The Riders

The Northmen of Rhovanion were a people who dwelt in the lands eastward of Mirkwood in the middle part of the Third Age. Horses were central to their culture, and they were famed for their skill in riding and horsebreeding. These people allied themselves with Gondor, but they were driven away from their lands in the wars against the Wainriders.

This displaced people wandered across Middle-earth, passing up the Vales of Anduin until they eventually founded a land at the sources of the Great River. At this point in their history they (and also their land) were known as the Éothéod, the 'horse people', but they were also referred to simply as the Riders. They lived in this northern land for more than six centuries, until a desperate plea for aid was received from their ancient allies in Gondor, and their young Lord Eorl elected to answer it.

The Riders of the Éothéod set out on the long Ride of Eorl through the Vales of Anduin, retracing in days the journey their ancestors had made over decades. Reaching the Field of Celebrant, Eorl surprised and defeated the invading Balchoth, and in reward he was granted the wide lands of Calenardhon by Steward Cirion of Gondor. Thus the new land of Rohan was created, with Eorl as its first King. The people of this land became known as the Rohirrim, the Horse-lords, and many other names beside. They were also commonly called the Riders of Rohan, preserving a tradition that dated back to their ancestors, the Riders of the far northern lands.