Húrin is a fictional character in the

Middle-earth Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the '' Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is ...

legendarium Tolkien's legendarium is the body of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic writing, unpublished in his lifetime, that forms the background to his ''The Lord of the Rings'', and which his son Christopher summarized in his compilation of ''The Silmaril ...

J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

. He is introduced in ''

The Silmarillion ''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavri ...

'' as a hero of

Men A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...

during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the

Edain In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fiction, Man and Men denote humans, whether male or female, in contrast to Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, and other humanoid races. Men are described as the second or younger people, created after the Elves, and di ...

and all the other Men in Middle-earth.

Appearance and history

Húrin is the elder son of Galdor the Tall of the House of Hador and Hareth of the Haladin, and he has a younger brother named Huor. Huor and Húrin live with their uncle Haldir in

Beleriand In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle ...

, when they join a war party against the

Orcs An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially ''The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugly, ...

. The brothers end up in the Vale of Sirion, and are cut off from their company and chased by Orcs. The

Vala Vala or VALA may refer to: Religion and mythology * Vala (Vedic), a demon or a stone cavern in the Hindu scriptures * Völva, also spelled Vala, a priestess in Norse mythology and Norse paganism Fiction * Vala (Middle-earth), an angelic being in ...

of Water causes a mist to arise from the river, and the brothers escape. Then two

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...

pick them up, and bring them to

Gondolin In Tolkien's legendarium, Gondolin was a secret city of Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth. The story of the Fall of Gondolin tells of the founding of the city; of the arrival there of Tuor, a prince of Men; of the betrayal of the city to Mor ...

. King Turgon welcomes them, remembering Ulmo's prophecy that the House of Hador will aid Gondolin in its time of greatest need. Turgon wants them to remain, as he grows to love them, but the brothers wish to return to their kin. They swear an oath to keep Gondolin secret, and the Eagles bring them back to Dor-lómin. Later Morgoth assails

Hithlum In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle- ...

, and Húrin's father Galdor falls defending the Barad Eithel. Húrin chases the Orcs away. He then takes the Lordship of his people. Soon he marries Morwen, and then their son Túrin is born. A daughter Lalaith follows, but she dies very young. Later when they go to battle with Morgoth Húrin rides his horse Arroch, 'Noble horse', to the battle and fights alongside his brother, Huor. In the midst of battle he meets Turgon again. After they lose the battle, Húrin and Huor take a stand fighting off the Orcs, allowing Turgon to escape. Huor and most of their soldiers are killed, but Húrin fights with his battle-axe until his axe withers, and he is buried under a mountain of dead Orcs and

Trolls A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...

. Húrin is then bound alive by Gothmog Lord of

Balrog A Balrog () is a powerful demonic monster in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. One first appeared in print in his high-fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', where the Fellowship of the Ring encounter a Balrog known as Durin's Bane in the Mi ...

s who brings him to Angband. Morgoth then tries to force Húrin to reveal where Gondolin is. When Húrin refuses, Morgoth curses him along with his kin and puts him on a high mountain peak in chains. Through the power of Morgoth, he can see and hear from the seat all the evils that later befall his son Túrin and daughter Nienor. He sees only those things that Morgoth wishes to reveal, lessening their good deeds. Húrin is thus embittered even more by the way his children, both under the spells of a dragon, come to marry each other, conceive a child and commit suicide. After twenty-eight years of imprisonment and the death of his children, Húrin is released by Morgoth. "He had grown grim to look upon: his hair and beard were white and long, but there was a fell light in his eyes. He walked unbowed, and yet carried a great black staff; but he was girt with a sword." He is brought to his old homelands, but enemies are living there. Seven outlaws under Asgon join Húrin, and together they go to the Vale of Sirion. Húrin abandons his followers and seeks the entrance to

, but it is closed, and Turgon does not wish to allow him in. Húrin cries out against Turgon, revealing the location of Gondolin to Morgoth's spies, and leaves. Only after he leaves does Turgon have a change of heart and send Eagles to fetch him, but they come too late and do not find him. Húrin continues to the forest of Brethil where his son and daughter died, and meets his wife Morwen there at their grave, just before she dies. In anger and despair he seeks out the Folk of Haleth, blaming them for the death of his wife and children, and causes a revolt that kills the last Haladin. Hardang the Chieftain of Brethil fears and dishonours Húrin, imprisoning and trying to kill him. Húrin's cause is defended by Manthor, and they manage to set the Folk of Brethil against Hardang and kill him. Manthor himself is killed, and guesses the will of Húrin: "Was not this your true errand, Man of the North: to bring ruin upon us to weigh against thine own?" Húrin meets up again with the outlaws, and together they go to Nargothrond, where Húrin kills the dwarf who claimed the treasure of the dragon who caused the suffering of Hurin's children, earning a curse on the gold. Húrin and his outlaws bring the treasure to Doriath, insulting

Thingol Elu Thingol or Elwë Singollo is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in ''The Silmarillion'', '' The Lays of Beleriand'' and ''The Children of Húrin'' and in numerous stories in '' The History of Middle ...

by giving it as a fee for his 'good care' of Húrin's kin.According to the original story, the outlaws did not accept this, and a bitter battle was fought at

Menegroth In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work ''The Silmarillion'', which tells the story of the early ages of Middle- ...

, leading to the death of all of them, and further cursing the gold. Tolkien never returned to this parts of the legendarium, but the battle was supposedly rejected. See ''The War of the Jewels'', pp. 354-6. Húrin thus brings a curse on Doriath as well, leading to its downfall. Melian, a

Maia Maia (; Ancient Greek: Μαῖα; also spelled Maie, ; la, Maia), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, is one of the Pleiades and the mother of Hermes, one of the major Greek gods, by Zeus, the king of Olympus. Family Maia is the daugh ...

and the queen of Doriath, uses kind words to break through to Húrin's clouded mind, and Húrin finally sees that all his deeds had only aided Morgoth. A broken man, he is rumoured to have cast himself in the sea and killed himself. That is the end of Húrin, who had been known as the "mightiest of the warriors of mortal men".

Other versions of the legendarium

This article includes information from the expanded ''

Narn i Chîn Húrin ''Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth'' is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980. Many of the tales ...

'' and '' The Wanderings of Húrin'': the account in the published ''

'', according to which Húrin himself buried Morwen and brought Nauglamír to Thingol, has been significantly edited for publication. In early versions of Tolkien's mythology his name was ''Úrin'' or ''Úrinthalion'', and also ''Thalion Erithámrod'' 'the Unbending'.

Reception

The Tolkien scholar

Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...

writes that the "lyric core" of the story of the fall of

is the scene where Húrin is set free after 28 years imprisoned by Morgoth. In his view, "everything in this scene is emblematic"; the sun sets behind the Mountains of Shadow, standing for the coming catastrophe, but "the real sunset is in Húrin's heart". Christopher Garbowski writes in the '' J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia'' that the depiction of Húrin in ''

The War of the Jewels ''The War of the Jewels'' (1994) is the 11th volume of Christopher Tolkien's series ''The History of Middle-earth'', analysing the unpublished manuscripts of his father J. R. R. Tolkien. It is the second of two volumes—'' Morgoth's Ring'' bei ...

'', crying aloud in the wilderness where the hidden entrance to Gondolin once stood, creates a very different effect to that of ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's b ...

'' which had already been written. The Vala Manwe sends an eagle to Turgon for help, but the account seems, writes Garbowski, to allow no time for the message to arrive; he calls Shippey's description of the scene, a "posed tableau", apt. Helen Lasseter Freeh notes that the longer version of the tale of Túrin Turambar in ''Unfinished Tales'' (the ''Narn'') contains a dialogue between Morgoth and Húrin about fate and providence. Despite his imprisonment, Húrin insists that Morgoth cannot control everything, and while Morgoth does not directly contradict this, he says he will spread a "cloud of Doom" on everyone Húrin loves, and "wherever they go, evil shall arise". Túrin indeed lives a life of disaster, in which Freeh sees the hand of fate, which threatens to overwhelm Túrin's free will. Shippey comments that Morgoth is one of the Valar, and their power in the world appears as luck, or chance, or fate. Terrible things in the ''Narn'' seem to be coincidences; but, writes Shippey, Tolkien often gives "double explanations" of these events, one fate, one just accident.

Descent of Húrin

Notes

References

Primary

::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''

Secondary

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurin Middle-earth Edain Characters in The Silmarillion Characters in The Children of Húrin Fictional sole survivors Fictional suicides Literary characters introduced in 1977