In
Unfinished Tales, in an essay titled "The
Elessar",
Tolkien wrote that "
Legolas probably achieved least of
the Nine Walkers." The full paragraph is quoted below:
I first thought the line seemed a non-sequitur but now that I reread it it's in the midst of Tolkien making a point about the relative "non-involvement" of the
elves in
Middle-earth towards the end of
the Third Age. It almost seems like Tolkien is suggesting Legolas was purposely holding back from acting, which strikes me as curious.
Anyway, that's not the point of this post. As per the title it's to ask who did the most of the Fellowship and who did the least. A
question on Quora asks if it's
Pippin, which I don't think is the case. But I'm curious to see what others think.
Well least is easy,
Boromir, he died. He didn't do nothing as he was the direct cause of
Frodo leaving the fellowship, which inevitably lead to the destruction of
the ring, but he didn't himself do anything of grand achievement to forward the effort of
Sauron's destruction.
Most is a little more complicated, I would argue
Sam and Frodo (Lets be honest, it was all Sam) as the top contenders as, if defining the largest achievement as most impactful act, they were the ones who journeyed into
Mordor, passed through
Gorgoroth, and climbed Mount Doom, but an argument could be made for other members of the fellowship. As much as it pains me, I would cast aside both Legolas and
Gimli as options.
Merry and Pippin both make incredible achievement's in the war, thought I think Pippin did more. Merry did stab The
Witch King with a Barrow-blade which is what I would contribute as the reason he was defeated by
Eowyn, but if it wasn't for Pippin lighting the
Beacons to call
Rohan to
Gondor's aid, Merry and Eowyn would have never arrived and Gondor surely would have been lost to the
armies of Mordor. Though I don't believe either made as great achievements as
Aragorn or
Gandalf, who are I think of as the only two in equal contest to the Sam and Frodo, though Gandalf more.
Aragorn as a direct and major contributing factor in almost every victory outside of the
hobbit's trek to Mordor. His rise to his destiny and the return of
Isildur's Heir inspired many
men to not give up hope. He encouraged Legolas and Gimli to continue the fighting effort and to go after Merry and Pippin. He gathered the
Dead Men of Dunharrow to aid them in their fight against Mordor, which is was instrumental in the war. He did this and so much more (I honestly am to lazy to keep finding stuff) to aid the effort.
As for Gandalf, without him none of this would have happened. Gandalf discovered that the ring was in
the shire, he sent Frodo to
Rivendell, he killed the
Balrog, he gave
Théoden hope to fight once more, he was of great aid in The Battle of
Helm's Deep, he sent the
Eagles to rescue the
hobbits atop Mount Doom, and so much more.
I think every member of the fellowship were instrumental in the fight against Sauron, though some more than others. An argument can be made for any of them (Maybe not Boromir). It's all up to how you define an achievement and how you interpret the story.
