Q: Where did the Rohirrim Come From?
ANSWER: The Rohirrim were a tribe of Northmen who traced their origins back to an ancient kingdom that had stood east of Mirkwood between the forest and the River Running (Celduin). Their kingdom was conquered in Third Age year 1851 by Easterlings. Some of the Northmen escaped under leadership of their prince Marhwini, son of Marhari the last King of Rhovanion, and they took refuge between the western eaves of the forest and the Anduin. It was from these Northmen and some others who joined them later that a new tribe of Northmen, the Éothéod, descended.
The Éothéod dwelt near the southern end of Mirkwood for a few generations, assisting Gondor in its wars; after the fall of Angmar in Third Age year 1974 Frumgar (a descendant of Marhwini) led the Éothéod north to settle near the roots of the Anduin river. The land they took for their own, which had formerly been part of the Kingdom of Angmar, became known as Éothéod for about 500 years.
It was in the Third Age year 2510 that Frumgar’s descendant Eorl the Young led an army south to assist Gondor in its war with the Balchoth, an Easterling people who had invaded Gondor’s northernmost province (Calenardhon). As a reward for their friendship and sacrifice, and as an incentive to draw the Éothéod south, the Steward Cirion ceded all of Calenardhon to Eorl and his people. After Eorl brought his people south to Calenardhon he took the title King of Calenardhon.
Eorl’s successors renamed their realm the Mark of the Riders (denoted Riddermark in The Lord of the Rings). The Riders were the appointed soldiers led by the King into battle, and their service became distinct from the local levies led by secondary lords of the Mark. The people of Gondor, however, came to refer to the former Calenardhon as Rohan (the “Horse-land”) in Sindarin, and the people of that realm adopted or accepted the name Rohirrim.
There are few references to lords among the Rohirrim who were not members of the Royal House. Freca, whose son Wulf led a Dunlending invasion of Rohan in Third Age year 2758, was of mixed heritage. Erkenbrand was Lord of Westfold at the time of the War of the Ring. His relationship to the House of Eorl, if any, is not mentioned by Tolkien. Grimbold, a captain or marshal of the Riders who died at the Pelennor Fields, was from Grimslade and may have been its hereditary lord (the name means “Grim’s (hillside) Forest” or “Grim’s )hillside) Wood”). Dúnhere was Lord of Harrowdale (near Edoras) and the nephew of Erkenbrand.
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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?
- Who Were the Men of Mirkwood?
- How Many Tribes of Northmen are There?
- What was Éothéod Like?
Have you read our other Tolkien and Middle-earth Questions and Answers articles?
Even the word “towel” seems to have quite a long etymological history. As a philologist Tolkien may have appreciated the ancientness of these words.
