J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium was heavily inspired by the medieval era, so royalty unsurprisingly played an integral part in the story of The Lord of the Rings. Most of Middle-earth’s cultures had kings at some point in their respective histories, but none were as numerous or as varied as those belonging to the race of Men.
By their very nature, all monarchs in Tolkien’s lore were powerful, as it was they who forged alliances, waged wars, and otherwise shaped the course of Middle-earth’s history. However, these mortal rulers were far from equals. Throughout The Lord of the Rings and the rest of Tolkien’s legendarium, a few Kings of Men were clearly stronger than others, and that power manifested in different ways.
Helm Hammerhand Was One of Middle-earth’s Best Fighters
Helm Hammerhand on his throne in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the RohirrimImage via New Line Cinema
Most of Middle-earth’s prominent kings were noteworthy for their political influence or the might of their armies, but a few went down in history because of their personal physical power. Such was the case for Helm Hammerhand, the ninth King of Rohan and the last of Eorl the Young’s royal line. In Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien described Helm as “a grim man of great strength” who earned his epithet for killing Lord Freca with a single punch.
CBR Exclusive · Quiz WHICH LORD OF THE RINGS CHARACTER ARE YOU? One Quiz to Find Them All From the rolling hills of the Shire to the fires of Mount Doom, every soul in Middle-earth carries a destiny. Twenty questions stand between you and the truth. Answer honestly. The shadow does not lie.
Frodo
Samwise
Aragorn
Gandalf
Gollum
01
You are asked to carry a terrible burden that no one else can bear. What do you do? The first step into darkness reveals everything.
02
Your closest companion is walking into grave danger. You: Loyalty is forged in the fires of the hardest moments.
03
You possess knowledge that could change the fate of many. You: What we do with knowledge shapes the world.
04
How do you make important decisions? A character’s choices reveal their deepest nature.
05
You are offered something you deeply desire — at a moral cost. You: Temptation is the test every soul must face alone.
06
How do you see yourself in the world? Self-knowledge is the beginning of all true power.
07
When darkness closes in, your instinct is to: Crisis strips away pretense and reveals the true self.
08
Your greatest personal flaw is: Even the wisest are not without shadow.
09
Others look to you for guidance in a desperate moment. You: How we lead in darkness defines us entirely.
10
What drives you more than anything else? The heart’s true desire is the root of all journeys.
11
You have reached your lowest point. The road ahead seems impossible. You: The darkest hour is the truest test of character.
12
You discover a great power that could be used for good — in the right hands. You: The wise know that the road to ruin is paved with good intentions.
13
What do you fear most? Our deepest fears map the shape of our souls.
14
Those who meet you for the first time would say: First impressions in Middle-earth carry great weight.
15
Where do you feel most yourself? A soul’s true home reveals its deepest nature.
16
What do you believe about hope? In the darkest ages, hope is the most radical act.
17
When your journey is over, what do you want to leave behind? The end of a tale gives meaning to all that came before.
18
You must give up something precious to save others. You: Sacrifice is the truest measure of what we value.
19
What does friendship mean to you? In Middle-earth, the bonds between souls are the greatest magic of all.
20
At the end of all things, when everything is on the line, you: This is the question that decides everything.
THE SHADOW KNOWS YOUR HEART YOUR MIDDLE-EARTH SOUL
Your scores are shown below. The character with the highest number is your match. Read their description to discover which soul of Middle-earth the darkness chose for you.
Frodo
Samwise
Aragorn
Gandalf
Gollum
You carry more than anyone knows, and you carry it quietly. You did not choose your burden — but you accepted it when no one else would, and you bore it further than anyone thought possible. Your courage is not the loud kind. It is the kind that keeps moving when every step costs something. Gentle, introspective, and tested to the very edge of yourself.
Steadfast, warm, and quietly extraordinary. You are not driven by glory or destiny — you are driven by love, plain and simple. Your loyalty is absolute, your heart is vast, and your courage runs deeper than anyone who underestimates you will ever expect. You show up for the people you love without being asked, without keeping score, without ever wavering. The world needs more of you.
You have long walked in the shadows of a destiny you were not sure you deserved. Duty-bound, weathered by experience, and deeply principled — you lead not because you sought it, but because others needed you to. You carry old burdens with quiet dignity, and when the moment finally demands everything from you, you do not flinch. The crown was always yours. You simply had to be ready for it.
Ancient, perceptive, and capable of both great warmth and terrible wrath. You see the shape of things others cannot, and you guide more than you command — nudging, trusting, occasionally arriving precisely when you mean to. You have known grief and persisted through it. Your wisdom is hard-won and your faith in others, even when they falter, is your greatest strength and your most defining quality.
You are a soul divided — pulled between who you once were and what you have become. You have been shaped by loss, obsession, and a wound that never healed. What others see as your weakness was once your innocence. There is tragedy in you, and perhaps still a flicker of something salvageable. You are a reminder that the road to darkness is walked one small compromise at a time.
Freca’s death sparked war between the Rohirrim and Dunlendings, and Helm was such a ferocious warrior in this conflict that the Dunlendings mistook him for a snow-troll. He died defending the gates of the Hornburg in the region that would later come to be known as Helm’s Deep. In one final show of strength, he died standing tall, succumbing to the cold of the Long Winter rather than an enemy’s blade. The Rohirrim honored and revered their warrior king for centuries after.
The Witch-king of Angmar Was the Deadliest of the Nazgûl
The Witch-king of Angmar turning towards the camera in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingImage via New Line Cinema
The unnamed Númenórean lord who would come to be known as the Witch-king was one of nine Men who were granted Rings of Power by the Dark Lord Sauron and subsequently transformed into the Nazgûl. Around the year T. A. 1300, over 1,700 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, the Witch-king founded the kingdom of Angmar in the northwest of Middle-earth.
Over the next few centuries, the Witch-king and his forces waged war against Gondor’s sister kingdom of Arnor, eventually destroying it. Arnor’s allies defeated Angmar in retaliation, but the Witch-king survived. As Tolkien recounted in Appendix A, the Elven warrior Glorfindel prophesied, “Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall.” The Witch-king continued to terrorize Middle-earth until he was slain by Éowyn during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Ar-Pharazôn Made Númenor a Military Powerhouse
Ar-Pharazôn standing with other Númenóreans in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerImage via Matt Grace / Amazon Prime Video / Courtesy the Everett Collection
The final King of Númenor, Ar-Pharazôn, was a corrupt and short-sighted ruler who brought about his kingdom’s annihilation by trying to invade the Undying Lands. However, from a military perspective, he was undeniably one of the most powerful Men in Middle-earth’s history. When Pharazôn learned of Sauron’s growing might, he deemed the Dark Lord a threat and prepared an enormous fighting force to invade Mordor.
Sauron’s minions fled in terror at the sight of Pharazôn’s army, and the Dark Lord himself willingly surrendered. In the section “Akallabêth” from The Silmarillion, Tolkien wrote, “Even from his mighty tower of Barad-dûr he came, and made no offer of battle. For he perceived that the power and majesty of the Kings of the Sea surpassed all rumour of them, so that he could not trust even the greatest of his servants to withstand them.”
Aragorn Was a Hero of the War of the Ring
It would be impossible to discuss The Lord of the Rings‘ mightiest mortal kings without mentioning The Return of the King‘s namesake, Aragorn. Though he was introduced as a scruffy Ranger of the North, Aragorn was the rightful heir to the throne of Gondor. During the War of the Ring, he proved himself a skilled warrior, a cunning strategist, and a charismatic leader. Thanks to his Dúnedain ancestry, he was akin to the great Númenórean kings of old.
Aragorn commanded the Dead Men of Dunharrow, led the Free Peoples of Middle-earth to victory in the climactic Battle of the Black Gate, restored the reunited kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor to their former glory, and worked with King Éomer of Rohan to eliminate any of Sauron’s remaining monsters. Under the reign of Aragorn, or Elessar as he was known after ascending to the throne, Middle-earth was finally safe.
Elendil Clashed With Middle-earth’s Most Dangerous Foe
Lloyd Owen as Elendil in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerImage via Amazon Prime Video
Elendil, the first King of Arnor, was the example to which Aragorn aspired, as he embodied the best traits of the Númenóreans. Due in large part to Elendil’s wisdom and foresight, the Faithful were able to escape Númenor before its destruction and found new kingdoms in Middle-earth. He, along with the Elven High King Gil-galad, led the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the largest army ever assembled after the First Age.
Elendil even faced off against Sauron, and contrary to the prologue of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, he held his own. According to Elrond in the chapter “The Council of Elrond” from The Fellowship of the Ring, “none could withstand” Elendil’s sword. Though he and Gil-galad perished in battle with Sauron, they severely wounded the Dark Lord first, providing Isildur the opportunity to destroy Sauron’s physical form by severing him from the One Ring.
Video Game(s)
LEGO Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings Online, The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum, The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth, The Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth 2, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
First Film
The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
Cast
Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Sean Bean, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Hugo Weaving, Liv Tyler, Miranda Otto, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Martin Freeman, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Richard Armitage
