CT revealed him as “a shadowy figure about whom nothing is told save that he was the younger brother of Elwë (Thingol) & Olwë, and was ‘beloved of Elwë with whom he remained’.” He was also the grandfather of Celeborn, and likely died in the Ruin of Doriath. [TG:8,EA15,WK:7,DK:1,UT:6,H11:2=39pts,4indx.pgs]
#409 Tar-Ardamin, 19th King of Númenor – númenórean king
Tar-Ardamin was the son of Tar-Calmacil, and was the last King to use a Quenya name, although in private he was known as Ar-Abattârik, "Pillar of the World". His son abandoned official tradition, and used Adûnaic in his official name, Ar-Adûnakhôr. Tar-Ardamin fails to appear in the LotR Appendix list, but CT explains this as simple scribal error. [TG:21,Eä:3,WK:7,DK:1,LR:1,UT:4,LE:2=39pts,4indx.pgs]
#408 Angbor the Fearless, Lord of Lamedon – gondorian dúnadan lord
He led the men of Lamedon during the War of the Ring in a fight against southern invaders seeking to capture Linhir & the fords of Gilrain. However, they fled on the arrival of the Army of the Dead, and Aragorn then bade Angbor to gather his folk and advance to Pelargir where "the Heir of Isildur will have need of you". Angbor’s force arrived after the Shadow Host had cleared the ships, and as Aragorn & company rowed north upon the Anduin, he led his horsemen north by land. In the debate before the march to Morannan, Aragorn assured Imrahil that new strength was on the way, stating that Angbor, whom he named "the fearless", was marching through Lossarnach with 4,000 men. [TG:16,Eä:3,WK:2,RF:5,JT:10,LR:1,H8:2=39pts,5indx.pgs]
#407 Arvegil, 11th King of Arthedain – arnorian dúnadan king
Arvegil succeeded his father, Argeleb II, in 1670 T.A., and ruled for 73yrs. He witnessed the foundation of the Shire, and the spread of the Great Plague into Eriador during his father's reign. Arvegil lived 190yrs, longer than any of his descendants until Aragorn, and was succeeded by his son Arveleg II in 1743 T.A. [TG:20,Eä:8,WK:5,RF:2,JT:1,LR:1,H12:2=39pts,5indx.pgs]
#406 Ostoher, 7th King of Gondor – gondorian dúnadan king
Ostoher succeeded his father Anardil in 411 T.A., and ruled for 81yrs. He rebuilt and enlarged Minas Anor, which became his summer residence, establishing this as a tradition of his successors. In 490 T.A., 2yrs before Ostoher’s death, Easterlings invaded Gondor for the 1st time. His son and successor, Tarostar, eventually defeated this threat, and adopted the name Rómendacil (East-victor). [TG:14,Eä:8,WK:5,RF:4,JT:3,LR:1,H12:4=39pts,7indx.pgs]
#405 Fengel, 15th King of Rohan – rohirrim king
Fengel was the 3rd and only surviving son of Folcwine, and succeeded his father in 2903 T.A. at the age of 33. His older brothers, Folcred & Fastred, were killed fighting for Gondor, thus it is said Fengel, young & brotherless, became somewhat spoiled. He eventually became known for his greed and love of gold. His son Thengel left Rohan due to this, living in Gondor with his wife’s family. Fengel died after ruling 50yrs, and was succeeded by his son, who returned to Rohan. [TG:13,Eä:4,WK:3,RF:3,JT:5,LR:1,H8:4,H12:6=39pts,7indx.pgs]
#404 Hirgon, messenger of Gondor – gondorian messenger
Hirgon was the emissary of Gondor who set out with a companion by the command of Denethor, narrowly escaping Orcs along the way, and presented the Red Arrow to Théoden on March 9, 3019 T.A. They rode back toward Minas Tirith the next day but were caught at the Rammas Echor by Sauron’s forces, and slain. When Théoden' Riders found their bodies, they understood that their message of help never arrived. [TG:11,Eä:3,WK:2,RF:4,JT:4,LR:1,H8:14=39pts,12indx.pgs]
#403 *Egalmoth, Lord of the House of the Heavenly Arch of Gondolin – noldo lord
Egalmoth appears in the more dominant half of the leaders of the 12 Houses of Gondolin. He wore a blue mantle upon which stars were embroidered in crystal, and wielded a unique curved sword, but trusted more to his bow with which he shot “further than any among that host”. Egalmoth survived the Fall of Gondolin, fleeing with the other survivors to the Mouths of Sirion, but died in the attack by the Sons of Fëanor. There is an early note that Egalmoth actually survived to lead some of the Noldor back to Valinor, but CT notes the contradictions this brings. Perhaps, like Glorfindel, he had a hastened reincarnation. [TG:13,WK:1,H2:4,B2:14,FG:3,H11:2,H12:2=39pts,14indx.pgs]
#402 Hareth of the Haladin, mother of Húrin Thalion (f) – 2nd house adan
Born in 419 F.A., she was the elder daughter of Halmir, 3rd Lord of the Haladin. Hareth married Galdor, lord of the House of Hador, and bore him 2 sons, Húrin & Huor. Her name is likely a synonym for ‘lady’, as it appears in Tûr Haretha, ‘the Ladybarrow’ - the burial mound of Haleth. [TG:16,Eä:1,WK:1,RF:3,JT:3,DK:1,SL:2,CH:2,UT:4,H11:6=39pts,15indx.pgs]
#401 Fíriel of “The Last Ship” (f) – hobbit?
She was amongst the characters I debated several posts ago (along with the Eagle-Lords & Herumors) that may or may not be one-&-the-same as other characters, and so decisions had to be made before I entered the top 300 or 400. But because Fíriel Fairbairn appeared so early on this list, I felt it would have been unjustified to leave her there as the same character from this important poem. Further, I decided to leave separate all these characters, rather than conjoin them on my own accord. So this enigmatic main character of the poem “The Last Ship” appears here, with just a personal nod to the high probability that she is none other than Fíriel Fairbairn (both only appearing in AdvsTB), the aged grand-daughter of Sam, who is rhetorically (or not) asked to join the 3 last-departing Elf-lords - Círdan, Celeborn & Thranduil – in the Last Ship to the West, on the banks of the river Lhûn, just down from her Tower Hills home, some short years following the passing of Elessar. [TG:15,WK:1,RF:5,JT:19=40pts,0indx.pgs]
And so, as summer ends, and Bilbo & Frodo’s birthdays pass, we enter the top 3rd of this list. I’ll double my efforts to get as far as possible by the release of the last movie, and the end of 2014, but we're probably looking at March 25th of next year.
glossary:
*=as in CT's indexing in UT (ie. characters not appearing in Hobbit/LotR/AdvTB/Sil)
@=guest at Bilbo’s Farewell Party
(f)=female (n)=neutral
POINTS - for ENTRIES: TG=Tolkien Gateway,Eä=Encyclopedia of Arda,WK=Wikipedia,RF=Robert Foster’s Complete Guide to Middle-earth,JT=J.E.A. Tyler’s Tolkien Companion,DD=David Day’s A-Z of Tolkien; for INDICES: LR=Lord of the Rings,SL=Silmarillion,UT=Unfinished Tales,HX=History of Middle-earth Vol.X,LT=Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien,HC=Humphrey Carpenter’s Biography,JG=John Garth’s Tolkien and the Great War,JR=John Rateliff’s History of The Hobbit,DK=Douglas Kane’s Arda Reconstructed; for both ENTRIES & INDICES: MD=Michael Drout’s Tolkien Encyclopedia; for NAME-LISTS: CH=Children of Húrin,B1 or B2=the ‘Qenya & Gnomish Lexicons’ from Book of Lost Tales Vols.1&2,FG=the ‘Fall of Gondolin’ from BoLT Vol.2,LE=the ‘Line of Elros’ tree & list from UT; MISC: HF=votes from the Hall of Fire thread that initiated this project + a composite of selected favourite character lists.
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I don't usually follow right behind you like that. I'll try to give you a little space in the future.