The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Born before III 2501;1 died III 2545 (lived at least 44 years)
Location
Foaled in the Éothéod, but later dwelt in Rohan
Race
Division
Culture
Raised among the Men of the Éothéod, and remained among them when they became the Rohirrim
Settlements
After Eorl settled in Rohan, he dwelt at Aldburg, and so presumably Felaróf was also stabled there
Pronunciation
fe'laroaf (the last syllable should rhyme with English 'loaf')
Meaning
'Very valiant or strong'
Titles

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  • Updated 29 July 2020
  • This entry is complete

Felaróf

The great horse of Eorl

Eorl's father Léod was a tamer of horses among the Éothéod, who captured this wild white horse while it was still a foal. He tried to tame it himself, but when he attempted to ride it, it threw him and escaped. So Léod died, leaving a sixteen-year-old son, Eorl. Eorl hunted the white horse, found it, and demanded that it give up its freedom in payment for the death of his father. The horse agreed, and took the name that Eorl gave it: Felaróf, a name said to mean 'very valiant' or 'very strong'.

It was on Felaróf that Eorl rode to the aid of Gondor and earned a famous victory, one that would lead Steward Cirion to grant them the wide empty land of Calenardhon, which would come to be called Rohan. For more than thirty years afterwards, Felaróf had the freedom of those wide grasslands, but a new invasion of Easterlings saw Eorl ride to battle once again. In the Wold, the far northern reach of Rohan, Eorl and Felaróf met their ends, and were laid together in a mound raised outside the gate of Edoras.

Felaróf was a very remarkable horse indeed. It is even recorded that it could understand the speech of Men. It gave rise in turn to a race of wonderful horses, the Mearas, who according to tradition could only be ridden by the Lords of the Mark, Eorl's descendants. It was from this line that Gandalf's horse Shadowfax came, making it a descendant of Felaróf himself.


Notes

1

We don't know exactly when Felaróf was born, but the horse was fully grown by the year III 2501 (when it slew Eorl's father Léod, and then submitted to Eorl himself). Assuming Felaróf matured at the same rate as an ordinary horse, this would probably make him two or three years old at that time. Even given the dates we can be sure of, Felaróf lived for at least forty-four years (whereas, by comparison, ordinary horses rarely live beyond about the age of thirty) and it is even implied that Felaróf might have lived decades longer still, had it not been slain.

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About this entry:

  • Updated 29 July 2020
  • This entry is complete

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