Orodreth

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. He was later killed in the Battle of Tumhalad.
However, according to later notes of Tolkien's, Orodreth was the son of Finarfin's son Angrod and Eðellos. 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.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. XII: The Peoples of Middle-earth, XI: "The Shibboleth of Fëanor", Parentage of Gil-galad
== 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).The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter V: "Of Eldamar and the Princes of the Eldalië" 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.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter IX: "Of the Flight of the Noldor"
Orodreth once held the isle of Minas Tirith in the vale of SirionThe Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIV: "Of Beleriand and its Realms" until Sauron overran the isle and turned it into Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Orodreth then fled south to Nargothrond.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XVIII: "Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
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.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XIX: "Of Beren and Lúthien"
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.The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, Chapter X: "Túrin in Nargothrond" 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.The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Chapter XXI: "Of Túrin Turambar"The Children of Húrin, Narn i Chîn Húrin, The Tale of the Children of Húrin, Chapter XI: "The Fall of Nargothrond"
== Etymology ==
The name Orodreth is Sindarin for "mountaineer", which came from the word orod ("mountain").The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin namesParma Eldalamberon, Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
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").The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies"
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".
=== 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". 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 ==
In earlier versions of Tolkien's legendarium, as detailed in The History of Middle-earth, Orodreth had been a more important character and the original King of Nargothrond, but his importance diminished over time. In a earlier account Orodreth had two other sons: Haldir and Orodlin.The History of Middle-earth, Vol. IV: The Shaping of Middle-earth, chapter VII: "The Earliest Annals of Beleriand"The History of Middle-earth, Vol. V: The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", Appendix I: "The Genealogies"
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==
Foreign Language 	Translated name
Amharic 	ዖሮድረጥ
Arabic 	أورودريث
Armenian 	Օրոդրեթ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Ородрет
Bengali 	ওরদ্রেথ
Bosnian 	Orodret
Bulgarian Cyrillic 	Ородрет
Catalan 	Oròdreth
Chinese (Hong Kong)	歐洛隹斯
Georgian 	ოროდრეთჰ
Greek 	Ορόντρεθ
Gujarati 	ઑરોદ્રેથ
Hebrew 	אורודרת
Hindi 	ॐरोद्रेथ
Japanese 	オロドレス
Kazakh 	Ородрет (Cyrillic) Orodret (Latin)
Korean 	오로드레스
Kyrgyz Cyrillic 	Ородрэтh
Macedonian Cyrillic	Ородрет
Marathi 	ॐरोद्रेथ
Mongolian Cyrillic 	Ородрет
Nepalese 	ॐरोद्रेथ
Pashto 	ورودرېته ?
Persian 	اورودرت
Punjabi 	ਓਰੋਦ੍ਰੇਥ
Russian 	Ородрет
Sanskrit 	ॐरोद्रेथ्
Serbian 	Ородрет (Cyrillic) Orodret (Latin)
Sinhalese 	ඕරොද්‍රෙථ්
Tajik Cyrillic 	Ородрет
Tamil 	ஓரொத்ரெத்ஹ்
Telugu 	ఓరొద్రెథ
Thai 	โอโรเดร็ธ
Ukrainian Cyrillic 	Ородрет
Urdu 	اوروڈریٹہ
Uzbek 	Ородрет (Cyrillic) Orodret (Latin)
Yiddish 	אָראָדרעטה
==References==
Category:Sindarin names & words
Category:Ñoldor
Category:Elves of Nargothrond
Category:The Silmarillion characters
Category:Characters in The Children of Húrin
Category:Characters in The History of Middle-earth
Category:Deaths in battle
Category:Elves
Category:Elves of Beleriand
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ru:Ородрет