Hador
Hador Lórindol; the Golden-haired; father of the third house
Name and Lineage
Hador — Lórindol, “the Golden-haired” — was the third lord of the Third House of the Edain and the founder-figure of the House of Hador: “the greatest of the Men of the North”, among the noblest and best-loved of the Elf-friends, whose golden hair and valour became bywords.
The Realm in Dor-lómin
- Like the other houses, the people of Hador came into Beleriand early in the age; Fingolfin (then High King) gave to Hador the lands of Dor-lómin, the great northern march between the mountains.
The people of the Third House became “the greatest and most valiant of the Elf-friends”, the foremost shield of the North against Angband.
- His sons (Gundor and Galdor) and grandsons (Húrin, Huor) carried the house to its height — and to its tragic doom. Hador himself fell in the Dagor Bragollach, fighting beside the Noldor in the ruin of the northern marches, with his son Gundor slain about him.
Significance
Hador gives the third house its name and its character: the golden, the valiant, the gladly loyal. From his loins — through Galdor, Húrin, Huor, and so Tuor and Eärendil — the bloodline that saves the world; and the “House of Hador” became the byname of the greatest of the Edain, the “great people, the men of the North”.