The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Túrin and his company settled on Amon Rûdh in I 487; the Land of Bow and Helm was established I 488; the company was betrayed to the Orcs I 489
Origins
The outlaw Gaurwaith turned to fighting the Orcs under the leadership of Túrin and Beleg
Race
A band of Men led by a Man and an Elf, occupying the house of a Petty-dwarf
Family
Túrin, one of the leaders of the company, was a descendant of the House of Hador
Settlements
Echad i Sedryn, the Camp of the Faithful, the old House of Ransom hidden in the heights of Amon Rûdh
Important peaks
The Old Company dwelt on Amon Rûdh
Meaning
'Old' is here meant in the sense of 'original'; this was the former band of outlaws to which others allied themselves during the time of Dor-Cúarthol, the Land of Bow and Helm
Other names
Formerly a band of outlaws or Gaurwaith; the Old Company was perhaps also known as the Faithful1

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About this entry:

  • Updated 9 September 2023
  • This entry is complete

Old Company

Túrin’s band on Amon Rûdh

After Mîm ransomed his house to Túrin and his outlaw companions, a band of some fifty Men lived there, learning the secret ways to the hilltop of Amon Rûdh. After Beleg came to the House of Ransom, Túrin resolved to go out against the rising number of Orcs coming down from the North, and so heroic were his feats that the dispossessed of many lands came to join him. So a new land was founded around Amon Rûdh: Dor-Cúarthol, the Land of Bow and Helm, named for Beleg's great bow and Túrin's Dragon-helm.

As the new realm grew, camps and settlements emerged in the woods and plains around the hill, but by Beleg's advice the ways to the hidden house on Amon Rûdh were kept secret. Only those of the original outlaw band who settled there - now called the Old Company - knew the way, and the house of the outlaws became known as Echad i Sedryn, the Camp of the Faithful, after the Old Company who dwelt there.

In the end, all their secrecy proved worthless: Mîm, who had lived on Amon Rûdh long before the outlaws came there, betrayed the outlaws and guided the Orcs up the hidden way into the Camp. All but two of the Old Company were slain in the attack, with only Túrin and Beleg surviving. Túrin was carried off as a prisoner, and though Beleg was eventually able to rescue him (at the cost of Beleg's own life) the Old Company at the heart of Dor-Cúarthol had been obliterated.


Notes

1

The home of the Old Company on the heights of Amon Rûdh had several names, among which was Echad y Sedryn, the 'Camp of the Faithful'. This seems to imply that the 'Faithful' was a term used for the Old Company themselves, though we have no record of the name being used in this direct sense. These 'Faithful' of Dor-Cúarthol are not to be confused with the Faithful party of Númenor, who would not appear in history until long afterward.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 9 September 2023
  • This entry is complete

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