Fourth Age

The Fourth Age of Middle-earth dawned not with a single decree but with a series of profound transitions that reshaped the world. Its beginning is formally reckoned in Gondor from March 25, 3021 of the Third Age, the date of the Downfall of Barad-dûr and the passing of Sauron. Yet the age was not held to have truly commenced until Master Elrond departed over the Sea, signaling the time for the dominion of Men and the decline of all other speaking-peoples. The Shire-folk, conservative in their reckoning, maintained that the Fourth Age began with 2 Yule 1422, not in the previous March, and continued their own Shire Reckoning alongside the new calendar.

The Restoration of the Kingship

The crowning of Aragorn Elessar in Minas Tirith on May 1, 3019 was the political and symbolic foundation of the new age. The Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor was established, and Aragorn took the name Elessar, the Elfstone, as his royal title. He wedded Arwen Undómiel on Midsummer's Day, uniting the long-sundered lines of the Half-elven. The White Tree, which had withered and died in the days of the Stewards, was replaced by a sapling found on the slopes of Mount Mindolluin, a sign that the line of Elendil would endure. Aragorn ruled for 122 years, longer than any of his line since King Arvegil, and his reign saw the healing of the lands and the rebuilding of cities.

The Passing of the Elder Kindred

The Fourth Age was above all the age of the fading of the Elves. The Three Rings lost their power when the One Ring was destroyed, and their keepers—Elrond, Galadriel, and Círdan—departed over Sea. The last ship bearing the Ring-bearers, Frodo and Bilbo, along with Gandalf, sailed from the Grey Havens in September 3021. Legolas, following the sea-longing that had stirred in his heart, built a grey ship in Ithilien and sailed over Sea, taking with him Gimli the Dwarf, a friendship unprecedented between Elf and Dwarf. Celeborn grew weary of his realm and went to Imladris to dwell with the sons of Elrond, and in Lórien there lingered sadly only a few of its former people, with no light or song in Caras Galadhon.

The Dominion of Men

With the departure of the Elves, the time of the Dominion of Men began. The kingdoms of Men expanded and flourished. In the South, Éomer Éadig ruled Rohan for sixty-five years, and his line continued with his son Elfwine the Fair. In the North, the Shire enjoyed peace and prosperity under the protection of the Northern Sceptre, and the Thain, the Master, and the Mayor were made Counsellors of the North-kingdom. The Dwarves of Erebor and the Men of Dale remained in friendship with Gondor. The Fourth Age saw the gradual waning of the memory of the Elder Days, as the deeds of the War of the Ring passed into legend and song, kept alive by the Red Book of Westmarch and the descendants of Samwise Gamgee, who became Mayor of the Shire and the most famous gardener in history.

The End of the Fellowship

The last members of the Fellowship of the Ring passed away in the early years of the Fourth Age. King Elessar died in F.A. 120, and was laid in the House of the Kings in the Silent Street. Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, after long and honoured lives, rode to Gondor and died there, and were laid in Rath Dínen among the great of Gondor. Samwise Gamgee, after the death of his wife Rose, rode out from Bag End and passed the Tower Hills, going to the Grey Havens, last of the Ring-bearers. With his passing, the last living link to the great events of the Third Age was gone, and the Fourth Age settled into the long, quiet history of Men.