When and why did Bilbo write a song about Aragorn?

Question

Bilbo wrote this song for Aragorn:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be Blade that was Broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

But based on the timeline of Aragorn, Aragorn was only 10 years old when they first met in the year 2941. Was this song written in 2941, when they first met, or it was written sometime later? Are there any records of Bilbo meeting Aragorn after the events of The Hobbit and before the events of The Lord of the Rings?

I am just curious about why anybody would write a song for a ten-year-old kid.

Answer 1

There's absolutely no indication in the books that Bilbo and Aragorn met in 2941. This would have been during Bilbo's stop in Rivendell on the Quest of Erebor, when Aragorn also lived there as a child, so it's a fan surmise that they may have met, but not one based on anything Tolkien actually wrote.

Also note Bilbo's words about the poem (Council of Elrond, with my emphasis):

'I made that up myself,' he whispered to Frodo, 'for the Dúnadan, a long time ago when he first told me about himself. I almost wish that my adventures were not over, and that I could go with him when his day comes.'

So Bilbo didn't write the poem when they first met, but rather when Aragorn first told Bilbo about himself. Now, Bilbo and the Dwarves were in Rivendell in 2941, but the Tale of Years records that Aragorn was not told his true identity and lineage until 2951 (10 years later):

Elrond reveals to 'Estel' his true name and ancestry, and delivers to him the shards of Narsil.

So even if Bilbo had met Aragorn in 2941, he could not have written the poem then, because Aragorn could not have told Bilbo about himself then, because Aragorn didn't even know about himself then. The answer to "why would anyone write a song for a 10 year old kid" is therefore "they didn't".

The actual date of their first meeting is unrecorded, but we can narrow down the range of possibilities and arrive at a probable date.

The Tale of Years records that Bilbo, following his long-expected party, settled in Rivendell in 3002 but that from 3009 onwards Aragorn was engaged (with Gandalf) in the search for Gollum, who was finally captured (by Aragorn) in 3017. So the most likely date for their first meeting is sometime in that range - 3002 to 3009 - but Aragorn's movements during that time are unrecorded, aside for 3006/3007 when Aragorn was known to be in the north and met his mother before her death.

So Bilbo almost certainly would not have had the opportunity to meet Aragorn before 3002, and the strongest possibility for the year of their first meeting seems to be 3006/3007.

When Bilbo says "a long time ago" to Frodo, he's actually talking about (most likely) no more than 16 years previously, with a strong possibility that it was only 11/12 years previously.

Answer 2

Since Bilbo spent most of the 17 years between his eleventy-first birthday party and the creation of the Fellowship (TA 3001-3018) living in the same place as Aragorn's girlfriend (Rivendell), it seems likely that they would have met frequently. And he retired to Rivendell partly in order to get some time to write, so the song was probably written during that period.

Answer 3

user8719 (was Darth Satan) gave an excellent answer. But it is also worth pointing out how truly special Aragorn's heritage is—beyond simply that of a vaunted Númenórean. Aragorn, like Elrond, was the descendant of Edain, Noldar, Sindar, and Maiar, but unlike Elrond, Aragorn was bound to the fate of Men. So, in addition to his temporal role in the end of the Third and start of the Fourth ages, Aragorn has a special spiritual position within Middle-Earth's history.

As someone appreciating the Elves and their history, and undoubtedly something of their spiritual lives, Bilbo therefore had reason to write a song about Aragorn, because he signified greatly in that world.

Answer 4

I think Bilbo wrote it after he left home (after his party) and returned to Rivendell, at the beginning of Lord of the Rings. He certainly wouldn't have written it when Aragorn was 10. As the timeline says, it is unknown whether he met Aragorn then, during his first time in Rivendell, and in any case the "pre-adventure" Bilbo certainly would not have been writing songs like that. As for why he wrote it...I guess he was just inspired to do it.

Answer 5

I'm actually not convinced that Bilbo did write it. It's entirely possible, however he has a history of stretching the truth and taking credit for other people's work.

When Sam recites the lay of Gil-Galad and says that Bilbo wrote it before Aragorn corrects him, although he is surprised to hear a translated version. Needless to say, translating a rhyme takes some talent. It's possible Sam just assumed Bilbo wrote it since Bilbo tutored Sam and "taught him his letters".

In addition to possibly taking credit for that piece, Bilbo embellished the story of the finding of the ring as "the prize" for winning the riddle game. Granted, this can be attributed to the ring's corruption, the same way Gollum referred to it as his birthday present.

As far as when Bilbo and Aragorn met, I think the idea that Aragorn visited the shire is probably unlikely. Frodo was living with Bilbo for a long span (2989) and may have already met him if that was the case, especially if Gandalf told Aragorn to keep an eye on the Shire, and by extension Bilbo. If they were already friends, whats to stop the wandering ranger from calling at bag end or staying at the green dragon? We've all had a family or friend visit when theyre really checking on us/snooping. Hobbits are not known as welcoming to "the big folk" or even dwarves for all their good qualities. The guard was doubled in 3001 before Bilbo even left. If Bilbo met him before 3002, it would've been at Bree or Rivendell.

All logic (not really evidence since it was never written) points to after 3002. I came here to find if Bilbo actually did write it lol.

Answer 6

As a non-reader, let me weigh in some seven years later with a fresh perspective.

Why does everyone seem to assume Aragorn would have had to be the one to reveal his lineage to Bilbo?

I can easily picture Blibo meeting a young child growing up in a world of elves, strikingly out-of-place. Elrond or possibly Gandalf pulling the hobbit aside and whispering to him the reason for that and who this child really was. This inspires Blibo to write a poem about the child and one day reads it aloud to the boy’s unwitting ears. Learning the poem as a child, it stays with him into adulthood. When a grown Aragorn learns who he is and of the expectations placed on him, maybe he even begins to resent the lines of the poem he had long known by heart.

Gandalf, knowing all of this, wisely uses it to help Frodo find and meet the strider many years after the poem had been written.

Answer 7

It seems clear that Bilbo wrote his rhyme a long time after Aragorn was ten, since even Aragorn didn't know his true idenity until he was twenty, but why couldn't Bilbo have written a rhyme about Aragorn when Aragorn was ten?

Wouldn't Aragorn have been a close friend of Bilbo by the time he told Bilbo his secret identity? And wasn't Aragorn Bilbo's rightful sovereign? If Biblo knew and liked Aragorn and knew he was the heir of Isildur when Aragorn was only ten, Bilbo might have written a poem about Aragorn when Aragorn was only ten.