Early in the Third Age, the Kings of Gondor began to forge an friendship with the Northmen of Rhovanion. Umtil Rhovanion’s demise, the Northmen kingdom provided a crucial bulwark for Gondor against reavers from the east.
[The Northmen] had increased greatly in the peace brought by the power of Gondor. The kings showed them favour, since they were the nearest in kin of lesser Men to the Dúnedain (being for the most part descendants of those peoples from whom the Edain of old had come); and they gave them wide lands beyond Anduin south of Greenwood the Great, to be a defence against men of the East.
The importance of Rohan and the Rohirrim to the survival of Gondor
Whether accident or foresight, it was a friendship that ultimately preserved Gondor through the long, and sometimes dark, later years of the Third Age.
The military pact that Cirion and Eorl later cemented is undoubtedly crucial. However, did the Rohirrim help sustain and invigorate the culture of Gondor as well? If so, what was it about the Rohirrim as a people that prevented cultural stagnation?
On the other hand, what of the effects of the kin-strife during the reign of Eldacar? Was this sort of resistance to Rohan’s influence an exception rather than undercurrent of Gondiran society?
Finally, how does this compare with the situation of Arnor and its successor state, Arthedain? To what extent would the close support of a state similar to Rohan have made to their survival against the depradations of Angmar?
So be sure to join us this Saturday March 21 at 6pm EDT (New York daylight savings time) in The Hall of Fire when we’ll talk up a storm about this fascinating and much-loved fan adaptation.
Recommended reading
* Unfinished Tales: Cirion and Eorl
* Lord of the Rings: Appendix A: Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion
* Lord of the Rings: Appendix A: The House of Eorl
The Oath of Cirion and Eorl by Anke Eissmann.Time zone conversions
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