Great People of the West

An occasional formal name or title used for the Dúnedain in Middle-earth. It references their origin as Exiles of Númenor, the great Downfallen island kingdom westward from Middle-earth in the midst of the Great Sea. Indeed, the title might plausibly have been used of the Númenóreans themselves at their height in the Second Age, but our only record of its use is as part of the Oath of Eorl, long after Númenor's Downfall. In that Oath, Eorl pledged unending loyalty and allegiance to the Great People of the West (that is, the Gondorians), while Steward Cirion of Gondor granted Eorl and his people the land of Calenardhon, afterward known as Rohan.