Editing Denethor (section)

==Fictional biography==
[[File:Flag of the Stewards of Gondor.svg|thumb|upright|right|Flag of the [[Stewards of Gondor]]]]

In Tolkien's [[Middle-earth]], Denethor is the first son and third child of Ecthelion II, a [[Steward of Gondor]].<ref group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1996|pages=206–207}}</ref> He marries Finduilas, daughter of Prince Adrahil of [[Dol Amroth]]. She gives birth to two sons, [[Boromir]] and [[Faramir]], but dies when they are ten and five years old, respectively. Denethor never remarries, and becomes grimmer and more silent than before. He is a man of great will, foresight, and strength, but also overconfident.<ref name="Davis 2006"/> [[Gandalf]] describes him as "proud and subtle, a man of far greater lineage and power [than [[Théoden]] of [[Rohan (Middle-earth)|Rohan]]], though he is not called a king."<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> Gandalf further comments:

{{blockquote|He is not as other men of this time…by some chance the blood of [[Westernesse (Middle-earth)|Westernesse]] runs nearly true in him, as it does in his other son, Faramir, and yet did not in Boromir. He has long sight. He can perceive, if he bends his will thither, much of what is passing in the minds of men, even of those that dwell far off.  It is difficult to deceive him, and dangerous to try.<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 1 "Minas Tirith"}}</ref>}}

Unlike [[Saruman]], Denethor is too strong to be corrupted directly by [[Sauron]]. He begins secretly using a ''[[palantír]]'' to probe Sauron's strength, incorrectly insisting he can control it. The effort ages him quickly, and the impression of Sauron's overwhelming force that he gains from the ''palantír''  depresses him greatly, as Sauron biases what Denethor sees.<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/><ref name="Kocher 1974 p63">{{cite book |last=Kocher |first=Paul |author-link=Paul H. Kocher |title=Master of Middle-earth: The Achievement of J.R.R. Tolkien |title-link=Master of Middle-earth |date=1974 |orig-year=1972 |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=0140038779 |page=63}}</ref><!--Shippey has plenty on this also--> Boromir's death depresses Denethor further. Nonetheless he continues to fight Sauron until the forces of [[Mordor]] arrive at the gates of Minas Tirith, at which point he loses all hope. In the published essay on the ''palantíri'', Tolkien wrote:<ref name=Unfinished group=T/>

{{blockquote|He [Denethor] must have guessed that the [[Minas Ithil|Ithil]]-stone [Sauron's ''palantír''] was in evil hands, and risked contact with it, trusting his strength. His trust was not entirely unjustified. Sauron failed to dominate him and could only influence him by deceits.

Saruman fell under the domination of Sauron... [while] Denethor remained steadfast in his rejection of Sauron, but was made to believe that his defeat was inevitable, and so fell into despair. The reasons for this difference were no doubt that in the first place Denethor was a man of great strength of will and maintained the integrity of his personality until the final blow of the (apparently) mortal wound of his only surviving son.<ref name=Unfinished group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1980|pages=526–527}}</ref>}}

As invasion becomes certain, Denethor orders the [[warning beacons of Gondor]] to be lit, and summons forces from Gondor's provinces<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> and <!--with the Red Arrow -->from [[Rohan (Middle-earth)#People|Rohan]],<ref name="The Muster of Rohan" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 3 "The Muster of Rohan"}}</ref> while the people of [[Minas Tirith]] are sent away to safety.<ref name="Minas Tirith" group=T/> Denethor orders his son [[Faramir]] to take his men to defend the river crossing at [[Osgiliath]] and the great wall of the ''Rammas Echor''. Faramir is wounded, apparently mortally; his body is carried back to the city.<ref name="Siege of Gondor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 4 "The Siege of Gondor"}}</ref>

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 |quote  = 'Hope on then!' laughed Denethor. 'Do I not know thee, Mithrandir? Thy hope is to rule in my stead, to stand behind every throne, north, south, or west... So! With the left hand thou wouldst use me for a little while as a shield against Mordor, and with the right bring up this Ranger of the North to supplant me. But I say to thee, Gandalf Mithrandir, I will not be thy tool! I am Steward of the House of Anarion. I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart. Even were his claim proved to me, still he comes but of the line of [[Isildur]]. I will not bow to such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity.'<ref name="Pyre of Denethor" group=T/>
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Denethor, grief-struck by the apparent loss of his son, orders his servants to burn him alive on a funeral [[pyre]] prepared for himself and Faramir in Rath Dínen.<ref name="Siege of Gondor" group=T/> He breaks the white rod of his office over his knee, casting the pieces into the flames. He lies down on the pyre and so dies, clasping the ''palantír'' in his hands. Faramir is saved from the flames by Gandalf.<ref name="Pyre of Denethor" group=T>{{harvnb|Tolkien|1955|loc=book 5, ch. 7 "The Pyre of Denethor"}}</ref>