One of the Northmen who had allied themselves with Gondor in the middle years of the Third Age, and dwelt in the wide plains of Rhovanion south and east of Mirkwood. Marhari was a leader of these people in the time when the warlike Wainriders emerged out of the east, and with Narmacil II of Gondor he rode to meet them in battle. The resulting Battle of the Plains was a disaster for Gondor and its allies: Narmacil was killed, and Marhari fell in his rearguard.
Marhari's son Marhwini led a body of the surviving Northmen away from the now dangerous lands of Rhovanion, and travelled up the Vales of the River Anduin into the north. Through these travellers, and across many centuries, Marhari would become a distant ancestor to the people known as the Rohirrim.
Notes
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Marhari's name derives from Gothic, and is known to contain the element marh- meaning 'horse' (equivalent to the éo- in many names among the later Rohirrim). The second element of his name is uncertain, but the most likely derivation is probably from Gothic harjis, 'army' (this seems all the more plausible given that almost the only biographical fact we have about Marhari was that he led an army of his people).
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- Updated 17 May 2024
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