Manthor

Manthor
Tolkien's legendarium character
Aliases	Master of the Northmarch of Brethil
Race	Men
Gender	male
Book(s)	The War of the Jewels (The Wanderings of Húrin)

Manthor is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, appearing in The War of the Jewels.

He was a lord of Men in the First Age. He was a descendant of Halmir of the House of Haleth; his parents were Meleth and Agathor, and his brother was Hunthor who fell in the ravine of Taeglin.

Manthor was the Master of the North-march of Brethil, a part of the forest by the River Sirion nearest to the Ford of Brithiach. He was akin to the House of Hador and took pride in this, and so was a supporter of Túrin Turambar. After the death of Brandir childless many of the Folk of Brethil wanted Manthor to become the Halad, for he was of the senior line - but by a daughter, and so by tradition his second cousin Hardang (of the male descent) was elected.

Hardang disliked Manthor and had no love for the House of Hador, so by his command Manthor became the Captain of the Guards at the Crossings of Taeglin. There the fear of the assault by Orcs was the greatest, and Manthor moreover was "the doughtiest man" among the Folk of Haleth. Among "his strong company" at the Crossings were Forhend, Avranc, and Sagroth. Manthor appointed his chief henchman Ebor to be the Captain of the Guards at Brithiach.

Nonetheless, Manthor desired Chieftainship, and when Húrin returned to Brethil and found his wife Morwen dying, the "shadow" of the Curse of Morgoth that followed him awoke Manthor's dormant ambitions. He perceived that Húrin had come with no good intentions, but used the fear surrounding his appearance to overthrow Hardang. Cunningly using the laws of Brethil, he summoned the Folkmoot where he accused the Halad of dishonouring the guest. Although Manthor had "a great natural concern for 'courtesy' - sc. civilized behaviour and mercy", he now in eloquent words set the people against Hardang and his following, the chief of whom was Avranc. This resulted in the burning of the Hall of the Chieftains and slaying of Hardang; Manthor tried to stop the Folk, but his attempts were futile.

The Folk wanted to elect Manthor the Halad, but two days after he himself was shot to death by Avranc, and thus through the shadow of Húrin ended the House of the Haleth. A new wave of fighting in the Obel Halad followed, and in the end Avranc was chosen the Chieftain by the small remnants of the Folk of Brethil.

References

The Wanderings of Húrin: Tolkien, J. R. R. (1994), Christopher Tolkien, ed., The War of the Jewels, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, pp. 251-310, ISBN 0-395-71041-3

House of Haleth

Haleth family tree

Notes:

The later generations include information from the Wanderings of Húrin

J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium

Writings

Principal works	The Silmarillion The Hobbit The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King

Other works	The Adventures of Tom Bombadil The Road Goes Ever On

Posthumous publications	Unfinished Tales The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien The History of Middle-earth (12 volumes) Bilbo's Last Song The Children of Húrin The History of The Hobbit

Fictional universe	Characters Peoples Individual Dwarves Individual Elves Individual Hobbits Hobbit families Individual Númenóreans Individual Orcs Kings of Arnor House of Isildur Rangers of the North Arvedui Aragorn Eldarion Kings of Dale Kings of Gondor House of Anárion Eärnil II Kings of Rohan Éomer Théoden Rulers of Númenor Realms Cosmology Ages or timeline Animals Plants Food and drink Objects Rings of Power One Ring Three Rings Palantír Silmarils Weapons and armour Sting Wars and battles Rivers Anduin Roads Languages Magic Hobbit Day

Secondary works and legacy	The Atlas of Middle-earth The Complete Guide to Middle-earth A Guide to Middle-earth The Individuated Hobbit J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia Journeys of Frodo The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion Images of Middle-Earth Related fiction Things named after Tolkien and his works Tolkien's Ring Tolkien: A Look Behind "The Lord of the Rings"

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