Orodreth was a Ñoldorin Elf of the First Age who was the second ruler of the underground city of Nargothrond in western Beleriand. He was born to a Noldorin father, Finarfin, and a Telerin mother, Eärwen, in the city of Tirion during the Years of the Trees and was the brother of Finrod Felagund, Angrod, Aegnor and Galadriel. Orodreth had an only child and daughter Finduilas with an unnamed wife. He was later killed in the Battle of Tumhalad.
However, according to the earlier versions, Orodreth was the son of Finarfin's son Angrod and Eldalótë. Hence, this made Orodreth the grandson of Finarfin and Eärwen since he was Angrod's son, and he became the nephew of Finrod, Aegnor, and Galadriel. Orodreth's wife was a Sindarin lady of the North, and they had two children: Finduilas and Gil-galad.[2]
Biography
Through his grandmother (mother) Eärwen of the Falmari (Teleri of Aman), he shared the blood of both the Ñoldor (House of Finarfin) and that of the Falmari (House of Olwë).[3] After the Doom of Mandos was announced in Araman, he and the rest of the Ñoldor left for Middle-earth. Even as his grandfather (father) Finarfin and many of his House turned back to Valinor, Orodreth stayed with his uncle Fingolfin and his host and pursued his journey to Middle-earth.[4]
Orodreth once held the isle of Minas Tirith in the vale of Sirion[5] until Sauron overran the isle and turned it into Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Orodreth then fled south to Nargothrond.[6]
When Beren came to the Kingdom of Nargothrond, King Finrod went with him on his quest for the Silmaril. However, Celegorm and Curufin, the Sons of Fëanor, were also at Nargothrond, and forced Finrod to lay down his crown. Orodreth took it, ruling as regent, but the Sons of Fëanor held the real power. When news came that Finrod had been killed, the Sons of Fëanor were expelled from Nargothrond and Orodreth became its next king.[7]
When Túrin Turambar arrived in Nargothrond he gradually became its leader and Orodreth held no actual power, even if he was still King in name. High in Orodreth's councils, Túrin convinced him to build the Bridge of Nargothrond and abandon their secretive method of warfare in favor of open warfare.[8] In FA 495, Orodreth and Túrin marched out to meet the hosts of Morgoth and the Dragon Glaurung at Tumhalad and Orodreth died fighting there, and his realm was subsequently conquered.[9][10]
Etymology
The name Orodreth is Sindarin for "mountaineer", which came from the word orod ("mountain").[11][12]
His name in Quenya was Artaresto, which appears to have come from the word arta ("fortress, high") and resto, which have originated from the word retta ("climber").[13]
Interestingly, if the second part of his Quenyan name did come from retta, it is easily concievable that the second component of his Quenyan name resto was converted into reth when translated into Sindarin, hence "mountaineer", or more literally in this case, "mountain climber".
House of Finarfin
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| Aegnor |
| Galadriel |
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Genealogy
In The Silmarillion, Orodreth is a son of Finarfin, with the Quenya name Artanáro. This was an editorial decision by Christopher Tolkien, made on the grounds that the later revision was not fully integrated into the extant texts by his father. Gil-galad, later High King of the Ñoldor, was his son, but in The Silmarillion, Gil-galad is made into Fingon's son instead. An earlier idea was that Orodreth's son was named Hallas, but Gil-galad replaced him.
As the son of Angrod, the earlier name for Orodreth was Artanáro and later changed to Artaresto. After Angrod was slain, Orodreth dwelt with Finrod and became his "steward".[2] Tolkien apparently intended to make Orodreth the son of Angrod and the father of Gil-galad. However, this would have impacted a number of other characters and storylines and therefore the change was not made in the published Silmarillion.
In earlier versions, since Orodreth was described as the son of Angrod, it held true then that together with Turgon's daughter Idril and Curufin's son Celebrimbor, he was one of the three members of the Ñoldorin royal family in the third generation to come into exile. His father held Dorthonion, but Gil-galad was sent to the safer Nargothrond with his uncle Finrod.
Other Versions of the Legendarium
In earlier versions of The Silmarillion legendarium as detailed in The History of Middle-earth series, Orodreth was a more important character, and the original King of Nargothrond. However, his importance diminished over time.
In his last writings, Tolkien changed Orodreth's name to Artaher (Quenya) or Arothir (Sindarin), but it was never introduced in any narratives, so Christopher Tolkien left the name Orodreth unchanged. It is probable the Sindarin name Orodreth would have been retained nonetheless: Tolkien seldom changed names after they had long been used, even if only in unpublished writings.
Translations around the World
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
|---|---|
| Amharic | ዖሮድረጥ |
| Arabic | أورودريث |
| Armenian | Որոդրետհ |
| Belarusian Cyrillic | Ородрет |
| Bengali | ওরদ্রেথ |
| Bosnian | Orodret |
| Bulgarian Cyrillic | Ородретх |
| Cambodian | ោរោដរេេតហ ? |
| Catalan | Oròdreth |
| Chinese (Hong Kong) | 歐洛隹斯 |
| Georgian | ოროდრეთჰ |
| Greek | Ορόντρεθ |
| Gujarati | ઑરોદ્રેથ |
| Hebrew | ורודריתה |
| Hindi | ॐरोद्रेथ |
| Japanese | オロドレス |
| Kazakh | Ородретһ (Cyrillic) Orodreth (Latin) |
| Korean | 오로드레스 |
| Kyrgyz Cyrillic | Ородрэтh |
| Macedonian Cyrillic | Ородретх |
| Marathi | ॐरोद्रेथ |
| Mongolian Cyrillic | Ородретh |
| Nepalese | ॐरोद्रेथ |
| Pashto | ورودرېته ? |
| Persian | ورودرهته |
| Punjabi | ਓਰੋਦ੍ਰੇਥ |
| Russian | Ородрет |
| Sanskrit | ॐरोद्रेथ् |
| Serbian | Ородретх (Cyrillic) Orodreth (Latin) |
| Sinhalese | ඕරොද්රෙථ් |
| Tajik Cyrillic | Ородретҳ |
| Tamil | ஓரொத்ரெத்ஹ் |
| Telugu | ఓరొద్రెథ |
| Thai | โรโดรเถ ? |
| Ukrainian Cyrillic | Ородрет |
| Urdu | اوروڈریٹہ |
| Uzbek | Ородретҳ (Cyrillic) Orodreth (Latin) |
| Yiddish | אָראָדרעטה |
| King of Nargothrond | ||
| Preceded by Finrod |
Orodreth | Succeeded by None, realm destroyed |
| FA 465 - FA 495 | ||
References
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 10: Morgoth's Ring, The Annals of Aman
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 12: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", Parentage of Gil-galad
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"
- ↑ The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, X: "Túrin in Nargothrond"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI: "Of Túrin Turambar"
- ↑ The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, XI: "The Fall of Nargothrond"
- ↑ The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin names
- ↑ Parma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
- ↑ The History of Middle-earth, Vol. 5: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"