Déor

Déor (Third Age 2644 – 2718, aged 74 years) was a direct descendant of Eorl the Young, who inherited the Kingship of Rohan from his father Goldwine. Déor's great-great-grandfather, Aldor the Old, had hunted out the Dunlendings that had harried the eastern borders of Rohan, and his successors Fréa, Fréawine and Goldwine had enjoyed peaceful reigns because of their ancestor's enterprises. In Déor's time, this peace came to an end.

It was later discovered that the Dunlendings had secretly been moving back into the northwestern uplands of Rohan throughout the reigns of Déor's predecessors. By Déor's own time, a powerful Dunlendish force had been established, and the King was forced to ride northward from Edoras, ultimately to defeat his enemies. The victory was a bitter one, though, for he discovered that the Dunlendings had also captured the Ring of Isengard, which Déor had no possible means of recapturing. So Déor's reign saw the beginning of a danger from the north that would reach a crisis nearly fifty years later, when the Dunlendings were to come close to destroying Rohan altogether.

Déor's turbulent reign lasted nineteen years. He was succeeded as King by his son, Gram.

Etymology

Déor is an Old English word for "wild animal" ("deer") and also means "brave, bold".

Preceded by: Goldwine

7th King of Rohan III 2699 – 2718

Followed by: Gram