Did the Elves or Dunedain Use any Military Ranks?

Q: Did the Elves or Dunedain Use any Military Ranks?

ANSWER: J.R.R. Tolkien provided a few examples of military nomenclature that might be interpreted as “ranks”. However, I don’t think the reader should look for much correlation with modern military hierarchies. He left most of the details obscure.

There is one word, hesto, which some linguists have identified as possibly being Quenya for “captain”; but I don’t know if this is a universally accepted point of view. The Sindarin equivalent was hest.

Another Quenya word is cáno, meaning “commander” or “leader”, but this is associated with social leadership — sort of similar to chieftain or lord. One note suggests the word originally meant “herald, crier”. So a Cáno would have been the deputy or appointed representative of a leader (presumably a king or leader of an army). A later word for “herald” was tercáno. An alternate word might be condo.

In “The Disaster of the Gladden Fields” Tolkien used the Quenya word Ohtar for “warrior”, which presumably is equivalent to “soldier”, “trooper”, “armsman”, etc.

The Sindarin word for “knight” was roquen.

In the few examples of battle orders where few or no kings are present, there are usually secondary commanders who lead portions of armies: Captain of the Vanguard, Captain of the Left Wing, Captain of the Right Wing, Commander of the Rearguard, and so forth.

These titles may not have been formal military ranks, but simply designations denoting authority, perhaps even assigned at the last moment (as when Théoden gave a loose order for battle at the onset of his charge across the Battle of the Pelennor Fields).

The Rohirrim did maintain a strict, formal military hierarchy — from the time of King Folcwine onward. The Muster of Rohan (also called “the King’s Host”) was led by the First Marshal of the Mark. The Muster was divided into three sub-groups: the Muster of Edoras, the Muster of the West-mark, and the Muster of the East-mark. Each muster was commanded by a Marshal. At the beginning of the War of the Ring Théoden was de facto First Marshal of the Mark (but there was, in fact, no one appointed to the role), Prince Théodred was the Second Marshal of the Mark, and Eomer was the Third Marshal of the Mark.

Théodred therefore commanded the Muster of the West-mark. Eomer commanded the Muster of the East-mark.

Each muster was divided into Éoreds of about 120 men each. There were a total of 100 Éoreds in all, and all the mounted soldiers in the muster were called Riders. It appears, from “The Battles of the Fords of Isen” (published in Unfinished Tales) that at least some of the Éoreds had special functions. Each Éored was led by a marshal, not to be confused with the First, Second, and Third Marshals.

Elfhelm was a marshal in the Muster of Edoras who held a senior position. He led several Éoreds to reinforce Théodred at the Fords of Isen. Grimbold was one of Théodred’s marshals, probably equivalent to Elfhelm in stature and seniority. It may be that Tolkien envisioned the various marshals having a pecking order similar to that of Roman Centurions. The most senior Centurion of a Roman Legion wielded considerable influence and authority.

Since Rohan was not crawling with Éoreds on patrol when Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli entered the land, many readers assume that these were probably “part-time soldiers” similar to medieval armies. That might be the case but one required an appointment from the King to be a Rider of Rohan. It’s quite possible they lived much as Roman legionnaires, who dwelt in forts on frontiers and were responsible for raising their own food and taking care of their equipment. Of course, the Roman soldiers were often accompanied by camp followers, including the women with whom they raised families. Whole towns and cities sometimes grew up around the Roman frontier forts, and some of those cities survive to modern times.

Tolkien mentions “levies” of local men who assisted Théodred and Erkenbrand. It’s also possible that many of the one thousand men whom Théoden led to the Hornburg were mostly “levied soldiers”. These men were most likely ordinary farmers or civilians who simply answered a call to arms in times of need. They would have had officers to command them but Tolkien does not say such officers were members of the Riders of the Mark.

Rohan’s marshals were almost certainly full-time professional soldiers serving as officers in administrative functions, rather than as feudal lords. But the Éoreds may have been largely dispersed for practical reasons most of the time. That would explain why Rohan would have to hold formal musters, assemblies of troops that come in from all parts of the country. The Riders were not just ordinary men answering a general call to arms, they were performing their duty.

Given that Tolkien devised such a detailed military hierarchy for Rohan, I think he imagined something at least as sophisticated for Gondor’s armies, and probably also for Arnor and Númenor and other nations. But he was not writing what today we call militaristic fiction so he did not need to explain how all the armies worked.

If you’re writing fan fiction or a role-playing adventure that is set in a military setting, you should probably jot down some notes on military ranks for your own convenience. To get into the “feel” of Tolkien’s nomenclature you might want to research classical (Greco-Roman or Egypto-Semitic) or feudal European ranks. Think in terms of “what would the purpose of a body of special troops be” and “who would command such a body”?

Although European feudalism is closely associated in the modern imagination with military functions, feudalism was much more complex than that. It arose from multiple needs, including the needs of kings to reward their most powerful followers as well as the need to defend remote lands in a kingdom during a time when the ancient Roman culture was fading away. The great feudal princes and barons often had their own armies consisting of hundreds or thousands of men, and sometimes they acted completely independently of their kings (or even in spite of those kings). A feudal European prince serves as a poor model for an idealized Tolkien prince or military officer.

You would need the equivalents of captains, lieutenants, and sergeants at the very least.

Cavalry forces might only be used for scouting; they might be used for chasing down enemy soldiers; or they might be used in Alexandrian fashion to crash through an enemy battle line. Tolkien included all of these types of roles in his stories.

Infantry forces might rely on spears and shields more than on swords and shields. Tolkien would have understood that, and he often mentions spears in his stories. But his battle scenes often sound very similar to the types of battles that Roman legions fought, with lines of swordsmen advancing against each other. Medieval European warfare varied more because armies were generally smaller and cavalry — through use of stirrups — were much more effective than classical cavalry when using swords. Classical cavalry tended to favor use of lances or spears and bows.

In both classical and medieval armies bodies of archers or other missile weapon specialists were very important. They often started the fighting and provided ongoing support to the front lines, mostly firing in volleys. Peltasts, who would use slings or throw javelins, were lightly armored and stood in front of their battle lines. They could kill enemies almost as effectively as archers but retreated behind the shield walls when enemy lines came close.

Each type of force would need its own commander. He can be a king, a prince, a feudal lord, or just an appointed officer in Middle-earth. If the leader of a fighting group dies in battle there is almost always someone standing by who can take over, but he may also fall — or he may not be a good leader. His social station may be similar to that of the fallen leader.

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