Sador
Labadal; the woodman of Dor-lómin; Túrin's friend
Name and Nature
Sador — called Labadal, “the one-foot” (for his lameness), by the children — was the old woodman of Dor-lómin in the hall of Húrin: a servant, maimed by an accident (a felling-blow had taken his foot —), gentle and wise, “the friend and comfort” — he was the favourite companion of the young Túrin in the dark days of the house.
The Friend of the Boy
In the Narn’s quiet opening, Sador — “the weakling”, as they called him — was the one to whom Túrin spoke (of griefs, of gifts: the little boy cut him a staff), teaching the child of the passing of all things — his dark, tender counsel (that) marked Túrin’s early sorrow. His fate in the tale is small (he remains with the household), but his name is preserved as a thread of the texture — the humble, crippled old man of the North who saw the doom gathering and said little.
Significance
Sador is the gentle minor figure of the tragic tale — the lame woodsman whose quiet presence, loyalty and sad wisdom frame the boy whose doom would break the age; a characteristic Tolkien figure of the small and humble, testifying that the mythology’s heart lies as much in sorrowing servants as in kings.