Reflections of Gothic Language, Legend, and History in Middle-earth Carl Edlund Anderson Presented 25 September 1998, Oxonmoot 1998 (International Tolkien Society), ExeterCollege, University of Oxford, Oxford, UKThe Goths—particularly the language of the Goths—exercised an early and significant fascination on Tolkien. 1 When in school, he happened to buy a copy of Joseph Wright’s A Primer of the Gothic Language 2 from a school-friend (who had himself gotten it from a missionary sale and did not want it). Tolkien was fascinated by this language, which survives mostly as 4th century bible translations and some Christian religious commentary. He soon began inventing new words to fill the gaps in the fragmentary Gothic vocabulary, and then went on to begin constructing an apocryphal “neo-Gothic” Germanic language—one which did not actually exist, but could have, and which obeyed all the linguistic rules associated with Germanic language evolution. 3 About the same time as Wright’s Gothic Grammarwas published, in 1910, Tolkien was at the St. Edward’s School where he was a member of the Debating Society. It was a custom of this society to hold a Model Roman Senate, with debate conducted in Latin. We need not be surprised that Tolkien—with, actually, characteristic impishness—once played the role of a barbarian ambassador and addressed this august body in Gothic. 4 Tolkien also would sometimes write little inscriptions in Gothic at the beginnings of books he owned. 5 1 In this day and age I should perhaps stress that when I use the term Gothic I am referring neither to 12th-century cathedral architecture nor to those who dress themselves in black clothes and morbid outlooks, but rather to the Germanic tribes who appeared in the regions North of the Black Sea during the 200s and 300s and who spent the next few centuries careening around Europe in various guises before eventually disappearing from the light of history. Legends about them, however, remained popular long after they had vanished from the scene. 2 Joseph Wright, A Primer of the Gothic Language (Oxford: Clarendon, 1892). 3 If you want to try Tolkien’s experience for yourself, Wright’sPrimeris no longer printed, but you might be able to find it in a library. Alternati vely, you can upgrade to Wright’s Grammar of the Gothic Language, which replaced thePrimerin 1910 and was recently reprinted in hardcover and this can be had for your very own at the fairly reasonable price of around ₤12 or so. 4 For the record, he at other times addressed them in Greek and Old English. 5 Letters 272, pp. 356-58..
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8/9/2019 Anderson - 1998 - Reflections of Gothic Language Legend and History in Middle-Earth
Reflections of Gothic Language, Legend, and History in Middle-earth
Carl Edlund Anderson
Presented 25 September 1998, Oxonmoot 1998 (International Tolkien Society), Exeter
College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
The Goths—particularly the language of the Goths—exercised an early and significant
fascination on Tolkien.1 When in school, he happened to buy a copy of Joseph Wright’s
A Primer of the Gothic Language2 from a school-friend (who had himself gotten it from a
missionary sale and did not want it). Tolkien was fascinated by this language, which
survives mostly as 4th century bible translations and some Christian religious
commentary. He soon began inventing new words to fill the gaps in the fragmentary
Gothic vocabulary, and then went on to begin constructing an apocryphal “neo-Gothic”
Germanic language—one which did not actually exist, but could have, and which obeyed
all the linguistic rules associated with Germanic language evolution. 3
About the same time as Wright’s Gothic Grammar was published, in 1910,
Tolkien was at the St. Edward’s School where he was a member of the Debating Society.It was a custom of this society to hold a Model Roman Senate, with debate conducted in
Latin. We need not be surprised that Tolkien—with, actually, characteristic impishness—
once played the role of a barbarian ambassador and addressed this august body in
Gothic.4 Tolkien also would sometimes write little inscriptions in Gothic at the
beginnings of books he owned.5
1 In this day and age I should perhaps stress that when I use the term Gothic I amreferring neither to 12th-century cathedral architecture nor to those who dressthemselves in black clothes and morbid outlooks, but rather to the Germanictribes who appeared in the regions North of the Black Sea during the 200s and300s and who spent the next few centuries careening around Europe in variousguises before eventually disappearing from the light of history. Legends aboutthem, however, remained popular long after they had vanished from the scene.
2Joseph Wright, A Primer of the Gothic Language (Oxford: Clarendon, 1892).3 If you want to try Tolkien’s experience for yourself, Wright’s Primer is no longer printed, but youmight be able to find it in a library. Alternatively, you can upgrade to Wright’s Grammar of the Gothic Language, which replaced the Primer in 1910 and was recently reprinted in hardcover and this can behad for your very own at the fairly reasonable price of around ₤12 or so.4
For the record, he at other times addressed them in Greek and Old English.5 Letters 272, pp. 356-58..
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Gothic—and his own neo-Gothic—remained one of Tolkien’s chief
passions until, one day, he happened across the Kalevala, the collection and collation of
Finnish legends assembled by Elias Lönnröt in the early 19th century. While the Goths
and Gothic retained an important place in Tolkien’s thoughts—and I hope to discuss this
a bit more later—it was now Finnish that Tolkien fell in philological love with.6 It was
Finnish that became his chief inspiration for Quenya.
The rest is history—or perhaps, more usually in Tolkien’s case, philology.
After all, as Tolkien himself would often say, the whole of his Middle-earth
“sub-creation” was more or less an excuse to provide a backdrop for the Elvish
languages. Implicit in this, of course, was Tolkien’s understanding that language alone,
without the culture that employed that language or the history of that culture, was dead.
Tolkien’s original conception of his purpose was to create a “mythology for England”,
fuller than the fragmentary Anglo-Saxon material and more aesthetically pleasing (in his
opinion, at least) than the heavily romanticised medieval Arthurian material. Thus his
sub-creative work generated vast quantities of legend and history, though this process
was driven by the need to find a home for his languages.
Tolkien’s sense of himself as Philologist rather than Historian was
expressed most clearly in a letter to Christopher Tolkien of February 21st, 1958. JRR’s
son Christopher—who is probably best known for drawing the original maps of Middle-earth and for editing and publishing much of his father’s Middle-earth-related material—
was a trained academic in his own right, and a very good one. Tolkien’s letter was
written after Chris Tolkien, as a university lecturer, had delivered a lecture entitled
“Barbarians and Christians” to a society at St. Anne’s College here in Oxford, his subject
being the heroes of northern legend as seen in different fashion by Germanic poets and
Roman writers. Tolkien, who had attended his son’s lecture, wrote: “I like history, and
am moved by it, but its finest moments for me are those in which it throws light on
words and names!”7 This is very much the sentiment that guides Tolkien’s sub-creation.
My own studies on legends of the Goths as told in Scandinavia led me
naturally to one of Chris Tolkien’s few non-Middle-earth publications, an excellent
edition and translation of The Saga of King Heidrek the Wise. This is a rather complex
book and seems to be made up of various fragments loosely stitched together by its
medieval Icelandic composer (or composers). Chris Tolkien’s edition and translation of
this saga was not published until 1960, but that the saga was well known to JRR Tolkien
6 And philology, indeed, comes from Greek roots meaning “love of words”.7 Letters 205, p. 264.
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is indubitable. For one thing, it contains a riddle game between King Heidrek and a
figure called Gestumblindi (who is the god Oðinn in disguise), in which several of the
riddles seem to have inspired some of those used for Bilbo and Gollum’s riddle-match in
The Hobbit . For another, the saga ends with many verses from a poem commonly called
“The Battle of the Goths and the Huns” which appears to be “one of the oldest poems
preserved in the North”. 8 As the saga we have tells it, this poem concerns a struggle for
dominance between the half-brothers Angantýr and Hlöð, sons of King Heiðrek. After
Heiðrek’s death, Angantýr has claimed the inheritance of the Gothic kingdom which
Heiðrek ruled. Hlöð, who was illegitimate and lived with his mother’s father, King
Humli of the Huns, is not happy about this and travels to Angantýr’s court to demand
half the inheritance, including half the ruler-ship of the Goths. Angantýr refuses to an
equal split, though offers Hlöð a third share, which seems to have been a traditional
inheritance share for illegitimate children in early Germanic custom. This does not sit
well with Hlöð, and he returns to grandfather Humli (who himself is far from thrilled
with these developments).
Accordingly, Humli and Hlöð assemble a vast host of Huns and set off for
Angantýr’s place. Along the way, they overrun the forces of Hervör the shield-maiden,
who is sister to Angantýr and half-sister to Hlöð, and she is slain. When Angantýr learns
of Hervör’s death, the Gothic host is summoned and the Huns are challenged to battle.Massive slaughter ensues in an eight-day battle. Eventually Angantýr slays Hlöð and
Humli, and the Huns try to flee.
“But,” Chris Tolkien translates, “the Goths slew them, and made such
carnage that the rivers were choked and turned from their courses, and the valleys were
filled with dead men and horses.”9 Truly this is a battle whose epic bloodshed can hold its
own against any battle depicted by JRR Tolkien in Middle-earth. The poem concludes
with a brief lament by Angantýr over the ill fate that brought him into conflict with his
half-brother.
Stirring stuff, and all very well—but how is this linked with JRR Tolkien’s
sub-creation?
“The Battle of the Goths and the Huns” formed the starting point for my
exploration of this issue. On reading the poem, one salient feature leaps out immediately.
Between the territories of the Goths and the Huns in the poem is a vast forest called
Myrkviðr . Chris Tolkien, in his modern English translation of the saga, translates this
8 Heiðreks saga, ed. by C. Tolkien, p. xxi.9 Heiðreks saga, ed. by C. Tolkien, p. 57.
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Widsith is wrong in locating the struggles of the Goths and Huns where it does, but it
may well remember a very old piece of lore that places the Goths in the Vistula valley.
In the Scandinavian “Battle of the Goths and the Huns” poem, the battle itself takes place
on Dúnheið, which Chris Tolkien translates as the “Danube-heath”. In Heiðreks saga
there is a cursed sword called Tyrfing , which is described as heirloom of the house of Heiðrek and Angantýr. When Hlöð asks for half of Angantýr’s inheritance, Angantýr
replies in verse that he will not “sunder Tyrfing in twain”. The idea of splitting the sword
between them doesn’t make much sense, it must be said. But Christopher Tolkien
suggests that originally the name Tyrfing was derived from the ethnonym Tervingi,
which identified of the old sub-divisions of the Gothic peoples. Only later, through
misunderstanding, did the name get transformed in to that of a sword. The verse in
Heiðreks saga seems far older than the prose, however and Angantýr’s poetic refusal todivide Tyrfing makes more sense if we see him as having been refusing to split the ruler-
ship of the tribe with Hlöð.
The Tervingi’s northern neighbours were the Greuthungi, whose name may
be preserved in that of a minor character in Heiðreks saga called Gizur Grýtingaliði
(which can be interpreted as “vassal or retainer of the Greuthungi”). The historical
Greuthungi lived north of the Tervingi on the banks of the Dnepr river, the name of
which appears in the “The Battle of the Goths and the Huns” as Danpar .
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with the OE element wine, which appears in numerous Rohirric names. The name
Forthwini would likewise appear to contain this -wini element, though the meaning of
the forth- section is harder to identify. This element could have been a neo-Gothic
creation of Tolkien’s, but might more likely be based on some early Old English form.
Indeed, this interpretation rapidly leads to the recognition that in fact Forthwini is good
early Old English ( Forþwini/ Forthwini) but bad Gothic (** Faurþwins/** Faurthwins),
while Marhwini is neither good OE, even early OE (**Mærhwini) nor good Gothic
(**Marhwins). Possibly, in these names Tolkien wished to represent a stage of OE so
early that it might better be called Late West Germanic, after loss of final - z (PGmc
*marχaz > *marχa > *marh; PGmc *winiz > early OE wini) but before Germanic a
changed to early OE æ (Late West Germanic *marh > early OE mærh). Thus, names like
Forthwini and Marhwini are probably best understood as not being Gothic in inspiration
(as Christopher Tolkien suggested in Unfinished Tales, p. 311), but something more like
Late West Germanic or very early Old English.
Thus, what appear to be the most obviously “Gothic” elements in Tolkien’s
literature (thanks to his sons apparently erroneous identification of them as such) turn out
not to be. However, if we turn to examine the history of Tolkien’s various Northman
groups in greater detail, we can definitely identify elements of inspiration from Gothic
history at work. It may even be that Tolkien deliberately chose ambiguously earlyGermanic names for characters set in the early history of the Éothéod—names that could
be (and have been) mistaken for Gothic name—to blur the linguistic line between his
distinct use of OE for the Rohirrim and his use of material from the Gothic world
elsewhere.
Turning back a number of centuries from the well-known period in which
The Lord of the Rings is set, to the 13th century TA and the period of the of the Kin-strife
in Gondor, Tolkien gives several Northmen names that definitely are strongly
reminiscent of real historical Gothic names. Vidugavia is a slightly Latinized form of
Gothic Widugáuja, meaning “countryman of the wood”—this name is historically
attested in use amongst the Goths. In fact, Widugáuja was a long-remembered hero
amongst the Germanic peoples—his name appears in the Old English poem Widsith as
Wudga, and the historian Jordanes tells us that the Goths sang the tale of how he fell in
battle against the Sarmatians, a nomadic horse tribe from the Black Sea region, though
later legends changed Widugáuja’s foes to the more familiar Huns. Tolkien’s Vidugavia
had a daughter called Vidumavi, and this name Tolkien has created from Gothic elements
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meaning “maiden of the wood”. These are certainly appropriate names for the Northmen
of that period, dwelling under the eaves of Mirkwood.
Tolkien gave Valacar’s son by Vidumavi the Rhovanion/Gothic name of
Vinitharya. This is also an historically attested name, and its first element, Vinit -, might
refer to the historical tribe known as the Weneti, or Wends—alternatively it might stem
from a lost word meaning “pasture land”. The latter would certainly be more appropriate
for Tolkien’s usage. The second element, -harya, is similar to Gothic word harjis
(“army”) and might be taken to mean “warrior”. In his early drafts, Tolkien suggests
Vinitharya’s name is similar to that borne by his grandfather, which was Romendacil , a
Quenya name meaning “East-victor”. As the historical Weneti were a Slavic tribe living
east of most Germanic peoples (thought not the Goths), perhaps Tolkien’s implication
could be interpreted as suggesting Vinitharya is to be understood as “one who wars
against eastern peoples (such as the Weneti)”, which is not so far from Romendacil’s
meaning of “East-victor”.
Assuming that these names formed on real Germanic languages overlie
unrecorded Middle-earth names in some variant of Westron, Tolkien’s use of Gothic
must be intended, among other things, to engender a sensation of archaism. During the
“Gothic name phase” of the Northmen, we may imagine an archaic period before the
Migrations in which some of them, the Éothéod (with their Late West Germanic or earlyOld English names), moved to their modern territories. Likewise, we might see the Men
of Dale and the Long Lake, whose “Old Norse” style language is used by the Dwarves
for their public names, as representative of a people who had not moved very far from
their old homes. Indeed, in real history, Scandinavia has often figured as the “origin
place” for many Germanic peoples in their own legends (whether or not this was
historically true). In any event, Tolkien’s assertion that his use of languages like Gothic
and Old English in the context of Middle-earth was simply a “translation” of “genuine”
Middle-earth languages certainly saves him the trouble of explaining how the ancient
Northmen’s Gothic language mutated into the Old English of the Rohirrim. Certainly,
Gothic and Old English are related languages, but Old English is not a descendant of
Gothic—rather both have a common ancestor. Tolkien might have been able to concoct a
linguistic explanation to explain how, in his sub-creation, Old English did descend from
Gothic, but this would have been needlessly complex and might even have diminished
the impact of the connotations associated with his use of these languages.
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We might now turn away from the “names and words” which so delighted
Tolkien and to the history of the Northmen of Middle-earth, upon which Tolkien’s use of
language throws no little light with regards to his underlying inspiration and
methodology.
The history of Tolkien’s Northmen is fairly straightforward. In the Chronology
they appear primarily as independent allies of Gondor, interposed between Gondor and
the Easterlings. The Éothéod/Rohirrim subgroup has a habit of appearing at battles
unlooked for and taking the enemy in the rear, thereby saving the Gondorian army.16
Eventually they enter into a formal defence pact with Gondor.
This may be contrasted with a brief summary of Gothic history. The Gothic
peoples initially appeared between the Romans’ Danubian borders and the steppe to the
east. Driven from their territories by the Huns, they alternated between being Roman
allies and enemies. Eventually, Gothic groups more or less seized control of the Western
Roman Empire, but—having determined that they were better off preserving the Empire
than dismantling it—were in many ways assimilated to Roman culture. In Italy their
power reached a peak under Theodoric the Great in the early 6th century, but they
essentially disappeared soon after. A Gothic kingdom in Spain lingered until the Moorish
invasions in 711.
The reality of Gothic history is considerably more complex than thatsummary, of course. Gothic tribes had already been making a name for themselves in
raids on the Roman Empire in the 200s and 300s AD. However, at the same time, Gothic
groups also worked as Roman allies and some kind of military pact might have existed
between the Romans and some Gothic tribes.
This situation might echo the links between the Northmen and Gondor in
the earlier part of the Tolkien’s Northman chronology. The Northmen were said to be
“nearest in kin of lesser men to the Dúnedain.” 17 Tolkien, of course, was a great
aficionado of things Germanic—but also of things Roman, and much of his treatment of
the relations between the Northmen and Gondor can be ascribed to this fact. Tolkien’s
history not only provides a backdrop for his languages, but reflects his sensibilities
regarding those languages and the world in which they existed. Tolkien’s Elvish was a
holistic expression of his linguistic aesthetics, not just in the form of its vocabulary, the
beauty of individual words, but in its evolution and function—the beauty of its
16Calimehtar’s battle with the Wainriders on Dagorland, the Battle of the Fields of Celebrant, and the
Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Within Rohan, Erkenbrand appears unlooked for at the Battle of Helm’sDeep, though on foot, and assaults the army of Isengard from behind, saving Théoden’s army.17 LOTR, Appendix A.iv, p. 1021.
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Attila’s death in 453, the Hunnish empire began to fall apart, and these Goths—settled in
Pannonia, what is now eastern Hungary—were able to reassert their autonomy. Known
now as the Ostrogoths, they reached their peak after their king Theodoric the Great
conquered Italy in 493 AD. As it happens, Theodoric’s great-grandfather was named
Vinitharius according to Latin sources—this name is exactly Gothic Winitharjis, and can
be equated with Tolkien’s Vinitharya, King of Gondor and descendant of Vidugavia the
Northman.
Nevertheless, chains of events such as these would hardly suit Tolkien’s
purposes in Middle-earth. The idea of the Northmen, pushed south from Rhovanion by
the Easterlings, slaughtering Gondorian armies and sacking Minas Tirith verges on the
unthinkable. Bits and pieces of Gothic history, however, shine through clearly in
Tolkien’s writing—not always without being turned around, and not always in our
history’s chronological order.
Early on we see conflict between Gondor and the Easterlings from which
Gondor emerges victorious. This establishes the primary conflict as one between Gondor
and the Easterlings. The Northmen are not mentioned except possibly as “Men in the
Vales of the Anduin” who acknowledge Gondorian supremacy during the reign of
Hyarmendacil.
The historical early Gothic kingdoms were certainly disrupted by the Hunsin the mid-300s, but over the following centuries one was perhaps as likely to find Goths
fighting for Huns as fighting against them. The only acknowledgement of collusion
between the Tolkien’s Northmen and the Easterlings against Gondor comes in the 1200s
TA, during the reign of Narmacil I. In 1248 TA, however, we are told that Minalcar
(later Romendacil I) was assisted in his war against the Easterlings by Vidugavia the
Northman—and after this the Northmen appear only in the role of Gondorian allies.
Tolkien combines his Northman royal house and the Gondorian heirs of
Númenor by marrying Vidugavia’s daughter Vidumavi to Valacar of Gondor. In some
ways this seems to echo the marriage of Visigothic leader Athaulf (brother of Alaric,
who had sacked Rome) to Galla Placida, sister of the Western Roman Emperor Honorius
in the early 410s AD. Their son was named Theodosious, after the child’s grandfather,
the Roman Emperor of that name. Athawulf is said to have considered replacing the
Roman Empire with a Gothic Empire, but to have changed his tactics towards
maintaining the Roman Empire with Gothic military power. Certainly, being father to a
Roman imperial candidate would have assisted with this plan, but Athaulf was
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assassinated and his wife and children were killed in the ensuing coup—all perpetrated
by rival Goths (kin-strife of a different kind than Tolkien’s in Gondor). Tolkien’s half-
Northman king of Gondor was able to recover his throne, eventually, with the help of
many Northmen.
Though the Gondorian Kin-strife is cast as an internal Gondorian matter, and only
precipitated by events concerning the Northmen, this can be compared to situations
where Gondor is aided more directly in battle by the Northmen. Prior to the Kin-strife,
we are told that Romendacil had brought many Northmen into his army, often giving
them high-ranking positions. This is reminiscent of the situation of the late Roman army,
which contained many Germanic troops, including high officers. It is particularly
reminiscent of the military service agreements concluded between the Romans and Goths
following the battle of Adrianople in 378 AD. After Eldacar regains his throne, many
Northmen enter Gondor to help repopulate it in the wake of the Kin-strife. Here may be
echoes of the various Gothic resettlements by the Romans, particularly the resettlement
of the Visigoths in Gaul, after they helped defeat an imperial usurper there in 412 AD
and campaigned further for the Romans in Spain in 414 AD.
The attack of the Wainriders in 1851 TA, which shatters the Northmen in
Rhovanion, is the assault of the Easterlings which best recalls the effects of the historical
Hunnish invasions on the Gothic tribes. Tolkien, however, has the king of Gondor goforth and rally the Northmen against the Wainriders—although admittedly to no avail.
Gondor is defeated and their king slain, as is Northman leader Marhari, leaving the
people of Rhovanion to be enslaved by the Wainriders. Some Northmen are led by
Marhari’s son Marhwini to the middle Anduin, where they form the Éothéod. Barring the
battle between the Gondorians and Northmen against the Wainriders, this seems a lot like
the Hunnish assault which broke the Gothic kingdoms in the mid/late 300s which led to
the migration of various Gothic peoples—such as the Visigoths who end up in Gaul and
Spain.
It is worth remembering that, in our history, shortly after the Visigoths
settled in Gaul in the 410s, various Germanic peoples were settling in Britain, creating
the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms and simultaneously the Old English language. It may or may
not be accidental that Tolkien marks his shift from genuinely Gothic to West Germanic
and Old English names with the migration under Marhwini in 1856 TA. Within a
hundred years, by Frumgar’s time it seems, Tolkien was satisfied to associate the
Éothéod purely with classical Mercian Old English.
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The Goths (and quite possibly the Anglo-Saxons) were used as federates by
the Romans. That is, they were they were given land as a group in exchange for military
service. This is paralleled by the Oath of Cirion and Eorl, in which Calenardhon was
granted to the Éothéod in exchange for their assistance in the defence of Gondor.18
The cataclysmic battle of Adrianople between the Goths and Romans in 378
could have no equivalent in Tolkien’s world. Yet echoes of it may be seen in all of the
rescues that the Éotheod and Rohirrim effected for Gondorian armies. The Romans were
defeated at Adrianople by a surprising rear attack from the Gothic cavalry. Tolkien
consistently casts Easterlings and Orcs in the places occupied by the Romans in such
battles, Gondorian armies in the role of the Gothic infantry, and the Éothéod or Rohirrim
starring as the Gothic cavalry.
Finally, we may return to “The Battle of the Goths and the Huns”, where
possibly one further detail that entered Tolkien’s world might be glimpsed. The great
battle before the Morannon between Ondoher and the Wainriders in 1944 TA seems to
have been fought in the same place as the Host of the West and the armies of Mordor in
3019 TA. The landscape in 3019 is described in terms of “great heaps and hills of slag
and broken rock and blasted earth”,19 as well as “grey mounds” where “dust rose
smothering the air”.20 The northern mountain chain of Mordor above the battle site is
called Ered Lithui, or the Ash Mountains. In “The Battle of the Goths and the Huns” poem, the battle is said to take place on the Danube-heath below the Jassarfjöll , a name
that Chris Tolkien translates as “Hills of Ash”. It seems that the poem’s description of
it’s battle taking place “on the Danube-heath below the Hills of Ash” may well be
paralleled by Tolkien’s Dagorlad (“Battle-plain”) below the Ash Mountains.
In conclusion, we can detect a use of (or inspiration from) real history in
Tolkien’s sub-creation that parallels his use of (or inspiration from) real linguistics. We
do not need to look far to understand the reasons for this: Tolkien wanted his invented
history and legend to be no less “beautiful” than he wanted his invented languages to be.
Just as Tolkien’s invented languages reflect his aesthetic ideals—being modelled on and,
in Tolkien’s conception, improving on real world languages—so do his invented history
and legend take real world examples as their starting point but then reshape or (as
18 The dual language Oaths here are reminiscent of the Oath of Strasbourg, which cemented an alliance between Charles the Bald and Louis the German in 842, and was sworn both in Old French and Old HighGerman. This is particularly interesting in light of Tolkien’s own comparison of the return of the king inGondor—the ascension of Aragorn—to the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire of Charlemagne
(grandfather of Charles the Bald and Louis the German).19RK, p. 869.20RK, p. 873.
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Appendix C: Chronology of Northmen and Easterlings in the Third Age
The Early Years
490 The first invasion of Gondor by the Easterlings.
500 Romendacil I defeats the Easterlings.
541 Romendacil the first is slain by the Easterlings, but his son Turambar goes on to defeat the
Easterlings and extend Gondors territory eastward.
1050 Hyarmendacil conquers Harad; Gondorian power is at its height, and the Men of the Vales
of Anduin acknowledge Gondorian authority.
The Kin-strife
1226- In the days of Narmacil I, some Northmen join with the Easterlings in attacks against
Gondor.
1294 [Note: The Northmen live in the plains between Mirkwood and the River Running, where
they are already noted horsemen. Their settled homes are along the eaves of
Mirkwood, especially the East Bight which was made by their clearing of the forest. ]
1248 Minalcar defeats the Easterlings between Rhovanion and the Inland Sea (Sea of Rhûn), and
takes the name Romendacil. He was assisted in these wars by the Northman, King
Vidugavia.
1250 Valacar, son of Romendacil/Minalcar is sent to Rhovanion as an ambassador to the
Northmen and learn their ways. Valacar falls in love with Vidugavia’s daughter,
Vidumavi, and they are married. Their son is Vinitharya, later called Eldacar.
1304-1366 Romendacil/Minalcar is crowned as Romendacil II; he builds the pillars at Argonath at the
entrance to Nen Hithoel. Foreigners are forbidden passage of the Emyn Muil.
Romendacil, however, offers places in his army to many Northmen, including high-
ranking positions.
1432 Death of Valacar; the Kin-strife begins over the issue of Eldacar’s mixed blood.
1437 Eldacar flees to the Northmen of Rhovannion.
1447 Eldacar, with the assistance of many Northmen, recovers the Gondorian throne. Many Northmen enter Gondor, helping to repopulate it after the Kin-strife.
The Wainriders
1636 Beginning in the winter of 1635, the Great Plague ravages Gondor and, even more so,the
Northmen of Rhovannion.
1851 The Wainriders attack Gondor from the East. The Northmen bear the brunt of their assualts.
1856 Narmacil II marches into the plains south of Mirkwood and rallies many Northmen to him,
but is defeated and slain by the Wainriders. Marhari of the Northmen is slain in theretreat. Southern and eastern Rhovanion is enslaved by the Wainriders. Gondor
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retracts its frontiers to the Emyn Muil. Some Northmen flee north to merge with the
kinfolk in Dale.
1856-1936 In the days of Calimehtar, the Éothéod emerge as a distinct group, dwelling in the Vales of
Anduin, between the Carrock and the Gladden Fields, mostly on the western side of the
river. They were led there by Marhwini, son of Marhari and descendant of Vidugavia,after the defeat of Narmacil II in 1856. They are described as “close kin” of the
Beornings. [Note: This marks shift from more clearly Gothic names or the Northmen to
more West Germanic names.]
1899 Marhwini sends messages to Calimehtar that the Wainriders plan to invade Calenardhon,
and also that Rhovanion intends to revolt against the Wainriders. Calimehtar leads an
army against the Wainriders to draw them from Rhovannion. Calimehtar fights the
Wainriders on Dagorlad, and Marhwini’s troops save the day. Meanwhile, Rhovanion
had revolted but was laid waste in the process. Marhwini returns to the Anduin vales.
1940- Wainriders ally with the Men of Khand and Near Harad. Forthwini, son of Marhwini, warns1944 Ondoher that the Wainriders are regaining strength, as they are raiding the Éothéod up the
Anduin and through Mirkwood.
1944 Ondoher and his sons are slain by the Wainriders in battle by the Morannon. Some men of
the Éothéod take part in the Battle, led by Marh????21 (son of Forthwini?); they retreat
through the Dead Marshes. Eärnil II defeats the Wainriders and drives them to the
Dead Marshes.
The Northern Anduin and Calenardhon
1975 The Witch-king of Angmar is defeated.
1977 Frumgar leads the Éothéod to the vales of the Northern Anduin, where they drive out the
remnants of the Witch-kings minions. The Éothéod now dwell between the Misty
Mountains and the Forest River in Mirkwood, and south to the confluence of the
Greylin and Langwell, where they have a fortified burg .
2510 Orcs and Easterlings (identified as the Balchoth) overun Calenardhon. Eorl, son of Léod,
leads his warriors south to the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, taking the Orcs and
Balchoth from behind. The Oath of Cirion and Eorl grants Calenardhon to the Éothéod,
who move there. It is renamed Rochand, or Rohan.3019 Muster of Rohan and Battle of the Pelennor fields in which Théoden fulfils the Oath of Eorl,
as told in The Lord of the Rings.
[4th Age] Éomer leads the Rohirrim under King Elessar in wars in the South and “beyond the Sea of
Rhûn”.
21 The name is illegible in Tolkien’s original handwritten manuscript.