King of Rhovanion

The King of Rhovanion was the ruler of the Northmen who dwelt in the wide lands east of Mirkwood and west of the River Running during the Third Age. The kingdom of Rhovanion was not a centralized realm in the manner of Gondor, but rather a loose kingship over the Northmen (later known as the Thíuda), whose strength lay in their numbers, horsemanship, and alliances with the Dúnedain of the South.

Rhovanion reached its height during the middle Third Age, when its kings maintained close ties with Gondor and served as a buffer against threats from the East. However, the realm was ultimately destroyed by the Wainriders in the mid-nineteenth century of the Third Age, after which its people dispersed and later gave rise to the Éothéod and the Kingdom of Rohan.

Known Kings of Rhovanion

Only two Kings of Rhovanion are known by name:

• Vidugavia, who ruled in the middle Third Age and was king of the Northmen of Rhovanion during the reign of Rómendacil II Minalcar of Gondor. Vidugavia enjoyed Gondor's favor, and through the marriage of his daughter Vidumavi to Valacar Formendur, he became an ancestor both of the Kings of Gondor and, through another unnamed child, a forebear of the Kings of Rohan.

• Marhári, the last King of Rhovanion, who ruled during the early nineteenth century of the Third Age. He was slain by the Wainriders in the Battle of the Plains in T.A. 1856. With his death, the kingdom of Rhovanion collapsed, and his people were scattered. His son Marhwini led the survivors north, laying the foundations for the Éothéod.

Following the fall of Rhovanion, the title of King of Rhovanion passed out of use. Its legacy endured through the Northmen who later settled the Vales of Anduin and, in time, through Eorl the Young and his descendants, who became Kings of Rohan.