Realm Eriador.pdf

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O
VERVIEW
Eriador (
Sindarin
for Empty
Lands) stretches from the Blue
Mountains (
Ered Luin)
to the
Misty Mountains (
Hithaeglir
),
and from the Ice Bay of Forochel
in the north, to the Greyflood
River in the south.
This
supplement only covers the
lands predominantly inhabited
by the Dunedain of Arthedain
and Cardolan, in the middle
Third Age. The realms of Bree-
land, Rhudaur, and the Shire
will be covered in other Realm
documents.
Within the range covered in
this document, Eriador can be
divided into two general regions:
Northern Eriador, or Arthedain;
and
southern
Eriador,
Minhiriath (or Cardolan).
The Second Age
In the 600
th
year of the
Second Age, the Numanoreans
returned to the shores of Middle-
earth. They were re-introduced
to their Edain brothers by Gil-
galad, the Elven king of Lindon.
At that time, the Edain lived
between the Hills of Evendim
and the Weather Hills. They
were separate in speech and
culture from the Bree-men, who
lived further south.
The
Numanoreans built a haven at
the mouth of the Gwathlo
(Greyflood
River)
around
SA750, named Vinyalonde, and
later called Lond Daer Ened.
In about 1697 of the Second
Age, Sauron invaded Eriador
with a large army of Orcs. This
war, the War of Elves and
Sauron, ravaged Eriador, and
many of the Men who lived
there were killed. The Men of
Numanor sailed to the aid of
Gil-galad, and Sauron was
driven back through the Gap of
Calenardhon (later named the
Gap of Rohan).
By about SA1800, the Men of
Numanor began to colonize
Middle-earth in large numbers.
The Haven of Tharbad was
built, upstream from Lond Daer.
From that time forward, the
great forests of Minhiriath were
felled for shipbuilding.
In SA3320, after the sinking
of Numanor, Elendil founded the
Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor
in Middle-earth. Arnor was set
down
in
Eriador,
and
encompassed all the lands
between the Lune and the Misty
Mountains, from Forochel to the
Greyflood. Elendil set his capital
at Annuminas, on the shores of
Lake Evendim. The city of
Fornost was also built, and the
city of Tharbad swelled in
importance.
The Third Age
Arnor remained strong and
unified for over 800 years, but in
861 of the Third Age, the High
King Earendur died, and the
kingdom was split between his
three sons. The successor states
of Arthedain, Cardolan, and
Rhudaur emerged. The three
kingdoms warred for several
hundred years, especially over
control of the fortress of Amon
Sul (Weathertop), and the
palantir kept within. These wars
weakened the Dunedain of all
three kingdoms. Of all the three
kingdoms, however, Arthedain
remained the strongest and was
the only one to keep the
bloodline of Earendur pure.
In TA1300 the Witch-king of
Angmar arose to the north.
Unknown to all, this was the
King of the Nazgul, who was sent
north to destroy the weakened
Dunedain kingdoms. Rhudaur
became a puppet state to
Angmar and the Dunedain of
that kingdom were either killed
or driven off. In TA1356
Angmar and Rhudaur attack
Arthedain in the First Northern
War.
In TA1409, Angmar and
Rhudaur
again
attacked
Arthedain and Cardolan, in the
Second
Northern
War.
Cardolan received the brunt of
the attack. The royal house of
Cardolan was slain, as were all
the knights, effectively ending
the Dunedain rule in Cardolan.
Tharbad remained untouched,
but central authority ended in
the realm.
In TA1635 the Great Plague
struck Middle-earth. Cardolan
was decimated, and virtually all
the remaining Dunedain of the
realm died. Arthedain was little
hurt by the Plague, since it
weakened as it traveled north.
H
ISTORY
The Elder Days
Before the Ages of the Sun
and Moon, Eriador was largely
uninhabited, except possibly for
some Silvan Elves who lived in
the
woods
that
covered
Minhiriath and Enedwaith.
The First Age
With the rising of the Sun
and the Moon, Men awoke in
the East, and some journeyed
west. Within the first few
hundred years of the First Age of
the Sun, the first Men entered
Eriador. These were later known
as the Edain, and were opposed
to the Shadow. These Men soon
were sundered, however, as some
passed over the Blue Mountains
into Beleriand. At the end of the
First Age, these Men sailed over
the Sea and became the
Numanoreans.
1
By TA1635, Arthedain was
the only successor state of Arnor
remaining. Arthedain survived
for another 300 years, until the
Third Northern War. In
TA1974,
Angmar
again
launched an offensive against
Arthedain. In this offensive the
tower of Amon Sul was
destroyed, Fornost Erain was
overrun, and the kingdom of
Arthedain ceased to exist. The
Witch-king claimed Fornost
Erain as his capital, and sent
many fell things to live in and
about the city.
N
ORTHERN
E
RIADOR
Also known as Arthedain, for
over a thousand years. Northern
Eriador stretches from the Ice
Bay of Forochel, south to the
Great East Road. From west to
east, it stretches from the River
Lune to the Weather Hills. It
does not include the realm of
Bree-land or the Shire.
Northern Eriador is a country
of hills, downs and highland
plains. Most of the woods are of
pine. Temperatures are warm in
the summer, but bitter cold in
the winter, although snow is not
common.
Beyond the North Downs,
towards the Ice Bay of Forochel,
the land becomes a rough,
uneven plain. Few trees are
found north of the North
Downs, and the land becomes
tundra near the Ice Bay of
Forochel.
The Hills of Evendim are
heavily wooded, primarily with
pine trees. The North Downs
and Tower Hills, however, are
not heavily wooded. Most of
these hills are downs: low hills
where erosion has exposed rocks
from underneath in many places.
While most of the hilltops there
are barren, there are trees nestled
in the ravines and valleys
between hills.
Northern Eriador is a
dangerous land. It is filled with
wolves, roaming bands of Orcs
from Mount Gram, occasional
Trolls from Rhudaur, Wights,
Ghosts, and other fell things. No
settlements of Elves, Dwarves,
Men or Hobbits are to be found
throughout its desolation. Only
the very brave, or very foolish
travel the ancient paths north of
Bree.
P
LACES OF
I
NTEREST
Annuminas
Once the capital city of
Arnor,
Annuminas
was
established by Elendil himself.
The city remained until 861 of
the Third Age, when Arnor split
into three kingdoms. The king
of Arthedain then moved his
thrown to the more defensible
location of Fornost Erain.
Annuminas was left abandoned
and soon fell into ruin.
Deadman’s Dike
The capital of Arthedain was
the city of Fornost Erain (‘North
Fortress of the King’). Once a
thriving center of commerce and
politics, it was also surrounded
by walls, dikes, and moats. The
city fell in the Third Northern
War of Angmar, in 1974 of the
Third Age. Now, only crumbled
stones,
foundations
of
battlements and walls remain.
The city has not forgotten
the Witch-king, however. Many
evil things still lurk in the ruins,
and no one dares live within
many miles of the site.
The Rangers of
the North
The Witch-king was driven
out of Eriador, and his kingdom
destroyed, in TA1975 by a force
from Gondor, the remaining
knights of Arthedain, and the
Elves of Lindon. After Angmar
was defeated, Aranarth, son of
King Arvedui, refuses the
Scepter of Annuminas, saying
there were too few Dunedain left
to rule. He took the title
‘Chieftain of the Dunedain’ and
gave the heirlooms of the
kingdom into the safekeeping of
Elrond Halfelven.
For over 1,000 years, the
Dunedain
descendants
of
Arthedain protected their lands
from the forces of Shadow. As
the Rangers of the North, they
wandered
forgotten
paths,
holding Orcs, Trolls, and other
things at bay. Although they
remembered their heritage,
almost everyone else in Eriador
forgot, and no longer associated
the wandering Rangers with the
tales of the tall Sea-kings.
In the year 15 of the Fourth
Age, Annuminas was rebuilt by
King Elessar and the Reunited
Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor
were restored. Fornost was
rebuilt, and Tharbad was
returned to past glory.
The Greenway
Once known as the Old
South Road in the days of the
kingdom
of
Arnor,
the
Greenway is now an unpaved,
grass grown path, leading from
Deadman’s Dike to Tharbad.
Hills of Evendim
The most sacred of place to
the Dunedain of the North-
kingdom. The Hills of Evendim
overlook
Lake
Evendim
(Nenuvial), on whose shores the
old
capital
of
Arnor,
Annuminas, once stood. No
Dunedain ever lived in these
wooded hills, rather they were
seen as a place to renew their
spirit and seek contemplation.
2
Lake Evendim
(Nenuvial)
The largest lake in Eriador. It
is a serene, still body of water,
which reflects the hills on the
eastern shore. Fed by many
small streams, the lake is always
ice cold and deep. The ruins of
Annuminas, the old capital of
Arnor, lies on the southern
shore.
Weather Hills
(Emyn Sul)
The Weather Hills are a
barren, rocky collection of
uneven hills and plateaus. Few
trees grow on the hillsides, and
most of the rain runoff pools into
the Midgewater Marsh, to the
west of the hills.
In the days of the Kingdom
of Arthedain, the Weather Hills
were the eastern border. Never
populated, these hills were
fortified against the realms of
Rhudaur and Angmar.
The Lone Lands
The Lone Lands are the name
of the uninhabited hills and
woods between the Weather
Hills and the Hoarwell River.
These lands are lightly forested,
rough, and with few trails.
North Downs
(Tyrn Formen)
These rugged hills are only
lightly forested, consisting more
of tough grasses and rocky
outcroppings. Once the heart of
the Dunedain kingdom of
Arthedain, the North Downs are
now completely depopulated.
Ruins
dot
the
hilltops
throughout the region.
The
largest of these is the old, ruined
capital city of Fornost Erain
(Deadman’s Dike). Like the
Barrow Downs, many of these
ruins are haunted. After the fall
of the North-kingdom (in Third
Age 1974), the Witch-king
claimed Fornost as his capital
and brought many evil and fell
things to dwell there. Even after
the Witch-king was driven out,
the next year, many unnatural
things remained.
Midgewater Marshes
Between the Forest of
Chetwood and the Weather
Hills is a lowland depression
called the Midgewater Marshes.
Waters from the Chetwood and
the Hills drain into this land,
making it damp and swampy in
places. No large Predators live in
the Marshes, but many rodents,
birds, and irritating, biting
insects do.
At the far south end of the
Weather Hills lies the greatest
mound of the chain, Weathertop
(Amon Sul). Weathertop was
the lynchpin of Dunedain
defense against Angmar and
Rhudaur. On top of this hill,
over 1000 feet above the
surrounding countryside, lies the
ruins of the Tower of Amon Sul.
This great keep once guarded the
Great East Road and was home
to the
palantir
of Arnor.
3
M
INHIRIATH
,
S
OUTHERN
E
RIADOR
Literally, ‘the land between
the rivers’. Minhiriath is the
name of the region between the
Brandywine River (Baraduin) to
the northwest and the Greyflood
(Gwathlo) to the southeast. It
stretches from the Sea eastward
to
the
Hoarwell
River
(Mitheithel).
Once part of
Arnor, later it was synonymous
with the kingdom of Cardolan.
West of the Old South Road,
Southern Eriador is a land of
rolling plains and meadows. To
the east of the Old South Road,
the land gradually raises into the
South Downs (Tyrn Gorthad)
and into Eregion (Hollin).
During the Second Age, the
Numanoreans built havens in
Minhiriath, at the mouth of the
Greyflood, called Vinyalonde
(later Lond Daer Ened), and at
Tharbad, where the Old South
Road crosses the Greyflood.
Once heavily forested, the
Numanoreans consumed most of
the woods for their many fleets
during the Second Age.
During the time of kingdom
of Arnor, Minhiriath was heavily
populated, with most folks living
along the Brandywine and
Greyflood.
Large farms and
herds dotted the countryside.
The Wars of Angmar and the
Great Plague devastated the
land, with the vast majority
being killed.
Lond Daer Ened was deserted
at the end of the Second Age,
but Tharbad continued as a
major trade city throughout the
first half of the Third Age. Over
the second half of the Third
Age, Tharbad had declined to a
small town, like Bree. It was
finally destroyed in a flood in
TA2911.
P
LACES OF
I
NTEREST
Andrath
The ‘Long Road’. Andrath is
the name of the section of the
Old South Road that climbs
from the lowland plains of
Minhiriath to the higher country
at Bree. Uninhabited due to its
proximity to the Barrow Downs,
its name comes from the lack of
amenities found on it, as well as
the climb northbound travelers
must endure.
herdsmen. Depopulated by wars
and plague, no one now lives in
the South Downs, but some
bandits do have holds here.
Tharbad
The oldest city in Eriador,
Tharbad was built as a
Numanorean haven in the mid-
Second Age. It was the center
of Numanorean culture in
Eriador until Elendil and the
exiles landed in Lindon.
Tharbad prospered as a trading
center throughout the first half
of the Third Age.
After Cardolan fell in the
Northern Wars with Angmar,
and after the Great Plague,
Tharbad was greatly reduced in
population and importance. It
was finally destroyed in the
floods after the Fell Winter of
2911.
After
3000TA,
when
Saruman began uniting some
Dunlending
tribes
against
Rohan, and war was on the
horizon, many Dunlendings
migrated north, across the
Greyflood, to avoid the conflict.
These ‘Southrons’ as the Bree-
men called them, were the more
civilized of their brethren. They
began to set up communities on
the north side of the river, along
the Greenway and river bank. It
is conceivable that a settlement
was founded near the ruins of
Tharbad.
Eryn Vorn
An untamed forest in the
peninsula of the same name.
The forest is home to deer, bears,
and wild boar.
The Eryn Vorn is also home
to Wild Men related to the
Druedain
of
the
White
Mountains.
These tribesmen
live by hunting and spear
fishing, and guard their home
fiercely, and those few who
know if its existence give it a
wide berth.
Lond Daer Ened
Once
the
harbor
of
Vinyalonde, built by the
Numanoreans in the early
Second Age, Lond Daer Ened is
now only submerged ruins, and
fallen towers and battlements.
Located at the mouth of the
Grayflood river, the ruins have
been abandoned since the
Downfall of Numanor.
Greyflood River
(Gwathlo)
The greatest river west of the
Misty Mountains, the Greyflood
marked the old south boundary
of the kingdom of Arnor. A
wide, fast moving river, the
Greyflood is fed by many
tributaries, including the great
rivers Hoarwell, Loudwater, and
Swanfleet. It is also very deep
south of the Swanfleet tributary.
The river is impassible, except
for the ford at Tharbad.
South Downs
A low line of hills stretching
southeast from Bree, towards
Eregion. The South Downs are
barren, with few trees. Tall
grasses and rocky outcroppings
are the dominant features.
During the reign of the
kingdoms of Cardolan, these
downs were occupied by
4

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