The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
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Came into existence after the fall of Arthedain in III 19741
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About this entry:

  • Updated 19 October 2002
  • Updates planned: 8

Rangers

Descendants of the Northern Dúnedain

"Few now remember them ... yet still some go wandering, sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness, guarding from evil things folk that are heedless."
Words of Tom Bombadil
The Fellowship of the Ring I 8
Fog on the Barrow-downs

After the loss of the kingdom of Arthedain, the descendants of Isildur's line survived in the wilds of Middle-earth, and became skilled in hunting and woodcraft; their warriors were known as the Rangers among the peoples of the north.


Notes

1

There is very little information available about the founding of the Rangers, except that they emerged from the remnant of the Dúnedain who survived the fall of Arthedain. As is hardly surprising, they seem not to have appeared immediately after the loss of the North-kingdom (no Rangers are mentioned at the Battle of Fornost in the following year). More likely, they appeared in the years following the fall, probably under the first Chieftain of the Dúnedain, Aranarth.

We're also lacking any definite records of the fate of the Rangers. It's possible that their role came to an end after the War of the Ring, but its equally plausible that Aragorn would have used them to maintain order in the newly-refounded North-kingdom.

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 19 October 2002
  • Updates planned: 8

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