Riddermark: Difference between revisions

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==Etymology==
==Etymology==


''Riddermark'' means "land of the knights", derived from the [[Old English]] compund ''Riddena-''[[Wiktionary:Mearc|''mearc'']] ("riders' mark"<ref>[[Jason Fisher]], "Horns of Dawn: The Tradition of Alliterative Verse in Rohan]", in ''[[Middle-earth Minstrel|Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien]]'' (ed. Bradford Lee Eden), p. 21 (note 18)</ref> or "The Territory of the Knights")<ref>Greg Harvey, ''The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth for Dummies'', "The Rohirrim"</ref>. ''[[Wikipedia:March (territory)|Mark]]'' here is used in the sense of "borderland, especially one serving as a defence of the inner lands of a realm".<ref name=RC248/>  
''Riddermark'' means "land of the riders", derived from the [[Old English]] compound ''Riddena-''[[Wiktionary:Mearc|''mearc'']] ("riders' mark"<ref>[[Jason Fisher]], "Horns of Dawn: The Tradition of Alliterative Verse in Rohan", in ''[[Middle-earth Minstrel|Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien]]'' (ed. Bradford Lee Eden), p. 21 (note 18)</ref> or "The Territory of the Knights"<ref>Greg Harvey, ''The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth for Dummies'', "The Rohirrim"</ref>). ''[[Wikipedia:March (territory)|Mark]]'' here is used in the sense of "borderland, especially one serving as a defence of the inner lands of a realm".<ref name=RC248/>  


The original untranslated [[Rohirric]] term of the country was ''[[Lōgrad]]''.<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 53</ref>
The original untranslated [[Rohirric]] term of the country was ''[[Lōgrad]]''.<ref>{{PM|II}}, p. 53</ref>
 
==Inspiration==
[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] might have been inspired by [[William Morris]]'s use of 'Mid-mark' in ''[[The House of the Wolfings]]'', a book which Tolkien owned and from which he took inspiration.<ref name=CGMorris>[[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]] (2006), ''[[The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide]]: Reader's Guide'', "Morris, William", p. 600</ref>
[[J.R.R. Tolkien]] might have been inspired by [[William Morris]]'s use of 'Mid-mark' in ''[[The House of the Wolfings]]'', a book which Tolkien owned and from which he took inspiration.<ref name=CGMorris>[[Wayne G. Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]] (2006), ''[[The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide]]: Reader's Guide'', "Morris, William", p. 600</ref>
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Revision as of 15:46, 17 March 2018

Riddermark or simply the Mark was the name among the Rohirrim for the land, more commonly known to outsiders as Rohan.[1]

Etymology

Riddermark means "land of the riders", derived from the Old English compound Riddena-mearc ("riders' mark"[2] or "The Territory of the Knights"[3]). Mark here is used in the sense of "borderland, especially one serving as a defence of the inner lands of a realm".[1]

The original untranslated Rohirric term of the country was Lōgrad.[4]

Inspiration

J.R.R. Tolkien might have been inspired by William Morris's use of 'Mid-mark' in The House of the Wolfings, a book which Tolkien owned and from which he took inspiration.[5]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 248
  2. Jason Fisher, "Horns of Dawn: The Tradition of Alliterative Verse in Rohan", in Middle-earth Minstrel: Essays on Music in Tolkien (ed. Bradford Lee Eden), p. 21 (note 18)
  3. Greg Harvey, The Origins of Tolkien's Middle-earth for Dummies, "The Rohirrim"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "II. The Appendix on Languages", p. 53
  5. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: Reader's Guide, "Morris, William", p. 600