Mearas: Difference between revisions

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The '''Mearas''' was the name given by the [[Rohirrim]] in [[Rohirric|their language]] for a race of exceptional [[horses]].<ref name="Riders">{{TT|III2}}</ref> The Mearas were strong, wild, and intelligent.  They would bear no man but the kings or princes of the Mark.  Their lifespan was as long as men<ref group="note">The average lifespan of those [[Kings of Rohan]] who did not die young was 82.4 years; thus the Mearas lived for eight decades.</ref> and, according to tradition, the ancestors of the Mearas were brought from the [[West]] by [[Béma]].<ref name="Eorl">{{App|Eorl}}</ref>
The '''Mearas''' was the name given by the [[Rohirrim]] in [[Rohirric|their language]] for a race of exceptional [[horses]].<ref name="Riders">{{TT|III2}}</ref> The Mearas were strong, wild, and intelligent.  They would bear no man but the kings or princes of the Mark.  Their lifespan was as long as men<ref group="note">The average lifespan of those [[Kings of Rohan]] who did not die young was 82.4 years; thus the Mearas lived for eight decades.</ref> and, according to tradition, the ancestors of the Mearas were brought from the [[Uttermost West|West]] by [[Béma]].<ref name="Eorl">{{App|Eorl}}</ref>


[[Image:Jef Murray - Mearas.jpg|thumb|''Mearas'' by [[JefMurray]]]]
[[Image:Jef Murray - Mearas.jpg|thumb|[[Jef Murray]] - ''Mearas'']]
   
   
==History==
==History==
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The root ''marh'' can be seen in the names of the [[Northmen]] ''[[Marhwini]]'' and ''[[Marhari]]'' (which are actually [[Gothic]])<ref>{{UT|Cirion}},note 6</ref> as well as ''[[Marcho]]''.
The root ''marh'' can be seen in the names of the [[Northmen]] ''[[Marhwini]]'' and ''[[Marhari]]'' (which are actually [[Gothic]])<ref>{{UT|Cirion}},note 6</ref> as well as ''[[Marcho]]''.
   
   
==External linkss==
*[http://middle-earth.xenite.org/2013/09/20/what-was-tolkiens-inspiration-for-the-mearas/ What Was Tolkien's Inspiration for the Mearas?] by [[Michael Martinez]]
{{references|note}}
{{references|note}}
[[Category:Horses]]
[[Category:Horses]]
[[Category:Old English names]]
[[Category:Old English names]]

Revision as of 02:10, 29 April 2014

The Mearas was the name given by the Rohirrim in their language for a race of exceptional horses.[1] The Mearas were strong, wild, and intelligent. They would bear no man but the kings or princes of the Mark. Their lifespan was as long as men[note 1] and, according to tradition, the ancestors of the Mearas were brought from the West by Béma.[2]

Jef Murray - Mearas

History

In T.A. 2501[note 2] Léod of the Éothéod captured and tried to tame the first of the Mearas, only to be killed when he tried to mount it. His son, Eorl, however managed to ride it and named it Felaróf. Eorl came with this horse south to Rohan and the Mearas were his descendants. Felaróf was said to be able to understand men's speech.[2]

In 3018[3] the greatest of the Mearas, Shadowfax, consented to be ridden by Gandalf.[1] After Gandalf's return after defeating the balrog he rode Shadowfax during the War of the Ring.[4]

Etymology

The word Mearas comes from an Old English word meaning simply "horses". Its singular form would be mearh or marh. Robert Foster in his The Complete Guide to Middle-earth,incorrectly displays the singular as Meara.

The root marh can be seen in the names of the Northmen Marhwini and Marhari (which are actually Gothic)[5] as well as Marcho.

External linkss

Notes

  1. The average lifespan of those Kings of Rohan who did not die young was 82.4 years; thus the Mearas lived for eight decades.
  2. Eorl was 16 when his father died. Since Eorl was born in 2485 Léod died in 2501.

References