The Complete Tolkien Companion (82 page)

Beginning with the battle in which King Argeleb I was slain (in 1356), there ensued a centuries-long war waged by combined forces from Rhudaur and Angmar against Arthedain – with her ally Cardolan falling a quick victim to the savagery of the onslaught. In 1409 ‘Rhudaur was occupied by evil Men subject to Angmar, and the Dúnedain that remained there were slain or fled west.'
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It never arose again, although the formal dissolution of the state was not held to have taken place until 1974 Third Age, the year of Arthedain's fall.

Rhûn
‘East' (Sind.) – A general name in Gondor for the lands beyond and including the Inland Sea.

Rhymes of Lore
– The name given by the Wise to the numberless collection of spells, benisons, charms, incantations and memory-aids recited and learned in order both to pass on knowledge and retain it.

Rían
– A princess of the Edain, the daughter of Belegund of the First House. She was born in Ladros before the Dagor Bragollach, but when Orcs overran Dorthonion, she and the other children were evacuated from the stricken land, and sent for safekeeping to Dor-lómin, where the House of Hador still defied the Enemy. There she came to womanhood, and wedded Huor the younger son of Galdor (her cousin Morwen Eledhwen, likewise a refugee from Dorthonion, was wedded to Huor's elder brother Húrin). Two months later came the Fifth Battle of Beleriand, the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, in which Huor was slain. Rían, already pregnant by Huor, fled from Dor-lómin into Mithrim, where she bore a son, Tuor, while in hiding among the Sindar of that land. Soon afterwards she gave Tuor into the keeping of her hosts, and went out into the wild, to die of grief on the mound called Haudh-en-Ndengin, the Hill of Slain, where her husband lay, together with all his kinsmen save one.

Riddermark
(Older form
Riddena-mearc
‘Land of the knights') – The name given by the
RIDERS OF ROHAN
to their own land.

Riddle-game
– A time-honoured method of wagering for stakes, for testing another's sagacity and wit, or simply for passing the time. The practice was very ancient in Middle-earth, dating almost certainly back to the Elder Days, and all folk claimed the honour of having originated it. By reason of its ancientry alone the Riddle-game must surely be of Elvish origin: the Elves dearly loved tricks of word and meaning, and The Rules which informally governed the practice, being ‘both ancient and just', bore all the hallmarks of early Eldarin thought.

Riders of Rohan
– The term used in Gondor for the armed and mounted men-at-arms of the country of Rohan, formerly the Dúnedain province of Calenardhon, which lay to the north of Gondor on the further side of the White Mountains. The Rohirrim were a Northern race, whose arrival in the southlands had proved fortunate for Gondor on one conspicuous occasion, and the ‘Riders of Rohan' were spoken of with admiration and a good deal of respect: for the horses of Rohan were the finest then to be found in Middle-earth, and their riders were fully their match.

The mounted cavalry of Rohan were not a permanent standing force; rather they were horse-herders and – trainers, who wandered with the herds and studs throughout most of the year over the great grasslands of the Mark (as they termed their own land). Only in time of war or doubt were they mustered, for to assemble a full host of Riders took many days. Nonetheless, they were fierce in war, for they were of proud northern stock and had learned the warrior code long before.

The basic military unit was the
éored,
a squadron of varying size raised from one particular lord or marshal's household and sworn to his service. The Mark itself was loosely divided into a number of regions, each of which had a Marshal nominally responsible for its defence. All were responsible to the King, who dwelt for the most part in the township of Edoras, a hill-fort on a foothill of the northern White Mountains. The armour and weapons used by the Riders of Rohan were in essence those used by their ancestors in the North: long spears, bows, and long-swords. Most carried body-shields, painted on the toughened side to display a White Horse upon a field of Green. Chain mail was not infrequent, and light metal helms were also worn. In war the Riders generally made good use of their superb horsemanship and the shock value of a massed cavalry attack. They had developed both light and heavy cavalry tactics to a remarkable degree; there were few formed infantry in western Middle-earth who could withstand them unless safe behind defences.

For these reasons the Riders of Rohan were greatly valued as allies by the men of Gondor, who had far fewer cavalry although their infantry was second to none. The Rohirrim indeed aided the Dúnedain (and were aided by them) on several different occasions, perhaps the most significant of which was during the War of the Ring, when the six thousand Riders led by Théoden King of the Mark raised the siege of Minas Tirith and so set in motion the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, greatest military clash of the Third Age.

Rimmon
–
See
MIN-RIMMON
.

Ringarë
(Q.) – The twelfth month of the year in Kings' and Stewards' Reckoning, and the ninth of the New Reckoning which followed the reuniting of Arnor and Gondor at the end of the Third Age. All three reckoning-systems were modifications of the old Númenorean calendar, and all were adopted by many Westron-speaking peoples of Middle-earth. The Sindarin equivalent of
Ringarë, Girithron,
was used only by the Dúnedain of Middle-earth.

Ringil
‘Cold-star' (Sind.) – The Sword of Fingolfin, the High King of the Noldor. It was the only weapon ever to inflict a wound upon Morgoth.
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Ring-inscription
– The series of Elvish letters engraved by some secret process into the surfaces of the
RULING RING
by its maker, Sauron. The inscription was so fashioned that the writing remained invisible unless the Ring itself was first heated; when Sauron made this Ring, he was fair of bodily form, or so it has been recorded, and the inscription remained unseen, even by his close servants; but in later years Sauron's body grew black and hideous and burning hot, and the heat of his hand alone was sufficient to keep the inscription bright.

It is a curious fact that, although the Ring-inscription was in the ancient Black Speech of Mordor, the letters chosen for the writing were Elvish – the Fëanorian Tengwar. No other writing-system was sufficiently delicate for the minute engraving.

Ringló
‘Cold-flood' (Sind.) – A river of Gondor, the major tributary of Morthond. It arose in the high vales of Lamedon, and was itself joined by the Ciril (or Kiril) some leagues south of the town of Calembel. The Ringló Vale was the valley watered by these two rivers.

Ring of Adamant
–
NENYA
.

Ring of Barahir
– The most ancient of the heirlooms of the House of Elendil. It was in origin an Elven-ring given as a token of friendship by Finrod Felagund, King of Nargothrond, to Barahir of the Edain, after the Dagor Bragollach, in which Barahir had saved Finrod's life. The ring itself was of gold, and bore the badge of the House of Finarfin. Barahir bore it until his death on Dorthonion, and it was recovered from the Orc who had stolen it by Barahir's son Beren. The ring remained in Beren's keeping for the rest of his life, and was passed to his son Dior Eluchíl, and by Dior to Elwing, who rescued it – together with the Silmaril and other treasures of the house of Thingol – from the ruin of Doriath, and took it with her to the Havens of Sirion. From her it passed to Eärendil her son, and from Eärendil to his son Elros.

In this way Barahir's ring survived the turmoils of the First Age. It was (presumably) given by Tar-Elendil, fourth King, to his eldest child Silmariën, and by Silmariën to her son Valandil, first of the Lords of Andúnië. In this way the Ring of Barahir became an heirloom of the Faithful, and so was brought to Middle-earth again when Númenor fell, late in the Second Age. It was then given by Elendil to his oldest son Isildur, and became a token of the royalty of the North-kingdom.

For many years the Ring of Barahir was guarded at Annúminas, together with the other treasures of the North-kingdom, but in time the realm of Arnor passed, and then the Heirs of Isildur removed to Fornost Erain. Their kingdom of Arthedain survived until the end of the second millennium, but fell at last under the assaults of Angmar. Then Arvedui, last King of Arthedain, fled into the North to escape the wreck of Arthedain, bearing several of the treasures of Isildur with him. The two
palantíri
of the North were lost with Arvedui in the waters of the Ice Bay, but the ring was saved, for it had been given by the King to the Lossoth (Snowmen) of Forochel, as a reward for the aid they had rendered him during his months of exile. It was later ransomed by the Dúnedain and afterwards kept at Rivendell, together with the Sceptre and the Sword of Elendil, by Elrond.

Ring of Doom
– The
MAHANAXAR
.

Ring of Isengard
–
See
ISENGARD
.

Ring of Sapphire
–
VILYA
.

Rings of Power
– The greatest feat of craftsmanship performed during the Second Age was the making of the Rings of Power: the Three Rings of the Elves, the Seven Dwarf-rings, and the Nine Rings of Mortal Men ‘doomed to die'. The most potent of all the Rings of Power was that One Ring wrought by Sauron of Mordor.

The tale of their making is a strange story of thirst for knowledge, combined with a pride in craftsmanship, being turned (albeit unconsciously) to evil purposes: an odd reflection of the tale of the Silmarils. The Elven-smiths of Eregion, the makers of most of the Great Rings, were themselves descended from Fëanor, who had wrought the Silmarils during the Elder Days. They were assisted in the task by Sauron of Mordor, who thus acquired great knowledge while pretending to dispense it. Together they made the Nine, and the Seven, and the lesser Rings of Power.

A mortal would have called these ‘magic' rings, for like other Elvish devices their virtues were not merely those of adornment. Each ring had certain properties which were passed on to the bearer, like the gifts of foresight, protective power, and so on. But the Great Rings, the Nine and the Seven, had other qualities: they gave long life and many different powers of mind and hand. But Sauron's hand was also on their making (with the exception of the chief Dwarf-ring), and so these inherent powers were distorted far beyond what the Elven-smiths had intended; and they would all prove susceptible to the One Ring which Sauron planned to make.

But before he was to do so Celebrimbor, chief of the Elven-smiths, wrought the Three Rings of the Elven-kings, greater than all other Rings of Power yet made, and Sauron had no part in their making. Celebrimbor did not desire power for Elves, merely the ability to make, heal and preserve; and Sauron never touched the Three, nor did he ever set eyes upon them. Celebrimbor completed the forging of the Three Elven-rings in or around 1590 Second Age, but Sauron had already learned all he needed for his own purposes; and ten years afterwards, far away in Mordor, in the Chambers of Fire within the cone of the volcano Orodruin, he set the newly forged Ruling Ring on his finger, and repeated the Ring-spell which would bring his creation to life. On the same instant Celebrimbor became aware of the betrayal and swiftly hid the Three.

The nature of the Ruling Ring was such that by its power Sauron was able to dominate and command the bearers of the Nine. With the Seven he was not so fortunate, for the Dwarves were ‘made from their beginning of a kind to resist most steadfastly any domination … and for the same reason their lives were not affected by any Ring, to live either longer or shorter because of it.'
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Nevertheless, the potential beneficial effects of the Seven were lost to them and indeed their ultimate fall can be said to be due in part to the quality the Rings possessed of inflaming Dwarf-hearts with love of gold and wealth for its own sake – a trait towards which they were always only too partial. The Three were never affected at all by the Ruling Ring, because their owners never wore them so long as Sauron retained the One. When it was taken from him at the end of the Second Age this restriction on the Elven-rings was lifted and their bearers were able to use them during most of the Third Age for the purposes originally intended by Celebrimbor. But when the Ruling Ring was found once more they fell again into great peril, for had Sauron recaptured his lost treasure, all that had been wrought by the Three during an Age would have been laid bare to him, and the minds of those that bore them – whether the Three were hidden or not – would have been revealed to his malice.

At the beginning of the War of the Ring Sauron thus controlled the Nine, and three of the Seven Rings of Power (four had been consumed – together with their hapless owners – by the Dragons) The Three he could ignore – for he needed only the One to make his almost certain victory over the Free Peoples complete. How, despite his best endeavours, this Ring was denied him and destroyed in the teeth of his armed might, forms the substance of the Tale of the Ring, as recorded in the Red Book.

Note:
the Three Rings were named Vilya, Nenya and Narya. The names of the Nine and the Seven – if indeed they bore any – are not known. The Great Ring of Sauron also had no name, and was called simply the One Ring or the
RULING RING
.

Ringwil
‘Chilly-stream' (Sind.) – A small stream which arose in the Heights of Faroth and fell into the Narog not far from the gates of Nargothrond.

Ringwraiths
– A translation (from the Black Speech of Mordor) of the name
Nazgûl,
a word meaning ‘Ring-wraiths'; being a name often used by enemies of Sauron for the slaves of the Nine Rings, Sauron's most terrible servants, the nine Mortal Men who were ensnared by lust for power during the Second Age and who were forced to linger in Middle-earth as
Úlairi,
undead creatures, totally subservient to their Master, unable to pass on or find rest. They were filled with the evil essence of Sauron, and thus implemented his will from afar and in his name during much of the Second and all of the Third Age of Middle-earth, falling at last into annihilation when the destruction of the Ruling Ring released them from this fearsome bondage.