The Complete Tolkien Companion (74 page)

Oghor-hai
– The name given by Orcs to the Drúedain.

Ohtar
‘Warrior' (Sind.) – The Esquire of Isildur and one of the three Dúnedain to survive the disastrous Battle of the Gladden Fields (Year 2 Third Age), where Isildur and his three eldest sons were slain, together with many Dúnedain of the North-kingdom. At Isildur's express command – he was unwilling to leave otherwise – Ohtar escaped with Isildur's sword (Narsil, the Sword of Elendil, which had been broken in combat with Sauron two years before). After long wandering he managed to cross the Misty Mountains and so came to Rivendell, where Valandil, the Heir of Isildur, had been anxiously awaiting news of his father and brothers.

Óin
– From 2385–2488 Third Age, the King of the Dwarf-realm in the Grey Mountains. He was the grandson of Thorin I, who founded the colony, and his own grandson, Dáin I, was the last King of Durin's Line to rule there. Also the name of a Dwarf of Durin's Line, the son of Groin and brother of Glóin (the father of Gimli Elf-friend). Óin was also the cousin of Balin son of Fundin and, like Balin, he spent the greater part of his adventurous life engaged in honourable service to the Kings of Erebor in Exile: Thráin II and his son Thorin (II) Oakenshield. Thus, in 2941 Third Age, Óin, Gloin and Balin were among those chosen by Thorin – then a penniless exile – to accompany him on a desperate expedition to reclaim the treasure of Erebor, taken many years before by the Dragon Smaug.

The success of this Quest won its members great wealth and renown among the Dwarves of the reconstituted Kingdom Under the Mountain; however, after many years of prosperity, some of Thorin's former companions began to grow restless in Erebor, particularly Balin, Óin and Ori. Finally, in the year 2989, Balin assembled a small expedition including these two old comrades, and they set out with the declared aim of recovering Moria, greatest of all Dwarf-realms but lost to Durin's Folk centuries earlier. The fate of that expedition is well documented. Balin himself had reigned as ‘Lord of Moria' for no more than five years before a host of Orcs overwhelmed the Dwarves and drove them to seek shelter deep within the ancient and desolate Dwarf-city. Óin was killed while attempting to find a way out on the western side, where he was taken by the ‘Watcher in the Water'.

Oiolairë
‘Ever-summer' (Q.) – One of the
FRAGRANT TREES
of Númenor; by tradition a bough cut from this tree was attached to the prows of Númenorean ships setting out on journeys of exploration, to ensure a safe return.

Oiolossë
‘Mount-everwhite' (Q.) – The highest of the Pelóri range of Valinor, and therefore of all mountains in the World. Upon its summit stood the palace of Manwë, the Lord of the Valar, and his spouse, Varda. Older Quenya names for this holy mountain were
Taniquetil,
‘High-white-peak', and
Elerrína,
‘star-crowned'. The Sindarin equivalent was
Amon Uilos.
It was also called ‘The Hill of Ilmarin'.

Oiomúrë
– The northernmost part of Araman, a cold land of swirling mists on the borders of the Helcaraxë.

Oldbuck
– An ancient family of Shire-hobbits, who acquired a position of ascendancy comparatively early in the history of the Shire, and later developed into one of its two leading dynasties. The Old-bucks, who were largely of Stoorish blood, hailed originally from the Marish, a low-lying and fertile part of the Eastfarthing; and according to their own lore, they claimed descent from the first Thain of the Shire, Bucca of the Marish. The Thainship afterwards became a hereditary office among the Oldbucks and remained within the family until the year 2340 Third Age (740 Shire Reckoning), when Gorhendad Oldbuck led the clan across the Brandywine to settle the narrow strip of land between the river and the Old Forest. This was the area known as Buckland, and to commemorate the event Gorhendad renamed the family
Brandybuck
and began building Brandy Hall. That same year the family relinquished the Thainship, which then passed to the equally eminent Took Family.

Old Ford
– The chief fording place across the Great River in Wilder-land, where the Great East Road descended from the Misty Mountains and, crossing the Anduin, passed into Mirkwood.

Old Forest
– The name given in the Shire to the area of ancient woodland which lay due east of it, between the river Baranduin and the Barrowdowns. Although the Hobbits were quite unaware of it, the name was not inapposite, for this forest was one of the last surviving tracts of the vast primeval woods of the Elder Days. As Elrond Halfelven once remarked, ‘Time was when a squirrel could go from tree to tree from what is now the Shire to Dunland west of Isengard.'
1
The only wood of comparable age was Fangorn Forest. The trees of the Old Forest were quite unlike other varieties known to the Shire-folk, except for the ancient willow-trees of the Withywindle valley. Yet this very river-valley was the centre of the mysterious power which filled the Forest, mysterious and malevolent; chief among these trees was the Great Willow, whose ‘grey thirsty spirit drew power out of the earth and spread like fine root-threads in the ground … till it had under its dominion nearly all the trees of the Forest from the Hedge [the High Hay] to the Downs.'
2

Old Forest Road
– The Great East Road, where it passed through the forest of Mirkwood. Its eastern end, where the Road emerged at length from the vast gloom of Mirkwood by the banks of the River Running, became swampy and dangerous towards the end of the Third Age, and the Old Forest Road became as a consequence little used. It had once been called
Men-i-Naugrim,
the ‘Dwarves' Road'.

Old Grange
– The grain-storehouse of Hobbiton, Bywater and district. Unlike most buildings of the area, the Old Grange was constructed of brick and stone in the Mannish fashion. Sadly, this old barn was destroyed by agents of Saruman.

Old Guesthouse
– The chief inn of the city of Minas Tirith, situated on the main thoroughfare of the lowest circle, Rath Celerdain, the Street of the Lampwrights. It was constructed of old stonework, with a lawn enclosed on three sides by the building. The fourth side was open to the street.

Old Man Willow
– The chief peril of the
OLD FOREST
lay in the malevolent influence exerted over its trees by the Great Willow which, from earliest times, was able to dominate the Withywindle valley, and eventually came to control almost the entire forest. The rotten heart of the Willow placed a powerful spell over all creatures of the wood (save Tom Bombadil and those under his protection). From its sweetly sung webs of sleep few escaped who once wandered down to the banks of the Withywindle, and in the Old Forest all paths, by some strange chance, led to the river.

Old Toby
– Tobold Hornblower; also the name given to a popular brand of Southfarthing
PIPE-WEED
named after him (other favoured varieties were ‘Longbottom Leaf' and ‘Southern Star').

Old Took
– Gerontius Took.

Old Winyards
– An excellent variety of red wine from the Southfarthing of the Shire, strong in quality and flavour, with sound character, a pleasing bouquet, rich fruit, distinctive tobacco notes and a long finish. It was much praised by those (wealthy) Hobbits who drank it. Hobbits, as a rule, were more partial to well-brewed ale than to wine, although the latter beverage was by no means unknown.

‘Old Words and Names in the Shire'
– An etymological treatise written by Meriadoc Brandybuck, Master of Buckland. This worthy Hobbit found many previously dormant interests greatly stimulated by his travels during the War of the Ring. Among other pursuits, he later took up the study of the origins of the language then used by the Hobbits of the Shire, discovering a definite kinship with the tongues of Northern Men. Hobbits had originally dwelt in the upper vales of Anduin, whence these tongues had sprung. Meriadoc guessed that the language formerly spoken by Hobbits was closely related to the Northern tongue still used by the Rohirrim, and his treatise attempted to show this, evidently with fair success (for example, he traced the origins of the word
Hobbit
to the Mannish word
holbytla,
‘hole-builder'). Later scholarship has proved many of Meriadoc's assumptions correct. Like Dwarves, Hobbits always spoke the tongues prevalent in the lands where they dwelt. Therefore, in the middle of the Third Age, after settling in what was then a part of Arthedain, where the Westron was used, they adopted this Common Speech with ease. Yet many of the older names in their language, such as
smial
and
mathom,
long survived, as reminders from times when they had lived in Wilderland, a shy, quiet little people, unnoticed by all folk save their immediate neighbours but by no means averse to learning all they could, in their own elusive way.

‘Oliphaunt'
– A fine example of Hobbit comic bestiary lore, in the form of a short, somewhat terse poem recited by Samwise, who evidently knew the verse well
3
.
Oliphaunt
was the name given in the Shire to the great war-beasts of the Haradrim, known as
mûmakil.
In fact, it is unlikely that any Hobbits had ever seen such an animal – until the War of the Ring.

Olog-hai
‘Troll-race' (Black Speech) – The name given by Sauron's Servants to a race of ‘improved' Trolls which emerged in Southern Mirkwood and on the northern borders of Mordor towards the end of the Third Age. They were more cunning and fierce than other Trolls, and could endure the rays of the Sun. So marked were the differences between the Olog-hai and others of the Troll-kind that their enemies held them to be, not Trolls, but huge Orcs. This was, however, an erroneous assumption.

Olórin
– The true name of that wisest and kindliest member of the Order of Istari (Wizards), who was known in Middle-earth as Mithrandir or Gandalf the Grey.
Olórin
is a name of Maiarin form.

Olvar
–
See
KELVAR AND OLVAR
.

Olwë
– The younger brother of Elwë Thingol, and conjoint Lord of the Teleri, the Third Kindred of the Eldar, on the Great Journey. The Teleri were last on the line of march, and of their two hosts the one led by Olwë was the hindmost of all. But in Beleriand his elder brother Elwë was lost, and the time came for the Eldar to depart; Elwë did not reappear, and the Vanyar and Noldor sailed away into the West; and the Teleri were left behind. Then Olwë became their king, and they dwelt by the sea-coasts. But after the passing of perhaps half an Age, the summons again came from Valinor, and this time most of the host of Olwë embarked, and was carried across the Sea, leaving Elwë and his people behind in Middle-earth.

We are told that Olwë's people did not come directly to Aman, but tarried in Tol Eressëa for a further Age; there they first learned and developed the craft of ship-building (in this they were instructed by the Sea-Maia Ossë), and only then did they complete the long Journey and set foot in Eldamar. On the northern shore of its Bay they made their new home, the city and port of Alqualondë, the Haven of the Swans. The other Calaquendi called them
Falmari,
the Sea-elves.

Olwë's daughter was Eärwen, who wedded Finarfin, the youngest of the three sons of Finwë. In this way the Teleri were allied with the Noldor. But this unhappily did not prevent Olwë's people from bearing the brunt of an insane attack launched upon them by the Noldor, in what has become known as the Kinslaying at Alqualondë. This, the most grievous of all the deeds of Fëanor, took place at the time of the theft of the Silmarils and the rebellion of the Noldor, when the Sea-elves led by Olwë denied the use of their ships to the Noldor. Nor would Olwë join Fëanor's revolt. Fighting broke out, and the Teleri were severely handled and many were slain; their ships were taken from them, and used by Fëanor for his purposes, and afterwards contemptuously burned, by his order, on the shores of a remote bay in Middle-earth. In time the Teleri were able to restore their city and ships, but the loss in lives was made good only slowly. Olwë never again returned to Middle-earth.

Ondoher
– From 1936–44 Third Age, the thirty-first King of Gondor. His brief (eight-year) reign was cut brutally short by a massive invasion of Wainriders, old foes of the Dúnedain. Ondoher led the main Army of Gondor across the Anduin to meet the Easterlings, and battle took place upon the ancient field of Dagorlad. The Dúnedain were defeated and Ondoher, together with his only two sons, was slain.

The passing of the King – and the death of his heirs – brought about two crises for the South-kingdom: an immediate military problem and a later constitutional dilemma. Both were resolved by the same man, Eärnil, Captain of Gondor's Southern Army at the time of the invasion. First, this able soldier defeated the Wainriders (
see
BATTLE OF THE CAMP
), and so ended the threat to Gondor from the East for that time. Then, the problem of the Succession was resolved when the Council of Gondor awarded Eärnil Ondoher's crown. He was the penultimate King of the Line of Anárion.