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How did Tolkien actually portray the Rohirrim? - Page 5

© Michael Martinez

Unlike the Franks, who were eventually united by Clovis, the Saxons never formed their own nation. Many of the Saxon chiefs led raids over seas and settled in Brittannia, founding little kingdoms. Some of the Saxons settled in France. Charlemagne eventually conquered the remaining free Saxons in what is now western Germany. The ancient tribal names were lost and forgotten, replaced by new "folk" names. Particularly among the Saxons, local leaders customarily gave their names to their followers, and many place-names in England ending with -ing (from -ingas) denote where the various small groups settled. Tolkien's Rohirrim called themselves the Eorlingas, the sons of Eorl, in similar fashion, but whereas small groups like the Haestingas established only a village or town (Hastings), the Eorlings (formerly called the Eotheod) established a nation. There are no subgroups among the Rohirrim nor any place names which imply such groupings. We can trace the history of the Rohirrim from the beginning all the way up to the end of the Third Age. We learn in The Peoples of Middle-earth (volume 12 of The History of Middle-earth) that the two northern groups of Edain, the First and Third Houses (often called Marachians and Bëorians for the leaders who first entered Beleriand), passed westward along the Sea of Rhun's northern shore. When these two groups of Edain reached Greenwood the Great, some passed south around the forest and came to Anduin. Others passed north around the forest and came to the mountains. It appears that the majority of the Bëorians eventually crossed Anduin and the Misty Mountains and entered Eriador. From Eriador the westernmost group eventually reached Beleriand but most of the Bëorians remained in Eriador. Some of the Marachians also passed into Eriador, and from these came the westernmost group who entered Beleriand. The Folk of Haleth, the Second House of the Edain, came from an unrelated people who were later known as the Gwathuirim. These peoples settled throughout the lands east of the Ered Nimrais and as far north as Tyrn Gorthad (the Barrow-downs). From them came the Dead Men of Dunharrow, the Dunlendings, the Men of Bree, and many of Gondor's people. The Folk of Haleth crossed the Ered Lindon into Beleriand and were eventually merged into the Numenoreans. The Edain thus became divided across three regions: Beleriand, Eriador, and Wilderland. The Beleriandic Edain were mostly destroyed, but those who survived eventually passed over Sea (except for a few exiles who fled back to Eriador) to become the Dunedain, the Numenoreans.

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