“Denethor II was a proud man, tall, valiant, and more kingly than any man that had appeared in Gondor for many lives of men; and he was wise also, and far-sighted, and learned in lore.”
Sadly, this is not the Denethor that we get to see in the movies. But in the books, tragic though he may have been, it is still plain to see that once he was a great man.
Denethor was born to Ecthelion II in TA 2930, and during his years, there was much turmoil in Gondor, some of the greatest the country had ever seen. When he was but twenty-one, Sauron returned to Mordor and began to build up his forces right upon the eastern borders of Gondor. It was only a short time later that Mount Doom again burst into flame.
As Denethor grew into manhood, a man came to Minas Tirith after serving King Thengel of Rohan, to serve Denethor’s father, Ecthelion. That man, a great captain who was favored by both the people of Gondor and Denethor’s own father, was Thorongil (who, it would later be discovered, was actually Aragorn son of Arathorn).
Denethor was wed to Finduilas, the sister of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, and she bore to him two sons: Boromir of the Fellowship and Faramir, Ranger of Ithilien.
Denethor took over the Stewardship from his father in TA 2984, but only four years later Finduilas died, after “it seemed to men that she withered in the guarded city, as a flower of the seaward vales set upon a barren rock.”
After Finduilas’ death, Denethor became more grim and silent than before and his gift of foresight allowed him to have knowledge of the coming onslaught from Mordor. It was this knowledge that convinced the Steward that he should use the palantír of Anárion. But it was in that way that Sauron was able to get to Denethor and eventually cause his downfall.
By the time of the great battles of the War of the Ring, Denethor believed that any fighting would be for naught, for he had been shown Gondor’s defeat by the Dark Lord. After learning that his favored son, Boromir, had perished, and that his youngest, Faramir, had been poisoned and was dying, the last of the Ruling Stewards lost his mind.
Denethor set himself and Faramir upon a pyre and was prepared to burn them both, but Gandalf, Pippin, and Beregond intervened and were able to get Faramir to safety before Denethor instead set only himself alight.
Denethor II died in TA March 3019 after living for eighty-nine years and ruling Gondor for thirty-five.
by Nienna-of-the-Valar
