Orodreth was a Noldo from the First Age. He was the son of Angrod & the father of Finduilas. He succeeded his uncle Finrod, to the throne of Nargothrond, [1] as the King.
Biography
Orodreth was born during the Year of the Trees in Valinor. He was also known as Artaresto in Quenya. He was quite level headed and was soft-spoken, therefore was able to talk to the Noldor to calm them down upon his return to Middle-earth & inheriting the throne & the fortress of Minas Tirith from his uncle Finrod. He kept the fortress safe until Sauron attacked and turned it into the Isle of Werewolves. [2] Tol-in-Gaurhoth, as it was known back then, was turned when Dagor Bragollach attacked the kingdom. Upon learning of the siege Orodreth had to flee for his own safety to Nargothrond.
When Finrod was the King of Nargothrond & Beren arrived at his kingdom in F.A. 465, both of them went together on their quest for a Silmaril. It was the same time when the sons of Feanor Celegorm and Curufin, were looking for the Silmaril. Since they were the stronger group, they forced Finrod to help Beren along with just 10 other companions, and they did not let their entire army help them out on the quest.
With Finrod gone, they decided to put Orodreth as the figurehead of the kingdom and played the role from behind. Orodreth then became less popular with the people & the dwellers were looking to have someone who could actually lead them in case of a crisis. On the other hand, the brothers were just waiting for the news of Finrod’s demise to reach the kingdom, so that they could usurp the throne. Little did they know that the people of the kingdom, who were extremely loyal to Finrod would not let them take over. When the news of Finrod’s death reached Nargothrond, the brothers were publicly shamed and weren’t allowed to sit on the throne.
Even though the Tol-in-Gaurhoth was destroyed, Orodreth was ultimately returned to power by the consensus of the people and he threw the brothers out of his kingdom and barred him from ever entering again. Nargothrond had gone through so much in such a short period of time that the people celebrated and were extremely happy with his decision of throwing out the usurpers and welcomed Orodreth with open arms. Orodreth was so happy to have reclaimed the throne and he put in all the effort to keep the kingdom as safe as possible from their enemies.
A prince of Nargothrond, Gwindor, who had escaped from Morgoth, was able to lead Turin to Nargothrond. Turin hid his real name & named himself Agarwaen. The daughter of the then king Orodreth, Finduilas, fell in love with him but since Gwindor secretly admired her, Turin did not want to betray his friend. So upon meeting her, he did not reveal his name to her, so she simply called him Thurin which meant “The Secret”.
Since he resembled an elf some people also used to call him Adanedhel. But even though he tried a lot, his identity could not be hidden for a long time. When Gwindor revealed to Finduilas that Agarwaen was actually Turin, and was the son of Hurin, the King received him quite graciously. Little did he know that by welcoming this guest he was also allowing Morgoth’s wrath to be unleashed onto the kingdom. Orodreth appointed Turin as the Chief Counselor, and he came to be an influential figure in Nargothrond. He was extremely talented with a sword and came to be known as Mormegil or the black sword.
He convinced the people of the Rainbow Bridge before the gates of the Kingdom and revealed themselves to the world. But just sometime after this two messengers sent by Círdan, arrived at the kingdom and delivered the message from The Lord of waters Ulmo to close the bridge as it would help in keeping them safe. But Turin advised the king not to do so which ultimately proved fatal for them when Morgoth attacked the kingdom.
When Finrod was the King of Nargothrond & Beren arrived at his kingdom in F.A. 465, both of them went together on their quest for a Silmaril. It was the same time when the sons of Feanor Celegorm and Curufin, were looking for the Silmaril. Since they were the stronger group, they forced Finrod to help Beren along with just 10 other companions, and they did not let their entire army help them out on the quest.
With Finrod gone, they decided to put Orodreth as the figurehead of the kingdom and played the role from behind. Orodreth then became less popular with the people & the dwellers were looking to have someone who could actually lead them in case of a crisis. On the other hand, the brothers were just waiting for the news of Finrod’s demise to reach the kingdom, so that they could usurp the throne. Little did they know that the people of the kingdom, who were extremely loyal to Finrod would not let them take over. When the news of Finrod’s death reached Nargothrond, the brothers were publicly shamed and weren’t allowed to sit on the throne.
Even though the Tol-in-Gaurhoth was destroyed, Orodreth was ultimately returned to power by the consensus of the people and he threw the brothers out of his kingdom and barred him from ever entering again. Nargothrond had gone through so much in such a short period of time that the people celebrated and were extremely happy with his decision of throwing out the usurpers and welcomed Orodreth with open arms. Orodreth was so happy to have reclaimed the throne and he put in all the effort to keep the kingdom as safe as possible from their enemies.
A prince of Nargothrond, Gwindor, who had escaped from Morgoth, was able to lead Turin to Nargothrond. Turin hid his real name & named himself Agarwaen. The daughter of the then king Orodreth, Finduilas, fell in love with him but since Gwindor secretly admired her, Turin did not want to betray his friend. So upon meeting her, he did not reveal his name to her, so she simply called him Thurin which meant “The Secret”.
Since he resembled an elf some people also used to call him Adanedhel. But even though he tried a lot, his identity could not be hidden for a long time. When Gwindor revealed to Finduilas that Agarwaen was actually Turin, and was the son of Hurin, the King received him quite graciously. Little did he know that by welcoming this guest he was also allowing Morgoth’s wrath to be unleashed onto the kingdom. Orodreth appointed Turin as the Chief Counselor, and he came to be an influential figure in Nargothrond. He was extremely talented with a sword and came to be known as Mormegil or the black sword.
He convinced the people of the Rainbow Bridge before the gates of the Kingdom and revealed themselves to the world. But just sometime after this two messengers sent by Círdan, arrived at the kingdom and delivered the message from The Lord of waters Ulmo to close the bridge as it would help in keeping them safe. But Turin advised the king not to do so which ultimately proved fatal for them when Morgoth attacked the kingdom.
Etymology
Orodreth stands for “mountaineer” in Sindarin. His name Artaresto was derived from the word “arta” which meant High Fortress and “retta” to which meant climber.
Genealogy
There is a difference between the renditions of JRR Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien when it comes to the origin and lineage of Orodreth. The Silmarillion describes Orodreth as the son of Finarfin. Christopher Tolkien explained that the change was made because the corrections were not correctly made in the changes by his father. In the Silmarillion, Gil-galad is supposed to be the father of Orodreth.
Other Versions of the Legendarium
Although Orodreth Was an important character in the history of the Middle-earth, and he was proclaimed as the original King of Nargothrond his importance was diminished over time with the publication of new works. Towards the end of his work, JRR Tolkein changed his name to Another, but Christopher did not change it from Orodreth.