As you probably know, a lot of time passed between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. And I don't mean between the release of the movie trilogies, while the wait for the second one was quite significant for us, Tolkien fans. I am talking about the time that ༒passed in the fictional universe of wonders that the father of fantasy created. Between the Battle of the Five Armies and Bilbo's infamous 111th birthday, a grand total of sixty years passed. For that time, our world changed significantly, especially in the last century. So, just imagine all the things that happened in Tolkien's fantasy world, which is the home of countless many wonders and is almost always torn by conflict between good and evil.
Just to put it in perspective, Theoden, the mighty king of Rohan, was not even born when Bilbo found the One Ring. And his father, Thengel, was n🌞ot even a king yet. Between Bilbo's return to The Shire and Frodo receiving the ring, most territories꧒ in Middle-earth went through at least two different rulers. Considering the average lifespan of the men of Arda is far greater than that of any other medieval society I have ever heard of, that's quite the grim accomplishment.
Long story short, a lot happened between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So, leওt us examine those times and see the most important events that transpired in Arda back then. I bet you didn't know most of them.
20 🦄Frodo Was Born Ten Years Be𒆙fore Boromir
I caught you by surprise right off the bat, didn't I? But it is true. According to the books' timeline (which Peter Jackson took some liberties with), Frodo was not that young when he left on his grand adventure. He was already 33 years old when Bilbo left The Shire. Another 17 years passed before Frodo embarked towards Bree. So, when he got to Rivendeꦫll and met Boromir, Frodo was already 50 years old. Boromir, on the other hand, was only 40 years old.
And yet, the illusion that Boromir is the older one was probably due to two factors. Fir🅷st, his height is far greater, which people associated with authority and we also associate authority with age. And second, Frodo's lack of experience with the world outside The Shire made him look like a naive young man and not a 50-year-old Hobbit.
19 ♒ Most ꦡOf The Fellowship Was Born
Sixty years is a lot of time, even by the Tolkien standards. Some elves and dwarves might disagree, but still. So, it only makes sense that a big portion of The Fellowship of the Ring was not born when the Battle of the Five Armies happened. The ones that first saw the light of day between the events of The Hobbit and the adventure of The Lord of the Rings a♍re Frodo, Boromir, Sam, Merry, and Pippin, in that order. That's more than half of the Fellowship. And yes, admittedly, it is all the Hobbits and the one that dies first, but this doesn't change the maths.
Furthermore, Gimli was only 63 years old when Bilbo returned to The Shire, which is not much, considering he lived for at least 198 years more. Legolas was just over 1,700 years old, and Aragorn was eleven. Gandalf was the oldest member of the Fellowship, but hಌis age cannot be calculated because he was born before the creation of Arda and time itself.
18 🍬 Sauron Returned To Mordor And Announced His Presence
During Bilbo's adventure with Thorin and company, Sauron was still lurking in the shadows. He had made Dol Guldur his home and was trying to gather strength before returning to his dark throne in Mordor. By the time Gandalf manages to convince t🌳he White Council to attack Dol Guldur and put an end to the enemy, he had already fled, though.
The Grey Wizard was a bit late...
I am pretty sure y💧ou already guessed where he went - he returned to his own land of Mordor. There, he began amassing his huge army and declared his presence to the world, proving Gandalf right (because when was he wrong?) and pushing Middle-earth towards another great war. But this wasn't the only thing that happened on his side of the border.
17 🦄 Mount Doom Became Activꦡe Again
With Sauron in his throne, his lands started bowing before their lord. And I don't mean tℱhe creatures alone, no. The very earth beneath his huge fiery eye bent under his will and Mount Doom, previously dormant for many years, began spitting fire and brimstone once♋ more.
This is one impressively loyal piece of rock if you ask me.
Just toꩲ put it in perspective, Mount Doom was last active when Elendil, Gil-galad, and Isildur defeated Sauron, ending the Second Age. So, the mount, also called Amon Amarth by some, stayed quiet for over 3,000 years, waiting for the return of its master.
16 ♐ 🐷 The South Turned Evil
With Saurওon ruling over Mordor once more and Mount Doom reawakening, the world was at a crossroads. The men of Middle-earth had a choice t🐻o make and not all of them chose the light like Rohan and Gondor. When Sauron announced his presence in Barad-dur openly, both the men of Umbar from the south and the Easterlings from the east pledged their allegiance to the Dark Lord. And they were far greater enemies to other Men than the Orcs.
The fate of the Easterlings is unknown past the events of The Lord of the Rings. However, Umbar was defeated by the Men of the west twice and Aragorn led the charge both times. The first time he did it under a false name and much before hꦑe met Frodo and company, but we will talk about that later.
15 🀅 The Bowman Turned King
If you have watched The Hobbit, then you already know who Bard the Bowman is. And you probably guessed that after his surprising rise to fame, he would continue to play an important role in his local community, at the very least. A🌌nd your guess would be correct.
Bard the Bowman became King of Dale shortly after wiping Smaug out.
But it wasn't just because he vanquished the dragon that Bard was crowned king. In fact, he is a descendant of Lord Giri꧃on, the last Lord of Dale that ruled the town alon✱gside the dwarves of Erebor before Smaug attacked. When the dragon was put down, Bard returned to Dale and founded the New Kingdom of Dale. He dropped the old title of Lord and chose that of King instead.
14 💎 Aragorn Had To Grow Up🅷 First
Bilbo Baggins is pretty old during the events of The Lord of the Rings. By Hobbit standards, he's ancient, even.🔯 He is so ol🍃d, in fact, that when he found the One Ring, one of the most important Men in Middle-earth was just a child.
Aragorn, who would later play a vital role in the War of the Ring, was just ten years ꧅old 🎃when Bilbo met Gollum. And yet, he was already under Elrond's protection at Rivendell. However, he was known under the name of Estel, so the enemies of his kin would have a harder time finding him.
If they did, he would most likely suffer the same fate as his father, Arathorn II, who took an arrow to the eye when 𝓡Aragorn w꧟as merely two years old.
13 🍷 🔥 He Didn't Know He Is King
The name "Estel" was the only one ✱Aragorn knew for a very long time. By request of his mother, Elrond concealed Aragorn's true heritage even from himself. His true name and identity were only revealed to him when he became twenty years old.
Accidentally, this is also when🅺 he fell in love with Arwen, who had just returned from a long visit to Lorien, her mother's homelan🦋d.
This is when Aragorn assumed his true name.
Also, Elrond presented him with the Shards of Narsil and the Ring of Barahir. H🍌e then returned to his p🀅eople and took the role of Sixteenth Chieftain of the Dunedain and the Rangers of the North. However, there were a lot of adventures waiting for Aragorn before he would meet Frodo in Bree.
12 🍸 He Fought For Two Kings...
Aragorn already knew of his heritage when he went back to the Dunedain, but the world didn't know of his existen⛄ce. In order to keep it that way, he assumed another false name which he would use in front of everyone other than his own people.
Aragorn was called Thorongil.
Under that name, he became quite renowned in both Rohan and Gondor. For a period of 23 years, he undertook ma꧙ny tasks for King Thengel of Rohan and Steward Ecthelion II of Gondor. His missions helped raise the morale of Men and counter the growing Sauron threat. This is why he was sorely missed on the battlefield when he left after crushing the Umbar rebellion and putting their leader down for good. Thorongil ven𓄧tured east and was never heard of again.
11 ... But Still Had Time For His L💦ady 🏅
Shortly after destroying the majority of the Umbar fleet and leaving the battlefield, he journeyed to Lorien. This is where he met Arwen for the second time and, as a sign of his undying love, he gave her one of the 💃oldest heirlooms of his kin - the Ring of Barahir.
In turn, Arwen responded to his love.
On the hill of Cerin Amroth, the two got engaged. For Arwen, this meant ❀that she would have to renounce her elvish heri🐼tage and accept mortality.
Naturally, Elrond, her father, was not happy with that. And he refused to give Aragorn his daughter's hand until he became king🥃 of boꦓth Gondor and Arnor. We all know how that ended, though.