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(Brief disclaimer: This information provides an overview of the Rohirric culture and the general attitudes of its
members; it does not necessarily apply to all Rohirrim)
Coming down from the North near five centuries before, the Eotheod were lead by Eorl the Young. Upon the fields of
Calenardhon they fought by the side of the South-kingdom of Gondor to win a great victory, and in so doing win that
broad land for their own. Taking the Oath of Cirion (the Steward of Gondor in those days) and Eorl, Calenardhon was
renamed the Riddermark (Mark of the Riders), and its first King was Eorl himself. In honor of him, his people named
themselves the Eorlings (Sons of Eorl), but in Gondor they are more well known as the the Horse-lords, the
Rohirrim.
Blonde of hair, clear of eye, and grave to look upon, the Rohirrim are known the best for their horses. They are
wise but unlearned, few knowing letters but all knowing many songs. They are a warrior people, delighting in feats
of arms and great deeds, thinking it greatest to be remembered in song forever -- that is the surest immortality,
to be remembered. Proud but wilful, the Rohirrim have held true to the oath of Eorl over the centuries, coming to
the aid of Gondor at need.
With the gifting of the Mark to the Eorlings, the oldest native population took to anger and fled before the
numerous new settlers. Living north of the Gap of Rohan (being the expanse of plains between the Misty and the
White Mountains), they were named Dunlendings for their swarthy appearance. They are a primitive folk, lacking in
arts, and they both fear and despise the Rohirrim, calling them the thieves from the North and straw-heads. In the
time of Helm, last of the First Line of Kings, they assaulted the Mark and held it for a time before being thrown
back. To this day they make raids among the small holdings about the Gap, searching for plunder that they value -
good arms and armor, and other things of high craft that they do not possess of themselves.
Orcs too have been a danger, and once they had holds in the White Mountains which make the southern border of
Rohan. Yet all of those were driven away and slain more than a century before the present. Still, orcs are a
danger, and they seem to grow more numerous in these days, plundering in small bands about the Gap and the eastern
marches. Where these orcs come from, no one knows for certain, though orc holds in the northern mountains and the
Black Land away East are speculated.
The Rohirrim have diversified since their nomadic days among the Eotheod. In the Westfold, the great population of
that strip of land are largely agrarian and sedentary, yet in the east the people stay more often to the nomadic
wanderings of their ancestors from Eastfold through East Emnet to the Wold; because of this they are a less
numerous folk. Still, under the wise rule of Theoden King, and despite the whisperings of untold dangers, the
Rohirrim prosper and are a greater folk than they were in Eorl's day.
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