Today in “Tolkien’s Northmen Totally Rule Actually”…
You know what’s a cool and often overlooked part of the story of the Oath of Eorl/founding of Rohan?
When Cirion, the Steward of Gondor, was under desperate pressure from invading enemies and decided to make a last-ditch effort to ask the Éothéod (descendants of the Northmen who would go on to become the Rohirrim) for help, he sent out 6 riders to carry that ask. Only 1 of the 6 made it to the Éothéod and their lord, Eorl, alive — and just barely! His name was Borondir, and he rode back to Gondor alongside Eorl and his people to join the battle at the Field of Celebrant. Sadly, Borondir died in the fighting, but his death helped achieve the great victory that saved Gondor and led to the founding of Rohan.
The cool thing is that Borondir wasn’t just some swift and capable Gondorian errand rider. He was a descendant of one of the Northmen who had gone to live in Gondor over a thousand years before, when Eorl’s ancestors first allied themselves with the Gondorians. So he was an especially appropriate messenger for a request to honor the ancient friendship between the two peoples because he was a living embodiment of that alliance — as a Gondorian by nationality but a Northman by heritage, he had a foot in both camps. He was coming to Eorl to seek the help of an ally but also the seek the help of his own people/ancestors.
The books don’t say this explicitly, but I imagine that having the message come from Borondir rather than any of the other 5 riders might have helped push Eorl over the top into deciding to join the fight. Because Tolkien was pretty clear that Eorl could very easily have decided not to get involved. Gondor was *very* far away from where the Éothéod lived so they didn’t share the same threat; the Éothéod were at peace where they were, but to have their lord and whole army ride out would leave them exposed to danger; and Cirion “had no claim on the Éothéod” that would have compelled them to come to his aid. Instead, Eorl made the decision as a “free gift of friendship,” and perhaps that friendship was at the top of his mind because the messenger in front of him was one who evoked the old alliance by his mere existence.
And yes, it was clear to the Éothéod that they shared a kinship with Borondir — we can see this from the fact that it’s specifically noted that Borondir’s death was mourned by *both* the Gondorians and the Éothéod. Do we think Eorl and his people would be particularly invested in any random Gondorian soldier, or are they invested in one that they recognize as one of them? Seems obvious to me.
(Final random point of interest — Borondir is also recorded in songs of the time under the name Borondir Udalraph (‘the stirrupless’) in reference to his appearance at the Field of Celebrant at Eorl’s side, which suggests to me that Borondir and the Éothéod rode bareback! Into battle! Baller move.)
Anyway. Borondir. He’s neat.
