Many Partings is the sixth chapter of Book Six of The Return of the King.
Plot[]
The Fellowship of the Ring rides north to Rohan, then Isengard, parting for the last time on Dol Baran. Gimli and Legolas head north to Fangorn Forest, Aragorn returns to his kingdom, the rest of the company heads north where they meet Saruman and Gríma Wormtongue, who were just released from Isengard; Galadriel and the Lothlórien Elves leave over the pass of Caradhras; the hobbits and Gandalf with Elrond and his household then arrive in Rivendell.
Synopsis[]
After many days, when the festivities are over, the Company sets out for Rivendell. Aragorn tells Frodo that he knows the hobbit wishes for nothing more than to return home. Frodo answers that he wishes first to stop off at Rivendell to visit Bilbo one last time, as the older hobbit will likely die soon. On the way, they stop at Rohan and bid farewell to Éomer, honoring the memory of Théoden. After a brief stay in Rohan, they set off again.
Arriving in Isengard, they meet Treebeard, the Ent leader who orchestrated the attack on Saruman in The Two Towers. The Ents had promised to guard Saruman’s tower of Orthanc, ensuring that the corrupt wizard would never escape. Treebeard tells them of the flight of many Orcs and the doom the Orcs met on the Wold. He relates that he reported news regularly to Saruman, who would come to the window of Orthanc to listen. But then the wizard started to 'wither' away. Treebeard, to Gandalf’s dismay, has released Saruman, for he did not wish to keep such a miserable creature caged. Gandalf warns Treebeard that Saruman still has the power of his voice—a power he has used to his advantage in the past.
Proceeding onward, the group comes upon an old, ragged man leaning on a staff. They recognize him as Saruman. Another beggar in his company is Gríma Wormtongue, his servant. The deposed Saruman is bitter but powerless. Galadriel and Gandalf offer Saruman mercy and reprieve. Their kindness irritates Saruman, who claims that with his demise, theirs will soon follow. After a few more days of slow and pleasant travel, Galadriel and Celeborn turn eastward and return home.
The remaining travelers reach Rivendell and the House of Elrond, and they find Bilbo. The old hobbit sits quietly in a small room, surrounded by bits of paper and pencils. The next day, all of Rivendell celebrates Bilbo's 129th birthday. After a fortnight, Frodo realizes that he must return to the Shire. Bilbo chooses to remain in Rivendell, for he is far too old for any more travel. Bilbo gives Frodo three books of collected lore entitled Translations from the Elvish, asking Frodo to finish editing them. Before Frodo leaves, Elrond takes the hobbit quietly aside, assuring him that in time he himself will visit the Shire, and he will bring Bilbo with him.
Appearances[]
| Characters | Species and creatures | Locations | Factions, groups and titles |
| Events | Objects and artifacts | Miscellanea |
Characters
Dramatis personae
Other characters
Species and creatures
Locations
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Events
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Objects and artifacts
Songs and verses[]
Translations[]
| Foreign language | Translated title |
| Afrikaans | Baie skeidings |
| Albanian | Shumë ndarje |
| Amharic | በርካታ መለያየቶች |
| Arabic | العديد من حالات الانفصال |
| Armenian | Բազմաթիվ բաժանումներ |
| Azerbaijani | Çoxlu Gedişlər |
| Basque | Asko banantze |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Mногія падзелаў |
| Bengali | অনেক বিচ্ছেদ |
| Bosnian | Mnoga separacija |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Много сепарация |
| Catalan | Moltes separacions |
| Corsican | Parechje separazioni |
| Croatian | Mnogi separacije |
| Czech | Mnoho separací |
| Danish | Farvel til mange |
| Dari | جدایی های متعدد |
| Dutch | Veel scheidingen |
| Esperanto | Multaj apartigoj |
| Estonian | Palju eraldamine |
| Finnish | Jäähyväisiä |
| French | Nombreuses séparations |
| Galician | Moitas separacións |
| Georgian | მრავალრიცხოვანი განცალკევება |
| German | Viele Abschiede |
| Greek | Πολλοί διαχωρισμοί |
| Gujarati | અસંખ્ય વિભાજનો |
| Hebrew | הפרדות רבות |
| Hindi | कई अलगाव |
| Hungarian | Búcsúzik mindenki |
| Icelandic | Margar aðgreiningar |
| Indonesian | Banyak pemisahan |
| Italian | Molte separazioni |
| Japanese | 多くの分裂 |
| Kannada | ಹಲವು ಪ್ರತ್ಯೇಕತೆಗಳು |
| Kazakh | Көптеген Кетулер (Cyrillic) Köptegen Ketwler (Latin) |
| Korean | 많은 분판 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Көп Кетүүлөр |
| Latin | Tot separationes |
| Latvian | Daudz dalījumus |
| Lithuanian | Daug skaidymai |
| Luxembourgish | Vill Trennungen |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Многу одвојувања |
| Malagasy | Maro ny fisarahantsika |
| Maltese | Ħafna separazzjonijiet |
| Malaysian | Banyak perpisahan |
| Marathi | अनेक वियोग |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Олон салангид ? |
| Norwegian | Mange separasjoner |
| Pashto | ډیری جلا کول |
| Persian | بسیاری از جدایی ها |
| Polish | Wiele separacji |
| Portuguese | Muitas Despedidas (Brazil) |
| Punjabi | ਕਈ ਵਿਭਾਜਨ |
| Romanian | Multe separări |
| Russian | Множество расставаний |
| Serbian | Многе сепарације (Cyrillic) Mnoge separacije (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | බොහෝ වෙන්වීම් |
| Slovak | Veľa separácií |
| Slovenian | Veliko ločitev |
| Spanish | Numerosas separaciones |
| Swahili | Wengi kutenganishwa |
| Swedish | Många separationer |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ҷудоҳои зиёд |
| Tamil | பல பிரித்தல் |
| Telugu | ఎన్నెన్నో విభజనలు |
| Thai | แยกทางกันมากมาย |
| Turkish | Birçok Ayrılış |
| Turkmen | Köp Gidişler |
| Urdu | بہت سے علیحدگی |
| Uzbek | Кўп Кетишлар (Cyrillic) Ko'p Ketishlar (Latin) |
| Vietnamese | Nhiều phân tách |
| Yiddish | פילע סעפּאַראַטיאָנס |