Eriador is a large region in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth. In the Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build ships. Much of it was encompassed in the early Third Age by the kingdom of Arnor, which later split into the rival kingdoms of Rhudaur, Arthedain and Cardolan. The Shire occupies part of the former kingdom of Arthedain, while Bree and its neighbouring villages lie on the border with the former Cardolan. The Barrow-wights dwell within ancient burial mounds constructed in the First Age by the Edain as they journeyed to Beleriand[citation needed]. Other important places in Eriador are Rivendell, the Grey Havens and the abandoned kingdoms of Eregion and Angmar. By the time of the War of the Ring, Eriador was sparsely populated, save for the Shire, Bree-land, Rivendell, the Grey Havens, the Angle south of Rivendell, and villages in western Eriador. Communities of Dwarves still mined the Ered Lindon, and a small population of former enemies of Númenor survived in southern Minhiriath.
Its boundaries were:
- To the east, the Misty Mountains.
- To the north, the Ice-bay of Forochel, which flooded part of the lands of Morgoth after the War of Wrath.
- To the west, the mountains of Ered Lindon.
- To the south, the rivers Glanduin and Greyflood and the land of Enedwaith. After the War of Wrath, part of the southwestern border lies along the shores of Belegaer.
Eriador extended for some 600 miles north-south and 700 miles west-east. It was traversed by the East-West Road running from Rivendell to the Grey Havens and by the Greenway (former North-South Road connecting the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor).Important rivers were the Lune (Elvish Lhûn), the Brandywine (Elvish Baranduin) and the Greyflood.
Depictions
- Eriador is the setting of the initial Lord of the Rings Online game.
References
- Fonstad, Karen Wynn (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, Eriador, ISBN 0-618-12699-6
- Oberhelman, David D. (2006). "Eriador", in Drout, Michael D. C.: J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Routledge, 17-18. ISBN 0-415-96942-5
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