A servant of the House of Hador. In the prime of his life, in the time of Hador Lórindol, Grithnir was said to have travelled widely in Beleriand, and come to know its ways well. For this reason, in his old age, he was selected by Morwen as one of the two guides to travel to Doriath with her son Túrin. They were successful, and Túrin was taken into Thingol's court, but unlike his companion Gethron, Grithnir never saw his northern homelands again. He became sick while a guest in Menegroth, and died before he could make the journey home.
Notes
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We have no definite dates for Grithnir, but we know that he was young when Hador was alive (Hador died in the Dagor Bragollach in I 455) and old when he went south with Túrin in I 473. This suggests that he was born in (very approximately) the year I 400. Grithnir's date of death is also a little uncertain: we know only that he remained in Menegroth 'for a while' after his arrival in I 473 (Unfinished Tales Part One, II). Whether this 'while' consisted of a few weeks or a few years is unclear, but if Grithnir did not die in the year I 473 itself, he did not survive for long afterwards.
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Grithnir's name is not explained, but it might very well be connected with Old English grið, 'safety', 'protection', especially of an ally. If Grithnir meant 'one who seeks protection' that would perfectly describe his mission to Doriath.
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- Updated 30 May 2016
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