The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Founded in III 2510; still extant during the Fourth Age
Location
North of Gondor
Origins
Race
Division
Culture
Family
Ruled by the House of Eorl
Settlements
The chief city of Rochan was Edoras; other notable settlements and fortifications include the former capital Aldburg, Dunharrow, Grimslade, the Hornburg, Underharrow and Upbourn
Pronunciation
ro'chan (ch as in German 'Bach')
Meaning
'Horse-land'
Other names

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About this entry:

  • Updated 30 July 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

Rochan

An older name for Rohan

After the people of Eorl began to settle in the old Gondorian region of Calenardhon, they gave it a new name in their own tongue, calling it the 'Riddermark', the borderland of the Riders. In Gondor, however, Elvish nomenclature was preferred and so Hallas (the son of Steward Cirion who had gifted the land to the Riders) devised the Sindarin name Rochand ('horse-land') for the newly settled grasslands.

It was typical for Elvish place-names ending in -nd to lose their final 'd' in speech, and so the new land's common name in Gondor evolved to become Rochan, a change that would in fact only represent a step in the development of the name. The Sindarin ch sound did not exist in the Common Tongue, and so as the name became more widely used it also changed further, ultimately giving rise to Rohan, the land's familiar name at the time of the War of the Ring.


Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 30 July 2018
  • Updates planned: 1

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