Fourth Age

The Fourth Age is the epoch of Middle-earth's history that dawns with the destruction of the One Ring and the final overthrow of Sauron, closing the long struggle of the Third Age and opening an era in which the dominion of the Elves fades and the dominion of Men begins in earnest. It is the age of the Reunited Kingdom, of King Elessar's reign, and of the slow, deliberate departure of the immortal peoples from the mortal world. The Fourth Age is defined less by the wars that end it than by the acts of restoration, healing, and farewell that follow, as the old order passes and the world is remade for those who remain.

The Dawn of the Age and the King's Peace

The Fourth Age begins in the immediate aftermath of the War of the Ring, with the fall of the Dark Tower and the establishment of a new order in Gondor. The age is inaugurated by the crowning of Aragorn as King Elessar, the heir of Isildur and Elendil, whose return restores the line of kings that had been broken for centuries. With his coronation, the Stewards' long regency ends, and the realm of Gondor is reunited with the northern kingdom of Arnor, forming the Reunited Kingdom under a single sovereign. The new age is marked by the King's peace, a peace that extends across the lands that had been ravaged by war, and by the restoration of the White Tree as the symbol of the renewed kingdom. The age is also one of healing, as the wounds of the war are tended, and the King's own hands, long known as the hands of a healer, are turned to the mending of the realm and its people.

The Passing of the Elves and the Choice of Arwen

The Fourth Age is above all the age of the Elves' departure from Middle-earth. With the destruction of the One Ring, the power of the Three Elven Rings fades, and the time of the Elves in the mortal lands draws to a close. The age sees the great ships leave the Grey Havens, bearing the last of the Elven lords and ladies into the West, to the Undying Lands. Among those who choose to remain is Arwen, the daughter of Elrond, who makes the choice of Lúthien, accepting mortality and the fate of Men in order to share the life of Aragorn. Her choice is a defining act of the age, a deliberate turning away from the immortality of her kin and an embrace of the human condition, with all its sweetness and its bitterness. The age is thus one of farewells, as the immortal and the mortal part, and the world that had been shared for so long becomes the sole inheritance of Men.

The Healing of the Ring-bearers and the Gift of Arwen

For those who bore the Ring, the Fourth Age is a time of lingering hurt and gradual healing. Frodo Baggins, the Ring-bearer, carries the wounds of his quest into the new age, wounds that neither time nor the peace of the Shire can fully heal. The memory of his burden and the fear and darkness he endured remain with him, and the age offers him a final remedy. Arwen, before her own departure from the circles of the world, gives Frodo a white gem like a star, set upon a silver chain, a gift that will bring him aid when the memory of his fear and darkness troubles him. She tells him that when the time comes, he may pass into the West, to the Havens, where all his wounds and weariness will be healed. The age is thus one of mercy for the Ring-bearers, a time when the cost of the quest is acknowledged and the possibility of release is offered. Frodo's eventual departure from the Grey Havens, sailing into the West with the Elves, is the final act of his story and a defining event of the age, a passage from the mortal world that he had saved.

The New Order and the Fate of the Old Powers

The Fourth Age is also the age in which the old powers of the Third Age are finally undone. Isengard, the stronghold of Saruman, is destroyed, and its master is reduced to a beggar in the wilderness, a figure of ruin and contempt. The Dark Tower has fallen, and the King's messengers ride the Greenway, not bullies from Isengard. The age sees the end of the great threats that had shadowed the world, and the beginning of a new era of mortal rule. The Shire, too, is restored to peace after the Scouring, and the hobbits who had played so great a part in the war return to their quiet lives, though changed by their experiences. The age is one of transition, as the old hierarchies of power are dismantled and the new order of the Reunited Kingdom takes shape, an order in which the deeds of the humble are remembered and honored, and the long defeat of the Elves gives way to the hope of Men.

The Significance of the Age

The Fourth Age is the age of the Dominion of Men, the era in which the history of Middle-earth passes from the hands of the immortal to the hands of the mortal. It is the age of the Reunited Kingdom, of King Elessar's reign, and of the slow fading of the Elves from the world. The age is defined by its farewells, by the departure of the Ring-bearers and the Elves, and by the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the world, one in which the deeds of the past are remembered but the future belongs to Men. The Fourth Age is the age of healing and of hope, a time when the wounds of the war are tended and the world is remade, not by the power of the Elves or the wizards, but by the courage and endurance of those who had faced the shadow and survived. It is the age in which the story of Middle-earth as it was known comes to an end, and the age in which the world of Men truly begins.