The Encyclopedia of Arda - Northmen (original) (raw)

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random
Dates First emerged c. I 3101 Location Found throughout Eriador and Rhovanion; many would eventually migrate to the land of Rohan Origins Complex and uncertain: see 'The Descent of the Northmen' below for details Race Men Cultures Numerous, but important historical cultures include the Northmen of Rhovanion, the Men of the Éothéod and the Rohirrim Settlements Primarily in the northern Vales of Anduin: at least some later travelled south to settle in the land that would become known as Rohan, whose capital was at Edoras Other names Men of the North, Northern Men Indexes: Alphabetical: N Men About this entry: Updated 3 October 2007 Updates planned: 2 The ancestors of the Rohirrim Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV Primordial Men Edain Men of Darkness House of Bëor House of Haleth House of Hador Northmen The intricate and uncertain descent of the Northmen. It is seems unlikely that the Northmen were actually derived from all the sources shown here, but evidence can be found to support each of these four different lines of descent. See 'The Descent of the Northmen' below for fuller details on this topic. The Men of the north of Middle-earth, and especially those that dwelt about the upper reaches of the Vales of Anduin, from whom the Rohirrim were descended. The Descent of the Northmen The origins of the Northmen are difficult to pick out with certainty. Their ancestors seem to have come from various different sources, suggesting that they originated as a conglomeration of different, related peoples, rather than descending from a single source. For the most part, they seem to have derived from peoples who were closely related to the original Edain, but did not cross the Blue Mountains into Beleriand. In a sense, they can be seen as a Mannish equivalent of the Silvan Elves, who also broke away from a great westward journey at this point. Appendix A I (iv) to The Lord of the Rings tells us that the Northmen '...were the nearest in kin of the lesser Men to the Dúnedain (being for the most part descendants of those people from whom the Edain of old had come.)' So, on a close reading, we have two sources of the Northmen here: those who shared a common ancestry with the Edain, and those who didn't (because if they only shared descent with the Edain 'for the most part', then it follows that some of them must have come from other stock). In Unfinished Tales there's an even more specific comment: 'The Northmen appear to have been most nearly akin to the third and greatest of the peoples of the Elf-friends, ruled by the House of Hador.' This gives us a third source, because the Northmen described here don't simply share a descent with the Edain: they're more closely related to some than others, which places them actually within the family tree of the Edain. These people almost seem to constitute a 'fourth House of the Edain' who failed to follow the people of the other three across the Mountains. Finally, Faramir offers yet another explanation in The Two Towers IV 5. Speaking specifically about the Rohirrim, he indicates that they originated '...not from Hador the Goldenhaired, the Elf-friend, maybe, yet from such of his sons and people as went not over Sea into the West, refusing the call.' So, here we have ancestors who were not merely related to the Edain, but actually descended from them - in particular, from those who did not join the general exodus to the newly founded Númenor. Did Tolkien mean for all these varying explanations to stand? Possibly not: they certainly read more as variations on a evolving idea than distinct conceptions. On the other hand, as three of them come directly from the text of The Lord of the Rings, it is hard to dismiss them. In fact, it is not completely impossible to reconcile the various accounts, but to do so we need to imagine the original Northmen as a coalition of peoples: partly related to the Edain, partly not, and being joined later in their history by those more directly related to the House of Hador. Even that isn't an ideal solution: for instance, if the Northmen were a mingled people like this, how could Faramir identify which of these strands was the precise origin of the Rohirrim? Still, if we are to reconcile all the various accounts, it is difficult to imagine another possible explanation. Notes 1 It is difficult to identify exactly when the Northmen split from the other Mannish peoples. The date given here, a little after the three hundredth year of the Years of the Sun, relates to the crossing of the Blue Mountains by the people who would become the Edain. So, this is a likely date for a split between the first of the Edain and the original ancestors of the Northmen. See also... Argonath, Bardings, Battle of the Field of Celebrant, Battle of the Plains, Borondir, Bree-dialect, Castamir, Cirion, Dale-men, Dark Plague, East Bight, Eldacar, Elf of the Wand, Éothéod, Fallohides, [See the full list...]Forthwini, Frumgar, Gate of Kings, Gaurwaith, Hallas, Hobbit-speech, Horsemen of Rohan, Kin-strife, King of Gondor, King of Rhovanion, King of the Éothéod, King of the Mark of the Riders, Lord of the Éothéod, Man of Craft, Marhari, Marhwini, Men of Darkness, Men of the Éothéod, Men of the North (in the Third Age), Men of the Twilight, Men of the Vales of Anduin, Middle Men, Middle Peoples, Narrows of the Forest, Northern Men, Northmen of Rhovanion, Olórin, Pillars of the Kings, Queen of Gondor, River Anduin, River Langflood, River Redwater, Rochirrim, Rohan, Rómendacil II, Saruman, Skin-changers, Tale of Cirion and Eorl, The Usurper, Tomb of Elendil, Towers of Gondor, Udalraph, Valacar, Vidugavia, Vidumavi, Vinyarion, Wild Men of the Woods Indexes: Alphabetical: N Men About this entry: Updated 3 October 2007 Updates planned: 2 For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001, 2006-2007. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Explore team dynamics, relationships, leadership and more with Discus team-building.

The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE

SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random

Dates First emerged c. I 3101 Location Found throughout Eriador and Rhovanion; many would eventually migrate to the land of Rohan Origins Complex and uncertain: see 'The Descent of the Northmen' below for details Race Men Cultures Numerous, but important historical cultures include the Northmen of Rhovanion, the Men of the Éothéod and the Rohirrim Settlements Primarily in the northern Vales of Anduin: at least some later travelled south to settle in the land that would become known as Rohan, whose capital was at Edoras Other names Men of the North, Northern Men Indexes: Alphabetical: N Men About this entry: Updated 3 October 2007 Updates planned: 2 The ancestors of the Rohirrim

Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV Primordial Men

Edain

Men of Darkness

House of Bëor House of Haleth House of Hador

Northmen The intricate and uncertain descent of the Northmen. It is seems unlikely that the Northmen were actually derived from all the sources shown here, but evidence can be found to support each of these four different lines of descent. See 'The Descent of the Northmen' below for fuller details on this topic. The Men of the north of Middle-earth, and especially those that dwelt about the upper reaches of the Vales of Anduin, from whom the Rohirrim were descended. The Descent of the Northmen The origins of the Northmen are difficult to pick out with certainty. Their ancestors seem to have come from various different sources, suggesting that they originated as a conglomeration of different, related peoples, rather than descending from a single source. For the most part, they seem to have derived from peoples who were closely related to the original Edain, but did not cross the Blue Mountains into Beleriand. In a sense, they can be seen as a Mannish equivalent of the Silvan Elves, who also broke away from a great westward journey at this point. Appendix A I (iv) to The Lord of the Rings tells us that the Northmen '...were the nearest in kin of the lesser Men to the Dúnedain (being for the most part descendants of those people from whom the Edain of old had come.)' So, on a close reading, we have two sources of the Northmen here: those who shared a common ancestry with the Edain, and those who didn't (because if they only shared descent with the Edain 'for the most part', then it follows that some of them must have come from other stock). In Unfinished Tales there's an even more specific comment: 'The Northmen appear to have been most nearly akin to the third and greatest of the peoples of the Elf-friends, ruled by the House of Hador.' This gives us a third source, because the Northmen described here don't simply share a descent with the Edain: they're more closely related to some than others, which places them actually within the family tree of the Edain. These people almost seem to constitute a 'fourth House of the Edain' who failed to follow the people of the other three across the Mountains. Finally, Faramir offers yet another explanation in The Two Towers IV 5. Speaking specifically about the Rohirrim, he indicates that they originated '...not from Hador the Goldenhaired, the Elf-friend, maybe, yet from such of his sons and people as went not over Sea into the West, refusing the call.' So, here we have ancestors who were not merely related to the Edain, but actually descended from them - in particular, from those who did not join the general exodus to the newly founded Númenor. Did Tolkien mean for all these varying explanations to stand? Possibly not: they certainly read more as variations on a evolving idea than distinct conceptions. On the other hand, as three of them come directly from the text of The Lord of the Rings, it is hard to dismiss them. In fact, it is not completely impossible to reconcile the various accounts, but to do so we need to imagine the original Northmen as a coalition of peoples: partly related to the Edain, partly not, and being joined later in their history by those more directly related to the House of Hador. Even that isn't an ideal solution: for instance, if the Northmen were a mingled people like this, how could Faramir identify which of these strands was the precise origin of the Rohirrim? Still, if we are to reconcile all the various accounts, it is difficult to imagine another possible explanation. Notes 1 It is difficult to identify exactly when the Northmen split from the other Mannish peoples. The date given here, a little after the three hundredth year of the Years of the Sun, relates to the crossing of the Blue Mountains by the people who would become the Edain. So, this is a likely date for a split between the first of the Edain and the original ancestors of the Northmen. See also... Argonath, Bardings, Battle of the Field of Celebrant, Battle of the Plains, Borondir, Bree-dialect, Castamir, Cirion, Dale-men, Dark Plague, East Bight, Eldacar, Elf of the Wand, Éothéod, Fallohides, [See the full list...]Forthwini, Frumgar, Gate of Kings, Gaurwaith, Hallas, Hobbit-speech, Horsemen of Rohan, Kin-strife, King of Gondor, King of Rhovanion, King of the Éothéod, King of the Mark of the Riders, Lord of the Éothéod, Man of Craft, Marhari, Marhwini, Men of Darkness, Men of the Éothéod, Men of the North (in the Third Age), Men of the Twilight, Men of the Vales of Anduin, Middle Men, Middle Peoples, Narrows of the Forest, Northern Men, Northmen of Rhovanion, Olórin, Pillars of the Kings, Queen of Gondor, River Anduin, River Langflood, River Redwater, Rochirrim, Rohan, Rómendacil II, Saruman, Skin-changers, Tale of Cirion and Eorl, The Usurper, Tomb of Elendil, Towers of Gondor, Udalraph, Valacar, Vidugavia, Vidumavi, Vinyarion, Wild Men of the Woods Indexes: Alphabetical: N Men About this entry: Updated 3 October 2007 Updates planned: 2 For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 1998, 2001, 2006-2007. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Explore team dynamics, relationships, leadership and more with Discus team-building.