Man (Middle-earth)
Encyclopedia
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien
's Middle-earth
books, such as The Hobbit
and The Lord of the Rings
, refers to human
ity and does not denote gender. They are distinct from the various humanoid races, though some, like Hobbit
s, are human in origin, and others are thought by some characters to be human, such as the Wizards
(who are really of another race).
The Elves call the race of Men Atani in Quenya
, literally meaning "Second People" (the Elves
being the First), but also Hildor (Followers), Apanónar (After-born), and Fírimar or Firyar (Mortals). Less charitably they were called Engwar (The Sickly), owing to their susceptibility to disease and old age, and their generally unlovely appearance in the Elves' eyes. The name Atani becomes Edain in Sindarin
, but this term is later only applied to those Men who are friendly to the Elves. Other names appear in Sindarin as Aphadrim, Eboennin, and Firebrim or Firiath. Being the second born race of Middle-earth, Men are generally weaker than Elves, and have poorer coordination and reflexes.
In Tolkien's writings, Man with an initial capital letter refers to any human being (atan in Quenya) and man with a lowercase m refers to an adult male of any race (nér). Legolas
, for example, may be correctly called a man but not a Man. Conversely, Éowyn
can be called a Man but not a man.
, Ilúvatar. Because they awoke at the start of the Years of the Sun, while the Elves awoke at the start of the First Age
during the Years of the Trees, they are called the Afterborn by the Elves.
Men bear the Gift of Men
, mortality. Elves are immortal, in the sense that even if their bodies are slain, their spirits remain bound to the world, going to the Halls of Mandos to wait until they are released or the world ends. Elves are tied to the world for as long as it lasts. When Men die, they are released from Arda
and its bounds and depart to a world unknown even to the Valar.
Here below follow the short descriptions of the most important groups of Men in the First, Second
and Third Age
s.
in Beleriand
. Those Men who fought against Morgoth in the First Age were divided into three Houses.
The First House of the Edain was the House of Bëor
, which entered Beleriand in and was granted the fief of Ladros in Dorthonion
by Finrod Felagund
.
The Second House of the Edain was led by one Haldad and later by his daughter Haleth
and settled in the Forest of Brethil. The House called itself the House of Haleth
after their matriarch.
The Third House of the Edain, which became the greatest, was led by Marach
and later his descendant Hador
, and they settled in Dor-lómin. This house was known both as the House of Marach and the House of Hador.
Atanatári is a Quenya
term which means "Fathers of Men" and is used to describe the forefathers of the Edain
. Its use is not exactly clear: sometimes it is used to refer to the Edain of the First Age
, other times it is only applied to Bëor
, Marach
and contemporaries, and in yet other places it is used to refer to those peoples from whom the Edain are descended.
If the third meaning is adopted, it can be said that the so-called Middle Men of Middle-earth (the Rohirrim, Men of Dale, etc.) are also descendants from the Atanatári, like the Edain (or later Dúnedain
).
at the end of the First Age, the Edain were rewarded with a new land of their own between Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. This was the land of Númenor
, an island in the form of a five-pointed star far away from the evil of Middle-earth.
They were led to this island by Elros with the help of his father Eärendil
, who sailed the heavens as the bright star of the same name. Once there Elros became the first king of Númenor as Tar-Minyatur and the Edain became known as the Dúnedain
(Sindarin for Men of the West). The kingdom of Númenor grew steadily in power, and the Dúnedain became the noblest and highest of all Men on Arda. Allied to the Elves, Númenor fought against Morgoth's lieutenant Sauron
.
Now that the Men of the West had become powerful, they came to resent the Gift of Men, death. They wanted to become immortal like the Elves and enjoy their accumulated power for all time. The Númenóreans turned away from the Valar, began to call the Gift of Men the Doom of Men and cursed the Ban of the Valar which forbade them to sail west beyond sight of Númenor or to enter Valinor
. In Ar-Adûnakhôr became the first king of Númenor who took his royal name in Adûnaic
, the language of Men instead of Quenya
, the language of the Elves. This led to civil war in Númenor.
The people of Númenor were divided into two factions: the King's Men, who enjoyed the support of the King and the majority of the people. They favoured the Adûnaic language. The minority faction, the Faithful, were led by the lord of Andúnië, the westernmost province of Númenor, remained friendly to the Elves and favoured Quenya.
Sauron, who by the second millennium of the Second Age was nearly defeated by the Elves, took advantage of the division. He surrendered to the last Númenórean King, Ar-Pharazôn, and worked his way into the King's counsels. Ultimately, Sauron advised him to attack Valinor and claim immortality. This he foolishly did, and as punishment Númenor was swallowed by the sea
. However, some of the Faithful escaped and founded the twin kingdoms of Gondor
and Arnor
.
The Men of Gondor gradually mingled with other groups, such as the Northmen
. This led to the civil war
called the Kin-strife, when Eldacar, a man of mixed descent and the rightful heir to the throne, was challenged by Castamir, who was of pure Dúnedain blood. Eldacar was forced into exile, and Castamir, called the Usurper, took the throne. After a decade Eldacar returned with allies from the North and defeated Castamir. However his sons and many of his followers managed to escape to Umbar
.
Also counted among the Men of Gondor were people coming from its provinces and fiefdoms who were not of Númenórean descent. Some of these Men had darker complexions; prominent among them were Forlong the Fat
and the Men of Lossarnach who reinforced Minas Tirith
before the siege of the city began.
Before the foundation there was already a sizable Númenórean
immigrant population living there. Before the arrival of the Dúnedain Arnor was home to Middle Men of Edain
stock, and the early colonists soon interbred with the indigenous population.
After the death of its tenth king, Arnor was shaken by civil war between his three sons. As a result the kingdom was split into three successor states - Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. These kingdoms eventually fell in wars with the Witch-king of Angmar
, though the Dúnedain of the North survived as the Rangers
. In time, one of their Chieftains, Aragorn II, restored Arnor and Gondor as the Reunited Kingdom
.
The Faithful were not the only Númenóreans left on Middle-earth when Númenor sank. When Númenor grew in naval power, many Númenóreans founded colonies in Middle-earth. In the second millennium of the Second Age, there was an exodus of Men from an overcrowded Númenor: the King's Men, who wanted to conquer more lands, and the Faithful who were persecuted by the Kings. The Faithful settled in Pelargir and the King's Men settled in Umbar
. When Númenor was destroyed, the remaining King's Men became known as the Black Númenóreans and remained hostile against the Faithful of Gondor.
From their ranks, Sauron recruited Men who would become some of the nine Ringwraiths in the second millennium of the Second Age. Umbar was conquered by Gondor in . However, very little is known about the Ringwraiths and where they came from and some were said to have been from the lands east and south of Mordor
.
Among the Black Númenórean race was the wicked Queen Berúthiel
, wife of Tarannon Falastur, King of Gondor.
During the Kin-strife of Gondor, the defeated rebels of Gondor fled to Umbar
. Umbar became the hated enemy of Gondor. They mingled with the Black Númenóreans and became known as the Corsairs of Umbar.
Castamir's faction took with them a large part of Gondor's fleet, thus weakening Gondor and strengthening the naval traditions of Umbar. Gondor later conquered Umbar again but lost it again soon after.
By the time of the War of the Ring
, the Corsairs had mingled with the Haradrim, becoming a mixed people where Númenórean blood was mostly gone. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
, a combined fleet amounting to "fifty great ships [of Umbar] and smaller vessels beyond count" was raiding the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin, but these were captured by Aragorn and the Army of the Dead
, and were sailed to Minas Tirith to relieve the siege of the city.
, and when the Númenóreans started to chop these woods down to build their ships in the Second Age, the Dúnedain of Númenor earned the hostility of the Dunlendings. Although the two peoples were related, the Dúnedain did not recognize them as kinsmen for their language was too different. The Dunlendings later became bitter enemies of Rohan
after the people of Rohan moved into their territory and founded their kingdom.
The Dunlendings served Saruman
in the War of the Ring
and participated in the Battle of the Hornburg
.
The Men of the Mountains, who were cursed by Isildur and became the Dead Men of Dunharrow
, were related to the Dunlendings.
The Men of Bree
were also descended from the Dunlendings.
were tempted by Morgoth or Sauron. They were joined after the War of Wrath
by those of the Edain who did not wish to travel to Númenor (similar to how, at the end of the First Age, various Eldar remained and went east, becoming lords of the Silvan Elves
). The Northmen who dwelt in Greenwood the Great
and other parts of Rhovanion
were friendly to the Dúnedain, being for the most part their kin, and many of them became Gondorian subjects. The Men of Dale and Esgaroth
were Northmen, as were the Woodmen of Mirkwood, and the Éothéod
, who became the Rohirrim; the Beorn
ings were likewise counted as Northmen.
Both Umbar and the Harad were left unchecked by Gondor's waning power by the time of the War of the Ring, and presented grave threats from the south. Many Haradrim fought with Sauron's forces in Gondor in the war. However, Tolkien strongly hints that they, as well as the Easterlings, were at worst deceived and at best unwilling pawns to Sauron.
In the First Age, some tribes of Easterlings offered their services to the Elvish kingdoms in Beleriand
; the strongest among them were Bór and Ulfang (called the Black), and their respective sons. This proved to be disastrous for the Elves in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad
when Ulfang and his clan switched sides and defected to Morgoth, while Bór and his sons died bravely fighting on the side of the Eldar.
After Morgoth's defeat, Sauron extended his influence over the Easterlings, and although Sauron was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age, the Easterlings were the first enemies to attack Gondor again in . They were soundly defeated by King Rómendacil I but invaded again in T.A. 541 and took revenge by slaying King Rómendacil. Rómendacil's son Turambar took large portions of land from them.
In the next centuries, Gondor held sway over the Easterlings. When Gondor's power began to decrease in the twelfth century Third Age, the Easterlings took the complete eastern bank of the Anduin
except Ithilien
crushing Gondor's allies, the Northmen.
The Easterlings of the Third Age were divided in different tribes, such as the Wainriders and the Balchoth. The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterlings which were very active between T.A. 1856 and 1944. They were a serious threat to Gondor for many years, but were utterly defeated by Eärnil II
in 1944.
When Gondor lost its royal dynasty in T.A. 2050, the Easterlings started to reorganize themselves and a fierce tribe called the Balchoth became the most important tribe. In 2510 they invaded Gondor again and conquered much of Calenardhon, until they were defeated by the Éothéod
, coming to Gondor's aid.
Until the War of the Ring the Easterlings did not launch any invasion. In the war, they were amongst the fiercest warriors deployed at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Sauron.
At the end of the Third Age, some Woses lived in the Drúadan forest (named for them) in Gondor, small in number but experienced in forest life. They held off Orcs
who strayed into their woods with poisoned arrows. Through a grievous misunderstanding, they were hunted as beasts by the Rohirrim.
In the War of the Ring, they were vital in securing the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields; they guided the host unseen through the forest, and thus the Rohirrim were able to surprise their enemies. In gratitude, Théoden
pledged to stop hunting them.
After Sauron's downfall, King Elessar
granted the Drúadan forest "forever" to them in the Fourth Age
.
, a hardy people native to the Ice Bay of Forochel in the far north. A race of wicked Men descended from wild Hill-folk inhabited the realm of Angmar
and served its Witch-king until the fall of that kingdom. Tolkien also makes reference to Giants in The Hobbit
. These Giants may be related to the race of Man, though the scant information about them had led to debate over their exact nature and even their existence as an independent race in Tolkien's world.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
books, such as The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
and The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, refers to human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ity and does not denote gender. They are distinct from the various humanoid races, though some, like Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s, are human in origin, and others are thought by some characters to be human, such as the Wizards
Wizard (Middle-earth)
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Wizards of Middle-earth are a group of beings outwardly resembling Men but possessing much greater physical and mental power. They are also called the Istari by the Elves. The Sindarin word is Ithryn...
(who are really of another race).
The Elves call the race of Men Atani in Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, literally meaning "Second People" (the Elves
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
being the First), but also Hildor (Followers), Apanónar (After-born), and Fírimar or Firyar (Mortals). Less charitably they were called Engwar (The Sickly), owing to their susceptibility to disease and old age, and their generally unlovely appearance in the Elves' eyes. The name Atani becomes Edain in Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, but this term is later only applied to those Men who are friendly to the Elves. Other names appear in Sindarin as Aphadrim, Eboennin, and Firebrim or Firiath. Being the second born race of Middle-earth, Men are generally weaker than Elves, and have poorer coordination and reflexes.
In Tolkien's writings, Man with an initial capital letter refers to any human being (atan in Quenya) and man with a lowercase m refers to an adult male of any race (nér). Legolas
Legolas
Legolas is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, featured in The Lord of the Rings. He is an Elf of the Woodland Realm and one of nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring.- Literature :...
, for example, may be correctly called a man but not a Man. Conversely, Éowyn
Éowyn
Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who describes herself as a "shieldmaiden".-Literature:...
can be called a Man but not a man.
Origins
The race of Men is the second race of beings created by the One GodGod
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, Ilúvatar. Because they awoke at the start of the Years of the Sun, while the Elves awoke at the start of the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
during the Years of the Trees, they are called the Afterborn by the Elves.
Men bear the Gift of Men
Gift of Men
The Gift of Men in Middle-earth refers to a gift of Ilúvatar to his Younger Children, which remains a source of some confusion for Tolkien enthusiasts. The concept includes both mortality and free will...
, mortality. Elves are immortal, in the sense that even if their bodies are slain, their spirits remain bound to the world, going to the Halls of Mandos to wait until they are released or the world ends. Elves are tied to the world for as long as it lasts. When Men die, they are released from Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
and its bounds and depart to a world unknown even to the Valar.
Groups and alignments
Although all Men are related to one another, there are many different groups with different cultures.Here below follow the short descriptions of the most important groups of Men in the First, Second
Second Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
and Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
s.
Edain
The most important group in the tales of the First Age were the Edain. Although the word Edain refers to all Men, the Elves use it to distinguish those Men who fought with them in the First Age against MorgothMorgoth
Morgoth Bauglir is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium. He is the main antagonist of The Silmarillion, figures in The Children of Húrin, and is mentioned briefly in The Lord of the Rings.Melkor was the most powerful of the Ainur, but turned to darkness and became...
in Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
. Those Men who fought against Morgoth in the First Age were divided into three Houses.
The First House of the Edain was the House of Bëor
House of Bëor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the House of Bëor were the family of Men who ruled over the eldest of the Three Houses of the Edain that had allied with the Elves in the First Age.-The Folk of Bëor:...
, which entered Beleriand in and was granted the fief of Ladros in Dorthonion
Dorthonion
In the fictional world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, Dorthonion , later Taur-nu-Fuin, was a highland region of the First Age, lying immediately to the north of Beleriand, and south of the plains of Ard-galen that extended north to Morgoth's stronghold of Thangorodrim...
by Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund
Finrod Felagund is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals, as well as other material....
.
The Second House of the Edain was led by one Haldad and later by his daughter Haleth
Haleth
Haleth is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She was a leader of the Second House of the Edain, called the Folk of Haleth after her....
and settled in the Forest of Brethil. The House called itself the House of Haleth
House of Haleth
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the House of Haleth or the Haladin were the family of Men that ruled over the second of the Three Houses of the Edain...
after their matriarch.
The Third House of the Edain, which became the greatest, was led by Marach
Marach
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Marach was the leader of the Third House of the Edain in the First Age, called the Folk of Marach after him. He was the father of Malach and Imlach and ancestor of Túrin Turambar....
and later his descendant Hador
Hador
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Hador was a Lord of Men during the First Age.- Biography :Hador, also called in Sindarin Lórindol because he had fair blond hair, was the great-great-grandson of Marach, one of the leaders of the Atanatári, and ruled over the Folk of Marach which later became...
, and they settled in Dor-lómin. This house was known both as the House of Marach and the House of Hador.
Atanatári is a Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
term which means "Fathers of Men" and is used to describe the forefathers of the Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
. Its use is not exactly clear: sometimes it is used to refer to the Edain of the First Age
First Age
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the First Age, or First Age of the Children of Ilúvatar is the heroic period in which most of Tolkien's early legends are set...
, other times it is only applied to Bëor
Bëor
Bëor the Old is a fictional character in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion as the leader of the First House of the Edain in the First Age, which was called the Folk of Bëor after him...
, Marach
Marach
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Marach was the leader of the Third House of the Edain in the First Age, called the Folk of Marach after him. He was the father of Malach and Imlach and ancestor of Túrin Turambar....
and contemporaries, and in yet other places it is used to refer to those peoples from whom the Edain are descended.
If the third meaning is adopted, it can be said that the so-called Middle Men of Middle-earth (the Rohirrim, Men of Dale, etc.) are also descendants from the Atanatári, like the Edain (or later Dúnedain
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
).
Dúnedain
Through their services and assistance rendered to the Elves and the Valar in the War of WrathWar of Wrath
The War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, is a key plot development in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, portraying the final war against Morgoth at the end of the First Age....
at the end of the First Age, the Edain were rewarded with a new land of their own between Middle-earth and the Undying Lands. This was the land of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
, an island in the form of a five-pointed star far away from the evil of Middle-earth.
They were led to this island by Elros with the help of his father Eärendil
Eärendil
Eärendil the Mariner is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is depicted in The Silmarillion as a great seafarer who, on his brow, carried the morning star across the sky.-Etymology:...
, who sailed the heavens as the bright star of the same name. Once there Elros became the first king of Númenor as Tar-Minyatur and the Edain became known as the Dúnedain
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
(Sindarin for Men of the West). The kingdom of Númenor grew steadily in power, and the Dúnedain became the noblest and highest of all Men on Arda. Allied to the Elves, Númenor fought against Morgoth's lieutenant Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
.
Now that the Men of the West had become powerful, they came to resent the Gift of Men, death. They wanted to become immortal like the Elves and enjoy their accumulated power for all time. The Númenóreans turned away from the Valar, began to call the Gift of Men the Doom of Men and cursed the Ban of the Valar which forbade them to sail west beyond sight of Númenor or to enter Valinor
Valinor
Valinor is a fictional location in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the realm of the Valar in Aman. It was also known as the Undying Lands, along with Tol Eressëa and the outliers of Aman. This is something of a misnomer; only immortal beings were allowed to reside there, but the land itself,...
. In Ar-Adûnakhôr became the first king of Númenor who took his royal name in Adûnaic
Adûnaic
Adûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
, the language of Men instead of Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
, the language of the Elves. This led to civil war in Númenor.
The people of Númenor were divided into two factions: the King's Men, who enjoyed the support of the King and the majority of the people. They favoured the Adûnaic language. The minority faction, the Faithful, were led by the lord of Andúnië, the westernmost province of Númenor, remained friendly to the Elves and favoured Quenya.
Sauron, who by the second millennium of the Second Age was nearly defeated by the Elves, took advantage of the division. He surrendered to the last Númenórean King, Ar-Pharazôn, and worked his way into the King's counsels. Ultimately, Sauron advised him to attack Valinor and claim immortality. This he foolishly did, and as punishment Númenor was swallowed by the sea
Akallabêth
Akallabêth is the fourth part of the fantasy work The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien. It is relatively short, consisting of about thirty pages.-Synopsis:...
. However, some of the Faithful escaped and founded the twin kingdoms of Gondor
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men in the west of Middle-earth by the end of the Third Age. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring and with...
and Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
.
Gondor
The Men of Gondor gradually mingled with other groups, such as the Northmen
Northmen (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien adopted the term Northmen in his fiction; his "Northmen" were Men that lived in the north of Rhovanion in Middle-earth, and were friendly to Gondor....
. This led to the civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
called the Kin-strife, when Eldacar, a man of mixed descent and the rightful heir to the throne, was challenged by Castamir, who was of pure Dúnedain blood. Eldacar was forced into exile, and Castamir, called the Usurper, took the throne. After a decade Eldacar returned with allies from the North and defeated Castamir. However his sons and many of his followers managed to escape to Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
.
Also counted among the Men of Gondor were people coming from its provinces and fiefdoms who were not of Númenórean descent. Some of these Men had darker complexions; prominent among them were Forlong the Fat
Forlong the Fat
Forlong the Fat was a fictional character in the Middle-earth universe created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He was a supporting character in The Lord of the Rings, appearing in the third volume, The Return of the King; he was cut from the 2003 film adaptation, however.-In literature:Forlong was the Lord of...
and the Men of Lossarnach who reinforced Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
before the siege of the city began.
Arnor
Before the foundation there was already a sizable Númenórean
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
immigrant population living there. Before the arrival of the Dúnedain Arnor was home to Middle Men of Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
stock, and the early colonists soon interbred with the indigenous population.
After the death of its tenth king, Arnor was shaken by civil war between his three sons. As a result the kingdom was split into three successor states - Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan. These kingdoms eventually fell in wars with the Witch-king of Angmar
Witch-king of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
, though the Dúnedain of the North survived as the Rangers
Rangers of the North
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of the North, also known as the Dúnedain of the North, were the descendants of the Dúnedain from the lost kingdom of Arnor...
. In time, one of their Chieftains, Aragorn II, restored Arnor and Gondor as the Reunited Kingdom
Reunited Kingdom
The Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor is a fictional realm from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.When Aragorn became King of Gondor at the end of the War of the Ring, he was also the descendant of the Kings of Arnor, and by right he was crowned High King of both Arnor and Gondor and Reunited the...
.
Black Númenóreans
The Faithful were not the only Númenóreans left on Middle-earth when Númenor sank. When Númenor grew in naval power, many Númenóreans founded colonies in Middle-earth. In the second millennium of the Second Age, there was an exodus of Men from an overcrowded Númenor: the King's Men, who wanted to conquer more lands, and the Faithful who were persecuted by the Kings. The Faithful settled in Pelargir and the King's Men settled in Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
. When Númenor was destroyed, the remaining King's Men became known as the Black Númenóreans and remained hostile against the Faithful of Gondor.
From their ranks, Sauron recruited Men who would become some of the nine Ringwraiths in the second millennium of the Second Age. Umbar was conquered by Gondor in . However, very little is known about the Ringwraiths and where they came from and some were said to have been from the lands east and south of Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
.
Among the Black Númenórean race was the wicked Queen Berúthiel
Queen Berúthiel
Queen Berúthiel is a minor fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.Berúthiel was first mentioned in Unfinished Tales. She was of Black Númenórean origin, from "the inland city", somewhere south of Umbar. Her marriage to Tarannon Falastur is believed to have been arranged for political...
, wife of Tarannon Falastur, King of Gondor.
Corsairs of Umbar
During the Kin-strife of Gondor, the defeated rebels of Gondor fled to Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
. Umbar became the hated enemy of Gondor. They mingled with the Black Númenóreans and became known as the Corsairs of Umbar.
Castamir's faction took with them a large part of Gondor's fleet, thus weakening Gondor and strengthening the naval traditions of Umbar. Gondor later conquered Umbar again but lost it again soon after.
By the time of the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
, the Corsairs had mingled with the Haradrim, becoming a mixed people where Númenórean blood was mostly gone. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy fiction, the Battle of Pelennor Fields is the battle for the city of Minas Tirith between the forces of Gondor and its allies, and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron...
, a combined fleet amounting to "fifty great ships [of Umbar] and smaller vessels beyond count" was raiding the port city of Pelargir in Lebennin, but these were captured by Aragorn and the Army of the Dead
Dead Men of Dunharrow
The Dead Men of Dunharrow are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
, and were sailed to Minas Tirith to relieve the siege of the city.
Dunlendings and related folk
When Elendil founded the Kingdom of Arnor its borders were quickly extended towards the river Greyflood, and Gondor likewise extended up through Enedwaith. In Enedwaith and Minhiriath lived a group of Men related to the House of Haleth, and they were known as the Dunlendings. They had lived in the great woods that covered most of EriadorEriador
Eriador is a large region in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. In the Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build ships. Much of it was encompassed in the early Third Age by the kingdom of Arnor, which...
, and when the Númenóreans started to chop these woods down to build their ships in the Second Age, the Dúnedain of Númenor earned the hostility of the Dunlendings. Although the two peoples were related, the Dúnedain did not recognize them as kinsmen for their language was too different. The Dunlendings later became bitter enemies of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
after the people of Rohan moved into their territory and founded their kingdom.
The Dunlendings served Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
in the War of the Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
and participated in the Battle of the Hornburg
Battle of the Hornburg
The Battle of the Hornburg is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The battle pitted the forces of the Wizard Saruman against the Rohirrim under King Théoden, who had taken refuge in the mountain fortress of the Hornburg at Helm's Deep...
.
The Men of the Mountains, who were cursed by Isildur and became the Dead Men of Dunharrow
Dead Men of Dunharrow
The Dead Men of Dunharrow are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
, were related to the Dunlendings.
The Men of Bree
Bree (Middle-earth)
Bree is a fictional village in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, east of the Shire and south of Fornost Erain. It is thought to have been inspired by the Buckinghamshire village of Brill, which Tolkien visited regularly in his early years at Oxford...
were also descended from the Dunlendings.
Northmen
The Northmen were composed of two principal groups. First, not all the Men who remained east of the Blue Mountains and Misty MountainsMisty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
were tempted by Morgoth or Sauron. They were joined after the War of Wrath
War of Wrath
The War of Wrath, or the Great Battle, is a key plot development in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium, portraying the final war against Morgoth at the end of the First Age....
by those of the Edain who did not wish to travel to Númenor (similar to how, at the end of the First Age, various Eldar remained and went east, becoming lords of the Silvan Elves
Silvan Elves
Silvan Elves are an ethnic group of Elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, mainly the Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlórien.In the First Age the Elves of Ossiriand, or Laiquendi, were also referred to as wood-elves....
). The Northmen who dwelt in Greenwood the Great
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
and other parts of Rhovanion
Rhovanion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. It extended to the east as far as the inland Sea of Rhûn; north to the Grey Mountains and Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves; west to the range of the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains; and south to...
were friendly to the Dúnedain, being for the most part their kin, and many of them became Gondorian subjects. The Men of Dale and Esgaroth
Esgaroth
Esgaroth, or Lake-town is a fictitious community of Men upon the Long Lake, in The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. The town is constructed entirely of wood and stands upon wooden pillars sunk into the bed of the Long Lake, south of the Lonely Mountain and east of Mirkwood...
were Northmen, as were the Woodmen of Mirkwood, and the Éothéod
Éothéod
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Éothéod were a group of Northmen who became the ancestors of the Rohirrim. The word, meaning "horse people", is a compound of the Old English words éoh and théod ; it is cognate with Old Norse jóþjóð...
, who became the Rohirrim; the Beorn
Beorn
Beorn is a fictional character created by J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Hobbit as a shape-shifter , a man who could assume the appearance of a great black bear.-Literature:...
ings were likewise counted as Northmen.
Haradrim
Further east of Umbar lived another group of Men, the Haradrim, the Southrons or Men of the South. They were dark-skinned Men and waged war on great Oliphaunts or mûmakil. Hostile to Gondor, they were subdued in by Hyarmendacil I.Both Umbar and the Harad were left unchecked by Gondor's waning power by the time of the War of the Ring, and presented grave threats from the south. Many Haradrim fought with Sauron's forces in Gondor in the war. However, Tolkien strongly hints that they, as well as the Easterlings, were at worst deceived and at best unwilling pawns to Sauron.
Easterlings
Most Men who fought in the armies of Morgoth and Sauron were called Easterlings, who came from the region around the Sea of Rhûn in the East.In the First Age, some tribes of Easterlings offered their services to the Elvish kingdoms in Beleriand
Beleriand
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional legendarium, Beleriand was a region in northwestern Middle-earth during the First Age. Events in Beleriand are described chiefly in his work The Silmarillion, which tells the story of the early ages of Middle-earth in a style similar to the epic hero tales of Nordic...
; the strongest among them were Bór and Ulfang (called the Black), and their respective sons. This proved to be disastrous for the Elves in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad
Nirnaeth Arnoediad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth, the Nírnaeth Arnoediad or Unnumbered Tears was the climactic Fifth Battle in the Wars of Beleriand.-The Fifth Battle as told in The Silmarillion:...
when Ulfang and his clan switched sides and defected to Morgoth, while Bór and his sons died bravely fighting on the side of the Eldar.
After Morgoth's defeat, Sauron extended his influence over the Easterlings, and although Sauron was defeated by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age, the Easterlings were the first enemies to attack Gondor again in . They were soundly defeated by King Rómendacil I but invaded again in T.A. 541 and took revenge by slaying King Rómendacil. Rómendacil's son Turambar took large portions of land from them.
In the next centuries, Gondor held sway over the Easterlings. When Gondor's power began to decrease in the twelfth century Third Age, the Easterlings took the complete eastern bank of the Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
except Ithilien
Ithilien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Ithilien is a region and fiefdom of Gondor.Ithilien, or "Moon-land," is the easternmost province of Gondor, the only part of Gondor across the Great River Anduin lying between the river and the Mountains of Shadow , subdivided by the stream of...
crushing Gondor's allies, the Northmen.
The Easterlings of the Third Age were divided in different tribes, such as the Wainriders and the Balchoth. The Wainriders were a confederation of Easterlings which were very active between T.A. 1856 and 1944. They were a serious threat to Gondor for many years, but were utterly defeated by Eärnil II
Eärnil II
Eärnil II is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. He was born in T.A. 1883. In 1945 Third Age he was elected as the thirty-second King of Gondor after his predecessor, King Ondoher, was slain in battle. In the previous year a two-pronged attack had been launched...
in 1944.
When Gondor lost its royal dynasty in T.A. 2050, the Easterlings started to reorganize themselves and a fierce tribe called the Balchoth became the most important tribe. In 2510 they invaded Gondor again and conquered much of Calenardhon, until they were defeated by the Éothéod
Éothéod
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Éothéod were a group of Northmen who became the ancestors of the Rohirrim. The word, meaning "horse people", is a compound of the Old English words éoh and théod ; it is cognate with Old Norse jóþjóð...
, coming to Gondor's aid.
Until the War of the Ring the Easterlings did not launch any invasion. In the war, they were amongst the fiercest warriors deployed at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields by Sauron.
Woses or Drúedain
Another group of Men were the Woses. They were small and bent compared to other Men. They lived among the Folk of Haleth in the First Age and were held as Edain by the Elves, who called them Drúedain (from Drûg, Halethian name for them, plus Edain).At the end of the Third Age, some Woses lived in the Drúadan forest (named for them) in Gondor, small in number but experienced in forest life. They held off Orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
who strayed into their woods with poisoned arrows. Through a grievous misunderstanding, they were hunted as beasts by the Rohirrim.
In the War of the Ring, they were vital in securing the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields; they guided the host unseen through the forest, and thus the Rohirrim were able to surprise their enemies. In gratitude, Théoden
Théoden
Théoden is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. He appears as a major supporting character in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.-Appearances:...
pledged to stop hunting them.
After Sauron's downfall, King Elessar
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
granted the Drúadan forest "forever" to them in the Fourth Age
Fourth Age
In the fictional world of middle earth "'the fourth age'" and the ages that preceded it, are time periods from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth, described in his fantasy writings...
.
Hobbits
Hobbits were strictly an offshoot of Men rather than a separate race. The origin of Hobbits is obscure; they first appeared in the records of other Men in the Third Age.Other races of Men
Other races of Men are mentioned in Tolkien's work, though they play a relatively small part in the history of Middle-earth. Among these are the LossothForodwaith
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Forodwaith was the name both of a region and the people that lived there.-Geography:...
, a hardy people native to the Ice Bay of Forochel in the far north. A race of wicked Men descended from wild Hill-folk inhabited the realm of Angmar
Angmar
Angmar is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's continent of Middle-earth.-Synopsis:Angmar was founded in in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar"...
and served its Witch-king until the fall of that kingdom. Tolkien also makes reference to Giants in The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
. These Giants may be related to the race of Man, though the scant information about them had led to debate over their exact nature and even their existence as an independent race in Tolkien's world.
First Age
- BerenBerenBeren is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Silmarillion. Huan spoke to him.-Character overview:...
son of BarahirBarahirBarahir is a fictional character in the fantasy-world Middle-earth of the English author J. R. R. Tolkien. He appears in The Silmarillion, the epic poem The Lay of Leithian and the Grey Annals.-Character overview:... - HalethHalethHaleth is a fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She was a leader of the Second House of the Edain, called the Folk of Haleth after her....
chieftan of the Haladin - MorwenMorwenMorwen is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. She is featured in The Silmarillion, The Children of Húrin and The Wanderings of Húrin.-Character overview:...
mother of Túrin and Niënor Níniel - TúrinTurínTurín is a municipality in the Ahuachapán department of El Salvador....
Turambar son of HúrinHúrinHúrin is a fictional character in the Middle-earth legendarium of J. R. R. Tolkien. He is introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age, said to be the greatest warrior of both the Edain and all the other Men in Middle-earth... - TuorTuorTuor is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is the grandfather of Elrond Half-elven and one of the most renowned ancestors of the Men of Númenor and of the King of the Reunited Kingdom Aragorn Elessar...
son of HuorHuorHuor is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He was introduced in The Silmarillion as a hero of Men during the First Age. Huor was a grandson of Hador of the Third House of Edain, and lived in the Hadorian fief of Dor-lómin in Hithlum. His father was Galdor the Tall and his mother Hareth...
Second Age
- Kings of NúmenorKings of NúmenorIn J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Kings of Númenor were Dúnedain men who ruled the kingdom of Númenor. Númenor's twenty-five rulers are listed in simple form at List of rulers of Númenor...
- Ruling Queens of NúmenorRuling Queens of NúmenorIn J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, the Ruling Queens of Númenor were Dúnedain women who ruled the kingdom of Númenor. Out of Númenor's twenty-five rulers, only three were female....
- ElendilElendilElendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
and his sons IsildurIsildurIsildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and AnárionAnárionAnárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. His name is derived from Anar, which means "Sun" in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya... - ErendisErendisErendis is the fictional wife of King Tar-Aldarion of Númenor in J. R. R. Tolkien's Unfinished Tales and, as such, the Queen Consort of Númenor. Erendis was beautiful, fell in love with Aldarion as a young maiden, and was approved by his parents as a suitable consort.-Fictional biography:Erendis...
wife of Tar-AldarionTar-AldarionTar-Aldarion is a character from J. R. R. Tolkien’s legendarium.He was the sixth King of Númenor, succeeding his father, Tar-Meneldur. He was a great mariner, and during his time Númenor started to invest more in its navy and strengthened its presence overseas in Middle-earth. He wedded Erendis in... - The Witch-king of AngmarWitch-king of AngmarThe Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
and the other NazgûlNazgûlThe Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
corrupted by the Nine Rings of Men
Third Age
- For notable Hobbits see HobbitHobbitHobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
- AragornAragornAragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
son of Arathorn II - DenethorDenethorDenethor II of the House of Húrin is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Return of the King, which is the third and final part of his novel The Lord of the Rings. In the novel, he is the 26th and penultimate ruling Steward of Gondor....
and his sons BoromirBoromirBoromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
and FaramirFaramirIn J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor... - FírielFírielFíriel is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth.As the daughter of King Ondoher of Gondor, Fíriel was wed to Prince Arvedui of Arthedain during a time when Arvedui's father Araphant made an alliance with Ondoher...
daughter of Ondoher, wed to ArveduiArveduiArvedui is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.Arvedui was the son of King Araphant of Arthedain. He was born in T.A. 1864 and came to the throne in 1964 at the death of his father...
, reuniting the lines of IsildurIsildurIsildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and AnárionAnárionAnárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. His name is derived from Anar, which means "Sun" in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya... - ThéodenThéodenThéoden is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. He appears as a major supporting character in The Two Towers and The Return of the King.-Appearances:...
, his nephew ÉomerÉomerÉomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
, and his niece ÉowynÉowynÉowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who describes herself as a "shieldmaiden".-Literature:... - Ghân-buri-GhânGhân-buri-GhânGhân-buri-Ghân, or simply Ghân, is a character in the epic fantasy The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Ghân is the chief of the Drúedain, also known as the Woses, the wild men who inhabit Drúadan Forest...
, chief of the Woses - Bard the Bowman, slayer of SmaugSmaugSmaug is a fictional character in the novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien. He is a dragon, and the main antagonist within the story.-The Hobbit:...
- Gríma Wormtongue, counsellor of Edoras
- Mouth of SauronMouth of SauronThe Mouth of Sauron is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings — specifically in the chapter "The Black Gate Opens" in the third volume, The Return of the King — as the chief emissary of Sauron.He belonged to the race of the Black...
, Lieutenant of Barad-dûrBarad-dûrBarad-dûr is the fortress of Sauron in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Mount Doom in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings...
- Aragorn