Faramir, the second son Denethor's two sons in the third age of Middle-earth, briefly held the stewardship of Gondor. Upon the arrival of the true king, Aragorn, he yields up his Stewardship and is made a Prince of Ithilien.
Faramir, a captain of Gondor, had a prophetic dream for whose interpretation he sought the advice of the elves of Rivendell. His older brother Boromir, a masterful man, claimed the right to the errand and rode and walked nearly 4 months to Rivendell, arriving just in time for the Council of Elrond where he reported the dream and its prophetic verses. Aragorn, then a king in hiding serving as a mere Ranger, turns out to be the subject of the verse, much to Boromir's consternation. Yet the news of this revelation is late in coming to Faramir, due to Boromir's long detour and untimely death.
During a battle with the swarthy men of the South, Faramir encounters Frodo and Sam, who as trespassers are doomed by the law of Denethor to execution on the spot. Yet, Faramir decides to risk execution himself by thwarting the law and releases the hobbits, enabling them to speed on their quest to destroy the One Ring.
Upon his return to Gondor for the final battle in defense of Minas Tirith, he is gravely wounded. In the House of Healing, he meets Éowyn, Lady of Rohan, who lies languishing and unfulfilled despite having killed the king of the Ringwraiths! Taming this shieldmaiden, he turns her heart away from her hopeless crush on Aragorn and marries her.
Role in the war of the Rings