#you know what a compliment this comparison is to beregond

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Talking about my beloved Háma earlier this week got me thinking again about how Beregond is the Háma of Gondor. One of the ways Tolkien showed us how bound together Gondor and Rohan were as countries was by drawing explicit parallels between individual Gondorians and Rohirrim (like Boromir and Théodred), and it happens for everyone's favorite guards, too. They have some differences (I mean, Háma dies 😭), but they’re much more alike than not. 

Most importantly, they’re both soldiers—part of a very hierarchical, duty-bound structure—who nonetheless decide in key moments to disregard orders and follow their own judgment and good sense instead. Háma will let Gandalf violate the ban on weapons in Meduseld and Beregond will leave his post and literally slay anyone facilitating the burning of Faramir because their hearts and minds tell them that sometimes laws must be broken in service of a larger morality. That takes courage, independence of thought, and a strong sense of self. By disobeying, they both knowingly risk punishment—and, indeed, both are punished—but they do it anyway because they know it’s right. And ultimately, both are forgiven and honored because everyone can see they made correct, if unlawful, decisions. (This parallel is also replicated a little further up the respective hierarchies because Éomer and Faramir are also both noted mavericks who choose at pivotal moments to aid members of the Fellowship even though, by law, those outsiders should be arrested or killed. So, again, parallels between pairs of Gondorians and Rohirrim abound!)

I like that Tolkien takes care to show that it’s not just the folks at the very top of communities of Men that can have and display these really admirable and noble traits. It’s important for there to be a Háma and a Beregond so that we know these lands of Men are worth protecting—there is goodness there! And of course it fits very neatly with the “small hands do great deeds” theme of LOTR overall. Háma and Beregond each change the course of history when they trust to their own worth and hold to their own values, no matter the circumstances or consequences.

So that’s the biggest/weightiest parallel for Háma and Beregond, but it’s certainly not the only one. They both work for prestigious military units in the capital city of their countries. They both play formal roles in granting our major characters access to those cities. They’re both firsthand witnesses to the mental manipulation and torment of their leaders (Théoden and Denethor) by an enemy. They both get joyful moments witnessing the healing of a beloved lord. They’re both Gandalf enthusiasts in places where not everyone respects or welcomes Gandalf’s presence. They both demonstrate a willingness to draw swords on anyone they perceive as threatening their lords. They’re both pretty adept at rolling with it when things take a really weird turn (I mean, really, the legendary lost heir of Elendil shows up on Háma’s doorstep claiming to be friends with a mythical elf-sorceress, and he just goes with it. And Beregond has never seen a hobbit before and maybe isn’t even sure they’re real when one is thrust on him, and he immediately makes Pip his buddy!). 

Those are the canon parallels, but I would be remiss if I didn’t finish by specifying that @brigwife and I agree it is rock solid head canon that Háma and Beregond met somehow and became actual long distance best friends. It’s only natural that they’d get along given how much they have in common—just two absolute gems of the race of Men who would totally love and appreciate one another. And I’d like to think that even as Háma’s legacy is commemorated at his resting place in Rohan, there’s also a little memorial for him in Gondor built by Beregond in a beautiful, peaceful part of Ithilien. During Beregond’s lifetime it stands as a tribute to his enduring friendship with Háma, and in later days, when anyone who knew them is gone, it stands instead as a tribute to the enduring friendship of Gondor and Rohan.

#lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #rohan #gondor #háma #hama #beregond #guards and brothers #rulebreakers and freethinkers #if you know anything about how i feel about háma #you know what a compliment this comparison is to beregond