#jay duffy

**Boromir as a boy-dad**

So many people, including myself, primarily think of Boromir as a girl-dad. As I have already explained in my main Boromir headcanon post, Boromir marries my OC Idhrildin of Anórien in the year 3020 of the Third Age and they have four children, three girls and one boy. In this post, I will be talking a little bit about Boromir's relationship with his son and how it differs from the relationship he has with his daughters.

Boromir's son, Berenor, is the baby of the house. He is born in FoA 17, and, contrarily to many nobles, Boromir is not thrilled because he has a son. He is thrilled simply because he has a new child and his joy turns to worry as soon as he is informed that Idhrildin is not doing as well as it is expected. He takes care of his newborn son while Idhrildin recovers and also takes care of him during her frequent bouts of illness during the following two years. When she dies, he is inconsolable but knows that his children need him, especially Berenor. Idhrildin dies when he is just two and, as a result, he does not really remember her and he is raised by Boromir as a single dad. His sisters—especially Findelis "Lis"—help him out, but Boromir does not want to overburden his daughters and does most of the raising himself. The first five years or so are definitely the hardest. He misses his wife terribly (obviously) and feels like he has no idea what he is doing. He is going through the motions and, although he tries his best to be a good dad, he feels like he is falling short. He is actually doing excellent, but he does not see it that way.

He is grateful that his wife helped him improve his cooking and house-management skills because those really come in handy. He has servants and people managing the household, but he and Idhrildin have always encouraged their children not to be too reliant on others doing things for them and he wants his son be able to provide for himself too. As such, he teaches him how to dress on his own, how to clean his own room and how to wash his own clothes and, by the age of ten, Berenor is perfectly capable of doing all these things without his dad having to remind him about it.

This completely goes against the Southern Gondorian custom of pampering male heirs of noble families and some people indeed criticize Boromir for his oddities but most of his quirks are dismissed as they are perceived as the nonsensical actions of a grieving man. So, in a way, he is excused.

While, as Lord of Osgiliath and Prince of Anórien, he is entitled to the protection of his own personal guard, Boromir also strongly believes that anyone—regardless of background or social status—should be given the tools to defend themselves and teaches his children basic defense techniques.

Out of his three daughters, Findelidrin "Idy" is the one who is more eager to learn about the military and how things work in the army. She is the spunky, rebel, sassy child after all. Findelis "Lis" is a quick learner, but she is not comfortable around weapons and only uses them when strictly necessary. Idhrilwen is too pure a soul to like anything even remotely related to war and, for her, it is a struggle to even pick up a knife. She is scared of war and sticks to helping people out.

Berenor takes after him and plays with wooden swords all the time during his childhood. He much prefers playing with swords to studying and has to be persuaded to attend his classes. He finds them boring and has trouble completing his assignments not because he is stupid, but because of his lack of interest in most things he is taught.

Lis writes most of his essays and Berenor only alters a few words so that his tutors are more easily fooled. He changes and adjusts his attitude as he grows up and, while I suppose he will never be the equivalent of an A student, he starts showing more interest and willingness to commit to his studies when he hits puberty. I guess he matures a lot during that time, which is fair, to be honest. The time he spends with Eönwë and his baby "cousins" also affect him pretty deeply in a good way. Boromir and Eönwë are definitely his biggest influences, while he sees little of Faramir. He does respect and love his uncle, but Faramir is a bit busy with this own things, so I do not think they will interact as much. Nevertheless, Faramir does love all of his brother's children and he does get to spend some time with Berenor whenever Boromir and his family visit Ithilien. I feel Berenor finds Faramir intimidating because he rarely smiles and always seems angry. He does not know the details of what Faramir went through—Boromir never told him—and thinks his presence upsets his uncle for some reason. As I said, they do get to spend some time together, but Berenor will try to give him space. He is obviously biased, but he finds his dad a lot more fun to be around.

BOROMIR AND HIS LITTLE BOY: A LIST OF THINGS TO REMEMBER

Berenor adores his dad. Boromir is the only parent he ever knew, so they are very close. Boromir reads him bedtime stories every night up until the age of ten, but, more often than not, they always end up talking about Idhrildin and they both end up crying as a result. He may be spunky and a little bit of a troublemaker, but it is important to note that Berenor is also a very kind, considerate and sensitive little boy. He has a lot of empathy, cares a lot for others and shows it. Boromir encourages him to act like a normal child and does not force anything on him. He just expects him to be a good, honorable little boy. He is partly raised by his sisters, which means he has a lot of respect for girls and women and promises his dad that he will make him proud in that regard. Boromir also tells him that he should marry for love and that he will not be forced into an arranged marriage. He even tells him that he does not have to marry at all if he does not wish for it. Berenor is confused because he has been told that every lord needs a son that the line can continue and Boromir sorts of dismisses the problem, leaving Berenor even more confused. I am sure they will have that chat sooner or later, just not when he is a child. Berenor may not be interested in his classes, but he does ask a lot questions and wants to have everything figured out. He knows very little, but what he knows, he knows very well. He has a lot of confidence to him, which I think he gets from both parents.

Boromir takes his dad duties very seriously and bath time is his favorite time. Berenor loves water and ends up splashing his dad every single time. Essentially, Boromir takes a bath as well and the bathroom is completely flooded everytime, every day. Many governesses will quit, but Boromir will not care that much. His boy's happy giggles are way more important.

Boromir likes to cuddle his baby boy a lot. He is a major hugger and tends to be a little too clingy at times. He sees Berenor as the last thing his beloved wife left him and, as such, he is even more inclined than usual to show him affection. His daughters are also lavished with presents and attention, but Berenor is the baby of the house so he gets just a little more. Boromir knows that he needs to be both a father and a mother to him and often finds it difficult, which is why he will hire a new live-in governess just to help him out. They have Nora already and she indeed was a great lady-in-waiting and secretary to Idhrildin. She is also a great tutor (she is, as a matter of fact, the head of the tutors in Boromir's household), but she is strict and not very maternal. She loves the Borodhril children, but is not the best at showing it and, in the modern world, she would have the mindset of a manager. She is totally dedicated to her job, but she sees it as just that. She is not as caring as Boromir would like her to be, which is why he wants to look for somebody else. He eventually finds a war widow—her name is Aerdhel—who works as a volunteer at one of Idhrildin's charities and offers her the job. Aerdhel is surprised and unsure about it at first, but eventually accepts. Aerdhel has a teenage daughter, Aelinn, who Boromir thinks of as another daughter. Although he does not formally adopt her, his daughters do think of her as a sister and involve her in everything they do. They know it is what Idhrildin would have wanted and they try to honor her memory with everything they do.

Alexandra Moen (Queen Elizabeth of York in The Spanish Princess) as Aerdhel.

Summer Richards (Katherine Howard in Wolf Hall) as Aelinn.

Mind you, Boromir will not fall in love with Aerdhel, but they will show one another mutual respect and she will be his main support when times get though. And they will, trust me. She is essentially a close friend. He is advised to remarry and he thinks about it, but he knows Aerdhel does not love him that way and he wants to stay true to himself and be coherent so the marriage does not happen. Nevertheless, Aerdhel becomes a very important figure in Berenor's life and she helps him keep his mother's memory alive by telling him anecdotes about her.

Boromir does all the shopping for his children himself and is mortified whenever they do not like his presents. His default gifts for his girls are dolls and he is heartbroken when they grow out of the "doll phase" as he does not know what else to gift them besides dresses. He always tends to buy similar dresses and can also see that, overtime, his girls grow bored of them. As they are not ungrateful brats, they always smile and thank him profusely anyway, but Boromir feels like he desperately needs advice and that is where Aerdhel comes in. Nora does not understand fashion and does not care for it. She only has multiple dresses because she needs to change, but if it were for her, she would only own one dress and one pair of shoes. Military mindset, as I said. With Berenor is much easier because he is a boy and Boromir understands boys just a little better. Berenor is happy with wooden swords (metal ones later on) and simple shirts. He is just a chill boy who does not complain and is happy with whatever he is given. I would actually say he does not care for the presents themselves, it is just the thought of his dad giving them to him that makes him happy.

He does help with his mother's charities and many people grow fond of him as a result. Boromir's enemies at court will say it is a political move to endear himself to the people even further but...they know nothing, so Boromir just lets them talk. There is a reason why he rarely goes to Minas Tirith (except for Fellowship reunions) and there is a reason why does not want his children hanging out in Minas Tirith too much. He wants them to feel happy and safe and does anything in his power to shield them from the corruption, treachery, disloyalty going on in the Capital. Lis vehemently agrees with this and she takes her big sister duties very seriously. The Minas Tirith issue, as I call it, will oftentimes be cause of quarreling among siblings, as Berenor—because of his largely sheltered upbringing—does not understand why everyone seems to think it is so "dangerous" (he has been there before with his dad and the rest of the Fellowship and it all seemed normal to him) and Lis and the others are tired of trying to explain it to him. Berenor's innate confidence can lead him to be very stubborn at times and when he sets his mind onto something it is really hard to distract him or dissuade him. I think he takes after Boromir in that and Boromir is not proud of it. He learns to be less stubborn as he grows up (he also a lot more introspective and quiet and more prone to listening), but he does not change his mind easily. Yes, he is prone to listening and does take advice from others, but when he makes up his mind...that is it.

I already mentioned Berenor is uninterested in most class topics and things concerning his education, but it is not entirely true. He does very much enjoy learning about Gondorian history; military history specifically. He loves wearing his dad's various armors and vambraces and, as time goes by, the bedtime stories are replaced by war stories, which Boromir censors a little so that his baby boy (I feel like Boromir will think of him as his little baby even when he is way past the age of majority) does not get traumatized. Plot twist: blood and gore are exactly what Berenor wants to hear about and Boromir will have to explain to him how war is neither something to dream of nor something fun to be at. I think Berenor already knows that, but he does get a little overenthusiastic about the idea of killing off orcs and being a hero. He is just a kid, after all. Berenor is especially interested in the wars Boromir participated in and begs him for details and anecdotes, which Boromir is always hesitant to discuss for the aforementioned reasons and eventually Berenor will stop asking him about it as he understands his dad does not really want to talk about it. He is eager to meet the members of the Fellowship and Boromir often offers to plan "reunion dinners" either in Osgiliath or in Minas Tirith, to which all the children of the Fellowship are also invited. The more, the merrier, I suppose. I can imagine little Berenor running around and pestering everybody with questions until Boromir tells him to be quiet because no one will have time to eat if he keeps at it. He definitely takes after "cousin Enna" and uncle Faramir when it comes to asking questions. It is also one of the many reasons why he and Anárion (=Enna's eldest son) get along so well together. They never shut up, but they both grow out of it eventually.

Berenor likes fishing and Boromir often takes him on fishing trips on the banks of the Anduin. The girls are not interested so they stay home unless they are really bored. Idy might be the one to tag along.

Berenor's favorite colors are blue, silver and green. I headcanon that silver is also among Boromir's favorite colors, primarily because it reminds him of home. White is another one Boromir really likes.

Contrarily to most people in Gondor, Boromir does not despise the Rohirrim and encourages all of his children to be open-minded. All of his children are formally introduced to King Éomer's court and that is where Berenor learns to ride. He is a great rider and—contrarily to most Gondorians, who treat horses as if they were objects in their service just to carry them somewhere, he understands that they are sentient creatures with feelings. He really likes horses and names his Idhrilos as a tribute to his mother. Idhrilos is a personal gift to him from Éomer and, as such, Berenor treats him even better than he does his pony and his two other horses. Yes, Boromir gave his children a pony and two horses each and expects them to take care of them on their own without the help of servants and stable-boys. They belong to the children and the children do the work.

Berenor visits Rohan several times throughout his childhood (he gets Idhrilos at the age of nine as a birthday present) and brings home even more horses and ponies as presents for his family. Boromir and Éomer are good friends and Lothíriel adores her cousin's little son. Even though she probably likes Faramir a little better, she and Boromir are very close as well and the Queen of Rohan always sends a lot of presents to her Gondorian family. The only family member she does not speak to is Enna, but that is only Enna's fault. Lothíriel merely respects her wishes. The only person from Rohan Enna get along with is Lothíriel and Éomer's middle child, Elenor. Quick info dump: in my AU, Éomer and Lothíriel have three children: Elenor (born FoA 1), Elfhelda (born FoA 2) and Elfwine (born FoA 4). We all know who Elfwine is, but I will take the opportunity to introduce his OC sisters: Elenor is the oldest child and is partly named after Lothíriel's mother, Elanur. She is her maternal grandfather's favorite child and hates everything that is in any way connected to Rohan. She is Imrahil's favorite grandchild because of that, actually. Despite being born into Rohirric royalty, she is fully Gondorian in both appearance and spirit, which means that she despises her own country. Her friendship with Enna is based on the fact that they both strongly dislike Rohan and spend most of their time together dissing it one way or another. Boromir loathes her (he does his best to hide his contempt for her, but I am afraid he struggles a lot with it) and so do his children; their paths only crossing because Elenor is betrothed to Prince Elendil (while he lives, that is) and Prince Elendil is a dear family friend. He is merely a teenager when he dies, but he is wise beyond his years—partly due to the fact that he spends a lot of time in Rivendell with his uncles Elladan and Elrohir—and is on extremely good terms with Boromir. Boromir is a sort of surrogate father figure to him as Aragorn is often too busy attending to Eldarion and Faramir is in Emyn Arnen and is also too busy with his personal things. Elendil is Berenor's godfather and spends quite a bit of time with him. Unfortunately he passes away when Berenor is four, but that is a whole different story. No, actually, it is not. It is just me being unmerciful. He will not have to marry Elenor—whom he also does not like—so I suppose that is, in some sort of twisted way, my own way of showing mercy to him. That IS something, right?

Natalie Dormer (Anne Boleyn in The Tudors) as Elenor.

Neither Boromir nor Berenor like her. She only shows up at Boromir's palace when Elendil is visiting him and she wants to make sure she does end up marrying him solely to become a Princess of the Reunited Kingdom. She stalks him and only loves him because he is Aragorn and Arwen's son. She does not believe in love and only wants power and prestige and wants the marriage to happen so that she can fully cut ties with those "filthy horse-lords". Her only interactions with Berenor take place when he is really, really young (a little more than a toddler), but he already shows every sign of strongly disliking her. He pulls some quite nasty pranks on her and, although Boromir scolds him, he is not exactly mad as he knows for certain that he would have done even worse. Father and son are very much alike, I have to say. A couple of pranksters.

Éothíriel's middle child is Elfhelda and she is very well-liked by the whole family. She is, as a matter of fact, Lis' best friend and spends a lot of time with the Borodhrils. Lis and Elfhelda are childhood friends—I do not know how and where they meet—and the latter thinks of Berenor as a baby brother. Boromir is also fond of her and she is always welcome in any of his residences even without notice. Boromir thinks Elendil and Elfhelda would be a good match and tries to play Cupid since he notices Elendil is much more at ease around her. That being said, Elendil tells him he is not interested. Elfhelda eventually marries Haleth.

Marta Wiśniewska (Princess Elizabeth in Korona Królow - The Crown of the Kings) as Elfhelda

These two practicing their archery skills/messing around. Elfhelda is definitely more practical while Lis definitely struggles a bit. She only uses weapons if strictly necessary, after all. She's not a fan.

Lis deciding to cheat and mess with her bestie. She is jealous of her skills, but it is the good, non-toxic, harmless kind of jealousy. (Little note for myself: Enna strongly dislikes Elfhelda and not just because she thinks it is inappropriate for a Gondorian lady to befriend people of "inferior birth". She is also jealous of the wholesome bond these two have and tears up every time she sees them together)

Back to Berenor now.

He is ticklish and Boromir often tickles as a punishment when Berenor is being naughty. Child Berenor has been tickled a lot both as a joke and as an admonition. He hates being tickled and Boromir knows it, which makes it all the more fun.

He takes part in Lis and Elfhelda's archery lessons and he is actually better than both of them. He does not boast about it though. On the contrary, he is happy to help them. He has a bit of a childish, innocent crush on Elfhelda and gifts her puppies to show his appreciation (like his dad, he loves all animals, but has a predilection for horses and dogs).

Out of Faramir's children, Berenor is closest to Eradan, whom he treats as a little sibling. Given his somewhat close relationship with Eönwë, he is also close with Enna and her children, especially the oldest (Nimloth, Anárion, Mírion, Wyn and Elenion). Given that Boromir takes him under his wing, he will see much of Elenion and the two of them will become friends. Berenor will try to cheer him up and to instill hope in him with any means necessary and will most likely be utterly devastated when the little cousin he grew to love as a baby brother commits suicide. He will blame himself for not having been able to help him more and will go through on a crisis of his own. He will get to Mírion better as well and he will become his confidant (ironically, I think his support during the mourning period is the thing that will finally convince Mírion that Berenor can be trusted. Mírion is fundamentally paranoid and does not trust anyone outside of his blood family. I do not even blame the poor guy, he is constantly betrayed by everyone).

Berenor will also be completely and utterly devastated when Mírion dies. He and Boromir will then have a conversation about mortality and things like that, and Berenor will comment how ironic it is that children with Maiarin blood who were supposed to live forever have dropped dead like flies and how anachronistic it is that the most powerful woman in Middle-earth was more miserable than the lowest and poorer commoner in Gondor. Boromir's health starts declining in the mid-40s and all of his children have this gut feeling that he will not be around for much longer. Mírion's death just worsens whatever health issues he already has as his mood plummets and he just seems not interested in living anymore. He dies six years later so he has some years left in him, but not that many.

I feel like Berenor will commission the grandest tomb he can think of when Boromir eventually dies. Although he knows that his father was beloved of the people, he feels that he was not respected enough by his peers and wants to honor him the way everybody should have. All of Boromir's children will be with him until the very end and Berenor holds his hand as he dies. I do not know who he will marry (or if he will marry at all), but if he does and has a son, his name will most certainly be Boromir.

I will add to this list as I come up with more headcanons, but that is all for now!

Option: Idhrildin lives (Berenor's relationship with his mom)

Berenor, son of Boromir

Future Lord of Osgiliath and Prince of Anórien