During the Two Towers film adaptation by Peter Jackson in 2002, we see the endearing scene between Eowyn and Aragorn, in which she is shocked to find out that he is 87 years of age. As a member of the Dunedain rangers, containing elven bloodline from his forebears, he is granted longer life and slower aging than most other mortal men. But how old are the other members of the fellowship?
Starting with the four youngest members of the nine, it is crucial to understand what a Halfling is, and how they age. There are different types of hobbits, but all hobbits age at a rate slower than humans. The hobbit age for maturity usually sits at around 33, as opposed to somewhere between 18-21 as is the case for most humans depending on varying cultures and laws. Therefore, the hobbits appear child-like to us, and compared to the rest of the members of the fellowship, both because of their love of peace and simplicity, and because of their apparent innocence when placed among a group of wiser and older men.
Frodo Baggins, being the main character of the story, is actually around 50 years of age when he sets out with Sam towards Rivendell and beyond, having spent 17 years in the possession of the One Ring after it is left to his inheritance when Bilbo travels from the Shire. Frodo is a mature hobbit by this point, despite the actor Elijah Wood being only 19 during the filming of the trilogy. The protagonist stands as the oldest of the four hobbits who accept the task of taking the ring to Mount Doom where it was created.
Samwise Gamgee, the famed gardener of Frodo is surprisingly younger, at the age of 38. This may provide an explanation as to why he always refers to his employer as ‘Mister Frodo’ which comes in part from a respect for his elders, and in part as an acknowledgement of Frodo’s higher lineage as a more direct descendant of the Fallohides, the most illustrious breed of Halfling. He is also the only one of the four hobbits who isn’t related by blood.
At the age of 36, Meriadoc Brandybuck, colloquially known as Merry, is a similar age to Sam. He is a relatively young hobbit considering that the average life expectancy for the species is between 90-100. Merry has not long reached adulthood, but takes on a more mature role in both the films and the books because he takes it upon himself to protect and look after his younger cousin Pippin. Pippin, whose actual name is Peregrin Took, is the youngest of all of the fellowship. He is the only member who has not yet reached adulthood, which in part, explains his ‘foolish’ behavior, and why he is often the source of comedy. Pippin gets both himself and Merry into all sorts of trouble and doesn’t seem to truly realize the gravity of any situation until he pledges his allegiance to Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, and heads into battle.
As for the rest of the fellowship, not all of their ages are entirely accountable. Both Gandalf and Legolas’ exact ages are unaccounted for, because they are both beings that have existed before the story of the fellowship begins. Elves are immortal beings, and we learn from The Hobbit films that Thranduil, Legolas’ father was born during the First Age of Middle Earth. This means that Legolas could have been born any time between the First, Second or beginning of the Third Age, placing him somewhere at around 2000 years.
Although his exact number isn’t written in the books, he is often wiser, more mature, and protective of the younger members of the group, which supports his vastly different age range. Gandalf too, is hard to place on the exact timeline, as the Order of the Wizards came into being as Maia, sort of ethereal spirits, who didn’t take physical form until they left the Undying Lands and joined the fight against Sauron for Middle Earth. Therefore, the moment when his spirit-self and his physical form came into existence are different, and neither are precisely recorded.
The remaining two members are easier to assess, being of the races of Men and Dwarves, who have more concrete recordings of their histories throughout the years of Middle Earth. Boromir, coming from a noble bloodline, should live a long and healthy life. His brother Faramir, for example, lives to 120 years of age. He is 40 years of age at the time of the War of the Ring, but his life is ended preemptively whilst he is protecting Merry and Pippin from a type of Orc called the Urukhai.
Gimli, being 139 years old, is also in the middling years of his life, similarly to Boromir. The average life expectancy for most dwarves is between 250-300 years old, which seems surprising to many Lord of the Rings fans, as Gimli seems like a much older, grumpier, well-worn character most of the time, especially when it comes to his rivalry with the elf Legolas!