Ioreth

Ioreth is a wise-woman and healer in the Houses of Healing of Minas Tirith, the eldest of the women who served in that house. She is a garrulous, sharp-tongued, and deeply practical figure, whose folk-wisdom and homely observations provide a rare note of earthy humour amid the siege's grimness. Yet it is she who unwittingly speaks the prophecy that confirms Aragorn's kingship: 'The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.' This remark, repeated by Gandalf, becomes the public sign that Aragorn is the returned king, and it is Ioreth who later exclaims, 'King! Did you hear that? What did I say? The hands of a healer, I said.'

Role in the Houses of Healing

Ioreth is introduced as the eldest of the women who tended the sick in the Houses of Healing. When Faramir, Éowyn, and Merry are brought in, she is among those who watch over them, listening to their fevered murmurs in the hope of learning something that might help. She is deeply loyal to Faramir, weeping at the sight of his pale face, and she is the one who, when Aragorn asks for athelas (kingsfoil), initially fails to recognise the herb by its learned name, only to identify it when he calls it by its common name. 'Oh that! Well, if your lordship had named it at first I could have told you. No, we have none of it, I am sure. Why, I have never heard that it had any great virtue; and indeed I have often said to my sisters when we came upon it growing in the woods: "kingsfoil", I said, "'tis a strange name, and I wonder why 'tis called so; for if I were a king, I would have plants more bright in my garden". Still it smells sweet when bruised, does it not? If sweet is the right word: wholesome, maybe, is nearer.'

The Prophetic Utterance

When Aragorn uses the athelas to heal Faramir, Ioreth is astonished. 'Well now! Who would have believed it? The weed is better than I thought. It reminds me of the roses of Imloth Melui when I was a lass, and no king could ask for better.' It is immediately after this that she makes her famous pronouncement: 'Alas! if he should die. Would that there were kings in Gondor, as there were once upon a time, they say! For it is said in old lore: The hands of the king are the hands of a healer. And so the rightful king could ever be known.' Gandalf, standing by, tells her, 'Men may long remember your words, Ioreth! For there is hope in them. Maybe a king has indeed returned to Gondor; or have you not heard the strange tidings that have come to the City?' She replies, 'I have been too busy with this and that to heed all the crying and shouting. All I hope is that those murdering devils do not come to this House and trouble the sick.'

Later Appearances and Character

Later, when Aragorn heals Éowyn and Merry, Ioreth is again present, and she is the one who, when Aragorn asks for athelas, is sent to fetch it. She is also the source of the rumour that spreads through the City: 'King! Did you hear that? What did I say? The hands of a healer, I said.' Her words are repeated, and the news that the king is indeed come among them runs through Minas Tirith. During the crowning of Aragorn, Ioreth is present among the crowd, and she instructs her kinswoman from Imloth Melui, pointing out the hobbits: 'Nay, cousin! they are not boys. Those are Periain, out of the far country of the Halflings, where they are princes of great fame, it is said. I should know, for I had one to tend in the Houses. They are small, but they are valiant. Why, cousin, one of them went with only his esquire into the Black Country and fought with the Dark Lord all by himself, and set fire to his Tower, if you can believe it. At least that is the tale in the City. That will be the one that walks with our Elfstone. They are dear friends, I hear. Now he is a marvel, the Lord Elfstone: not too soft in his speech, mind you, but he has a golden heart, as the saying is; and he has the healing hands. "The hands of the king are the hands of a healer", I said; and that was how it was all discovered. And Mithrandir, he said to me: "Ioreth, men will long remember your words", and--' She is cut off by the trumpet that heralds the king's arrival. Ioreth thus serves as a vital link between the common people of Gondor and the great events unfolding around them, her homely wisdom and sharp tongue making her a memorable and beloved figure.