In the old north of Middle-earth lived a proud race of wild horses, long-lived, wise and fleet of foot. The legends of Men said that their ancestors had been brought from the West by Béma, their name for the Vala Oromë.
One of these was captured as a foal by Léod of the Éothéod. It grew into a strong white horse, but when Léod tried to mount it, it threw him and killed him. Léod's son Eorl took the horse himself, naming him Felaróf. Felaróf was one of the greatest horses to have ever lived, and was said to understand the speech of Men. He carried Eorl when the Éothéod rode south to Rohan, and there sired a race of horses nearly as great as himself.
These were the Mearas, noble horses that lived as long as a Man, and had extraordinary strength and intelligence. Throughout their history, they would only allow themselves to be ridden by the Lord of the Mark or his sons. This long tradition was broken by Gandalf, who managed to train the greatest of the Mearas of his time, Shadowfax, and rode that mighty horse throughout the War of the Ring.
The word Mearas comes from an Anglo-Saxon word meaning simply 'horses'. Its singular form would be mearh, but no character in The Lord of the Rings ever uses that word.
Notes
1 |
There are two potentially contradictory accounts of the origins of the mearas. According to Éomer, the mearas were all descended from Felaróf, the great horse of Eorl. On the other hand, there was a popular tale among the Rohirrim that the ancestors of these horses were brought to Middle-earth by Oromë from Aman. These stories are difficult to reconcile, but not impossible: perhaps Felaróf was the last descendant of an ancient race of horses, and his own descendants formed the mearas of the later Third Age. The date of III 2510 used above is the date Eorl rode Felaróf into the south to the aid of Gondor. |
See also...
Araw, Béma, Felaróf, Horsebreeders, Horsemen of Rohan, Horses, Huntsman of the Valar, Lightfoot, Rochallor, Shadowfax, The Great, West over Sea, White Horse upon Green
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 30 May 2006
- Updates planned: 2
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