The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Established after the foundation of Rohan in III 25101
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Settlements
The field lay beneath Edoras on its western side
Meaning
A 'barrow' is a grave-mound

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 October 2021
  • This entry is complete

Barrowfield

The grave-ground of the Kings of Rohan

Map of the Barrowfield below Edoras
The Barrowfield of Edoras (somehwat conjectural)
The Barrowfield of Edoras (somehwat conjectural)

A field beneath the hill of Edoras, on which stood the burial mounds of the Kings of Rohan, divided into two rows. To the west were the nine graves of the Kings of the first line, from Eorl to Helm Hammerhand, while to the east were eight for the Kings of the second line, from Fréaláf to Théoden. Presumably a third row of mounds was begun for the third line of Kings, starting with Éomer. Each of the mounds was grown over with the grave-flower simbelmynë, white Evermind, but it was said to grow as thick as snow on Helm's mound in memory of his loss during the Long Winter.


Notes

1

In principle, it should be straightforward to date the first mound to be raised on the Barrowfield. The first King of Rohan, Eorl, died in III 2545 and so, lacking other details, we might reasonably suppose that the first of the barrows would have been made in that year (we know that Eorl had a barrow on the field, because we're given a count of the numbers of graves).

To make things problematic, however, we also know that Edoras was not the chief city of Rohan in III 2545. Eorl in fact had his seat at Aldburg in the Folde, and we might reasonably expect him to have been entombed there, rather than on a field beneath Edoras. It was Eorl's son Brego who moved the royal seat to Edoras, so presumably Eorl's remains were disinterred and reburied at some point. This perhaps took place at the time of the raising of the Golden Hall in II 2569, or of Brego's own death the following year.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 16 October 2021
  • This entry is complete

For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.

Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2007, 2021. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.

Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.
Discus includes a huge range of team assessment features, including leadership and team roles.
The Encyclopedia of Arda
The Encyclopedia of Arda
Menu
Homepage Search Latest Entries and Updates Random Entry