Balinor Buckhannah
Encyclopedia
Balinor Buckhannah was the prince (and later king) of Callahorn
, a fictional country in the Shannara
universe. He was a main character in The Sword of Shannara
, an epic fantasy
novel written by Terry Brooks
. Balinor is the brother of Palance Buckhannah and son of Ruhl Buckhannah. He normally wears a green forest cloak, but has a suit of durable chain-mail armour underneath. Tom Shippey has compared Balinor with Boromir
of The Lord of the Rings
.
was when he came to Shady Vale after Allanon
left to warn Flick
and Shea Ohmsford
of the impending danger of the Skull Bearers
.
Balinor had left his home of Tyrsis after having a fight with his crazed brother Palance. Balinor, in his second duty as the commander of the Border Legion, had protected the Callahorn
until his departure—but once he left, Palance disbanded the Legion and instead created a new body of soldiers loyal only to him and Stenmin, his advisor. However, Palance was murdered later by Stenmin after Balinor had revealed Stenmin's treachery towards his brother. Balinor believed that it was not his brother's doing for his actions, but that the evil Stenmin that had poisoned his mind.
Palance’s death, combined with Ruhl Buckhannah’s, made Balinor the King of Callahorn, and he was able to reactivate the Border Legion in time to prepare the city for the Warlock Lord’s
assault. Balinor remained King of Callahorn until his death and was considered to be the greatest king the Borderlands ever had.
Balinor's death is chronicled in The World of Shannara
: over thirty years after becoming king, Balinor set out on a quest to find his son, who had gone missing while on a mission with the Border Legion. Balinor returned to Tyrsis sometime later with his son dead and himself dying from wounds inflicted by an unknown enemy. He died a few days after his return, resulting in the end of the Buckhannah line.
Callahorn
Callahorn is a fictitious autonomous country in most of the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks. It first appeared in the opening novel, The Sword of Shannara.- Location :...
, a fictional country in the Shannara
Shannara
Shannara is an epic fantasy series of novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with The Sword of Shannara in 1977 and continuing through Bearers of the Black Staff which was released on August 24, 2010, as well as a prequel, First King of Shannara...
universe. He was a main character in The Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
, an epic fantasy
High fantasy
High fantasy or epic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is set in invented or parallel worlds. High fantasy was brought to fruition through the work of authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, whose major fantasy works were published in the 1950s...
novel written by Terry Brooks
Terry Brooks
Terence Dean "Terry" Brooks is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two movie novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times bestsellers during his writing career, and has over 21 million copies of his books in print...
. Balinor is the brother of Palance Buckhannah and son of Ruhl Buckhannah. He normally wears a green forest cloak, but has a suit of durable chain-mail armour underneath. Tom Shippey has compared Balinor with Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
.
Biography
Balinor's first appearance in The Sword of ShannaraThe Sword of Shannara
The Sword of Shannara is a 1977 epic fantasy novel by Terry Brooks. The first book of the Original Shannara Trilogy, it was followed by The Elfstones of Shannara and The Wishsong of Shannara. Inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and historical adventure fiction, Brooks began writing...
was when he came to Shady Vale after Allanon
Allanon
Allanon is a fictional character from the epic fantasy Original Shannara Trilogy and the trilogy's prequel, First King of Shannara; all four are by Terry Brooks. Described as Brooks' "most enigmatic character", Allanon is very secretive and appears only when needed...
left to warn Flick
Flick Ohmsford
Flick Ohmsford is a character in The Sword of Shannara, a novel by Terry Brooks....
and Shea Ohmsford
Shea Ohmsford
Shea Ohmsford is a fictional character and the protagonist of Terry Brooks' epic fantasy novel The Sword of Shannara. In the universe, he is the last known person with the blood of Jerle Shannara, making him the only one who can wield the powerful Sword of Shannara to vanquish the Warlock Lord.-...
of the impending danger of the Skull Bearers
Skull Bearers (Shannara)
Skull Bearers are fictional minor characters from two books of the Shannara series, First King of Shannara and The Sword of Shannara, epic fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks. According to the fictional history of the series, the Skull Bearers were Druids once upon a time, but they were...
.
Balinor had left his home of Tyrsis after having a fight with his crazed brother Palance. Balinor, in his second duty as the commander of the Border Legion, had protected the Callahorn
Callahorn
Callahorn is a fictitious autonomous country in most of the Shannara series of books by Terry Brooks. It first appeared in the opening novel, The Sword of Shannara.- Location :...
until his departure—but once he left, Palance disbanded the Legion and instead created a new body of soldiers loyal only to him and Stenmin, his advisor. However, Palance was murdered later by Stenmin after Balinor had revealed Stenmin's treachery towards his brother. Balinor believed that it was not his brother's doing for his actions, but that the evil Stenmin that had poisoned his mind.
Palance’s death, combined with Ruhl Buckhannah’s, made Balinor the King of Callahorn, and he was able to reactivate the Border Legion in time to prepare the city for the Warlock Lord’s
Warlock Lord
The Warlock Lord is the principal villain of Terry Brooks' novel The Sword of Shannara....
assault. Balinor remained King of Callahorn until his death and was considered to be the greatest king the Borderlands ever had.
Balinor's death is chronicled in The World of Shannara
The World of Shannara
The World of Shannara written by Terry Brooks and Teresa Patterson is the companion book to the bestselling Shannara books by Terry Brooks. The first version contained information about subjects in the books up until at least The Voyage of the Jerle Shannara...
: over thirty years after becoming king, Balinor set out on a quest to find his son, who had gone missing while on a mission with the Border Legion. Balinor returned to Tyrsis sometime later with his son dead and himself dying from wounds inflicted by an unknown enemy. He died a few days after his return, resulting in the end of the Buckhannah line.