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The Kingdom of Rhovanion was a realm of Men in the Middle-earth region of Rhovanion, given very few specifications in J.R.R. Tolkien's books.

Summary[]

Men of Lake-town

Inhabitants of Lake-town, contained within Rhovanion

The Kingdom of Rhovanion was founded by the Northmen and was located in the plains between Mirkwood, to the west, and Dorwinion, to the east. One of a number of Northern principalities, it had strong ties with the Kingdom of Gondor and fought with them in wars against the Easterlings of Rhûn.

History[]

The Kingdom of Rhovanion came to prominence in the mid-13th century of the Third Age, when Minalcar served as Regent for his uncle, King Narmacil I of Gondor. About this time Vidugavia, "the most powerful of the northern princes"[1] called himself King of Rhovanion, though the land he governed lay only between Mirkwood and the River Running. The Regent led a great expedition into Rhûn in TA 1248 and utterly defeated the Easterlings, with substantial help from the Northmen and from Vidugavia in particular.

Vidugavia became Gondor's strong ally, and in TA 1250 the Regent sent his son Valacar as ambassador to Vidugavia. But Valacar, much taken with the culture of the North, "far exceeded his father's design"[1] by marrying Vidugavia's daughter Vidumavi, and their son Vinitharya was born among the Northmen.

When Minalcar acceded to the throne of Gondor as Rómendacil II, Valacar became the heir to the throne. The mixed ancestry of Valacar's son (known as Eldacar in Gondor) became a matter of contention: many were not prepared to allow as King a man whose Númenórean blood was mingled with that of a "lesser" race, and many feared that he would be short-lived (as his mother's people were, compared to the ruling line of Gondor). This led to the Kin-strife in Gondor, a bloody civil war that decimated the royal house and nobility.[1]

Tolkien makes little further reference to the "Kingdom of Rhovanion" and it is unclear if Vidugavia's kingdom endured after his death. It is clear from his discussion of the early history of the Éothéod in Unfinished Tales[2] that the Northmen in Rhovanion were defeated and enslaved by the Wainriders. The Battle of the Plains (in TA 1856) was fought by Gondor and the Northmen against the Wainriders; King Narmacil II of Gondor and the Northman Marhari (a descendant of Vidugavia)[3] were both killed in this battle. Tolkien does not, however, call Marhari "king", nor is there any direct evidence that the kingdom had survived to this point.

Refugees from this defeat were reorganized on the other side of Mirkwood in the lower Vales of Anduin, under the leadership of Marhwini, son of Marhari.[2] These people became known as the Éothéod. Much later, the history of the House of Eorl (recounted in Appendix A) tells that "the forefathers of Eorl claimed descent from Kings of Rhovanion, whose realm lay beyond Mirkwood before the invasions of the Wainriders, and thus they accounted themselves kinsmen of the Kings of Gondor descended from Eldacar." Tolkien does not state whether the kinship came through Marhwini and Marhari, though they are the only leaders of Northmen mentioned in this time.

Translations[]

Foreign Language Translated name
Afrikaans Koninkryk van Rhovanion
Albanian Mbretëria Rhovanion
Arabic مملكة رهوفانيون
Aragonese Reino d'Rhovanion
Armenian Րհովանիոն թագավորություն
Asturian Reinu de Rhovanion
Azerbaijani Rhovanion krallığı
Basque Rhovanionko Erresuma
Belarusian Cyrillic Каралеўства Рhованіон
Bengali ৰহভানিওন রাজত্ব
Bosnian Kraljevina Rhovanion
Breton Rouantelezh Rhovanion
Bulgarian Cyrillic Кралство Рхованион
Catalan Regne de Rhovànion
Cebuano Gingharian sa Rhovanion
Chinese 羅馬尼安王国
Cornish Ruwvaneth Rhovanion
Corsican Regnu di Rhovanion
Croatian Kraljevina Rhovanion
Czech Rhovanion království
Danish Kongeriget af Rhovanion
Dutch Koninkrijk van Rhovanion
Esperanto Rhovanion reĝlando
Estonian Rhovanion Kuningriik
Fijian Matanitu ni Rhovanion
Filipino Kaharian ng Rhovanion
Finnish Rhovanion kuningaskunta
French Royaume de Rhovanion
Frisian Keninkryk Rhovanion
Galician Reino de Rhovanion
Georgian რჰოვანიონ სამეფო
German Königreich Rhovanion
Greek Βασίλειο της Ροβάνιον
Hawaiian Aupuni o Rhovanion
Hebrew ממלכת רהוואניון
Hindi रहोवनिओं किंगडम
Hungarian Rhovanion Királyság
Icelandic Konungsríkið Rhovanion
Igbo Alaeze nke Rhovanion
Indonesian Kerajaan Rhovanion
Irish Gaelic Ríocht na Rhovanion
Italian Regno del Rhovanion
Japanese ロヴァニオン王国
Javanese Krajan Rhovanion
Kannada ರೋವನ್ನಿಯನ್ ಸಾಮ್ರಾಜ್ಯ
Kazakh Cyrillic Рһованіон Патшалығы
Korean 로바 니온 왕국
Laotian ອານາຈັກຂອງ ຣຮໂvະນິໂນ ?
Latin Regnum Rhovanion
Latvian Rhovanionas karaliste
Lithuanian Rhovanion karalystė
Macedonian Cyrillic Кралство Рхованион
Malay Kerajaan Beraja Rhovanion
Manx Reeriaght ny Rhovanion
Mongolian Cyrillic Рhованион-ийн хаант улс
Norwegian Kongeriket av Rhovanion
Occitan Reialme d'Rhovanion
Old English Rhovanion Rīce
Persian پادشاهی رووانیون ?
Polish Królestwo Rhovanion
Portuguese Reino de Rhovanion
Punjabi ਰੋਵੋਨਿਅਨ ਦਾ ਰਾਜ
Romanian Regatul de Rhovanion
Romansh Rhovanion Règne
Russian Королевство Рованион
Sardinian Rennu de Rhovanion
Scots Kinrick o Rhovanion
Scottish Gaelic Rìoghachd de Rhovanion
Serbian Краљевина Рхованион (Cyrillic) Kraljevina Rhovanion (Latin)
Sesotho 'Muso oa Rhovanion
Sicilian Regnu d'Rhovanion
Sinhalese ර්හොවනිඔන් රාජධානිය
Slovak Rhovanion kráľovstvo
Slovenian Kraljevina Rhovanion
Somalian Boqortooyada Rhovanion
Spanish Reino de Rhovanion
Sudanese Karajaan Rhovanion
Swahili Ufalme wa Rhovanion
Swedish Kungariket av Rhovanion
Tajik Cyrillic Салтанати Рҳованион
Tamil ற்ஹொவநிஒந் இராச்சியம்
Telugu రహోవానిన్ సామ్రాజ్యం
Thai อาณาจักรแห่งโรวาเนียน
Turkish Rhovanion Krallığı
Ukrainian Cyrillic Королівство Рованіон
Urdu مملکت رہووانااون
Uzbek Рҳованион қироллиги (Cyrillic) Rhovanion qirolligi (Latin)
Venetian Regno de Rhovanion
Vietnamese Vương quốc Rhovanion
Waray Ginhadian han Rhovanion
Welsh Teyrnas Rhovanion
Xhosa UBukumkani baseRhovanion
Yoruba Ilẹ̀ọba Rhovanion
Zazaki Qraliya Rhovanion
Zulu Umbuso waseRhovanion


References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, I (iv) "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion".
  2. 2.0 2.1 Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl", (i) "The Northmen and the Wainriders", pp. 288 ff.
  3. Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl", note 5, p. 311.
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