Bladorthin

"...the spears that were made for the armies of the great King Bladorthin (long since dead), each had a thrice-forged head and their shafts were inlaid with cunning gold, but they were never delivered or paid for..."

—The Hobbit, "Inside Information"

Bladorthin was a great King of an unknown location within Middle-earth, sometime in the Third Age.^[1]

Biography[]

Sometime during the mid- to late Third Age, Bladorthin ruled a realm that maintained armies and had an unspecified trade relationship with the Dwarven Kingdom under the Mountain.^[1]

For an unspecified reason, Bladorthin charged the Dwarves with making multiple spears for his armies. These spears were to each possess a thrice-forged head with a shaft cunningly lined with gold. While the spears were indeed forged, the Dwarves never delivered them and Bladorthin never payed for them. As such, the spears remained within Erebor.^[1]

In TA 2941 during the Quest of Erebor long after Bladorthin had passed away, Thorin and Balin pondered on whether or not Bladorthin's order was still intact,^[1] possibly implying that Bladorthin's realm was close in proximity to the Lonely Mountain.

Etymology[]

It is possible that Bladorthin is a Sindarin name comprised of the elements blador ("wide plain") and thin ("grey").^{[citation needed]}

While J.R.R. Tolkien never elaborated on the name Bladorthin, John D. Rateliff noted that the name was "clearly Gnomish (or perhaps Noldorin)". If this was the case, then Bladorthin would translate to "Grey Country", "Grey Plains Fay", or "Grey Master of the Plains". Thus, the name may be comprised of the Gnomish elements blador (which "probably applies to wide open country") and -thin ("grey").^[2]

Like Rateliff, Andreas Möhn also identified the name as Gnomish, however, he claimed that blador meant "wide earth, flat earth" and interpreted the whole name as "wide earth-grey" or "Grey One of the wide lands" speculated that the Quenya form of Bladorthin may have been Palursindo.^[3]

Unlike them, Michael L. Martinez did not believe that Bladorthin was Gnomish, noting not only that the element -blad only appeared in Bladorion, a name which Tolkien abandoned, but also that the element is similar in sound to "Blaed(a)", an Old English name for "renowned".^[4]

In other versions[]

In the early drafts of The Hobbit, Bladorthin was the name of Gandalf for much of the narrative until Tolkien decided to change it late in the writing process.^[2]

Speculation[]

It has been theorized by Robert Foster that Bladorthin was an Elven king who had a premature death, therefore preventing the trade. Thus narrowing his death to between TA 1999 and TA 2770.^[5] This theory is shared by J.E.A. Tyler^{[citation needed]} and Michael L. Martinez, though Martinez also adds that he may have been a King of Dale who reigned long before Girion.^[4] This theory that Bladorthin was a mortal Man is shared by Douglas A. Anderson.^[6] The Tolkienwiki not only agrees with the theory of Bladorthin having a premature death, but also theorize that his kingdom was located around the Sea of Rhûn before being destroyed by Sauron.^[7] Andreas Möhn disagrees with most of the above theories, particularly the belief of his premature death since The Hobbit never mentioned Bladorthin's death as being premature. As a result, Möhn theorizes that Smaug's arrival in TA 2770 prevented the trade, implying that Bladorthin's death must have been sometime later. He also countered the theory that he was a King of Dale because Dale was never a kingdom before Bard. Thus, Möhn identifies that his kingdom was actually located in Dorwinion. In addition, he also suggests that Bladorthin may have been related to the Kings Thorin mentioned who used to send for the smiths of Erebor, rewarding "even the least skillful most richly".^[3][8]

In adaptations[]

The Hobbit: The Prelude to The Lord of the Rings[]

In the 2003 video game, The Hobbit: The Prelude to The Lord of the Rings, Bladorthin's spears are among a list of items that Bilbo Baggins must locate within Erebor during a quest in the "Inside Information" chapter.

Translations[]

References[]