by Codex Regius
The Hillmen slowly gained dominion over the few Dúnedain of Rhúdaur until, at an unknown date, their throne was ‘seized by an evil lord of the Hillmen, who was in secret league with Angmar’ (KR). At this time, there were still loyal minorities that had retreated beyond the Weather Hills. But after the fatal year of 1409 TA, all of Rhúdaur ‘was occupied by evil Men subject to Angmar, and the Dúnedain that remained there were slain or fled west.’[1] (KR)
The Hillmen were ultimately doomed, however, for ‘all were destroyed in the war that brought the North Kingdom to its end.’ (FR) Plainly spoken: genocide. Much of Eriador fell into further desolation then and never recovered. Both Rhúdaur and Cardolan were deserted, and Cardolan withstood attempts to resettle it from Arthedain (HE) that claimed the disused name Arnor again, though it was by now a petty affair in the eyes of the Gondorians. Rhúdaur was now at any rate inhabited only by fell non-human creatures.
The next major catastrophe was the Great Plague of 1636 TA from which all the remaining settled areas took almost fatal blows. Now as well, ‘Minhiriath had been almost entirely deserted, though a few secretive hunter-folk lived in the woods’ of Eryn Vorn and others.
When Arthedain-Arnor, last northern kingdom, fell as well, the history of the Middle Men in Eriador had virtually come to an end. ‘In Bilbo’s time great areas of Eriador were empty of Men,’ (DM) and no significant settlements were found within at least a hundred leagues from the only survivors: the pre-Númenóreans of Bree and the Lossoth in the far North. (FR, see chapter II) Gondor made no attempt to resettle her northern sister before the Fourth Age. She had no interests to defend there, and until the War of the Ring, other peoples were neither numerous nor courageous enough to immigrate into the vast, desolate regions. Tharbad, where once a large population of pre-Númenóreans may have dwelt in the suburbs, became the Ultima Thule of the Southern Kingdom: Beyond lay an almost mythical land full of strange, otherworldly beings like Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and worse.
Finally, after a long and dreadful winter, even Tharbad was inundated and fell into ruin, and its famous Bridge was no more. The river Greyflood was not only an effective psychological barrier but had also become a physical one. It could be crossed only at the dangerous ford, at the site of the collapsed bridge.
[1] It was probably at the same time that trolls first appeared in eastern Rhúdaur, advancing into the regions which later were known as the Trollshaws. Though the name seems to precede their arrival, for Rhúdaur means exactly that: ‘Trolls haws’ (WPP)
Tarannon extended the sway of Gondor
The South Kingdom had assumed a completely different policy with regard to indigenous minorities, pursuing an expansionist strategy and maintaining a restrictive attitude against its non-Dúnedain citizens. Isildur’s curse may have been only the most prominent among similar incidents, and its memory was probably kept alive among the indigenous population for many generations. On a private level, of course, there was much intercourse between Dúnedain and the occupied minorities. Mixed marriages were frequent, and slowly ‘the blood of the Númenóreans became much mingled with that of other men, and their power and wisdom was diminished.’ (RP) That afterthought, rarely met in Arnor, is a quite common racial slur in Gondorian official documents. It demonstrates how they promoted apartheid, raising suspicion even against people of ‘mixed blood’.
Originally, Gondor comprised only Anórien and Ithilien. But in the 8th century TA, the victories of crown prince Tarannon ‘extended the sway of Gondor far along the shore-lands on either side of the Mouths of Anduin’ (HE). Those few pre-Númenóreans who were still living there were subdued and never regained political independence. In most parts, they became virtually extinct: their memory was preserved only by a few geographical names whose meaning had been lost in time. The White Mountains faced the same fate with the demise of the Men of Dunharrow. Calenardhon followed suit, stretching from the river Isen to the Argonath. And finally, southern Rhovanion as far East as Dorwinion at the shores of the Sea of Rhún shared their fate. Only in this latter - most tenuously held – province, successfully númenórised indigenous folk survived the sway of Gondor, see chapter V.
The pre-Númenóreans in Gondor
Too much in awe of the might of the kings
From Enedwaith to Dunlendings
The most resistant minority outside of Arnor proved to be the small nation of the Gwathuirim[1], ‘remnant of an old race of Men (akin to the Breelanders?)’ (TC) and known to the Rohirrim as Dunlendings. One argument to their benefit was that, to the region of Enedwaith, ‘few Númenóreans had ever come, and none had settled there’ (FI) even in the Third Age, ‘owing to the hostility of the Gwathuirim (Dunlendings), except in the fortified town and haven about the great bridge over the Greyflood at Tharbad.’ (DM)
There is doubt about the political status of the territory. Some sources claim that it ‘belonged to neither kingdom [though] both kingdoms shared an interest in this region. … A considerable garrison of soldiers, mariners and engineers had been kept there until the seventeenth century of the Third Age. But from then onwards the region fell quickly into decay; and … back into wild fenlands.’ (GC) Others state that ‘in ancient days … the western bounds of the South Kingdom was the Isen’, (FI) but the same source reports that Enedwaith ‘in the days of the Kings … was part of the realm of Gondor, but it was of little concern to them, except for the patrolling and upkeep of the great Royal Road.’ (FI)
These superficially conflicting statements may suggest that Enedwaith was not fully integrated into the South Kingdom but constituted a protectorate, like the barbarian regions beyond the northern borders of the Roman Empire. It is evident, though, that till 1636 TA, the Gwathuirim were nominal subjects of Gondor, more by decree than by conviction. They lived remote enough from the major population centres that they did not feel very concerned about the distant lord in Osgiliath. Their spirit remained as independent as that of their relatives in Bree-land. But in contrast to the successfully integrated Bree-folk, the Gwathuirim maintained the ancient animosities of the Second Age, though they may not have remembered their reasons, and they ‘did … hold to their old speech[2] and manners: a secret folk, unfriendly to the Dúnedain’, (LP) who ‘had little love for Gondor, but though hardy and bold enough were too few and too much in awe of the might of the Kings to trouble them.’ (FI)
Gondor, whose eyes were turned East and South, was oblivious to these most unimportant of its subjects, referring to Enedwaith as the ‘Wild Lands’ even then. This was a tragic development because it meant that the Gwathuirim never became númenorised to the degree that had cultivated the pre-Númenóreans of Arnor. But despite Gondorian claims that, throughout the millenia, the Dunlendish ‘hatred remained unappeased in their descendants, causing them to join with any enemies of Númenor’, (DM) the Gwathuirim have never been reported to wilfully submit to the Necromancer or any of his minions, though they would not hesitate to take advantage of other military conflicts arising around them. And orcs they despised like any man would, up to expelling individuals from the community whom they suspected to have dealings with them, such as a certain ‘outlaw driven from Dunland, where many said that he had Orc-blood. … He was the squint-eyed Southerner at the [Prancing Pony] Inn.’ (HR).
Non-Dúnedain foreigners, however, enjoyed the same hospitality and generosity from the Dunlendings that was inherent to the Bree-folk: the Stoor hobbits who allegedly ‘liked to live with or near to Big Folk of friendly kind’ (DM) dwelt quite contently ‘at the borders of Dunland’ (FT). They even were on such good terms with the Dunlendings that the Stoors ‘appear to have adopted a language related to Dunlendish before they came north to the Shire.’ (LP)
Conditions severely changed with the Great Plague of 1636 TA. When it had passed, ‘in Enedwaith the remnants of the Dunlendings [still] lived in the east, in the foothills of the Misty Mountains,’ (FI) and they had ‘suffered … less than most, since they dwelt apart and had few dealings with
other men.’ (LP) But Gondor’s hold on Enedwaith had loosened, because of heavy losses among the troops and garrisons. Thus, ‘when the days of the Kings ended (1975-2050) and the waning of Gondor began, they [= the Dunlendings] ceased in fact to be subjects of Gondor.’ (FI)
But even northern Dunland had been considerably deprived of inhabitants (RK) and the Stoors, finding their abode untenable, headed for the Shire. The Gwathuirim would later meet only the occasional Dwarf north of their territory. (KR)
After the Great Plague: Surviving population centres
It should not surprise that they took interest in the nearby plains of Calenardhon that before ‘were ever guarded against any incursion from the ‘Wild Lands’. But [when] during the Watchful Peace (from 2063 to 2460) the [Dúnedainic] people of Calenardhon dwindled … the garrisons of the forts were not renewed, and were left to the care of local hereditary chieftains whose subjects were of more and more mixed blood. For the Dunlendings drifted steadily and unchecked over the Isen.’ (FI)
Calenardhon promised much more fertile and prosperous grounds than the hilly homesteads of Dunland. The Gwathuirim had hardly any other choice unless they wanted to follow the Stoors into an unsafe future in Eriador, and their West and South they found both defended by that more than dubious ‘barbarous fisher-folk’. (GC) Nor would their infiltration inevitably mean trouble. Only the notorious Gondorian ignorance of Dunlendish interests led to those tragic consequences after the Battle of the Camp in 1944 TA.
Dunlendish territory when the Rohirrim arrived (grey)
One result of this event was that Gondor passed the province of Calenardhon by decree to a northmannish tribe, the Eótheód (later called Rohirrim), who had ventured south from their original homesteads in the north of Rhovanion. The Dunlendish herdsmen could only consider these alien horse-breeders competitors for the pastures of Calenardhon: they were not welcome on what the Gwathuirim, with some justification, considered their own land by then. The struggle for the resources of Calenardhon/Rohan deteriorated beyond the point of no return when the Kings of the Rohirrim decided to simply eliminate the local minorities, in a manner reminiscent of methods the Men of Darkness might apply:
’Under Brego and Aldor the Dunlendings were rooted out again and driven away beyond the Isen, and the Fords of Isen were guarded.’ Worse, King Aldor ‘even raided their lands in Enedwaith by way of reprisal.’ (FI) This ethnic cleansing has never been forgotten by the ‘wild hillmen and herd-folk’, (TT) as the Northern Atani, the Rohirrim, would essentially label the Southern Atani, the Gwathuirim - who returned the favour by referring to the former as ‘wild Northmen’. (FI)
Historians who assumed a more neutral position recorded that it was at this time that ‘the Rohirrim earned the hatred of the Dunlendings, which was not appeased until the return of the King, then far off in the future. Whenever the Rohirrim were weak or in trouble the Dunlendings renewed their attacks’ against ‘the ‘wild Northmen’ who had usurped the land’. (FI) Centuries later, a man from Rohan still perceived a need to complain, ‘Not in half a thousand years have they forgotten the grievance that the lords of Gondor gave the Mark to Eorl the Young and made alliance with him.’ (TT) Which should tell how the Rohirrim used to divert historical responsibility for this ethnic conflict from their own heads by blaming the distant throne of Minas Tirith.
If the South Kingdom would have thrown weight and power into establishing a political compromise in time, then Saruman the White could not have exploited this conflict almost to the ruin of both Rohan and Gondor. But Minas Tirith, alas, neglected the unanswered Dunlendish question, considering it a matter of Rohan’s internal politics: ‘the enmity of the ‘wild’ Dunlendings seemed of small account to the Stewards.’ (FI) This left Rohan alone with the problem, and that vastly aggravated the issue:
‘In the reign of [Rohan’s] King Deor (2699 to 2718) … the line of the Gondorian chieftains of Angrenost [= Isengard] had failed, and the command of the fortress passed into the hands of a family of the [Rohirian] people. These, as has been said, were already long before of mixed blood, and they were now more friendly disposed to the Dunlendings …; with Minas Tirith far away they no longer had any concern. After the death of King Aldor … the Dunlendings unmarked by Rohan but with the connivance of Isengard began to filter into northern Westfold again, making settlements in the mountain glens west and east of Isengard and even in the southern eaves of Fangorn. In the reign of Déor they became openly hostile, raiding the herds and studs of the Rohirrim in Westfold.’ (FI) ‘As was later known, the Dunlendings [were] admitted as friends’ (FI) in Angrenost until they ‘seized the Ring of Isengard, slaying the few survivors of its ancient guards who were not (as were most) willing to merge with the Dunlendish folk. Déor sent word at once to the Steward in Minas Tirith (at that time, in the year 2710, Egalmoth), but he was unable to send help, and the Dunlendings remained in occupation of Isengard’. (FI) Other sources show that the reason for Egalmoth’s refusal was ‘renewed war with the Orcs.’ (HE)
Not in half a thousand years have they forgotten the grievance
This statement should not be generalised, though. At the same time, there was much traffic with the west-march of Rohan, and Northmen and Dunlendings frequently joined in cross-border marriage. Even the landlord Freca, a member of Rohirian nobility and counsellor of king Helm Hammerhand, ‘had, men said, much Dunlendish blood, and was dark-haired.[3]’ (KR) For a king like Helm, this was reason enough to address him as ‘Dunlending’, though his name was Rohirian.
Freca is one of the more illustrious characters in the history of the Gwathuirim. Belonging to the aristocracy of Rohan, he ‘claimed descent from King Fréawine’ and was ‘rich and powerful, having wide lands on either side of the Adorn. Near its source he made himself a stronghold and paid little heed to the king. Helm mistrusted him, but called him to his councils; and he came when it pleased him.’ Yet he developed quite high ambitions. In 2754 TA, he actually made an attempt to overcome the segregation by marrying into the royal family of Rohan. He made a glorious false start, though: ‘To one of these councils Freca rode with many men, and he asked the hand of Helm’s daughter for his son Wulf’, (KR) but received insults instead and ‘such a blow with [Helm’s] fist that he fell back stunned, and died soon after. Helm then proclaimed Freca’s son and near kin the king’s enemies; and they fled, for at once Helm sent many men riding to the west marches.’ (KR)[4]
This looks like an overreaction to a marriage proposal, even considering that ‘Freca fell in a rage and reviled the king’ before. (KR) It was, however, Helm who had started reviling, and in a way, he brought the doom that followed upon his own head. For ‘the slaying of their lord, Freca, by King Helm was still remembered’ (FI) for centuries and added to the Dunlendings’ resentment against the throne of Rohan.
It is not known where Wulf son of Freca fled to from Edoras. Maybe to the sea, because four years later he would return with the most unlikely of allies. Instigated by Mordor, the Corsairs of Umbar (see chapter IV) were raiding the coasts along the Bay of Belfalas and beyond. Somehow, Wulf achieved a unique diplomatic feat then: He forged an alliance with the Corsairs to launch a coup-d’état against king Helm. For the only time in the Third Age, the Dunlendings were drawn into a league with Men of Darkness.
This, and the concerted attack of Easterlings, brought Rohan to its knees. Wulf’s forces advanced through the Gap of Rohan, and they ‘were joined by enemies of Gondor that had landed in the mouths of Lefnui and Isen’. (KR) While ‘Rohan was again invaded from the East … the Dunlendings seeing their chance came over the Isen and down from Isengard. It was soon known that Wulf was their leader.’ (KR) Rohan called again to Gondor for help. And again, the South Kingdom declined, this time due to the raids of as many as three Corsair fleets at its own coasts. Helm was forced to yield his throne, and in retaliation for the murder of his father, ‘Wulf took Edoras and sat in Meduseld and called himself king.’ (KR)
The Dunlendish rul
e of Edoras and Isengard was brief and ill-fated. ‘Reduced by the great famine after the Long Winter (2758-9) they were starved out and capitulated to Fréalaf’, Helm’s nephew. (FI) Helm himself, in his retreat at the Hornburg, took to a strange sport, a single-handed partisan war:
‘He would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll into the camps of his enemies, and slay many men with his hands. It was believed that if he bore no weapon no weapon would bite on him. The Dunlendings said that if he could find no food he ate men. That tale lasted long in Dunland.’ (KR)
Such a blow with Helm’s fist that he fell back stunned
This pastime was also Helm’s undoing. One morning he was found frozen stiff, ‘standing still on the Dike, alone, for none of the Dunlendings dared come near. There stood Helm, dead as a stone, but his knees were unbent.’ (KR)
‘Soon after the winter broke. Then Fréaláf, son of Hild, Helm’s sister, came down out of Dunharrow, to which many had fled; and with a small company of desperate men he surprised Wulf in Meduseld and slew him, and regained Edoras. There were great floods after the snows, and the vale of Ent-wash became a vast fen. The Eastern invaders perished or withdrew; and there came help at last from Gondor, by the roads both east and west of the mountains. Before the year (2759) was ended the Dunlendings were driven out, even from Isengard; and then Fréaláf became king.’ (KR)