Q: What Was Éothéod Like?
ANSWER: Éothéod was the name of both the people and the land in which they dwelt. The Éothéod were descendants of the Northmen who escaped the destruction of Vidugavia’s ancient Kingdom of Rhovanion, which appears to have been located between Mirkwood and the Running River. The Northmen of that land dwelt in the East Bight, the great indentation of the forest where they had cut down many trees and built their farms and towns. According to both The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, the Wainriders attacked Rhovanion and Gondor, overwhelming the Northmen and defeating a Gondorian army:
The third evil was the invasion of the Wainriders, which sapped the waning strength of Gondor in wars that lasted for almost a hundred years. The Wainriders were a people, or a confederacy of many peoples, that came from the East; but they were stronger and better armed than any that had appeared before. They journeyed in great wains, and their chieftains fought in chariots. Stirred up, as was afterwards seen, by the emissaries of Sauron, they made a sudden assault upon Gondor, and King Narmacil II was slain in battle with them beyond Anduin in 1856. The people of eastern and southern Rhovanion were enslaved; and the frontiers of Gondor were for that time withdrawn to the Anduin and the Emyn Muil. [At this time it is thought that the Ringwraiths re-entered Mordor.]
This war began in Third Age year 1851, according to the Tale of Years. An earlier draft of material originally composed for the appendices to The Lord of the Rings says that Araval, King of Arthedain/Arnor, won a great victory over Angmar (with help from Lindon and Imladris) in this year. One might infer that both Gondor and Arnor were assailed at the same time to prevent them from helping each other, or simply to weaken both at the same time. A much more detailed account of the conflict with the Wainriders is provided in Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth:
They were slow to recover [from the Great Plague of 1636]; but their weakness was not tested for a long time. No doubt the people further east had been equally afflicted, so that the enemies of Gondor came chiefly from the south or over sea. But when the invasions of the Wainriders began and involved Gondor in wars that lasted for almost a hundred years, the Northmen bore the brunt of the first assaults. King Narmacil II took a great army north into the plains south of Mirkwood, and gathered all that he could of the scattered remnants of the Northmen; but he was defeated, and himself fell in battle. The remnant of his army retreated over the Dagorlad into Ithilien, and Gondor abandoned all lands east of the Anduin save Ithilien.1
As for the Northmen, a few, it is said, fled over the Celduin (River Running) and were merged with the folk of Dale under Erebor (with whom they were akin), some took refuge in Gondor, and others were gathered by Marhwini son of Marhari (who fell in the rearguard action after the Battle of the Plains). Passing north between Mirkwood and Anduin they settled in the Vales of Anduin, where they were joined by many fugitives who came through the Forest. This was the beginning of the Éothéod,2 though nothing was known of it in Gondor for many years. Most of the Northmen were reduced to servitude, and all their former lands were occupied by the Wainriders.3
The notes indicated by the text read:
- The escape of the army of Gondor from total destruction was in part due to the courage and loyalty of the horsemen of the North¬men under Marhari (a descendant of Vidugavia “King of Rhovanion”) who acted as rearguard. But the forces of Gondor had inflicted such losses on the Wainriders that they had not strength enough to press their invasion, until reinforced from the East, and were content for the time to compete their conquest of Rhovanion. [Author’s note.] — It is told in Appendix A (I, iv) to The Lord of the Rings that Vidugavia, who called himself King of Rhovanion, was the most powerful of the princes of the Northmen; he was shown favour by Rómendacil II King of Gondor (died 1366), whom he had aided in war against the Easterlings, and the marriage of Rómendacil’s son Valacar to Vidugavia’s daughter Vidumavi led to the destructive Kin-strife in Gondor in the fifteenth century.
- As was the form of the name in later days. [Author’s note.] — This is Old English, “horse-people;” (see note 4).
- The foregoing narrative does not contradict the accounts in Appendix A (I, iv and II) to The Lord of the Rings, though it is much briefer. Nothing is said here of the war fought against the Easterlings in the thirteen century by Minalcar (who took the name of Rómendacil II), the absorption of many Northmen into the armies of Condor by that king, or of the marriage of his son Valacar to a princess of the Northmen and the Kin-strife of Gondor that resulted from it; but it adds certain features which are not mentioned in The Lord of the Rings: that the waning of the Northmen of Rhovanion was due to the Great Plague; that the battle in which King Narmacil II was slain in the year 1856, said in Appendix A to have been “beyond Anduin,” was in the wide lands south of Mirkwood, and was known as the Battle of the Plains; and that his great army was saved from annihilation by the Wainriders through the rearguard defence of Marhari, descendant of Vidugavia. It is also made clearer here that it was after the Battle of the Plains that the Éothéod, a remnant of the Northmen, became a distinct people, dwelling in the Vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden Fields.
- …The full muster of the cavalry was called éoherë. These words, and also Éothéod, are of course Anglo-Saxon in form, since the true language of Rohan is everywhere thus translated (see note 1 above): they contain as their first element eoh “horse.” Éored, éorod is a recorded Anglo-Saxon word, its second element derived from rád “riding;” in éoherë the second element is herë “host, army.” Éothéod has théod “people” or “land,” and is used both of the Riders themselves and of their country. (Anglo-Saxon eorl in the name Eorl the Young is a wholly unrelated word.)
Assuming J.R.R. Tolkien would have held to his use of Gothic names for the time period described in these passages (Circa. 1851-1944) then the actual “translated” name of the remnants of the Northmen would have been something like Aithiuda, which is the Gothic form of Éothéod. Tolkien does not say that all the Northmen of Rhovanion were mounted warriors and hunters; however, in describing their suffering through the Great Plague he says that many of their horses died. It seems that the Northmen of Rhovanion were probably as much a horse-centered culture as their descendants in Éothéod and the Mark (Rohan). Still, the text makes it clear that only an elite group of Northmen — led by Marhwini son of Marhari — formed the basis of the Éothéod. The character of the Éothéod had not yet been formed, however. Marhwini was their prince but his heart was still turned toward the east, rather than the north. According to Unfinished Tales:
But at length, King Calimehtar, son of Narmacil II, being free from other dangers, determined to avenge the defeat of the Battle of the Plains. Messengers came to him from Marhwini warning him that the Wainriders were plotting to raid Calenardhon over the Undeeps; but they said also that a revolt of the Northmen who had been enslaved was being prepared and would burst into flame if the Wainriders became involved in war. Calimehtar therefore, as soon as he could, led an army out of Ithilien, taking care that its approach should be well known to the enemy. The Wainriders came down with all the strength that they could spare, and Calimehtar gave way before them, drawing them away from their homes. At length battle was joined upon the Dagorlad, and the result was long in doubt. But at its height horsemen that Calimehtar had sent over the Undeeps (left unguarded by the enemy) joined with a great éored11 led by Marhwini assailed the Wainriders in flank and rear. The victory of Gondor was overwhelming — though not in the event decisive. When the enemy broke and were soon in disordered flight north towards their homes Calimehtar, wisely for his part, did not pursue them. They had left well nigh a third of their host dead to rot upon the Dagorlad among the bones of other and nobler battles of the past. But the horsemen of Marhwini harried the fugitives and inflicted great loss upon them in their long rout over the plains, until they were within far sight of Mirkwood. There they left them, taunting them: “Fly east not north, folk of Sauron! See, the homes you stole are in flames!” For there was a great smoke going up.
The revolt planned and assisted by Marhwini had indeed broken out; desperate outlaws coming out of the Forest had roused the slaves, and together had succeeded in burning many of the dwellings of the Wainriders, and their storehouses, and their fortified camps of wagons. But most of them had perished in the attempt; for they were ill-armed, and the enemy had not left their homes undefended: their youths and old men were aided by the younger women, who in that people were also gained in arms and fought fiercely in defence of their homes and their children. Thus in the end Marhwini was obliged to retire again to his land beside the Anduin, and the Northmen of his race never again returned to their former homes. Calimehtar withdrew to Gondor, which enjoyed for a time (from 1899 to 1944) a respite from war before the great assault in which the line of its kings came near to its end.
This victory in Third Age Year 1899 occurred 43 years after Marhwini and his men were driven from their homes. They had thus dwelt by the Anduin (near the Gladden Fields) for many years at this point.
According to Unfinished Tales Forthwini son of Marhwini warned King Ondoher (reigned 1936-44) that the Wainriders were preparing another attack on Gondor. Ondoher assembled two armies; he led the Northern Army to disaster in battle on the Dagorlad but his kinsman Eärnil led the smaller Southern Army to victory in south Ithilien. Eärnil then brought his army north and joined the remnants of Ondoher’s army, defeating the Wainriders with the aid of Forthwini’s son or grandson (whose name is only partially recorded by Christopher Tolkien as Marh-).
The tale of Éothéod’s founding does not end here, however. In The Lord of the Rings the story of the final destruction of Arnor and Angmar seems to involve the Éothéod:
‘In Gondor also one king only followed Eärnil. It may be that if the crown and the sceptre had been united, then the kingship would have been maintained and much evil averted. But Eärnil was a wise man, and not arrogant, even if, as to most men in Gondor, the realm in Arthedain seemed a small thing, for all the lineage of its lords.
‘He sent messages to Arvedui announcing that he received the crown of Gondor, according to the laws and the needs of the South-kingdom, “but I do not forget the loyalty of Arnor, nor deny our kinship, nor wish that the realms of Elendil should be estranged. I will send to your aid when you have need, so far as I am able.”
‘It was, however, long before Eärnil felt himself sufficiently secure to do as he promised. King Araphant continued with dwindling strength to hold off the assaults of Angmar, and Arvedui when he succeeded did likewise; but at last in the autumn of 1973 messages came to Gondor that Arthedain was in great straits, and that the Witch-king was preparing a last stroke against it. Then Eärnil sent his son Eärnur north with a fleet, as swiftly as he could, and with as great strength as he could spare. Too late. Before Eärnur reached the havens of Lindon, the Witch-king had conquered Arthedain and Arvedui had perished.
‘But when Eärnur came to the Grey Havens there was joy and great wonder among both Elves and Men. So great in draught and so many were his ships that they could scarcely find harbourage, though both the Harlond and the Forlond also were filled; and from them descended an army of power, with munition and provision for a war of great kings. Or so it seemed to the people of the North, though this was but a small sending-force of the whole might of Gondor. Most of all, the horses were praised, for many of them came from the Vales of Anduin, and with them were riders tall and fair, and proud princes of Rhovanion.
Who were the “proud princes of Rhovanion”? The campaign that destroyed Angmar took place in Third Age year 1974. The Tale of Years says that Frumgar led the Éothéod north in the year 1977. This migration is briefly described in “The House of Eorl”, which was included in Appendix A to The Lord of the Rings:
‘Eorl the Young was lord of the Men of Éothéod. That land lay near the sources of Anduin, between the furthest ranges of the Misty Mountains and the northernmost parts of Mirkwood. The Éothéod had moved to those regions in the days of King Eärnil II from lands in the vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden, and they were in origin close akin to the Beornings and the men of the west-eaves of the forest. The forefathers, of Eorl claimed descent from kings of Rhovanion, whose realm lay beyond Mirkwood before the invasions of the Wainriders, and thus they accounted themselves kinsmen of the kings of Gondor descended from Eldacar. They loved best the plains, and delighted in horses and in all feats of horsemanship, but there were many men in the middle vales of Anduin in those days, and moreover the shadow of Dol Guldur was lengthening; when therefore they heard of the overthrow of the Witch-king, they sought more room in the North, and drove away the remnants of the people of Angmar on the east side of the Mountains. But in the days of Léod, father of Eorl, they had grown to be a numerous people and were again somewhat straitened in the land of their home.
At this point (T.A. 1977) we can be certain that the Éothéod were able to field a substantial force of men, but fewer men than Eorl eventually led to Gondor’s aid (about 8,000). Most likely then the Éothéod consisted of about 3-4,000 Riders and their families and retainers.
We know from descriptions of the Rohirrim that they possessed cattle; and we know from the description of the Northmen of Rhovanion that they built their homes out of wood. Framsburg was their only fortified town, according to Unfinished Tales. The town is not named in the book, but J.R.R. Tolkien told Pauline Baynes to place that name beside the ruins in the angle formed by the confluence of the Greylin and Langwell rivers in the northern Vales of Anduin. When Eorl agreed to aid Gondor against the Balchoth it took “many days” to gather and muster the army of the Éothéod. By contrast Theoden only required six days to summon the Muster of Rohan (although he did not take the full army with him to Gondor).
Eorl was advised by a council of Elders, according to “The Ride of Eorl”, and Éomund was “the chief captain of the host of the Éothéod. It would seem that Eorl was not quite an absolute monarch, but rather a king who led by consensus. He seems to have had the authority to commit his people to war; but Tolkien does not say whether Eorl could have compelled all his people to leave their homes in the north and move to Calenardhon if they had not wished to do so. The story makes it clear that the Éothéod needed more land and that Cirion’s gift suited that need, as well as ensured that both Gondor and the Éothéod would live close to reliable allies.
The Éothéod must therefore have had many farms and perhaps small villages scattered across their northern lands. There are references to a few such villages in Rohan in The Lord of the Rings: Underharrow and Upbourn. There were also many folk (and farms) in Helm’s Deep. In Unfinished Tales we are told that Eorl first settled in Aldburg in the Folde, near the Mering Stream and the Firien Wood. Although we don’t know how many people lived in Rohan in Theoden’s day, Unfinished Tales says that he could easily have raised more than the 12,000 Riders who were assigned to the full Muster of Rohan. Theoden himself said (in The Lord of the Rings) that he could have led ten thousand men to Gondor if he had had more time and did not need to defend Rohan against further assaults.
If we assume for the sake of discussion that the Rohirrim consisted of between 15,000 and 20,000 families, then we must argue there were many more towns or villages than those named — but probably only three fortified burgs or towns: Aldburg (where Eomer dwelt), Edoras (where Theoden dwelt), and Helm’s Deep (where Erkenbrand dwelt). By this speculation we can argue that the Éothéod must have had many unfortified villages; but more importantly, the fortified burgs appear to have served as centers of both military and social power. Framsburg may have had a very large population.
When Theoden rode from Edoras to Helm’s Deep he took about a thousand men with him, most from Edoras itself or from the nearby area. But Elfhelm had already led away many hundreds (four companies — about 480 men) of Riders according to “The Battles of the Fords of Isen”. It would seem then that Framsburg could have housed between 500 and 1,000 men and their families.
Beyond this we really have nothing else with which to speculate. The Éothéod may well have maintained contact with the Woodmen of northern Mirkwood (living close to Erebor), the Woodmen of central Mirkwood, and any Northmen still living in the central Vales of Anduin (especially the ancestors of the Beornings). And though Fram may have feuded with the Dwarves over Scatha’s hoard it seems odd to think that the Dwarves of Gundabad would not have sought to trade with the Éothéod.
The lifestyle of the Éothéod must have been very similar to that of the Rohirrim. Although we don’t know much about how the Rohirrim lived we do know they worked metals and had stone masons. They must have supported many different types of crafts; perhaps the Éothéod also maintained such skills.
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See also:
- How Did the Éothéod differ from the Rohirrim?
- How Many Lords of Éothéod were There?
- Why Did the Rohirrim Move South to Gondor?
- What Were the Beornings Like?
- Where Did the Rohirrim Come From?
- Who Were the Men of Mirkwood?
- How Many Tribes of Northmen are There?
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