Men of the Riddermark

After Eorl rode out of the north to the aid of Gondor when it was faced by overwhelming danger, the Ruling Steward Cirion granted Eorl and his people a new land as a reward. The Men of the Éothéod, as this people had been known, left their old lands in the distant north and journeyed through the Vales of Anduin to their new home. They settled on the wide plains of Calenardhon, a green land that had been the northernmost province of Gondor, but was now almost deserted.

The name Calenardhon came from the Elvish language, meaning 'green province', but the new settlers chose a new name in their northern tongue, calling it the 'Riddermark' or 'borderland of the riders' (often simply called 'the Mark', or Rohan by outsiders). These settlers in turn became the Men of the Riddermark and through the generations they remained loyal allies of Gondor, in whose old province they dwelt.