Cirion Gwaedhir
Biography: Cirion Gwaedhir
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|---|---|
| Birth - Death | Third Age 2449–2567 |
| Race: | Man |
| Gender: | Male |
| Ancestor(s): | Húrin of Emyn Arnen ⁞ |
| Parent(s): | Boromir Charn |
| Cirion Gwaedhir | |
| Child(ren): | Hallas |
| Descendant(s): | ⁞ Boromir and Faramir |
| Info: | 12th ruling Steward of Gondor |
Cirion (Sindarin for Sailor) Gwaedhir, son of Boromir Charn, served as the 12th ruling Steward of Gondor, his rule lasting from 2489 until his death in 2567.
Cirion was born in TA 2449. Although his father had enjoyed recent military successes, Cirion inherited a diminished realm when he became Steward in TA 2489. By this time Ithilien lay abandoned, raids from the Corsairs of Umbar had resumed along the coasts, and the population of Calenardhon continued to decline. With limited resources, Cirion focused Gondor's strength entirely on safeguarding its frontiers.
Cirion was especially troubled by the danger building along the northern border. The former forts along the Anduin had long since fallen into disuse, so he stationed small companies there and sent scouts into the lands between Mirkwood and Dagorlad. These spies discovered the westward-moving Balchoth, whose steady advance threatened to overwhelm Gondor's defenses. Cirion struggled to maintain control of the river line.
After the winter of TA 2509, reports reached him that large hosts were gathering along the southern eaves of Mirkwood with the intent to invade. In urgent need of aid, Cirion sent several messengers north to the Éothéod, old allies who had resettled far upstream near the Anduin's sources.
Six riders volunteered for the perilous nine-hundred-and-fifty–mile journey through Calenardhon, across the Undeeps, and beneath the threat of Dol Guldur. Only one of them, Borondir, succeeded in reaching Framsburg, where he delivered Cirion's plea to King Eorl the Young.
Knowing that his message might never arrive and uncertain whether the Éothéod would answer even if it did, Cirion mustered every force he could and personally led them north, leaving his son Hallas in command at Minas Tirith.
Before he could reach the invaders, the Balchoth crossedwdrove back the Gondorian defenders. Cirion's host was forced northward over the Limlight River, only to be attacked by a descending force of Orcs from the Misty Mountains. Pressed hard against the Anduin with little hope remaining, Cirion's army was saved when the horns of Eorl's riders suddenly rang across the field. The cavalry of the Éothéod swept down, broke the Balchoth, and pursued them across the plains of Calenardhon, turning the tide of the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. The Balchoth who were not forced back across the river into the Brown Lands were routed. After the battle Cirion and Eorl met atop a hill to the west where they formed a bond of friendship, and this event was later marked by erecting the Cuthstan, a giant statue of the two leaders of Men.
After the victory, Cirion departed from Eorl but asked him to meet again three months later at the banks of the Mering Stream. When they reunited, Cirion had ordered the overgrown path up the nearby hill to be cleared, and the two leaders ascended the hill of Halifirien with their companions, where an old tomb lay. This was the tomb of Elendil, the first king of Gondor, placed there millennia earlier by Elendil's son Isildur.
Before they reached the summit tomb, Cirion revealed his intent: he would grant the land of Calenardhon to Eorl and his people in a perpetual alliance with Gondor. At the top of the hill, standing on the viewing platform outside the tomb, Eorl agreed, honoring Cirion's foresight and loyalty. In the presence of witnesses — Cirion's son Hallas and the Prince of Dol Amroth, as well as two councillors of Gondor — Cirion swore his bond with Eorl. Eorl then made the Oath of Eorl and became the first King of Rohan.
With the founding of Rohan, Cirion judged that the ancient Tradition of Isildur no longer applied. The hallow atop Halifirien was no longer near the kingdom's center, nor was Gondor the realm it had been when Isildur established the site. Cirion thus removed the casket placed there by Isildur and sent Elendil's remains to the Hallows of Minas Tirith.
Cirion died in TA 2567 and was succeeded by his son Hallas. The City of Lond Cirion and the Forges of Cirion in Minas Tirith carry his name in honor of them man whose foresight, wisdom and courage helped forged the bond of friendship between Gondor and Rohan.