The Hall of Fire

The 420… #420 Vidugavia, ‘King of Rhovanion’ – northman ruling-prince Coincidentally, he and his daughter (below) tallied the exact same score & # of indexed pages, but with slightly different apportionments. Vidugavia was the self-styled ‘King of Rhovanion’, more properly recorded as ‘the most ...

#431 Arassuil, 11th Chieftain of the Dúnedain – arnorian dúnadan chieftain He succeeded his father Arahad II in 2719 T.A., served 65yrs, and died at age 156. His chieftainship saw Orcs invade Eriador, while the Rangers fought many battles to hold them back. The Battle of Greenfields in the Shire oc...

These are the ten 36-point characters: #441 Ar-Zimrathôn, 21st Ruler of Númenor – númenórean king His father Ar-Adûnakhôr was the first king to take his name in the Adûnaic tongue, and the tradition was continued by Ar-Zimrathôn. His recorded Quenya name, Tar-Hostamir, apparently means "Collect...

The last of the 35-pointers: #450 Hathaldir the Young, outlaw companion of Barahir – 1st house adan warrior He’s the first of Barahir’s outlaw band that has an epithet to his name to appear on this list. As he is merely young, not outrageously unhappy, and retains both hands, Hathaldir just cracks t...

Regarding the merging/separating of potentially same/different characters to satisfactorily fit the parameters of this list, let me say that I’ve already had to do so quite often in compiling the initial 1200. For instance, in the ‘Lost Tales’ indices, the Ancient Mariner and the Man of the Sea, alt...

I'll consider that a definite well-reasoned vote for Option #1! Much appreciated.

The Orc-Captain Boldog and the Black-Númenórean Herumor of Harad appear in this installment, and a crossroads must now be noted. I’ve debated the exclusion of Boldog, and considered adding Herumor from ‘The New Shadow’ (who currently doesn’t appear on this list - an oversight on my part), with furth...

I'll leave that tracking project to you VtF. My hands are more than full! After Gorlim’s wife comes a unique congregation of lesser Middle-earth rulers, generally reigning in peaceful times, all at 34pts, with 2-6 indexed pgs, and very similar apportionments: all get 1pt from LotR, 2-3pts from Foste...

I believe only Barahir & Beren will appear after Gorlim, VtF. However Gorlim's wife will appear very soon, next in fact, as the last 33-point character, and surprisingly without your help. ;) #480 Frár, companion of Balin – dwarf adventurer Last of the predominant companions of Balin to appear o...

#490 Ragnor, outlaw companion of Barahir – 1st house adan warrior He was part of the group of 12 men (Gildor, Dairuin & Urthel have already appeared here) loyal to their lord Barahir, that survived the Battle of Sudden Flame. They formed a band of outlaws in Dorthonian, living in hiding until M...

And so we begin the Arda 500. I’ll now attach race/sub-race/occupation classifications to each character, which, unless precise titles or vocations are had, will often be the most appropriate approximations given a short-list of options. Where an occupation isn’t listed, for men it’s due to the inab...

#510 Estella Bolger>Brandybuck, wife of Merry @ (f) Fatty Bolger’s younger sister - they being the children of Odovacar Bolger & Rosamunda Took - Estella married Meriadoc after the War of the Ring. She was a late addition by Tolkien, and didn’t appear in the family-trees of the LotR 1st ed. [TG...

#520 Hob ‘Old Gammidgy’ Gammidge, the Roper The son of Wiseman Gamwich, who relocated his family from the village of Gamwich to Tighfield, Hob founded a family tradition as a roper. His son was Hobson ‘Roper Gamgee’, and his grandsons were Andwise Roper & the Gaffer. The nickname Gammidgy would...

Well, Sharp-ears does have, not just 1, but 2 more known names than the King of the Dead. Rest assured VtF there will be no shortage of such inconsistencies to come, and I will of course have an explanation for all. ;) And kzer za, I'll not disappoint as this block contains its requisite Orc... #530...

#540 Frodo Gardner, son of Samwise Gamgee The eldest son and 2nd child of Sam & Rosie, and it was his namesake that predicted his birth following sister Elanor. Frodo became the head of the Gardner/Gamgee family and inherited Bag End, passing it on to his son Holfast & grandson Harding. [TG...

#550 Gildor, outlaw companion of Barahir The 1st of Barahir’s outlaws to appear, Gildor fought in the Dagor Bragollach under Barahir. The survivors lived in hiding until Morgoth’s cooperatives captured Gorlim to give the location of their hideaway. Gildor and the other outlaws were killed, and only...

#560 Goldwine, 6th King of Rohan He lived during the rule of 3 ancestors: his great-grandfather Aldor the Old, his grandfather Fréa, & his father Fréawine, before Goldwine began his 19-year reign at age 61. The latter 3 enjoyed peaceful & prosperous tenures between Aldor’s driving-out of th...

#570 Halfast, son of Halfred of Overhill He’s Sam’s cousin, who worked for a Mr. Boffin in Overhill, and apparently saw an Ent while hunting in the Northfarthing. In the drafts, it was a hobbit named Jo Button who saw the ‘Tree-man’. But the name & incident morphed specifically enough, that the...

#580 Dírhael, grandfather of Aragorn Existing only in the ‘Tale of Aragorn & Arwen’, this descendant of Aranarth the 1st Chieftan is most renowned for listening to his wife. [TG:8,Eä:3,WK:1,RF:3,JT:3,LR:1,H12:4=23pts,5pgs] #579 Everard Took, son of Adelard @ He who danced the Springle-ring with...

#590 Balbo Baggins, great-grandfather of Bilbo The patriarch of the Bagginses; Bilbo was the 1st son & child of the 1st son & child of his 1st son & child. Balbo was called Inigo in earlier drafts. [TG:6,Eä:1,WK:2,RF:3,JT:2,LR:1,H6:6=21pts,6pgs] #589 *Eltas of Tol Eressëa He’s a boy who...