Helm Hammerhand
Helm
Biographical information
Other names
Hammerhand
Titles
Birth
Rule
Death
Realms
Spouse
Unnamed wife
Children
Weapon
Fists
Physical description
Race
Culture
Media portrayal
Voice
Brian Cox (The War of the Rohirrim)
Helm was the ninth King of Rohan, and the last of the first line of its Kings. His rule was plagued by war with the Dunlendings that attempted to usurp his rule of Rohan.
Contents
Biography
Helm was born in TA 2691 to the royal House of Eorl that had ruled Rohan since TA 2510, during the reign of his great-grandfather King Goldwine, the sixth King of Rohan. Helm was the son of Prince Gram, who was the grandson of King Goldwine as the son of Crown Prince Déor. When Helm was a young boy in TA 2699, the elderly King Goldwine died at the age of 80 after a long and peaceful reign, and the Crown Prince, aged 55, succeeded him as the seventh King of Rohan. With King Déor's ascension, Helm's father Gram become the new Crown Prince, while Helm himself became second in line to the throne as grandson of the reigning monarch.
Unlike the reign of Helm's great-grandfather King Goldwine that Helm had spent his early childhood under, the reign of Helm's grandfather King Déor would be marked by conflict with the Dunlendings, who were a race of wild men that inhabited the lands bordering Rohan. 11 years into King Déor's reign in TA 2710, by which time his grandson Prince Helm had grown to manhood, the Dunlendings would successfully capture the Gondorian fortress of Isengard, which they would use in succeeding years as a base. King Déor would die in TA 2718 at the old age of 74 after 19 years on the throne, and his 50 year old son Crown Prince Gram, Helm's father, would succeed him as the Eighth King of Rohan. By now 27 years old, Helm would become the Crown Prince of Rohan and first in line to the throne
Like the reign of Helm's grandfather King Déor, the reign of Helm's father King Gram saw a continuation of hostilities with the Dunlendings who would operate from the captured palace of Isengard to raid Rohan. In fact, the entirety of King Gram's 23 year reign was marked by open warfare with the Dunlendings, which Crown Prince Helm likely took part in. King Gram would die in TA 2741, and Crown Prince Helm, now aged 50, would finally succeed him as the ninth King of Rohan.
During his reign, King Helm came into conflict with an arrogant and powerful landowner named Freca. Freca was a Dunlending with Rohirric blood; he claimed to be a descendant of King Fréawine of Rohan. Freca viewed King Helm with both contempt and scorn, while Helm mistrusted Freca and was wary of him.
In TA 2754, Freca attempted to intimidate and coerce King Helm into giving his approval and consent to an arranged marriage between Freca's son Wulf and Helm's daughter. Freca marched to a meeting of the King's council in Edoras with a large number of retainers, planning to threaten the King into complying with his demands. In the resulting quarrel, Helm Hammerhand smote Freca with a single blow from his fist. The blow was so great Freca died soon after. Enraged, the men of Freca left Edoras, and King Helm declared Wulf and his kin enemies of the King.
Helm's fatal blow to Freca - The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
Four years later in TA 2758, a combined force of Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf, Corsairs of Umbar, and Easterlings overran Rohan. Helm was defeated in battle at the Fords of Isen, and withdrew into the Súthburg at Helm's Deep (which was later renamed in his honor). There, he endured a long siege.
While King Helm and his younger son Prince Háma were besieged in the Hornburg, a force of Dunlendings under the leadership of Wulf also besieged Edoras. Prince Haleth, King Helm's elder son, led the defence of Edoras. He was the last to fall defending the doors of the Golden Hall.
Shortly after Yule 2758, Prince Háma accompanied by a small force went out to search for food, but he and his men were lost in a blizzard and never seen again. The Súthburg held a large war-horn, and whenever it was blown, Helm would break through the Dunlending ranks, slaying many of their men. Helm was described as clad in white and stalking his prey, resembling a Snow-troll. Helm's enemies came to fear him greatly during this time and it was believed that he became so fierce and terrible, that he slew many of them with his bare hands. It was also believed that when he grew hungry and had no food he ate men, grief and hunger having made Helm more ferocious.
After one sortie, Helm went to fight and did not return; his body was discovered the next morning frozen in the snow still standing, dead, his eyes open, ready to fight. This led to a belief among the Rohirrim and Dunlendings that even in death the wraith of Helm Hammerhand still wandered through Rohan, and defended the Hornburg. Helm died in TA 2759 at the age of 68. His nephew Fréaláf Hildeson, who defeated the Dunlendings, succeeded Helm.
Helm was called Hammerhand because of his great strength and prowess with his fists: he was known to fight barehanded. This is sometimes attributed to a superstition that if "he used no weapon no weapon would upon bite him".[1][2]
In adaptations
Films
In Peter Jackson's The Two Towers film, a statue of Helm Hammerhand is seen briefly at Helm's Deep.
In the film The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, Helm is voiced by Scottish actor Brian Cox.
Video games
[
](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/1/1e/The_Lord_of_the_Rings_Online_-_Hammerhand%27s_Horn.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20210613213251)
The Lord of the Rings Online tapestry: Hammerhand's Horn
In The Lord of the Rings Online, a tapestry depicting Helm Hammerhand is found in the Mead Hall of Aldburg and can be acquired for use in player's houses.
[
](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/lotr/images/e/e6/Helm_Hammerhand_%26_daughter.png/revision/latest?cb=20180903224951)
Helm and his daughter as seen in Middle-earth: Shadow of War
In Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Helm is shown to have become a Nazgûl. He received his ring from Sauron and Celebrimbor after he was mortally wounded in an ambush by Wulf's men, during which his daughter was kidnapped. After recovering, he led a group of men to Wulf, but accidentally fatally struck his daughter in rage. This further fueled his anger, and he proceeded to slaughter everyone in the room, including his own troops who tried to calm him down. He wields a great hammer unlike the Helm of the books, and the story appears to have been pushed up to the end of the Second Age in order to fit in with the game's timeline. His hammer later ends up in the hands of Talion after the latter joins the nine himself.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, it is revealed that Helm had had a ceremonial warhammer crafted from mithril as a gift to the Dwarves who had helped fortify Helm's Deep, but had never accepted credit for doing so. This hammer was stored in the Hornburg, where it remained untouched for centuries until it was recovered by the Dúnedain Ranger Elegost shortly before the Battle of the Hornburg. Elegost presented the hammer to his close friend and comrade, Hadhod, a Dwarf of the Clan of Fundin. Hadhod continued to use the hammer to fight Sauron's forces on his group's journey following the Fellowship of the Ring across Middle-earth. It is likely that Hadhod kept the hammer after the end of the War of the Ring, but this cannot be confirmed.
Gallery
Helm Hammerhand's statue in Peter Jackson's The Two Towers film
[
](https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/File:Helm_Hammerhand_-_Ben_Wootten.png "Helm Hammerhand - Ben Wootten.png (1.15 MB)")
Helm Hammerhand hunting his foes by Ben Wootten
[
](https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/File:Helm_frozen_-_War_of_the_Rohirrim.png "Helm frozen - War of the Rohirrim.png (1.21 MB)")
Helm frozen over his enemies corpses
House of Eorl
Translations
| Foreign Language | ShowTranslated name |
| King of Rohan | King of Rohan | King of Rohan |
|---|---|---|
Preceded by | Helm Hammerhand | Succeeded by |
| TA 2741 - TA 2759 | TA 2741 - TA 2759 | TA 2741 - TA 2759 |
References
- ↑ The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, II: The House of Eorl
- ↑ Unfinished Tales, Part Three: The Third Age, V: "The Battles of the Fords of Isen"