Hobbit a similar treatment. Unfortunately, this new trilogy ended up being bloated and contained some useless characters and shameless tie-ins to the previous theatrical trilogy.

Among the cameos from characters like Saruman, Galadriel, and Legolas, there was another character that was planned to be put in the movies: Aragorn. The producers of The Hobbit spoke with Viggo Mortensen and asked him if he would like to reprise his role for the movies. Having read The Hobbit, Mortensen responded by telling them, "You do know, don’t you, that Aragorn isn’t in The Hobbit? That there is a 60-year gap between the books?" All in all, we're glad Mortensen responded this way, as it would've made the movies feel much less focused on the story at hand and more concerned with cashing in on the people that loved The Lord of the Rings.