Bardings

From Tolkien Gateway
Bardings
People
Barding.jpg
General Information
OriginsLake-men and Men of Dale
LocationsKingdom of Dale
LanguagesWestron, Dalish
MembersBard, Bain, Brand, Bard II
GalleryImages of Bardings

Bardings were the people of the Kingdom of Dale during the later Third Age.[1] They took their name from Bard the Bowman, the first King of Dale, descendant of Lord Girion.

History[edit | edit source]

The people of the Bardings belonged to that wide-ranging branch of Men known as the Northmen, and were thus kin to both the Beornings and the Rohirrim.[2]

After Bard's revenge on the Dragon in T.A. 2941, he became King of Dale in his own right. He was succeeded as its ruler by his son Bain, and so his line extended down to the time of the War of the Ring and beyond.

The Bardings occupied the area between the Long Lake and Erebor,[3] and maintained the friendship with the Dwarves of Erebor, like their ancestors. As time passed, so the lands under the power of the Bardings grew, and in the time of Bard's grandson Brand their territories were said to extend far to the south and east of the Long Lake.[1]

During the War of the Ring, the Easterlings attacked the city of Dale and forced the Men and the Dwarves into Erebor; King Brand died alongside Dáin Ironfoot at the Front Gate of Erebor. After seven days of siege, news came of the defeat of Sauron. The new kings broke the siege and chased the Easterlings out of Dale. After the siege, the two peoples rebuilt Dale. The new King Bard II also sent an emissary to the coronation of King Elessar.[4]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Many Meetings"
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Riders of Rohan"
  3. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull, The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Fig. 157 (p. 200). The name "Bardings" appears on a "later map of Middle-earth". The name is written in red ink, like "Beornings" or "wood-elves", between "Long Lake" and "Erebor The Lonely Mt.".
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B: The Tale of Years (Chronology of the Westlands)