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Dân o’Nandor-on-Anduin
Rivendell
Feb 3 2015, 10:04am
Post #1 of 2
(459 views)
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The Arda 300: #'s 300-291
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As Jackson’s Hobbit ebbs its way out of theatres, maybe a Tolkien book renaissance is at hand. Maybe not.
However, I’m resuscitating a project that has continued on & off over on Voronwë the Faithful’s ‘Hall of Fire’ website over the past several years. It attempts, via a spreadsheet, to objectify the characters with the largest presence in Tolkien’s legendarium (or the characters most important to it, if you will), by quantifying the space taken in the indices of all major books (lines & indexed pages), as well as the size of their entries in the major Tolkien compendiums & online catalogues (lines & wordcounts), plus subjective lists/votes from a few online threads posing a similar question (only 3.7% of the total pts). Incidentally one of those subjective threads was from this site (I believe it was HeWhoArisesInMight's "Tolkien Hall of Fame" thread). The sources are all given at the bottom of each post, as a glossary to the statistics given with each character.
We’re now entering the top 300, having begun at 1200 – the Master-List housed here http://thehalloffire.net/....php?f=5&t=2904). I’ve classified each character by race & occupation (as best as I can) for an end statistical tally. And with each character, I give a link to Tolkien Gateway, the most all-encompassing source of this list (1/4 of the total pts). I also begin for fun, with #300, links to the greatest classic rock songs of all time, that I think correspond best to each character. I hope you enjoy!
#300 Roäc, son of Carc – raven messenger
[TG:25,EoA:6,Wik:1,RF:5,JT:5,MD:1,DD:11=54pts,3indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Roac
The top 300 begins with 2 Hobbit characters, and like all characters in that book, they get no points from its index as it has none. However, Roäc owes a 5th of his points to David Day’s A to Z. While Day may be controversial, it’s the only book of his I use as a source, because it gives necessary weight to Tolkien’s animals, dwarves, not to mention Khamûl the Easterling, who wouldn’t have been close to making the top 300 otherwise. The point Roäc gets from Drout’s Encyclopedia comes from Marjorie Burns’ entry ‘Old Norse Literature’, likening him to Odin’s news-bringing ravens Hugin & Munin. Roäc’s father Carc was character #671.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDxfjUEBT9I
#299 William Huggins – stone-troll thief
[TG:28,EoA:16,Wik:1,RF:7,H6:2=54pts,3indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/William_Huggins
‘Bill’ is, not surprisingly, the highest ranking Troll on the list; in fact the only one to crack the top 800, no doubt due to his unique surname. Lower ranking characters appearing on the list that I’ve grouped in the giant-class were trolls Bert & Tom, the Lonely Troll & the Cave-Troll of Moria; the giants Gilim & Nan; and the ogress Ulbandi. I’ve classified Bill as a thief, well, because he apparently was.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMmRyyU0SOo
#298 Wulf, son of Freca – dunlending warrior (usurper-king)
[TG:12,EoA:10,Wik:3,RF:9,JT:17,LR:1,H12:2=54pts,5indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Wulf
He had mixed blood, but I classify him as a Dunlending, dominant gene being the rarer race.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmZb8dH0oBs
#297 Uolë Kúvion, the Man in the Moon – elf explorer
[TG:18,Wik:3,RF:4,JT:7,JG:2,LR:1,H1:10,B1:9=54pts,9indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Uole_Kuvion
The Man-in-the-Moon of the nonsensical poems of LotR & Bombadil has a long history. In fact 19 of his points come from the Book of Lost Tales I, including an entry in the lexicons under Uolë Kúvion, containing translations of the name as ‘Moonking’, ‘crescent Moon’ and ‘the orbed Moon, name of the Moon-elf’. The first Man-in-the-Moon poem was written in March 1915, and according to CT it was meant to be sung by Eriol of the Lost Tales. In the original ‘Tale of the Sun and Moon’ it’s said “an aged Elf with hoary locks stepped upon the Moon unseen… and a little white turret has he builded on the Moon where often he climbs and watches the heavens, or the world beneath, and that is Uolë Kúvion who sleepeth never. Some indeed have named him the Man in the Moon, but Ilinsor is it rather who hunts the stars”. The last phrase confirms that this character isn’t equated with Tilion, Steersman of the Moon. Way back, Tolkien had a thing for relating many of his main characters to the celestial bodies of the cosmos. The transition strictly to the whimsical character of the poem seems to have occurred when the poem was published at Leeds in 1923, and we hear no more of the elf. Nonetheless, this list constitutes the entire legendarium, and absorbs all points towards each individual character.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BisS5JxeUW0
#296 Lorgan the Easterling – easterling warrior
[TG:25,EoA:8,Wik:3,RF:2,JT:6,Sil:2,UT:4,H11:4=54pts,13indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Lorgan
Brodda, his fellow Easterling, didn’t quite make the top 300, being back at #318, but Lorgan, more importantly, is the one who had the youthful Tuor as his thrall until his escape. Tuor will appear near the top of this list, and Lorgan, being his slave-master, no doubt deserves his place in the top 300.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht3w9psNgB0
#295 Gilraen the Fair (f) – arnorian dúnadan
[TG:24,EoA:8,WK:6,RF:7,JT:3,LR:2,H12:4=54pts,16indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gilraen
Her points all mainly arise from the ‘Tale of Aragorn and Arwen’, but mothers of important characters tend to do well on this list. Belladonna Took & Primula Brandybuck didn’t quite make the cut, being back at #313 & #320. But Aragorn will appear near the top as both of their sons do.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f34xa6nUBGU
#294 Gloredhel, daughter of Hador Lorindol (f) – 3rd house adan
[TG:17,EoA:1,Wik:1,RF:3,JT:8,DK:1,Sil:2,CoH:3,UT:4,H5:6,H11:8=54pts,19indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gloredhel
Characters that appear in the many versions have an advantage on this list, as they’re indexed more frequently. Gloredhel appears in the Sil, UT, HoMe5&11, and CoH. The point she gets from Kane’s index, nudging her into the top 300, is regarding his noting that the Narn is in fact the only reference to the double-wedding of her & Haldir, and Galdor & Hareth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0aHmMfZTEw
#293 Nerdanel the Wise, wife of Fëanor (f) – noldo
[TG:24,EoA:1,Wik:3,RF:5,JT:7,MD:1,DK:1,Sil:2,H4:2,H10:6,H12:2=54pts,23indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Nerdanel
This mother of 7 cracks the top 300 because she appears both in Jason Fisher’s ‘Fëanor’ article in Drout’s Encyclopedia, as he speculates “Fëanor wedded Nerdanel, probably with the explicit purpose of learning from her father Mahtan, a great craftsman and favorite of Aulë”; and her many references in Kane’s Arda Reconstructed. In it, Kane notes that Nerdanel “was not among the fairest of her people… strong, and free of mind, and filled with the desire of knowledge”, and that they met ‘because, like him, she loved to wander by the sea and in the mountains, and they were companions on many journeys’. Kane goes on to say “These details regarding Fëanor and Nerdanel’s relationship and her character are important, showing that Fëanor was not one to be influenced by surface charms; they give more depth to their relationship by showing how they met and what he saw in her. It is just the kind of character development that would have greatly added to the story”. Alas, due to CT’s omissions, she is merely #293.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbH7zNrHQqE
#292 Belegund, brother of Barahir – 1st house adan warrior
[TG:15,EoA:1,Wik:1,RF:3,JT:11,DK:1,Sil:3,CoH:1,UT:4,H3:2,H4:4,H5:4,H11:4,=54pts,40indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Belegund
He’s another character that appears in many versions, going back to the Lays in HoMe3, and including CoH. Kane has many references to Belegund, most notably pointing out that on the Sil’s family tree, Belegund misleadingly appears to be the older brother, not Baragund; not to mention the fact that their older sister Beleth doesn’t even appear. Only 3 more of Barahir’s outlaw band remain on the list, all others have already appeared.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JoeGMazX4o
#291 Valandil, 1st Lord of Andúnië – númenórean lord
[TG:29,EoA:10,Wik:3,RF:2,JT:3,LR:1,UT:4,LoE:1,H12:2=55pts,8indx.pgs]
http://tolkiengateway.net/...f_And%C3%BAni%C3%AB)
Ah, if only the laws were different at the time, Valandil would’ve been King. As it was, he removed to Andúnië on the seaside, producing a line that would become the Faithful. In time, the people of Númenor would turn away…so far away…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb55HHLoB70
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,EoA=Encyclopedia of Arda,Wik=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,Sil=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: CoH=Children of Húrin,B1 or B2=the ‘Qenya & Gnomish Lexicons’ from Book of Lost Tales Vols.1&2,FoG=the ‘Fall of Gondolin’ from BoLT Vol.2,LoE=the ‘Line of Elros’ tree & list from UT; MISC: HoF=votes from the Hall of Fire thread that initiated this project + a composite of selected favourite character lists.
(This post was edited by Dân o’Nandor-on-Anduin on Feb 3 2015, 10:10am)
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sador
Half-elven
Feb 4 2015, 8:38pm
Post #2 of 2
(362 views)
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You haven't been around for a long time!
Well, I'm glad to see you around, and that the rest of the list is archived somewhere; I'll get around to reading it once I find the time.
I also like the idea of the songs. So far, I approve of your choices.  Well done!
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