One of the captains in the service of King Ondoher of Gondor in the final fateful engagement with the Wainriders. He was the commander of Ondoher's right wing when the chariots of the Wainriders launched a surprise assault, an attack that left both Ondoher and his heir Artamir dead. Minohtar took command of the army, and ordered a strategic retreat.
While Adrahil of Dol Amroth led his section of the army southwards into Ithilien, Minohtar commanded a hopeless rearguard action in the country south of the Dagorlad. Valiantly though he fought, his force could not stand against the Wainriders, and he himself died of an arrow wound.
Imagining that Gondor had been defeated, the Wainriders carelessly celebrated their victory with a feast, little suspecting that the Gondorian general Eärnil was advancing from the south. His Southern Army fell on the Wainriders and overwhelmed them, ending their threat against Gondor.
These battles saw the loss of King Ondoher and both his sons, bringing his line to an end. Minohtar was Ondoher's nephew, so that if he had survived, he would very likely have succeeded his uncle as King of Gondor. As it was, no close kin of Ondoher survived the war, and the Crown eventually went to the victorious general Eärnil.
Notes
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Though Minohtar's name is not explained, its elements are not difficult to decipher. Min- means 'one', especially a single thing that stands out prominently (as in minas, 'tower'), while ohtar means 'warrior' or 'soldier'. So Minohtar would be something like 'prominent warrior', or perhaps 'first soldier'. We know that the word ohtar was used as a rank in the Gondorian army, so perhaps Minohtar was used in a similar way for a general or commander, making Minohtar's name peculiarly well suited to his role in history.
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We have few details of Minohtar's descent from the Gondorian Royal House, but we do have one clue: in a note referenced in Unfinished Tales, he is described not merely as Ondoher's nephew but his 'sister-son'. His royal descent must therefore have come through his mother, an (unnamed) daughter to King Calimehtar and sister to King Ondoher.
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- Updated 17 July 2016
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