The Captain of the King's Household to Théoden of Rohan, and thus the leader of the King's Company, the éored of Riders who guarded the King and his hall. In the years leading up to the War of the Ring, King Théoden had fallen under the influence of Gríma Wormtongue, and had eventually taken to passing commands to Háma and his other commanders via his treacherous advisor.
Háma was little pleased with this arrangement, but outwardly maintained his duty as a loyal guard of the King. He was, however, ready to act subtly against Wormtongue. It was Háma, for example, who persuaded Éomer to disobey his orders to remain in Edoras, and instead ride out against a band of Orcs that had been seen crossing through northern Rohan.1
Háma entered the tale of the War of the Ring in February III 3019,2 when a strange party approached the King's Golden Hall of Meduseld. Four travellers, a Wizard, a Man, an Elf and a Dwarf, came to the hall and asked for audience with the King. It was Háma's duty to relieve these travellers of their weapons before they entered, and he did so, but he chose to allow the Wizard to retain his staff, despite being ordered by Gríma not to do so. Háma's choice thus enabled the Wizard, Gandalf, to heal Théoden and bring the Rohirrim into the War of the Ring.
After the healing of his King, Háma acted immediately, bringing his friend Éomer out of imprisonment and forcing Gríma to surrender the keys to his chest, within which Théoden's sword Herugrim was found, alongside other things that Gríma had hidden away. Háma also offered advice to the King, and it was he who suggested placing Éowyn in command of the people left in Rohan after the Riders had gone off to war. (Théoden accepted this suggestion, but Éowyn herself did not, choosing instead to ride to battle in disguise).
As captain of the King's guard, Háma rode with Théoden to defend the realm against invaders from Isengard. He fought in the Battle of the Hornburg, where he fell before the gate of the castle, and Saruman's Orcs hewed at his body even after his death. When the Rohirrim gained their victory, the loss of Háma was mourned by Théoden, who buried him with special honours. Where most of the fallen of the battle were laid in great mounds, Háma was given a single grave of his own under the walls of the Hornburg, and King Théoden himself turned the first earth onto the grave of his faithful captain Háma.
Notes
1 |
The story of Háma's part in Éomer's disobedience comes from notes by Tolkien reproduced in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion. According to those notes, Háma and Éomer were great friends, and while Éomer was initially reluctant to set out against the Orcs, it was Háma who persuaded him to do so. Without Háma's intervention, the Orcs would have succeeded in carrying Merry and Pippin to Isengard, and the Ents would have remained undisturbed in their Entwood, and never attacked Saruman. Háma's action, then, ultimately saved his own realm, though he could have had no way of knowing this at the time.
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2 |
It is possible that Háma had already met Gandalf on an earlier occasion, before the Wizard came to Edoras with Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli. In the previous September, Gandalf had come to Edoras after escaping from Isengard, and was initially turned away by Théoden's guards (who would later relent and allow him entry). These guards are not named, but as the defence of Meduseld was part of Háma's duty, it is possible that he was among them. If Háma already knew Gandalf, this might help to explain his later readiness to allow the Wizard to keep his staff. It should be said, however, that Háma's words on meeting the Wizard in the following year - though not conclusive - do seem to suggest that they had not encountered one another before.
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- Updated 13 December 2025
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