Arathorn son of Arador was the fifteenth Chieftain of the Dúnedain of the North, the heir of Isildur through the line of the Kings of Arthedain. The Dúnedain of the North had lived in the wilds of Eriador for nearly a thousand years since the fall of their kingdom, a hidden and dwindling people.1
His father Arador was killed by hill-trolls in the Coldfells, and Arathorn became Chieftain. He married Gilraen, and their son Aragorn was born in the year 2931.1,2
He did not live to see the boy grow. In 2933 Arathorn rode against Orcs with Elrond's sons Elladan and Elrohir, and was shot through the eye by an Orc-arrow. His wife took Aragorn to Rivendell, where Elrond became his foster-father. The heirlooms of the line had been in Elrond's keeping since the days of Aranarth. When Aragorn was told who he was, at twenty, Elrond gave him the Ring of Barahir and the shards of Narsil, and kept back the Sceptre of Annúminas.1,3,2
Sources
Citations name the chapter rather than the page, so they work in any edition. The colour of each note shows what kind of source it is.
- Appendices Tolkien's own appendices to The Lord of the Rings.
- Appendices The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I (iii), “Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur”
- Appendices The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, “The Third Age”
- Appendices The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I (v), “Here follows a part of the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen”