Tolkien character following ring, clutching staff (5)
I believe the answer is:
frodo
'tolkien character' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'following ring clutching staff' is the wordplay.
'following' becomes 'f' (used when citing page numbers etc).
'ring' becomes 'O' (letter resembling a ring).
'clutching' means one lot of letters goes inside another.
'staff' becomes 'rod' (both can mean a stick or cane).
'f'+'o'='fo'
'fo' placed around 'rod' is 'FRODO'.
(Other definitions for frodo that I've seen before include "Hero of The Lord of the Rings" , "In the sky" , "literary ring-bearer" , "- - Baggins (Tolkein)" , "Lord of the Rings protagonist" .)