Good Night, Good Rhudaur - Page 3
© Michael Martinez
So the presence of tribes of Men in the northern foot-hills of the Misty Mountains, perhaps descended from some of the Easterlings of the First Age who had served Morgoth, would give Elendil some reason to be concerned. The Easterlings might have been awed by the Elves, but if there were only a few Numenoreans living in Rhudaur, the Easterlings may not have been very intimidated.
Rhudaur would control the passage from Lindon to Imladris. But it would also control the passage from the Vales of Anduin into Eriador. The Elves could travel safely through Eregion down to the Redhorn Pass over Caradhras, but they probably also used the High Pass by Imladris frequently. It would make sense for Elendil to control the region if Gil-galad had to give up his authority over the lands between Rhudaur and Lindon. Elrond probably did not have enough Elves to control a large region.
Elendil may therefore have sent soldiers to establish outposts in Rhudaur along the Road. In turn, these soldiers may have entered into trading agreements with some of the hill clans. The hill-folk would have benefitted from joining Elendil's kingdom. Perhaps they engaged in frequent feuds among themselves, and the victorious clans drove the weaker clans south. If that were the case, the Numenoreans would be increasing their strength by welcoming the weaker clans while at the same time opening the door for barbarization.
In the early generations such a prospect would have seemed remote. Elendil's four shiploads of Numenoreans couldn't have fielded a great army, but he had plenty of men to recruit from in Eriador. All that changed in the War of the Last Alliance, however. Now the Numenoreans assmbled a vast army from all of Arnor, and Elendil joined forces with Gil-galad and other Elven kings to march against Mordor. Although we don't know the details of the war, we know that Arnor suffered tremendous casualties in the battles, such that its population became diminished.
In the wake of Elendil's war with Sauron, Arnor would have to change its administrative policies. Valandil, the young king raised by Elrond, would have held on to Rhudaur because Imladris was important to him. He was born there and had been raised there. Rhudaur was also probably the location of many camps established by Gil-galad and Elendil during the years they were training and equipping their armies. The region might not have seemed a very tempting target for raiders from the north for a generation or two.
The copyright of the article Good Night, Good Rhudaur - Page 3 in J.R.R. Tolkien is owned by Michael Martinez. Permission to republish Good Night, Good Rhudaur - Page 3 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
