Eight companions join Frodo in the Fellowship of the Ring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s novel.
The Fellowship therefore has nine members in total: Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, Pippin Took, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas, Gimli, and Gandalf. Frodo is the Ring-bearer, while the other eight accompany him after the council held at Rivendell.
The number nine deliberately balances the nine Nazgûl, the Ringwraiths serving Sauron. Tolkien’s Fellowship is not a permanent military unit; it is a company formed for a specific mission, taking the One Ring toward Mordor so it can be destroyed in Mount Doom.
The Fellowship later breaks apart as the story progresses. Boromir dies defending Merry and Pippin, Frodo and Sam continue toward Mordor, and the remaining members pursue different paths. The novel’s title refers to the first volume of The Lord of the Rings, not to a separate Tolkien story.