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House of Cynthain
The House of Cynthain began in the time of Frealaf; Cynthain was a Rider from the Wold who had been near to Dunharrow when the Dunlendings led by Wulf invaded. He joined the resistance at Dunharrow and later was part of that company which, led by Frealaf, retook Edoras and the kingship. For his valour he was granted a device and was made a Knight of the Riddermark and a Lord of the Wold. At the banks where the Limliht and Anduin meet he made his home; and it was a place where those who dared travel past the borders could rest and also a place where no Orcs dared pass to cause harm to the Mark, for the descendants of Cynthain were greatly feared by them.
Lordship in the Wold passed from that House to the House of Feorarwe when the Lord and his son were slain by Orcs; Langtoth, who led that house then, was brother to the mother of the last of the family of Cynthain, the heir apparent to the Lordship. By skilled speech and thorough knowledge of precedents, Langtoth was able to win the Lordship for himself and his house.
House of Dernwine
The House of Dernwine is an old and well-respected one. Dernwine, a lord of the Eotheod in Eorl's time, rode down with the great eohere to Calenardhon when Gondor was at need. He was of the House of Burtoth, mighty and near to the royal house by blood. For his deeds and valor on the Field of Celebrant, he was given the rich lands which would soon surround Romenmark.
Being Lords of Romenmark and later having kinship with lords of the Wold through Cynthain, they are well-respected for their holdings in land and the valor that all the Riders of that house have shown in past times. House of Devon A recent noble house, founded in the Westfold, it is said that Devon was the lone Eorling who accompanied Folca when he slew the great Boar of Everholt. If it were not for him, Folca would not have reached Mering before he died, to commend the crown of the House of Eorl to his son and to name Devon a lord of the Mark, and all the heirs of his body. Devondale, a small village in the Westfold, is their seat.
House of Dunwarta
The House of Dunwarta is said to be founded in the days of Eorl the Young's father, although it bore a different name then. One Curwadun of the Eotheod was raised into the ranks of the lords for his great service to Leod. His sons and their sons won great renown in the service of the kings as the new land of Calenardhon was settled.
It was the grandgrandson of Curwadun who was bestowed the lordship of the valleys of Harrowdale, for he was a steadfast and bold man who had shown great prowess conquering the high passes of the southern mountains, and alike were those of his kin.The house was named Dunwarta then, Hill-guardian, and it became the duty of the Dunwartans to watch over the dales of the White Mountains and the fastness of Dunharrow, the last retreat of the Rohirrim in times of danger. The men of Dunwarta have become as their abode, dour and unyielding as the roots of the rocks, yet they retain the worldliness of their forefathers, and care little about their lordly status.
House of Feorware
The House of Feorarwe has had a long but not very distinguished history. Being by trade merchants of minor success, they at one point were able to win a device and a minor lordship in the Eastemnet. However, beyond that, there can nothing of great interest be said of them except that in 2997 the leader of the House, Langtoth, was able through crafty speech and a knowledge of past precedents to garner the lordship of part of the Wold that was that of the House of Cynthain. In 3008 Langtoth and all his sons were slain by Rananar in a blood feud.
House of Freablod
Freablod of Eowain rode with Eorl from the North. By that time he was the head of a family of the minor nobility of the Eotheod; not extremely wealthy or powerful, but well established and well respected. By his deeds at the Celebrant, Freablod received good horse-raising lands in the Eastfold from an ealdorman close to Eorl who was given a lordship in the Eastfold and the family came to be known by his name and thus appeared the House of Freablod.
Gratefully, Freablod sent Athelblod, his second son, into the ealdorman's service and the young man became a Rider in the ealdorman's eored. Thus, Freablod instaurated a practice his descendants would repeat often throughout history. For although the ealdorman had no sons, his only daughter married Brego, son of Eorl and thus Eofor, third of Brego's sons, would in time come to take up the lordship of Aldburg in the Folde and from the House he founded would come lords such as Eomund and Eomer. And they recompensated the worthiest battle-deeds of Freablod's heirs with gifts of land or horses or arms and, as token of gratitude, men of the Freablodings would leave their home to ride under the banner of the House of Eofor and acknowledge them as their lords beneath only the House of Eorl in times of peace.
House of Garwalda
The House of Garwalda is a respected one of the Mark, founded by Garwalda who was given the lordship of Stjernholm after he took part in the renowned Ride of Frealaf. The lords of that line have been especially known for their great skill as Riders and not a few have become renowned in their own rights. House of Holdred Anlaf The House of Holdred Anlaf is ancient as the Men of the Mark reckon it, reaching far back to Frumgar in the time of the Eotheod. Holdred was surnamed "Anlaf", meaning `only survivor', by Lord Frumgar after being the only Rider to return from an ill-fated sortie against the remnants of the wicked kingdom of Angmar that dwelt in the upper vales of the Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden Fields.
It is said in the lore of that family that the fell Wraith Lord, known also as the Witch-king, himself tortured Holdred with Orcs aiding him; yet finally Holdred was left upon a road to die. He did not, as may be guessed, and staggered back to the camps of the Eotheod. For his strength of will he was made a knight of Frumgar's household. Since that day all the sons of Holdred's line have entered the guard of the Lords of Eotheod and later of the Lords of the Mark. Many of the sons of that line have borne in part the name "wulf" in memory of Irengar who rode in Eorl's guard when that mighty lord rode from the North to the Field of Celebrant. It is said that Irengar wore no armor in his wrath (said to be a curse of the Witch-king for some of Holdred's house have had terrible tempers). He was named Brennanwulf, `Burning Wolf', because of his fury. The last of the male descendants of that line by direct lineage is said to be Wulfstan Wulfhelm's son.
House of Mirigsynn
A relatively recent addition to the list of Rohan's nobility, House Mirigsynn hails from the rich plains of the Eastemnet on the confluence of the Snowbourn and Entwash rivers. Strongly tied to the Niu clan, a Mirigsynn has sat on the clan's Council for as long as any one can remember. It was only 10 generations ago that a well loved bastard son of a renowned Niu noble and a fair but landless lass of Eowain earned his own device through a combination of heroic feats on the battle field and unsurpassed chivalry and wit at court.
House of Nacaleof
The House of Nacaleof is an old and great one of the Wold, rivaled and surpassed only in more recent times by the younger House of Cynthain. Nacaleof, a lover of boats and rivers nearly above even horses, was a close confidant of Eorl when the great Riding came from the North. It was by his river craft and knowledge that fording places were found so that the Eotheod could come unlooked for behind the foes of the South-kingdom on the downs and plains of the Wold. For this service, and for the long friendship with Eorl, he was given the lordship of the northwestern part of the Wold, and he and his heirs were known ever after as the Guardians of the Limlight Crossing -- for there at the Limlight's ford was there ever great danger, and to live there in far removal from the greater part of the people of Eorl took great courage. Ever have the lords of that House been steadfast and true.
House of Waldwine
The House of Waldwine rose in the time of Deor King. Waldwine, a captain of the East-Mark, was part of the King's Riding against the Dunlendings when they captured Isengard for themselves. An evil arrow marked for the king was launched by some bowman from the walls, meant to bring death; and so it would have done, had not Waldwine thrown himself between arrow and king, saving him. The arrow was poisoned, though none knew it until Waldwine's arm grew inflamed and swollen, and none could save it. So he is known as Waldwine of the One Strong Arm in the stories, for he did other deeds in his day, despite his lack, and Deor King granted him a rich land in the meads of the East Emnet, where Deorcmere was raised.
House of Widfel
The House of Widfel came about in Folca's day. Widfel was a simple Rider of a mildly-wealthy family near Romenmark when he took part in a ride against a den of Orcs in the mountains. The young Folcwine Prince was in the same eored as Widfel for his father wished him to gain experience. When Folcwine was almost slain by Orcs, Widfel sprang to his rescue and bore him to safety before returning to the battle. Because of his deeds, the House of Widfel was created and they were counted among the lords of the Westemnet.
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