Rhovanion

**Rhovanion** (**The Wilderland**) was a land in the North-East of Middle Earth, between Eriador to the west and Rhun to the East. It was home to Dwarves, Men, Sindar and Silvan Elves, River-Folk Hobbits and Orcs.

## Inhabitants

### Dwarves

The Dwarves of Durin's Folk expanded east into Rhovanion from their kingdom in Moria. They also mined in Erebor, the Grey Mountains and in the Iron Hills, the latter two would soon become Dwarvish mansions in their own right.

### Men

The men of Rhovanion were known as the Northmen. These include the Woodsmen of Mirkwood, the Skin-Changers of the Misty Mountains (who later migrated to the Anduin Grasslands), and the men of the Kingdom of Rhovanion to the east of Greenwood. Easterling invasions destroyed this realm, but its descendants became the people of Dale, Esgaroth and the Eotheod, who in turn became the Rohirrim.

### Elves

Elves, most notably the Silvan Elves settled in the Greenwood when they first passed by it. They were later joined by Sindar who escaped the cataclysm of Beleriand and the dominion of the Noldor in Eriador.The Wood Elves of Mirkwood once took part in the affairs of the outside world, but later on, retreated into their underground kingdom, until the War of the Ring forced them to engage in the conflict

### Hobbits (formerly)

An offshoot of the Northmen, the Halflings or Hobbits emerged in the Gladden Fields beside Greenwood. The threat of Angmar led them to flee for Eriador, but some Stoor Hobbits remained behind for a while, becoming known as the River Folk.

### Orcs

Orcs invaded Rhovanion beginning in the First Age, and continued to do so from the South during the Dark Days. In the early Third Age, Orcs came down from the North into the realm of Angmar and began invading Rhovanion. The Misty Mountains became filled with them, as were the Grey Mountains once the Dwarves fled.

### Skin-Changers

    The skinchangers, Beorn's extinct kind, once populated the upper Anduin grasslands

## Lands

### Upper Anduin Grasslands

This land, between the Misty Mountains and the eaves of Greenwood, was the original land to recieve the name Rhovanion. It was where the Skinchangers came once the Orcs drove them out of the Misty Mountains, and was subsequentely the location of Beorn's House. The Eotheod also settled this country before migrating to Calenardon and becoming the Rohirrim. The Gladden Fields lay in the southern reaches of this land.

### Greenwood

    **Greenwood:** This large woodland is a major feature of Rhovanion, and houses both the Silvan Elves (under the rule of the Sindarin princes Oropher and Thranduil) and the Woodsmen. Once The Necromancer settled there, his influence turned the wood dark and sickened, earning the new name **Mirkwood**. The forest's bewildering quality gave a new meaning to the name Wilderland.

### Kingdom of Rhovanion

    .

East of Greenwood are the lands of the historic Kingdom of Rhovanion. It was founded by the Northmen and stretched from mirkwood to Dorwinion. It was the most powerful kingdom in all of Rhovanion. The kingdom was an ally to the Gondorian realm. After its defeat by the Easterlings, it was reduced to the populace of Esgaroth, a town on the Long Lake, and later Dale.

### Dale

To the North-East were the Lonely Mountain the Dale residing amidst its spurs. Once settled in earnst by Dwarves of Durin's Folk, refugees of Moria, men from the Kingdom of Rhovanion built a town there. Dale was a prosperous kingdom of Men before it's destruction, and was restored by the Men of Lake-town under Bard]]**Dale:** To the North-East were the Lonely Mountain the Dale residing amidst its spurs. Once settled in earnst by Dwarves of Durin's Folk, refugees of Moria, men from the Kingdom of Rhovanion built a town there.

## History

Originally, the term referred to the country between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, which was home to Woodsmen and Shape-shifters, but by the late Third Age, it was used to describe the country through and across Greenwood, as far as the River Running. The name (translated to Elvish as Rhovanion) refers to the wild, outlandish nature of the country (as oppossed to Eriador) but also to the bewildering quality of some of its regions, namely the forest of Mirkwood.

The realms of the Wilderland were subjected to several attacks from Easterlings, as well as the threat of Angmar in the early Third Age. Orcs came down from the North and drove the Skin-Changers away from the Misty Mountains, raided the Woodland Realm (costing the lives of Tauriel's parents, as well as the Elvenqueen). Angmar's defeat and the instigation of the Watchful Peace stopped these raids. However, when the Necromancer settled in the ruins of Dol Guldur, Orcs (which have been replenishing their numbers in Gundabad and Moria) came down into the Wilderland again.

The Wilderland was traversed by Dwarves as they fled Moria (for fear of Durin's Bane) for Erebor, the Iron Hills and the Grey Mountains. They later passed through it again when Smaug took Erebor.

During the Quest of Erebor, Thorin and Company passed through the Wilderland during the Quest of Erebor as they were pursued by Azog under orders from The Necromancer. Gandalf left the company at Mirkwood to discover the identity of this sorcerer, a feat finally acheived during the Battle of Dol Guldur when Galadriel banished Sauron to Mordor.

After the battle of Dol Guldur, it led to the outbreak of the Battle of the Five Armies and War of the Ring, in which the Orc population in the Wilderland was decimated. Nevertheless, a force of Orcs and Easterlings marched on Wilderland again, attacking the Woodland Realm and Erebor during the Battle of Dale, but was defeated shortly before the War of the Ring ended.

By the Fourth Age, much of the Wilderland became a tributary of Gondor.

## References

1. ↑ *The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug*