The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
This title derived from events during the Hunting of the Wolf, I 466;1 Mablung was slain I 502
Location
Gained after the slaying of Carcharoth on the banks of Esgalduin, within the Forest of Neldoreth
Race
Division
Culture
Meaning
A reference to Mablung's dropping of Beren's severed hand with the Silmaril it held, after recovering it from the slain Wolf Carcharoth
Title of

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  • Updated 8 June 2024
  • This entry is complete

The Heavy Hand

The title of Mablung of Doriath

Mablung was the chief captain of King Thingol of Doriath, and was commonly known to history as Mablung of the Heavy Hand. His title refers to the part he played in the Hunting of the Wolf, when Thingol led his greatest hunters in pursuit of Carcharoth, the great Wolf that had consumed Beren's hand while it held a Silmaril taken from Morgoth's Iron Crown. After Carcharoth was slain, Mablung stepped forward to recover the hand of Beren and the Jewel that it held, but he found them to be far heavier than they appeared, and let them fall to the ground.

'The Heavy Hand' was not merely a title of Mablung, but the literal translation of his name. According to one tradition, he had been given this name prophetically long before, but other sources suggest that he only became known as Mablung after the incident of the Heavy Hand.


Notes

1

The timeline for this entry shows the period from the Hunting of the Wolf to Mablung's slaying in the sack of Menegroth, a period of just thirty-six years. If the prophetic traditions of Mablung's title are correct, however, then he bore it long before his attempt to lift Beren's hand, and in this case the timeline would extend far into the past.

See also...

The Hunter

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About this entry:

  • Updated 8 June 2024
  • This entry is complete

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