Eriador
Eriador is a large region in
J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of
Middle-earth. In the
Second Age, and possibly much earlier, it was largely forested, but the Dúnedain felled most of the forests to build
ships out of them. Much of it was encompassed in the early
Third Age by the kingdom of
Arnor, which later split into the rival kingdoms of
Rhudaur,
Arthedain and
Cardolan.
The Shire occupies part of the former kingdom of Arthedain, while
Bree and its neighbouring villages lie on the border with the former Cardolan. The Barrow-wights dwell within ancient burial mounds near the scene of an ancient battle between Arthedain and Cardolan. Other important places in Eriador are
Rivendell and the abandoned kingdoms of
Eregion and
Angmar. By the time of The
War of the Ring Eriador was largely deserted.
Its boundaries were:
- To the east, the Misty Mountains.
- To the north, the Ice-bay of Forochel, which flooded part of the lands of Morgoth after the War of Wrath.
- To the west, the mountains of Ered Lindon.
- To the south, the river Greyflood and the land of Enedwaith. After the War of Wrath, part of the southwestern border lies along the shores of Belegaer.
Important rivers were the Lune (
Elvish Lhûn), the Brandywine (Elvish
Baranduin) and the Greyflood.