The Complete Tolkien Companion (50 page)

Hobbitry-in-arms
– The Shire-militia, led by the Thain when occasion demanded. As occasion did so only infrequently, the Shire-muster was a rare enough sight, though most Hobbits had some skill with weapons and many were accomplished archers.

Hobbits
(diminished form of
Holbytlan
‘Hole-builders') – For a full account of the origins, histories and customs of this remarkable people – who play so notable a part in the great War of the Ring – readers are firmly advised to refer to available translations of the Red Book of Westmarch
3
– which, in addition to being the prime source of information about the Third Age of Middle-earth, is of course the chief surviving repository of all Hobbit-lore. Moreover, as the Red Book was written by Hobbits, and concerns the events of the War
as seen
by the most notable Hobbits of all time, not surprisingly it contains more revelations (intentionally or otherwise) about the Halfling folk than any other document in existence.

Accordingly, for an account of Hobbits' origins and customs,
see
the Prologue to
The Lord of the Rings;
for information concerning their language and names,
see
Appendix F.

Hob Gammidge
– The son of Wiseman Gamwich of Tighfield, and the founder of the (Tighfield) Gamgees' rope-making business. He was known as ‘Old Gammidgy'. Hob married Rowan, daughter of Holman the Greenhanded of Hobbiton, and their son Hobson continued with the family trade.
See also
GAMGEE; GAMWICH
.

Hob Hayward
– A Hobbit of Buckland. The Haywards were presumably the traditional keepers and patrollers of the High Hay.

Hobson ‘Roper' Gamgee
– The son of Hob Gammidge and the grandfather of Samwise. He was the first of the family to take the name Gamgee (doubtless from his father's nickname of ‘Gammidgy').
See also
GAMGEE; GAMWICH
.

Holbytla
‘Hole-builder' – An archaic word in the tongue of northern Men. The word
Hobbit
is thought to be a ‘worn-down' version of this term.
4

Holdwine
– The name given in Rohan to Meriadoc Brandybuck.

Holfast Gardner
– The son of Frodo Gardner and the grandson of Samwise Gamgee. He inherited Bag End from his father.

Hollin
– The name given among western Men to the High-elven realm of
EREGION
, built and destroyed during the Second Age. It was so named because holly was the token of the Elven-smiths of that land.

Hollowbold
– A translation into Mannish speech of the Dwarvish (Khuzdul) name
Tumunzahar
(Sind.
Nogrod
), being the more southerly of the two great Dwarvish cities of the Blue Mountains.

Holman Cotton
– The son of Cotman of Bywater and Rose (‘Greenhand'). He was known as ‘Long Hom'.

Holman Greenhand
– The son of Halfred Greenhand and the grandson of the legendary Holman the Greenhanded of Hobbiton. Young Holman was Bilbo Baggins' first gardener at Bag End, and before he retired, he passed on his skills to his cousin Hamfast Gamgee (formerly of Tighfield), who taught them in turn to his own son Samwise.

Holman the Greenhanded
– The fabled Hobbit-gardener of Hobbiton, founder of the renowned Greenhand clan (through his son Halfred Greenhand).

Holy Mountain
– Oiolossë.

Horn
– A knight of the Household of King Théoden of Rohan, slain in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields (March, 3019 Third Age).

Hornblower
– A Southfarthing family of Shire-hobbits.

Hornburg
– The principal fortress of Helm's Deep, built early in the Third Age by Men of Gondor (when it had been called Aglarond) and later strengthened by Kings of Rohan. It commanded the entrance to the Deep, being situated upon a spur of rock which dominated the Deeping fortifications. The Hornburg consisted of a single tower or keep, surrounded by high walls of stone; its name stemmed from the fact that ‘a trumpet sounded upon the tower echoed in the Deep behind, as if armies long forgotten were issuing to war.'
5
See also
BATTLE OF THE HORNBURG
.

Horn-call of Buckland
– Although Hobbits of the Shire were generally rather complacent about possible dangers from ‘outside', their kinfolk living in Buckland, on the far side of the river, did not as a rule share this sense of security. The High Hay was one indication of the greater precautions Bucklanders took against unauthorised entry; they also preserved the habit of locking their doors at night, and maintained an ancient general alarum, a swooping horn-call, only blown at times of urgent need.

House of Durin
– The descendants of Durin the Deathless, greatest of all Dwarves.

House of Elros
– The line of the Kings of Númenor, commenced by
ELROS TAR-MINYATUR
and ended with Tar-Palantír. Ar-Pharazôn was a usurper, from a junior branch of this dynasty.
6

House of Eorl
– The
Eorlingas,
‘Sons-of-Eorl'; the Line of the Kings of Rohan, descended from Eorl the Young, last Lord of Éothéod and first King of the Mark.

House of Hador
– The Third House of the Edain.
See
HADOR
.

House of Húrin
– The Line of the
RULING STEWARDS
of Gondor, descended from Húrin of Emyn Arnen, Steward to Minardil (twenty-fifth King) and a man of noble ancestry. The Stewardship later became largely hereditary and, after Steward Pelendur, the Rod of Office passed as a matter of course to the eldest son. The banner of the House was plain silver with no device or marking.

House of Ransom
– A translation of the Sindarin words
BAR-EN-DANWEDH
.

House of the Golden Flower (of Gondolin)
–
See
GLORFINDEL
.

Houses of the Dead
– The
HALLS OF MANDOS
.

Houses of the Edain
– The Three Kindreds of the Atani, the Elf-friends, who came across the Blue Mountains into Beleriand before the end of the First Age and fought Morgoth as allies of the Eldar. The First House was that led into Beleriand by Bëor the Old; the Second was the people known as the Haladin. The Third was that kindred led into Beleriand by the chieftain Marach. This was the most numerous and hardy of all the Houses of the Edain, but it afterwards became known as the House of Hador after its greatest chieftain, Hador Lórindol.

The First House, the People of Bëor, dwelt for a while in Estolad, but later journeyed for the most part into the far north, to Dorthonion, where in Ladros they made a realm in alliance with Angrod and Aegnor, of the House of Finarfin. They were savagely attacked during the Dagor Bragollach, and though they maintained a presence there for some few years afterwards, were eventually overwhelmed and driven out. The survivors came eventually to Brethil, where they sought sanctuary among the Haladin, and to Dor-lómin, where they were received by Hador's people. But Barahir, their last chieftain, and all who remained with him, were slain, save Barahir's son
BEREN
, who of all the First House is the most renowned in song and story.

The Haladin, as is told elsewhere, came by dangerous paths to Brethil, west of Doriath, and there founded a woodland realm. But though in later days many grievous affairs touched them, they remained unconquered by Morgoth. The most renowned of this Kindred of Men is the lady
HALETH
, who led her people on the perilous journey, from Thargelion – where the Haladin had been well nigh wiped out – to West Beleriand.

The Third House was the most renowned in the wars with Morgoth.
HADOR LÓRINDOL
(‘the Goldenhaired') was the first Lord of Dor-lómin, and the chief ally of Fingolfin the High King of the Noldor. Warriors of his House served the Noldor, and garrisoned the most dangerous outpost of all, the Eithel Sirion. Hador himself was slain during the Dagor Bragollach, in defence of this fortress, and
GALDOR THE TALL
, his elder son, then took the lordship of his House. Galdor fell in battle seven years after his father, and was succeeded by
HÚRIN THALION
, his own elder son. And Húrin – the greatest warrior of all the Edain of the First Age – led the last stand of the Men of Dor-lómin at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, in which his brother Huor was slain; but was himself captured and grievously used by Morgoth. Dor-lómin fell to the enemy, and the survivors of the Third House were enslaved by Easterlings allied to Morgoth.

Most tragic of all the heroic Edain of the First Age was
TÚRIN TURAMBAR
. Túrin's grandfather Galdor had wedded Hareth of the Haladin; their sons were Húrin and Huor. Húrin wedded Morwen Eledhwen of the First House – and
their
children were Túrin and Nienor. The blood of all Three Houses therefore ran in Túrin's veins. (His story is told in many places and needs no recapitulation here.)

TUOR
son of Huor was similarly descended, for his father had wedded Rían daughter of Belegund of the First House; she was the cousin of Morwen Eledhwen. But Tuor's story is happier than that of his cousins Túrin and Nienor: and through him the blood-lines of all Three Houses of the Edain, allied with the House of Fingolfin of the Noldor, were passed on, and survived the Wars, and became linked with the descent from Thingol and Lúthien, and (after the passing of two full Ages) with the Line of Finarfin, becoming the most royal of the
LINES OF DESCENT
of Middle-earth.

Hrávë
‘Flesh' (Q.).

Hrívë
(Q.) – The fifth of the six ‘seasons' of the ancient High-elven
loa
or year. Hrívë (Sind.
rhîw
) corresponded to winter (although the Eldarin
loa
actually concluded with a further ‘season':
coirë,
‘stirring').
See also
CALENDAR OF IMLADRIS
.

Hröa
‘Body, garment' (Q.) – The Eldarin conception of an individual ‘person' divided it into two components: the
hröa,
or corporeal part, and the
fëa,
or spirit.
7

Huan
‘Mighty-Hound' (Sind.) – The Hound of Valinor, the greatest and noblest dog ever to walk in Middle-earth, Companion of Beren and Lúthien, and Slayer of the Wolf Carcharoth. He was in his origins the Hound of the Vala Oromë; but far back in the Elder Days Oromë gave him to Celegorm of the Noldor; and Celegorm, when he came to Middle-earth in exile, brought the great animal with him.

Huan served his second master faithfully for many hundreds of years. But the Hound was not fated to remain with Celegorm. For during the years which followed the Dagor Bragollach (and the dispossession of Celegorm), his path was crossed by Lúthien and Beren; as a result of these encounters Huan abandoned Celegorm, who had now fallen into evil ways, and allied himself to Beren and Lúthien – and indeed without his aid they could never have entered Angband, nor stolen a Silmaril in fulfilment of the vow made by Beren to Lúthien's father Thingol. During these adventures Huan slew many foes – among them the Werewolf-lord Draugluin – and with his enchantments enabled his companions to escape detection. But at the ending of the quest, there came a meeting long prophesied – with the greatest Wolf of all, Carcharoth. Huan fought and slew the Wolf of Angband, but was himself mortally wounded in the fight, as indeed was Beren of the Edain.

Hunthor
– One of the Haladin; he was a companion of Túrin Turambar in the expedition against the Dragon Glaurung, but was killed – by accident – before he had been able to strike a blow.

Huor
– The younger son of Galdor of Dor-lómin and brother of
HÚRIN THALION
. Huor wedded Rían, daughter of Belegund (of the First House of the Edain); their son was Tuor, who wedded Idril Turgon's daughter. Huor himself did not live to see this, for he was slain, fighting valiantly alongside his brother, at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. But through him the House of Hador was perpetuated, and linked with still mightier Houses, of the Eldar.

Huorns
– Sentient trees (or possibly regressed Ents) of Fangorn Forest, who dwelt only in the deepest dales of that land. Like the Great Willow of the Old Forest in Eriador, they were ‘limb-lithe' and could move very swiftly from place to place, wrapped in tree-shadow. They were extremely dangerous – most of all to Orcs, whom they hated with an unbridled passion. Huorns were, however, under the control of true Ents.

Húrin Thalion
– The greatest warrior of all the Edain of the First Age, Lord of Dor-lómin after Galdor his father, brother of Huor, and father of Túrin Turambar and Nienor ‘Niniel'. He was born in Dor-lómin, in the house of his father, some 15 years before the Dagor Bragollach, in a time of peace. Both he and his younger brother Huor represented a mingling of the chiefly lines of descent of both the Second and Third Houses of the Edain, for their mother was Hareth of the Haladin. But when Húrin was still young, Morgoth unleashed sudden war, and both the sons of Galdor went east to fight. As is told elsewhere, they escaped capture (or worse) and came by lofty paths to the Hidden City of Gondolin, the first of all Men to do so (though not the last), and so became known to Turgon the king. Thus the foundations were laid of an alliance which would outlast the Age.

Returning to Dor-lómin, to the house of Galdor their father, the brothers refused to reveal where they had been. (Nevertheless, before long, word came to Morgoth of the mysterious disappearance of these young princes of Men; and for the first time he paid attention to Húrin.) It was at about this time that Galdor was slain in a sudden attack upon Hithlum; but Húrin took the leadership and briskly repelled the invaders. He was now Lord of Dor-lómin. Eight years later he led the entire warriordom of his realm to the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, to fight on behalf of the High King in the set-piece battle which was intended to crush Morgoth's armies for ever. But it was the Eldar and the Edain who were destroyed on that dreadful day; and only by the valour of the Men of Dor-lómin, led by Húrin and Huor, was anything at all saved from the wreck. For they covered the retreat of the army of Gondolin. Huor and all the Edain who were in that rearguard were killed; but Húrin fought to the last. Then he was captured (by the special order of Morgoth) and brought, a prisoner, to Angband.