Dúnedain: Difference between revisions

Sauron's spirit also escaped, and fled back to Middle-earth, where he again raised mighty armies to challenge Gondor and Arnor. With the aid of [[Gil-galad]] and the Elves, Sauron was defeated, and the [[Third Age]] began. Sauron vanished into [[Rhûn|the East]] for many centuries, and Gondor and Arnor prospered. As Sauron re-formed and gathered strength, a series of deadly plagues came from the East. These struck harder in the North than the South, causing a population decline in Arnor. Arnor fractured into three kingdoms. The chief of the Nine [[Ringwraiths]], the [[Witch-king of Angmar]], assaulted and destroyed the divided Northern Dúnedain kingdoms from his mountain stronghold of [[Carn Dûm]]. After their fall, a remnant of the northern Dúnedain became the [[Rangers of the North]], doing what they could to keep the peace in the near-empty lands of their Fathers. The surviving Dúnedain of Arnor retreated to the Angle south of [[Rivendell]], while smaller populations settled in far western [[Eriador]]. The fragmentation of the kingdoms has been compared to that of the early [[Frankish kingdoms]].<ref name="Straubhaar 2013"/>

 

 

=== The Dúnedain among the Half-elven ===

The Rangers of Ithilien, also known as the Rangers of the South and Rangers of Gondor, were an elite group who scouted in and guarded the land of [[Ithilien]]. They were formed late in the Third Age by a decree of the [[Stewards of Gondor#Stewards|Ruling Steward of Gondor]], for Ithilien was subject to attack from [[Mordor]] and [[Minas Morgul]]. One of their chief bases was [[Henneth Annûn]], the Window of the Sunset. These were descendants of those who lived in Ithilien before it was overrun. Like the Rangers of the North, they spoke Sindarin as opposed to the Common Speech. They wore [[Camouflage|camouflaging]] green and brown clothing, secretly crossing the [[Anduin]] to assault the Enemy. They were skilled with swords and bows or spears.

 

 

The Rangers of Arnor and their lost realm have been compared to medieval tribes and societies of the real world. Like the [[Franks]] after the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] or the Christianized [[Anglo-Saxons]], the northern Rangers inhabit a "romanized nobility" and keep protecting the borders of the "realms of good" while Gondor in the south is decaying and finally arrives on the verge of destruction.<ref>{{cite book |title=J. R. R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyKDAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT81 |first=Bradley J. |last=Birzer |author-link=Bradley J. Birzer |publisher=Open Road Media |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-49764-891-3}}</ref> This protection of the weak from evil by Aragorn and his rangers has been identified as an inherently [[Christianity in Middle-earth|Christian motif]] in Tolkien's design of his [[Tolkien's legendarium|legendarium]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FRiViwMylSUC&pg=PA74 |title=The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien's Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings |first=Fleming |last=Rutledge |author-link=Fleming Rutledge |page=74 |year=2004 |publisher=[[William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company]] |isbn=978-0-80282-497-4}}</ref>

 

The Rangers have been compared to the 'Spoonbills' in [[John Buchan]]'s 1923 novel [[Midwinter (novel)|''Midwinter'']], while the Ranger-like 'Lakewalkers' in the 2006–2019 ''[[The Sharing Knife]]'' series by [[Lois McMaster Bujold]] have been seen as part of a deliberate commentary on Middle-earth.<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98VQ3gHsVsMC&pg=PA165 |title=Tolkien and the Study of His Sources: Critical Essays |editor-last=Fisher |editor-first=Jason |editor-link=Jason Fisher |chapter=Reading John Buchan in Search of Tolkien |first=Mark T. |last=Hooker |page=165 |year=2011 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company|McFarland]] |isbn=978-0-78648-728-8}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4RrxCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA71 |title=Lois McMaster Bujold |first=Edward |last=James |pages=71–72 |year=2015 |publisher=[[University of Illinois Press]] |isbn=978-0-25209-737-9}}</ref>

 

== In adaptations ==

=== Sources ===

 

* {{ME-ref|ROTK}}

* {{ME-ref|Silm}}