Lord of the Riders

A title used by Steward Cirion of Gondor to refer to Eorl the Young, Lord of the Éothéod. At the time the title was used, Eorl and his Riders had recently saved the South-kingdom from invasion by making the long Ride of Eorl down the Vales of Anduin, and defeating the Balchoth at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant.

In the context of its use, Cirion was using the title to refer specifically to Eorl (the Lord who had led his Riders to the salvation of Gondor), but it might have had other, broader applications. At the time of its use, Eorl was Lord of the Éothéod, and 'Lord of the Riders' might perhaps be taken as an alternative to this title. It might also reasonably have been given to the later Kings of Rohan (at the time of its use, Eorl was about to become the first of these Kings, though at this precise point in history, the land of Rohan did not yet exist). With only a single recorded instance of the title, its exact application remains somewhat ambiguous, except that it was definitively held by Eorl, at least after his famous Ride from the North.