In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of the North, also known as the Dúnedain of the North, were the descendants of the Dúnedain from the lost kingdom of Arnor. Their menfolk ceaselessly patrolled the boundaries of Eriador and were by necessity skilled with the sword, bow, and spear.
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The Rangers were grim in life, appearance, and dress, choosing to wear rusty green and brown. The Rangers of the Grey Company (see below) were dressed in dark grey cloaks and openly wore a silver brooch shaped like a pointed star during the War of the Ring. These Rangers rode rough-haired, sturdy horses, were helmeted and carried shields. Their armament included spears and bows.
Like their distant cousins, the Rangers of Ithilien, the Rangers of the North spoke Sindarin (or some variation of it) in preference to the Common Speech. They were led by a Chieftain, whose ancestry could be traced back to Elendil and beyond, to the ancient Kings of Númenor.
During the War of the Ring, the Rangers of the North were led by Aragorn, but the northern Dúnedain were a dwindling and presumably widely scattered folk: when Halbarad received a message to gather as many of the Rangers as he could and lead them south to Aragorn’s aid, only thirty men (the Grey Company) were available at short notice for the journey. The Grey Company met up with Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli at the Fords of Isen in Rohan, and at Pelargir, along with the Dead Men of Dunharrow, they captured the ships of Umbar. The Dead Men then departed and the others continued on to fight in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. There, Halbarad was killed. They are also mentioned as part of the army Aragorn commanded at the Battle of Morannon.
Reception
The Rangers of Arnor and their lost realm have been compared to medieval tribes and societies of the real world. Like the Franks after the fall of the Western Roman Empire or the Christianized Anglo-Saxons, the northern Rangers inhabit a "romanized nobility" and keep protecting the borders of the "realms of good" while Gondor in the south is decaying and finally arrives on the verge of destruction. This protection of the weak from evil by Aragorn and his rangers has been identified as an inherently Christian motive in Tolkien's design of his legendarium, while the Rangers themselves bear resemblances to the outsider heroes of medieval tales like Hereward the Wake, William Tell or Robin Hood.
The Rangers have also been compared to the 'Spoonbills' in John Buchan's 1923 novel Midwinter and the 'Lakewalkers' in The Sharing Knife by Lois McMaster Bujold have been seen as part of a deliberate commentary on Middle-earth.
Portrayal in adaptations
With the exception of Aragorn, the Rangers of the North are virtually omitted in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film series, save for a few mentions in the extended cuts. Arnor itself is mentioned only in one line in the extended edition of The Two Towers, when Aragorn explains to Éowyn that he is a "Dúnedain Ranger", of whom few remain because "the North-kingdom was destroyed". The film calls them "Dúnedain Rangers", perhaps to distinguish them from the Rangers of Ithilien, though Tolkien calls both groups Dúnedain (men of the west).
Jackson's terminology appears in some of the film's merchandise, like the computer and video games by Electronic Arts. In the game The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age there is an original Ranger character called Elegost. In another, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, Dúnedain Rangers are playable units, but they are like the Ithilien Rangers. Halbarad is featured in The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game and, together with his fellow Rangers, in The Lord of the Rings Strategy Battle Game.
The role of the Rangers of the North has been greatly expanded in The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, which includes numerous Dúnedain spread across the remnants of Arnor. It features several Rangers (including some created expressly for the game) as key characters in the first volume of its story. The Dúnedain in the game have at least two major permanent settlements: Esteldin near the ruins of Fornost and Tinnundir near Annúminas on the shores of Lake Evendim. When the Grey Company rides south, it consists almost entirely of named Rangers with whom players have already interacted. (Aragorn and Halbarad are the only northern Rangers named in the book.)
The Rangers are shown as a community in the 2009 fan film Born of Hope. The film centres on the relationship of Arathorn and Gilraen, and the infancy of their son Aragorn.