By Oshun
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Ohtar is a minor character mentioned in The Silmarillion, but his role and his actions are indispensable to principal story elements. His heroic devotion to duty connects the story of the One Ring and the sword Narsil begun in the Second Age of Middle-earth to the main plot of The Lord of the Rings. In the "Index of Names" in The Silmarillion he is described as the "esquire of Isildur, who brought the shards of Elendil's sword to Imladris."1 He is also referenced in The Lord of the Rings in the timeline of events listed as Appendix B:
Third Age 3 Ohtar brings the shards of Narsil to Imladris.
Third Age 10 Valandil becomes King of Arnor.2
In an interesting author's note in "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields," Tolkien states that
Ohtar is the only name used in the legends; but it is probably only the title of address that Isildur used at this tragic moment, hiding his feelings under formality. Ohtar 'warrior, soldier' was the title of all who, though fully trained and experienced, had not yet been admitted to the rank of roquen, 'knight.' But Ohtar was dear to Isildur and of his own kin.3
Elrond refers to him by this name in his recounting of the deeds of the Elder Days and the history of the One Ring, which he reveals in the Lord of the Rings' chapter "The Council of Elrond."4 Most of Tolkien's readers receive their first introduction to Isildur and also meet this loyal and courageous esquire referred to as Ohtar in Elrond's firsthand account the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which ended the Second Age:
I was the herald of Gil-galad and marched with his host. I was at the Battle of Dagorlad before the Black Gate of Mordor, where we had the mastery: for the Spear of Gil-galad and the Sword of Elendil, Aeglos and Narsil, none could withstand. I beheld the last combat on the slopes of Orodruin, where Gil-galad died, and Elendil fell, and Narsil broke beneath him; but Sauron himself was overthrown, and Isildur cut the Ring from his hand with the hilt-shard of his father's sword, and took it for his own.5
Elrond tells a riveting story and one that is entirely new to Boromir and the Hobbits, although the Elves of Rivendell and Gandalf, of course, would have known it, as Aragorn would have as well. Elrond explains how Isildur perishes at Gladden Fields and how the Ring disappears with him. He explains that "three men only came ever back over the mountains after long wandering. One of these was Ohtar, the esquire of Isildur, who bore the shards of the sword of Elendil; and he brought them to Valandil, the heir of Isildur, who being but a child had remained here in Rivendell."6 Narsil, the sword of Elendil, is thus rescued and kept safe by Elrond until it is finally reforged and restored to Aragorn, the heir of Isildur.
The Silmarillion version of Ohtar's story is told in Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. This version of the story gives the reader insight into why Isildur comes to rely upon Ohtar to rescue his father's sword. We learn how Sauron is overthrown and his visible reincarnation destroyed when Gil-galad and Elendil die standing up to him. But it is Isildur who lops over the finger of Sauron wearing the ruling Ring and actually causes his spirit to flee. Then, Isildur claims the Ring as "weregild for my father's death."7 His refusal to cast the Ring into the fires is a terrible one and results in another few thousand years of continued suffering and death to the free peoples of Middle-earth.
Elrond describes Isildur's disastrous choice in his extended narrative at the counsel in Rivendell:
'Alas! yes,' said Elrond. 'Isildur took it, as should not have been. It should have been cast then into Orodruin's fire nigh at hand where it was made. But few marked what Isildur did. He alone stood by his father in that last mortal contest; and by Gil-galad only Círdan stood, and I. But Isildur would not listen to our counsel.8
In The Silmarillion we learn about both the power of the Ring and the magic of Narsil the sword of Elendil. Narsil, as well, as Gil-galad's spear Aeglos, are mentioned by name as combining to enhance the might of the Elves and the Númenóreans which enabled their victory over Sauron in that Last Alliance:
Against Aeglos the spear of Gil-galad none could stand; and the sword of Elendil filled Orcs and Men with fear, for it shone with the light of the sun and of the moon, and it was named Narsil.. . . But at the last the siege was so strait that Sauron himself came forth; and he wrestled with Gil-galad and Elendil, and they both were slain, and the sword of Elendil broke under him as he fell. But Sauron also was thrown down, and with the hilt-shard of Narsil Isildur cut the Ruling Ring from the hand of Sauron and took it for his own.9
Thus, Ohtar's outstanding importance within the legendarium is to secure the shards of Narsil and bring them back to Rivendell, where they are in place to help correct Isildur's mistake, almost three thousand years later. We learn that Ohtar is a man of the Dúnedain of Arnor and can be inferrd to have been a part of Isildur's guard on the fateful day that Isildur was slain, the Ring lost, and the shards of Narsil borne to Rivendell by Ohtar. In the Unfinished Tales version we read that Ohtar is part of a company made up largely of men of Arnor:
So it was, as is told in the legends of later days, that the second year of the Third Age was waning when Isildur set forth from Osgiliath . . . With Isildur went his three sons, Elendur, Aratan, and Ciryon, and his Guard of two hundred knights and soldiers, stern men of Arnor and war-hardened.10
While Elrond's narrative wastes no words on extraneous details, the UT passages contain descriptions of the physical setting and captures the mood of the characters on that fateful day, painting a picture of what transpired as Ohtar set out to complete his fameworthy salvation of the shards of Narsil. For example:
The Dúnedain were singing, for their day's march was near its end, and three parts of the long road to Imladris were behind them. To their right the Forest loomed above them at the top of steep slopes running down to their path, below which the descent into the valley-bottom was gentler.
Suddenly as the sun plunged into cloud they heard the hideous cries of Orcs, and saw them issuing from the Forest and moving down the slopes, yelling their war-cries. In the dimmed light their number could only be guessed, but the Dúnedain were plainly many times, even to ten times, outnumbered.11
Earlier, heartbreaking mention was made that Isildur and his company felt safe. It had been a long journey and Isildur's men were on foot. Sauron had been "vanquished, and the people of the Vales had been his allies in victory. He had no fear, save for weather and weariness, but these men must endure whom need sends far abroad in Middle-earth."12 This somehow is more painful to read than if they traveled with trepidation.
This is where Ohtar explicitly enters into the UT storyline. As the fate of Isildur's company becomes plain, Ohtar is singled out by Isildur and tasked with saving the treasured sword of Elendil:
The Orcs were now drawing near. Isildur turned to his esquire: 'Ohtar,'17 he said, 'I give this now into your keeping'; and he delivered to him the great sheath and the shards of Narsil, Elendil's sword. 'Save it from capture by all means that you can find, and at all costs; even at the cost of being held a coward who deserted me. Take your companion with you and flee! Go! I command you!' Then Ohtar knelt and kissed his hand, and the two young men fled down into the dark valley.17In the earlier draft Isildur directed Ohtar to take two companions with him. In Of the Rings of Power (The Silmarillion p. 295) and in The Fellowship of the Ring II 2 it is told that 'three men only came ever back over the mountains'. In the text given here the implication is that the third was Estelmo, Elendur's esquire, who survived the battle (see p. 357).13
Ohtar does make it to Rivendell with the shards of Narsil:
Thus Narsil came in due time to the hand of Valandil, Isildur's heir, in Imladris; but the blade was broken and its light was extinguished, and it was not forged anew. And Master Elrond foretold that this would not be done until the Ruling Ring should be found again and Sauron should return; but the hope of Elves and Men was that these things might never come to pass.14
It is interesting to observe that, although Ohtar appears only briefly in each tale, he is mentioned in three major accounts of the demise of Isildur and the continuing history of the sword of Elendil. Some fanfiction writers have seized this role and, in contrast to Ohtar's relatively minor role in the text, built on Tolkien's work to develop Ohtar's character. For example, the Archive of Our Own contains, as of this writing, thirteen fanfiction stories that feature Ohtar as a character, while the Silmarillion Writers Guild contains three. While seemingly small numbers on both archives, what is perhaps most interesting is that fans are drawn to write about this minor character at all. One also might wonder if mentioning this character in different versions of the story of the sword of Elendil that Tolkien himself might have intended to expand Ohtar's story at some point.
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Oshun's Silmarillion-based stories may be found on the SWG archive.
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