Denethor

The despairing Steward of Gondor who burns himself in Minas Tirith.

Denethor II is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, the 26th ruling Steward of Gondor, who takes his own life in besieged Minas Tirith during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Quick Facts

Office: 26th ruling Steward of Gondor
Father: Ecthelion II
Sons: Boromir and Faramir
Played by: John Noble

Facts from the source article.

Background

He is the first son of the Steward Ecthelion II and marries Finduilas, daughter of Prince Adrahil of Dol Amroth, who bears him two sons, Boromir and Faramir. Finduilas dies while the boys are still young, and Denethor never remarries and grows grimmer and more silent. Gandalf calls him proud and subtle, a man of greater lineage and power than Théoden of Rohan, though he is not called a king.

Too strong to be corrupted directly by Sauron, he secretly uses a palantír to probe Sauron's strength, wrongly sure that he can control it. The effort ages him quickly, and the overwhelming force Sauron lets him see, followed by the death of Boromir, deepens his gloom, yet he keeps fighting until the armies of Mordor reach the gates of Minas Tirith and he loses all hope.

As invasion becomes certain he has the warning beacons lit, summons forces from Gondor's provinces and from Rohan, and sends Faramir to hold Osgiliath and the Rammas Echor. When Faramir is carried back wounded and apparently dying, Denethor orders a pyre built in Rath Dínen, breaks the white rod of his office over his knee, and dies in the flames clasping the palantír; Gandalf saves Faramir.

Critics have compared his despair with that of Shakespeare's King Lear and contrasted him with Théoden and with Aragorn, the true king of Gondor. In Peter Jackson's film trilogy he is played by John Noble as greedy and self-indulgent, quite unlike Tolkien's powerful leader.