Province of Enedwaith (Arnor-Gondor)

Province of Enedwaith Ardhon Enedwaith
Territory directly under the High King
Flag
Etymology: (Region of the) Middle Folk
Nickname:  Middle Region
Enedwaith and its Districts
Country	Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor
Established	T.A. 3020
Founded by	Tar Elessar Telcontar
Headquarters	Carost, Enedôr
Government
• Lord Lieutenant of Enedwaith	Formal of the House Eäbormir
Demonym	Enedwaithrim

The Province of Enedwaith of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor is a territory directly under the High King of the West. In the first three centuries of the Fourth Age, Gondor has been the actual seat of the High King and the most developed part of the vast realm of the Men of the West.

Enedwaith refers to both a region of Middle-earth between Arnor and Gondor, and the men that inhabit it; the region Enedwaith retained that name even when the Enedwaith people were no more. The name Enedwaith means "(region of the) middle folk": in Sindarin from enedh meaning "middle" and gwaith which means "people".

Geography

Enedwaith can be defined as the region between Arnor and the northern parts of Gondor, and is nominally shared by both, although it was not settled by the Dúnedain until the Fourth Age.

The boundaries of the Enedwaith are defined in the north by the rivers Gwathló and Glanduin, to the east by the Misty Mountains, and to the west by Belegaer. The southern border is formed by the river Isen. While coasts and vales do have some forested areas, central Enedwaith is mostly grassland. Dunland, a place of many hills and vales, sits in the southeast corner of this region. It is said foul things still inhabit the the dark secret places of the mountains. Although the terrain is hilly, rocky in places near the foothills, and scattered with forests, the overall fertility is quite good.

The region consists of several distinct parts. The coastal regions, and vales of Gwathló and of the Angren/Isen, make up the lowlands, while central and interior territories are more elevated. Middle in both latitude and longitude, Enaid Talathor (meaning "Central Highlands") extends between Emyn Daer and the slopes of the Misty Mountains. The vale of the Dunafonhir, the main tributary of the Gwathló-, cuts the highlands and marks the border between the northen Enedwaith and the great plains.

Only three small coastal rivers escape the watersheds of the river Gwathló-Glanduin and the river Angren.

North-South Road

The North-South Road is the major road in the West built by the Númenóreans from the Second Age; it links the northern kingdom of Arnor with the southern kingdom of Gondor. It runs south from Fornost Erain in the far north, southward for hundreds of leagues through Eriador. It then crosses Tharbad on the Gwathló, where it crosses the river to traverse Enedwaith. From then on, the North Road becomes the Old South Road in Dunland and arrives to Pelargir under the name of Great West Road.

History

During the First and early Second Age Enedwaith was deeply forested, but the arrival of the timber-hungry Númenóreans, from the seventh century of the Second Age onwards, devastated the landscape.

The original Enedwaith themselves were forest dwellers, scattered communities without central leadership. The Enedwaith were not ranked as Middle Men, but were among the "people of darkness", enemies and aliens.

The denuded forests of Enedwaith, and much of those to the north in Eriador, were finally destroyed by the War of the Elves and Sauron around S.A. 1700, during which much of what had survived the felling was burnt. Many surviving natives took refuge in the eastern highlands of Enedwaith, the foothills of the Misty Mountains, which ultimately became Dunland.

Enedwaith formed the most northern part of the new Kingdom of Gondor, at least officially. However, following the Great Plague in T.A. 1636 the region fell quickly into decay and wild fenlands. During the Fourth Age the area of Enedwaith has undergone quite some change. With the re-establishment of Arnor, much trade came through Enedwaith and, with it, settlers of the Reunited Kingdom. Even some of the less-hardened Dunlendings moved northward and settled parts of northern Enedwaith.

The Return of the King

In T.A. 3020, Enedwaith was formally annexed directly to the Reunited Kingdom and a thin flow of colonists and settlers penetrated in the central regions. Median decades of the Fo.A. I Century were marked by both a re-colonisation effort, aimed to re-settle at least the most important northern cities and roads, as well as Enedwaith main strong-places (like Tharbad and Isengard) and a series of military campaigns.

With the re-establishment of Arnor, much trade came through Enedwaith and, with it, settlers of the Reunited Kingdom. Even some of the less-hardened Dunlendings moved northward and settled parts of northern Enedwaith.

During the I Century of the Fourth Age, Aragorn II supervised the progressive establishment of colonies filled with veterans of his wars along the route of the North-South Road, especially in Enedwaith between Tharbad and the Fords of Isen. Each of these colonies functions as both settlement of civilised men and potential garrisons ready to stand by. Initially these centres consisted of 3-400 retired soldiers and their families, but by early Fo.A. II Century the number increased. Such military colonies are designed to serve, and have actually served, as a potential reserve of veterans which can be called about during times of emergency. After the founding generation has passed away, the new town or village serves as cultured and civilized place and as local chief settlement.

Towards the end of the Fo.A. I Century, Dúnedain and other Men were encouraged to settle in the ancient cities of the North Kingdom. Some stopped and built their farms and small villages in Enedwaith and in Minhiriath, where towns were nearly non-existent and a man could do as he pleased with little or no oversight from authorities.

After some unrest and due the lack of interest of Rohirrim elite to integrate Dunlending peoples, Dunland was transferred from Rohan to the Reunited Kingdom in Fo.A. 112 as autonomous province. The following year, it was was added to Enedwaith.

The Great Dunland Revolt

In Fo.A. 132, a vast revolt erupted in Dunland. Dunlending tribes and clans had been resisting to the flow of other middlemen immigrants from Gondor and to Rohirrim slow erosion of their lands. The revolt was also due to the traditional resentment against Dúnadan rule and Dúnedain at large. When the Reunited Kingdom moved its troops south after a major Haradrim incursion, Dunlendings came out of their homelands and seized that which they had always coveted since the downfall of Saruman and the breaking of Isengard - the rich lands of Nan Curunír holding the Treegarth of Orthanc. The initial wave of the revolt swept away Dúnadan outposts and the few, reduced military garrisons left in the region. High King Eldarion was on a joint Rohan-West prolonged campaign in the East with most of garrison forces, and therefore by late Fo.A. 133, rebels not only controlled Dunland, but also conquered the Gap of Rohan and laid siege to Isengard.

In early Fo.A. 134, Eldarion staged his counter-offensive. At the Battle of the Fords of Isen, a large infantry force defeated Dunlending hordes, thus clearing the Gap of Rohan; few days later, a robust force broke through the Dunlending fortifications and invaded Dunland from the East. At the same time Gondorian forces crossed the Isen at Wulfcert. The two forces met at Galtrev. By the end of Fo.A 134, southern regions was subjugated again. In spring of Fo.A. 135 a Dunlending force coming from the north was defeated at some costs, but this marked the end of Dunlending reserves. In summer Fo.A. 135, a force from Tharbad invaded northern Dunland and, in a few months, reconquered most of the rebellious territory. By early Fo.A. 137, the revolt was quelled down.

Being wise and wisely advised, Eldarion choose to not punish rebels too severely. Main rebek chieftains were executed, and most of castles and tribal fortresses were demolished, but the main consequence of the revolt was the establishment of several fortified colonies at Dunland's borders.

Population

Enedwaith is mainly populated by Men inferior to Middle Men. Until the Fourth Age, two groups survived in Enedwaith: the Dunlendings in the far east, and a the Algraig, a fairly numerous but barbarous fisher-folk, on the coast. During the early centuries of the Fourth Age, both Dunlendings and Algraig stabilised their wanderings, influenced by the expanding civilisation of Gondor.

Starting from the return of the King and the establishment of the Reunited Kingdom, Enedwaith was reclaimed and some colonies and permanent garrisons were formed along the North-South Road, being populated by soldiers, as well as discharged soldiers and Men of Gondor, whose people has multiplied exceedingly since the end of the War of the Ring.

Although Tharbad belongs to Minhiriath in the Kingdom of Arnor, it is a reference point for the northern Enedwaith. The city and its surroundings (even those lands belonging to Enedwaith) have developed over the early centuries of the Fourth Age a merchant culture, similar to its ancient attitude before the flooding of T.A. 2912. Due to the mixture of ancient and fresh waves of population, a "regional" identity has not yet developed.

Society

Countryside occupies a dominant position in the economy and society of Enedwaith. The social structure of the countryside in Enedwaith is marked by a general prevalence of small property, but large estates are all but absent. The main factors of this predominance of the small property are essentially the presence of Dunlending tribes and the consequent need to reinforce and protect the ability of small farmers to be mustered as the need arises without worrying about their lands.

Large property

In the large agricultural properties of the "Polodren" (Sindarin for "Powerful", a legal term introduced in the second century identifying all the upper class), the "Tithen" (Sindarin for "Weak" in legal documents), i.e. former small independent peasants, incapable to fulfil their obligations, seek protection and give up full ownership, getting it back for rent. They therefore obtain the status of tenants, or farmers economically dependent on the lord and owner of the land in which they are located. Such tenants are juridically free and responsible towards the state as regards the payment of personal tax and the provision of military service, but protected against excesses and inserted in a network of consolidated social relations. The renters pay the lord a fee, usually modest, in order to be allowed grow a farm at their expense. Once the obligations have been fulfilled, however, they enjoy full availability of the rented farm, which allows them to sell to others or to inherit the right on that land, provided that it continues to be grown under the same (or better) conditions. The part cultivated directly by the landlord (obviously through labourers) is relatively minority.
The large landed property is in a regime of private law, parallel to the administrative organization of the state: therefore it can be directly subject to the districts (Drann) or it can be part of a territorial lordship. Where the territorial lord and the landowner coincide, and often coincide, a process of great increase in the personal authority of the individual magnate takes place.
It is to note that the notion of "Polodren" is distinct from the political class of the Knights or of the Nobles: while the vast majority of knights may be included in this category, and while all nobles are "powerful people" almost by definition, some knights are not eligible to be included within the Polodren, and affluent commoners are part of this social group.
In Enedwaith, the large property is concentrated mainly along the coast, where the soil is most fertile.

Small property

The small landed property is the central core of the social, political and military organization of the Reunited Kingdom. The small property, although united by the same conditions of inferiority compared to the powerful ones, is further stratified inside. Not counting the settlements, often very similar, of the large estates, the small property is recognized in two fundamental species, different from each other but identical from the administrative, fiscal and accounting point of view: the sparsely inhabited land and the village. Both the sparsely inhabited land and the village are considered to be a single administrative, accounting and fiscal unit: this determines the compulsory collective solidarity in the fulfillment of the royal requests.

Rídhathren

The sparsely inhabited land (Gondorian Sindarin: Rídhathren) is an estate consisting of multiple farms, isolated, dispersed from each other and located near the individual plot. The inhabitants of the scattered estates are all owners (or their sons) and not simple and more humble peasants; in legal documents they are referred to Redhorrin. The Rídhathren can be administered directly by the District (Drann) or it can be attributed to a territorial lordship or to a knight. Rarely it may be attributed to an incorporated town or city. In Enedwaith, the Rídhathren is mostly found in the central plateau.

Gobel

Central to the Western countryside is the village (Gondorian Sincarin: Gobel meaning "encircled settlement"), which is not a simple territorial unit but an organised society. The Gobel holds common goods that can be used by everyone, grazing is often done on common areas, and the herdsmen are salaried by the village. In the sale of agricultural plots, neighbours have a right of first refusal, but the Gobel as a community can also buy.
The village may be directly administered by the District (Drann) as part of the royal domain; it may be feigned to a lord or a knight, or to an incorporated city; finally, it may be endowed with independent legal personality, which can go to court represented by delegates. The first case is by far the majority.
The concrete structure of the village varies with the regions. In Enedwaith, being villages a sort of pearl chain between town and cities, the typical settlement is fairly large and compact and, in almost all cases, encircled by a wooden or stone wall. Villages with less than 150 families are led by an informal yet effective elders councils, while larger settlements are also administered by an appointed warden (Westron: Haviz Lofovur, usually chosen among the wealthier inhabitants).
Each village includes a structural center of the settlement. All villages have common lands, such as hills covered with forests, pastures and woods. If an asset necessary for the community is within private land, everyone could access it, even without the consent of the rightful owner: among common facilities, there are mills where wheat is milled and ovens where bread can be baked. The general tendency is to perpetually entrust a common facility to an individual family, which may impose very low tariffs in order to earn the living. The houses where the farmers live are generally modest. Unlike the sparsely inhabited estates, where the population consists of farm owners and their families, in the villages the economic and social hierarchy is wider and more stratified.
In rural village communities, therefore, medium-sized owners of a certain ease coexist with more modest peasants but still owners of the plot they cultivate, poor peasants who are tenant of other people's lands or wage earners, and labourers and domestic servants.

Cities and towns

Although Enedwaith society is predominantly rural, the urban element is a present and significant reality in almost all of the Reunited Kingdom. The city, wherever it is located, represents the economic, cultural and administrative point of reference not only for the countryside immediately subject to it, but also for all the surrounding countryside.
Most of the magnates outside of Enedwaith have their residence in rural villages and are foreign to the city environment. Such a rural social structure requires medium-sized cities and some occasional river or sea ports: therefore, there is a gap between the South Kingdom and the rest of the lands and provinces.
Enedwaith towns have been founded, for the majority, as strongholds along the North-South Road (from Fornost Erain to Pelargir); other towns, were born, over the centuries, in the great river basins of the Angren and of the Gwathló-Glanduin.

Dunland

The Dunland tribes have a social organization very different from the society spread in the rest of the Province. In Dunland, the lands and fortresses are common property, and the villages, not always permanent, are mere aggregations of families belonging to the same tribe or clan. Pastoral seminomadism is widespread.

Government

The Province of Enedwaith is governed according a peculiar system: the Lord Lieutenant of Enedwaith is the representative of the sole High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor (conceptually separated from the Kings of Gondor and of Arnor); he is always a military officer, holding also the title of District Commander of the military district of Enedwaith. Therefore, the task of mustering, supplying and handling Enedwaith forces falls over one man. In his capacity of district commander, he is subordinated to the Host Leader of the Annúminas Host (Dagarim Annúminas).

The Lord Lieutenant is also assisted by three civilian senior officials: the chief judge (Badhor) for justice-related matters, the Chartulary for civil government affairs and the treasurer (Maenor) for the limited fiscal matters. Each of these officials, is in charge of the relevant bureaucracies.

The Province of Enedwaith is subdivided into thirteen Districts (Sindarin: Drann, pl. Drannin); ten of these Drannin are ordinary Districts, while the three eastern Drannin are in charge of Dunland. The three Drannin in charge of Dunland are called in Westron Branda, i.e. Borderland.

Drann

Ordinary Drannin in turn include fiefdoms, cities and towns, each enjoying its own degree of autonomy, according its history and granted privileges. Each Drann is governed by a magistrate (Condir i Drann) appointed by the King for ten years. Such magistrates have the duty to oversee subordinate fiefdoms and cities, as well as to deliver the King's High Justice, manage the collection of taxes and revenues, and ensure the establishment of the local military forces. As a rule, an urban settlement is included with its surrounding into a larger Drann.
Responsibilities of Districts consist in the building and upkeep of "district roads", other building plans which cover more than one local authority's area, caring for King's reserves, demesnes and direct royal possessions, building and upkeep of palaces of lore and of healing.

Branda

The Branda is both a subdivision of the Province equivalent to a Drann and the garrison unit of the military district of the Dagarim Aran. The Condir of each Branda is also titled "Staff-Bearer of the District" (Sindarin: Bangcyl i Drann; Westron: Navor Moth-e Branda, from the staff of office). His tasks include overseeing the military garrisons and dealing with the relevant tribes. These Condir are therefore military officers, of the rank of General (Asthir). The Bangcyl i Drann is usually based in a fortress town. Aside from his military responsibilities, he exercises fiscal and judicial duties in the area under his control.
Each Branda coincides with a Great Company, usually a combined one. There are three Branda from north to south: Lossendôr, protecting the road to Hadhodrond, also known as Khazad-dûm; Drann Tirith, which covers the main part of Dunland; and Harven, which covers the Fords of Isen.

Nan Angrenost

The Valley of Angrenost (Sindarin: Nan Angrenost) the valley in the southern feet of the Misty Mountains where Angrenost (also known to Rohirrim as Isengard) stands.
Whilst the Valley of Angrenost is part of the Kingdom of the West and of the Province of Enedwaith, Tar Elessar granted the Ents complete self-governance of what was formerly Isengard. Nowadays the Valley is mostly occupied by the Entwood known by the name of Treegarth of Orthanc and by the Tower of Orthanc. The land is filled with orchards and trees. A stream runs into a clear lake, in the middle of which stands Orthanc. While the Entwood is entrusted to Ents, the Tower is overseen by a frequently-rotated Warden of Orthanc, a military officer who exercises command over a small garrrison. Under the purview of the Warden is the Men's Road, a paved conducting outside the Valley and connecting to the North-South Road. In Fo.A. 20, Ents agreed to keep clear the path.

See also

• Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor