Henneth Annun Reseach Center

Character Bios

Oromë

Meaning: Horn-blowing or Sound of Horns

Other Names:
Araw (Sindarin)
Béma (by the Rohirrim)
Aldaron (Quenya) 'Lord of Forests'
Tauron (Sindarin) 'Lord of Forests'
the Huntsman of the Valar

Location(s): Valinor, Middle-earth

Race/Species: Ainur

Type/Kind: Vala

Title(s):
a Lord of the Valar
Aratar, High One of Arda

Siblings: Nessa

Spouse: Vána

Description:
Oromë is a mighty lord. If he is less strong than Tulkas, he is more dreadful in anger.... Oromë loved the lands of Middle-earth, and he left them unwillingly and came last to Valinor; and often of old he passed back east over the mountains and returned with his host to the hills and the plains. He is a hunter of monsters and fell beasts, and he delights in horses and in hounds; and all trees he loves, for which reason he is called Aldaron, and by the Sindar Tauron, the Lord of Forests. Nahar is the name of his horse, white in the sun, and shining silver at night. The Valaróma is the name of his great horn, the sound of which is like the upgoing of the Sun in scarlet, or the sheer lightning cleaving the clouds. Above all the horns of his host it was heard in the woods that Yavanna brought forth in Valinor; for there Oromë would train his folk and his beasts for the pursuit of the evil creatures of Melkor. The spouse of Oromë is Vána, the Ever-young; she is the younger sister of Yavanna.

The Silmarillion, Valaquenta: Of the Valar

Among [the Valar] Nine were of chief power and reverence; but one is removed from their number, and Eight remain, the Aratar, the High Ones of Arda: Manwë and Varda, Ulmo, Yavanna and Aulë, Mandos, Nienna, and Oromë.

The Silmarillion, Valaquenta: Of the Valar

[Tulkas'] spouse is Nessa, the sister of Oromë ...

The Silmarillion, Valaquenta: Of the Valar

And Oromë tamer of beasts would ride too at whiles in the darkness of the unlit forests; as a mighty hunter he came with spear and bow, pursuing to the death the monsters and fell creatures of the kingdom of Melkor, and his white horse Nahar shone like silver in the shadows. Then the sleeping earth trembled at the beat of his golden hooves, and in the twilight of the world Oromë would sound the Valaróma his great horn upon the plains of Arda; whereat the mountains echoed, and the shadows of evil fled away, and Melkor himself quailed in Utumno, foreboding the wrath to come. But even as Oromë passed the servants of Melkor would gather again; and the lands were filled with shadows and deceit.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 1, Of The Beginning of Days

And on a time it chanced that Oromë rode eastward in his hunting, and he turned north by the shores of Helcar and passed under the shadows of the Orocarni, the Mountains of the East. Then on a sudden Nahar set up a great neighing, and stood still. And Oromë wondered and sat silent, and it seemed to him that in the quiet of the land under the stars he heard afar off many voices singing.

Thus it was that the Valar found at last, as it were by chance, those whom they had so long awaited. And Oromë looking upon the Elves was filled with wonder, as though they were beings sudden and marvellous and unforeseen....

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 3, Of The Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor

It is told that when the hosts of the Eldalië departed from Cuiviénen Oromë rode at their head upon Nahar, his white horse shod with gold....

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 3, Of The Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor

Then the pursuit [of Melkor and Ungoliant] was begun; and the earth shook beneath the horses of the host of Oromë, and the fire that was stricken from the hooves of Nahar was the first light that returned to Valinor. But so soon as any came up with the Cloud of Ungoliant the riders of the Valar were blinded and dismayed, and they were scattered, and went they knew not whither; and the sound of the Valaróma faltered and failed. ... But when the Darkness had passed, it was too late: Melkor had gone whither he would, and his vengeance was achieved.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 8, Of The Darkening of Valinor

In Beleriand still at times rode Oromë the great, passing like a wind over the mountains, and the sound of his horn came down the leagues of the starlight, and the Elves feared him for the splendour of his countenance and the great noise of the onrush of Nahar; but when the Valaróma echoed in the hills, they knew well that all evil things were fled far away.

The Silmarillion, Quenta Silmarillion, Ch 10, Of the Sindar

Men [of Rohan] said of [the Mearas] that Béma (whom the Eldar call Oromë) must have brought their sire from West over Sea.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: The House of Eorl

The wild kine that were still to be found near the Sea of Rhûn were said in legend to be descended from the Kine of Araw, the huntsman of the Valar, who alone of the Valar came often to Middle-earth in the Elder Days. Oromë is the High-elven form of his name.

The Return of the King, LoTR Appendix A, Annals of the Kings and Rulers: The Realms in Exile

Contributors:
Elena Tiriel 19Nov05

Related Library Entries

Characters Search

      

View all Bios

Full Text Search