Middle-earth seen by the barbarians: The complete collection including a previously unpublished essay Read Online Free PDF Page A

lordships ’, ( RP ) though perpetual separation was certainly not intended, and two of its three parts, Arthedain and Cardolan, stayed allies till the bitter end. When the Hobbits immigrated in the early 2 nd millenium TA, their subjective impression - in comparison to the Vale of Anduin - was that ‘ Men were still numerous there, both Númenóreans and other Men related to the Atani, beside remnants of Men of evil kinds, hostile to the Kings .’ ( DM ) Still, none of the divided kingdoms would ever recover enough to compensate the crucial lack of resources across Eriador. [1]
    [1]   The division of Arnor may have been inspired by the fate of Charlemagne’s realm but more closely resembles the Roman tetrarchy installed by Diocletian. Certainly, joint rule in a federation had been the purpose in Arnor as well, not violent opposition. But, as history shows, such attempts are always an easy prey of power-mongers.
     
T HE T HIRD A GE
The Middle Men of Arnor and the Hillmen of Angmar and Rhúdaur

Tarannon extended the sway of Gondor

 
The pre-Númenóreans in Gondor

Too much in awe of the might of the kings
From Enedwaith to Dunlendings

The most resistant minority outside of Arnor proved to be the small nation of the Gwathuirim [1] , ‘ remnant of an old race of Men (akin to the Breelanders?) ’ ( TC ) and known to the Rohirrim as Dunlendings. One argument to their benefit was that, to the region of Enedwaith, ‘ few Númenóreans had ever come, and none had settled there ’ ( FI ) even in the Third Age, ‘ owing to the hostility of the Gwathuirim (Dunlendings), except in the fortified town and haven about the great bridge over the Greyflood at Tharbad. ’ ( DM )
    There is doubt about the political status of the territory. Some sources claim that it ‘ belonged to neither kingdom [though] both kingdoms shared an interest in this region. … A considerable garrison of soldiers, mariners and engineers had been kept there until the seventeenth century of the Third Age. But from then onwards the region fell quickly into decay; and … back into wild fenlands .’ ( GC ) Others state that ‘ in ancient days … the western bounds of the South Kingdom was the Isen ’, ( FI ) but the same source reports that Enedwaith ‘ in the days of the Kings … was part of the realm of Gondor, but it was of little concern to them, except for the patrolling and upkeep of the great Royal Road. ’ ( FI )
    These superficially conflicting statements may suggest that Enedwaith was not fully integrated into the South Kingdom but constituted a protectorate, like the barbarian regions beyond the northern borders of the Roman Empire. It is evident, though, that till 1636 TA, the Gwathuirim were nominal subjects of Gondor, more by decree than by conviction. They lived remote enough from the major population centres that they did not feel very concerned about the distant lord in Osgiliath. Their spirit remained as independent as that of their relatives in Bree-land. But in contrast to the successfully integrated Bree-folk, the Gwathuirim maintained the ancient animosities of the Second Age, though they may not have remembered their reasons, and they ‘ did … hold to their old speech [2] and manners: a secret folk, unfriendly to the Dúnedain ’, ( LP ) who ‘ had little love for Gondor, but though hardy and bold enough were too few and too much in awe of the might of the Kings to trouble them .’ ( FI )
    Gondor, whose eyes were turned East and South, was oblivious to these most unimportant of its subjects, referring to Enedwaith as the ‘Wild Lands’ even then. This was a tragic development because it meant that the Gwathuirim never became númenorised to the degree that had cultivated the pre-Númenóreans of Arnor. But despite Gondorian claims that, throughout the millenia, the Dunlendish ‘ hatred remained unappeased in their descendants, causing them to join with any enemies of Númenor ’, ( DM ) the Gwathuirim have never