Rohan and Gondor

The alliance between Rohan and Gondor was the most enduring military and political bond among the Free Peoples of the West during the War of the Ring. It was founded on the Oath of Eorl, sworn in the twenty-fifth century of the Third Age, when Cirion, Steward of Gondor, granted the province of Calenardhon to Eorl the Young and his people in return for their aid against the Balchoth. The Rohirrim, the Horse-lords, became Gondor's chief ally, guarding the northern marches and the Gap of Rohan, and the alliance was renewed by each generation of kings and stewards. By the time of the War of the Ring, however, the bond had frayed under the weight of long peace, the lies of Saruman, and the despair of Denethor, only to be reforged in the desperate battles that decided the fate of Middle-earth.

The Oath and Its History

The alliance was not a mere treaty but a solemn oath, the Oath of Eorl, which bound the Kings of the Mark to come to the aid of Gondor at need. In return, Gondor ceded the wide grasslands of Calenardhon to the Rohirrim, who named it the Mark of the Riders. For centuries, the Rohirrim fulfilled this oath, riding to Gondor's aid in many wars, most notably at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, where Eorl himself broke the siege of Gondor's northern army. The bond was also personal: the lords of Gondor and the kings of Rohan intermarried, and the Rohirrim adopted the Common Speech of Gondor, though they kept their own tongue and customs. The alliance was a source of pride and identity for both peoples, a living memory of the days when Elendil and Eorl stood together against the Shadow.

The Strained Alliance in the Late Third Age

By the time of the War of the Ring, the alliance had been tested by long years of peace and the subtle treachery of Saruman. Saruman, who had taken up residence in Isengard, used his influence to sow distrust between Rohan and Gondor. He spread rumors that the Rohirrim paid tribute to Mordor, a lie that Gandalf heard and that Boromir vehemently denied, swearing that the Men of Rohan were true and valiant allies. The corruption of Gríma Wormtongue, Saruman's spy in the court of King Théoden, further weakened the bond, as Wormtongue poisoned the king's mind against Gondor and against Gandalf, who was the chief advocate of the alliance. When Boromir of Gondor journeyed north to Rivendell, he came as a lone messenger, not as the leader of a joint army, a sign of how far the alliance had decayed. The Red Arrow, the ancient token of Gondor's summons to Rohan, had not been seen in the Mark for a lifetime.

The Renewal of the Alliance in War

The alliance was renewed in the darkest hour of the War of the Ring. When the Red Arrow was finally delivered to Théoden by the errand-rider Hirgon, the king, newly healed of Wormtongue's spells, did not hesitate. He mustered the Rohirrim and rode to Gondor's aid, fulfilling the Oath of Eorl even as he knew he might not return. The Ride of the Rohirrim, six thousand spears, broke the siege of Minas Tirith and turned the tide of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Théoden himself fell in the battle, but his charge, and the sacrifice of his knights, saved Gondor from destruction. After the victory, Éomer, the new King of the Mark, and Aragorn, the new King of Gondor, renewed the alliance in a spirit of brotherhood. Aragorn declared that there could be no word of reward between them, for they were brethren, and that the league of peoples was more blessed than ever before. The alliance was further sealed by the marriage of Faramir, Steward of Gondor, to Éowyn, Lady of Rohan, binding the two realms in a new bond of friendship and kinship that would endure into the Fourth Age.