Also known as: Steward Of Gondor
The twenty-sixth and last Ruling Steward of Gondor, father of Boromir and Faramir. Denethor was a man of great will and intelligence, the noblest of the Stewards, but he was proud and suspicious. He used the palantir of Minas Tirith to gather intelligence about the Enemy, but Sauron manipulated what he saw, feeding him despair. Denethor deeply loved Boromir and treated Faramir with cold disdain. After Boromir's death and Faramir's wounding, he was driven to madness by grief and the palantir's influence. He attempted to burn himself and Faramir alive on a funeral pyre, but Gandalf and Pippin saved Faramir. Denethor perished in the flames, clutching the palantir, which thereafter showed only his burning hands to any who looked in it.