Statue of Helm
Biographical information
Other names	Hammerhand
Date of birth	III 2691
Year ascended to the throne	III 2741
Date of death	III 2759
Realms ruled	Rohan
Physical description
Race	Men (Rohirrim)
Gender	Male

"The horn of Helm Hammerhand will sound in the deep, one last time!" -Theoden, The Return of the King

Helm Hammerhand (r. TA 2741 - TA 2759) was the ninth King of Rohan and last King of the first line. His rule was plagued by war with the Dunlendings, who attempted to usurp his rule of Rohan.

Biography Edit

Born in TA 2691, Helm was the son of Gram.

Helm became King at the age of fifty when his father Gram died in TA 2741 during a time of crisis. His father had already fought open warfare with the Dunlendings, who operated from the captured fortress of Isengard.

During his reign, King Helm came into conflict with an arrogant, wealthy, and powerful landowner named Freca. Freca was a Dunlending with Rohirric blood; he claimed to be a descendant of King Fréawine of Rohan. Freca held lands - both banks of the river Adorn and his stronghold were near its source on the borders of Rohan. Freca viewed King Helm with contempt and scorn, while Helm mistrusted Freca and was wary of him.

In TA 2754, Freca attempted to intimidate and coerce King Helm into giving his approval and consent to an arranged marriage between Freca's son Wulf and Helm's daughter. Freca marched to a meeting of the King's council in Edoras with a great force of men, planning to threaten the King into complying with his demands. In the resulting quarrel, Helm Hammerhand smote Freca with single blow from his fist. The blow was so great Freca died soon after. Enraged, the men of Freca left Edoras, and King Helm declared Wulf and his kin enemies of the King.

Four years later in TA 2758, a combined force of Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf, and the Corsairs of Umbar overran Rohan. Helm was defeated in battle at the Crossings of Isen, and Helm withdrew into the Hornburg at Helm's Deep (which was later thus renamed in his honor). There, he endured a long siege.

While King Helm and his younger son Prince Háma were besiged in the Hornburg, a force of Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf also besieged Edoras. Prince Haleth, King Helm’s elder son who was the last defender to fall, led the defence of Edoras. He fell defending the doors of the Golden Hall.

Both Prince Háma and King Helm died during the Siege of the Hornburg. Shortly after Yule 2758, Prince Háma accompanied by a small force attempted a forage mission, but he and his men were lost in a blizzard and never seen again.

The Hornburg held a large war-horn, and whenever it was blown, Helm would break through the Dunlending ranks, slaying many of their men. It is believed that many of the men he killed he did so with his bare hands.

It was said that grief and hunger made Helm more ferocious. After one such sortie, Helm died and did not return; his body was discovered the next morning frozen in the snow still standing, his eyes open, ready to fight. This led to a belief among the Rohirrim and Dunlendings that even in death the wraith of Helm Hammerhand still wandered through Rohan, and defended the Hornburg.

Helm died in TA 2759 at the age of sixty-eight. Prince Haleth and Prince Háma also died during the conflict; his nephew Fréaláf Hildeson, who defeated the Dunlendings, succeeded Helm.

Helm was called Hammerhand because of his grim nature, great strength and prowess; he also was known to fight barehanded sometimes attributed to a superstition that if "he used no weapon no weapon would upon bite him". The statue of Hammerhand was erected in Helm's Deep's courtyard.

The Hammer of Hammerhand Edit

It was said that Helm had friends among the dwarves, who helped fortify Helm's Deep and who gave him a gift of a mithril warhammer, which is rumored to have been hidden in the Glittering Caves at the Hornburg. Helm likely never used the hammer, so its existence has never been verified.

External link Edit

• Helm Hammerhand at Tolkien Gateway