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Hot take—I was looking back at Appendix A again, and Gondor really hit the ally lottery with the Northmen/Rohirrim because I’m not sure I would have put up with Gondor early on if I was a Northman myself. The whole relationship between the two kingdoms only started because Gondor was looking for a buffer between themselves and the Easterlings (“hey, let’s use these blonde guys as a human shield for our own protection!”). Then when individual Northmen distinguished themselves and got a foothold in Gondorian society, the “high men” (ugh) of Gondor “looked askance” at them as a “lesser and alien race” (double ugh). And when King Valacar of Gondor married the daughter of the Northman King Vidugavia, the Gondorians FOUGHT A CIVIL WAR rather than willingly accept Valacar’s totally legitimate half-Northman son and heir as their leader. Just exhausting.

Relationships between countries are never uncomplicated, and some people in Gondor were always accepting and respectful of the Northmen. And over time, Gondor as a whole proved itself as useful and loyal to the Northmen/Rohan as the reverse. The alliance between the two is so incredible in its fully developed form, and Gondor and Rohan as little best buddy nations are so sweet. But how lucky that Vidugavia’s people didn’t watch that civil war way back in the Second Age and just think to themselves, “to hell with this.”*

* I say this as a citizen of a country that is frequently an overbearing bully to its own best buddy nations (Sorry, Canada! Every American loves you!), and I’m constantly grateful that they haven’t all just decided to write us off for good!

#hot takes #lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #rohan #gondor #northmen #vidugavia #if you’re fighting a war rather than accept my grandson as rightful king #then we’re gonna have problems #meta

men of middle-earth ♞ house of éorl ♞ headcanon disclaimer

Vidugavia was a leader of the Northmen who styled himself the King of Rhovanion. He ruled the lands between Mirkwood and the River Running, and renewed his people’s historic alliance with the kingdom of Gondor. He aided Prince Minalcar Rómendacil II in his campaign against the Easterlings and welcomed him and his young son Valacar into his court as ambassadors after the war. Valacar grew to manhood among the Woodsmen, raised alongside Vidugavia’s children. Vidugavia’s queen, Adosinda, doted on the young man and encouraged his close friendship with her son Viduwulfila. In time Valacar grew to love Adosinda’s daughter Vidumavi, and they were wed in a union that solidified the alliance between Gondor and Rhovanion through marriage. Vidumavi bore Valacar a son, Vinitharya, in Rhovanion. When it came time for Rómendacil to ascend to the throne of Gondor, Valacar took his family to Osgiliath, where his wife took the name Galadwen and his son became known as Eldacar. The people of Gondor appreciated Galadwen’s fairness and nobleness, but feared that she would pass her short lifespan to her son. This distrust of the blood of outsiders led to the Kin-strife when Eldacar was poised to become King, but Galadwen Vidumavi died before even her husband’s reign. In Rhovanion, Viduwulfila eventually inherited his father’s rule, though in future generations his descendants would lose their power and influence in the Northlands. Nonetheless, Viduwulfila was counted as a forefather of the Rohirrim, as he was an ancestor of Marhari who would father Marhwini, the first Lord of the Éothéod.

the line of elros ♚ royalty of gondor ♚ headcanon disclaimer

Minalcar was the elder son of Calmacil, and unlike his forefathers he was a vigorous man eager to prove his worth. His uncle Narmacil I recognized his strength and appointed him the Regent of Gondor so Minalcar might rule in his stead, as he had little interest in politics. As Regent, Minalcar turned his attention to the North and East, where there were stirrings of rebellion among both the conquered Easterlings and Gondor’s sometime-allies the Northmen. With the aid of the Woodsmen of Rhovanion, Minalcar defeated invaders from the East and ensured the loyalty of the northern people. Minalcar returned home having taken the name Rómendacil after King Rómendacil I, another warrior who had defeated the Easterlings. He was welcomed with honor by his wife Calamistë, an archivist in the Library of Gondor, and their son Valacar, who had fought by his side but was sent home from the front early with an injury now fully-healed. Without war to occupy him, Rómendacil focused on building and maintaining his new alliance with the Woodmen and their King Vidugavia. Remaining himself in Osgiliath, he sent Valacar to learn the ways of the Northmen, a task in which he excelled. He was soon wed to Vidugavia’s daughter Vidumavi. As well as integrating many Northmen into Gondor’s army and solidifying their alliance through marriage, Rómendacil and Valacar fortified the western shores of the Anduin and built the Pillars of the Argonath above Nen Hithoel. It was not until Narmacil’s death that Rómendacil returned to Gondor permanently. His father Calmacil was crowned king, but as he was already old and had always been indolent like his brother, Rómendacil kept his position as Regent. Upon Calmacil’s own death ten years later, Minalcar was finally crowned King Rómendacil II after sixty-four years of ruling as Regent. At his side was Valacar, who had relocated his family from Rhovanion back to Gondor. By this time, Vidumavi had borne Valacar a son, named Vinitharya after the fashion of his mother’s people. The court of Gondor, consisting almost entirely of “high men” descended from the Númenóreans, were displeased with Valacar’s decision to wed a woman of a “lesser” race, especially when Vidumavi grew old and died much younger than a woman of the Dúnedain might have. Nevertheless, when Valacar inherited his father’s throne he named Vinitharya, now called Eldacar, his heir, though this would not be the end of the resistance against the Woodswoman’s son.