By tradition, the King of Rohan would maintain an éored or cavalry unit within his own household. This éored, conventionally consisting of one hundred and twenty mounted soldiers, was known as the King's Company or the King's Riders. Its purpose was to act as a personal guard for the King, and to ride beside him when he went into battle. The leader of these Men had the rank of Captain of the King's Household, or Captain of the King's Guard.
At the time of the War of the Ring, the Captaincy was held by one Háma, who as chief guard also held the title of Doorward, and stood before the entrance to Théoden's Golden Hall. Prior to Gandalf's arrival in Edoras, it had become customary for the weakened King to issue orders to Captain Háma through Gríma Wormtongue. It was Háma himself who permitted Gandalf into the King's presence while still bearing his staff, and thus helped1 the Wizard to cure the King of his reliance on Gríma. After that, Théoden rode to Helm's Deep, accompanied by Háma and the Riders of his household. The King and his Company fought in the Battle of Hornburg that followed, a battle that Háma did not survive. True to his title of Doorward, he fell defending the Hornburg, and was buried in a mound in the shadow of the castle.
Notes
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It is strongly implied that Háma understood precisely what he was doing when he allowed Gandalf to enter Meduseld with his staff. Having disarmed all of Gandalf's companions, he made an attempt to take the Wizard's staff, too, but then relented. He seems to have understood what this meant ('The staff in the hand of a wizard may be more than a prop for age', he says in The Two Towers III 6, The King of the Golden Hall) but allowed Gandalf into the hall even so. We know from other references that Háma resented the influence of Gríma over Théoden, so this apparent 'lapse' might very well have been no such thing. We later learn that Gríma had specifically counselled that Gandalf's staff should be taken, which does tend to point to Háma intentionally doing what he could to help bring about the restoration of his King.
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- Updated 2 March 2022
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