The central conflict of The Lord of the Rings, intuitively named “the War of the Ring,” starts in the second month of the 3,019th year of the Third Age. That official beginning makes sense, but the battles truly began long before then. The Free Peoples, who opposed the Dark Lord Sauron, endured countless invasions, struggles, and tricks throughout the Third Age. One consequential encounter between Gondor and Sauron’s mighty followers came when the Wainriders attacked on the Dark Lord’s orders.
There are a lot of groups, armies, and societies in Middle-earth. Humanity may seem like a singular species, but it’s fractured and divided into countless regional organizations. Tolkien made a lot of broad statements about the races he included in his stories, but his humans are a bit more varied. While many humans declared war against Sauron, a massive percentage of the population chose to throw in their lot with the Dark Lord. This has led to countless engagements between people who should have more in common than most.
Who were the Wainriders?
The Wainriders were a collected band of several Easterling tribes. The Easterlings were humans who settled in the vast and uncharted area known as Rhûn. They have always maintained a complicated relationship with other members of their species. Early humans in the First Age attained the Easterling nickname after arriving in shared lands very late. The first Easterlings were often in league with Morgoth, the original Dark Lord. This wasn’t universal, as many Easterlings worked with the Blue Wizards to oppose Morgoth and Sauron. Easterlings fought westerners in the War of Wrath, which eventually forced the Eastrons into the mountains. The Second Age saw the Easterlings fight alongside Orcs to strengthen Sauron’s host. Sauron lost the War of the Last Alliance, but his grim influence still lived on in the Easterlings. The Dark Lord’s agents took advantage of the Easterlings’ strong hatred of Gondor to rally them to his banner. These distinct tribes would band together to serve Sauron as the Wainriders. They would pester Gondor on and off for almost 100 years.
What did the Wainriders accomplish?
The primary goal of the Wainriders’ campaign of violence was to weaken and spread out the defenses of Gondor. Sauron wanted to reclaim Mordor. The region surrounding Mount Doom was his base of operations, a vast expanse of well-guarded land that he lost in the War of the Last Alliance. After Gondor lost a considerable percentage of its population in the Great Plague, Sauron saw an opportunity. The Wainriders started attacking Gondor and its neighboring land, Rhovanion. They launched seemingly random strikes for five years, eventually prompting retribution from Gondor. Gondor’s counterattack failed miserably, leaving countless soldiers and King Narmacil II dead. The Wainriders held Rhovanion as a slave state for 45 years. A small group survived the sack of Rhovanion, becoming the resistant Éothéod. The Éothéod learned of a Wainrider attack in advance, allowing Gondor to meet them on the battlefield. The Second Battle of Dagorlad combined a brutal cavalry assault with a triumphant slave revolt, forcing the Wainriders to flee and hide for another 45 years.
The Wainriders spent their time off building new alliances. They gained support from the Haradrim and the Variags, both groups of humans who declared for Sauron. The Éothéod saw this assault coming as well, leading them to warn Gondor in advance. Gondor sent two armies to face the new Wainriders. King Ondoher led a large host north while his trusted general, Eärnil, marched a smaller force to the south. The king’s army met a tragic fate, suffering a surprise attack that left another king dead at the hands of the Wainriders. Eärnil’s army found the Wainriders celebrating their perceived victory, allowing the brilliant general to brutally rout his long-standing enemy. Most of the Wainriders died in the violence, leaving a few to escape into the surrounding swamps. Though they lost, they succeeded in their goal. Sauron took Mordor a few decades after the Wars of the Wainriders.
What was the Wainriders’ legacy?
The Wainriders left behind very few positive developments. Their grim work killed countless people and cost Gondor miles of land. It did serve as a warning to the rulers of Gondor and Arthedain, preparing them for the eventual rise of Sauron. Without the Wainriders, Gondor might have held Mordor for much longer, possibly delaying or weakening Sauron’s declaration of war. The only notable upside was the eventual fate of the Éothéod. Through mingling with the Northmen that they once represented, the Éothéod eventually became the Rohirrim. They offered Gondor a bit of help in the Battle of the Field of Celebrant and earned themselves a tract of land to live on. They would, in due time, help win the fight against Sauron.
The Wainriders were a group forged in spite, but they had a shocking amount of success as invaders. They killed two kings of Gondor and held Rhovanion as a captured territory for decades. Their central mission was relatively simple, and they accomplished it. The Wainriders were a distraction tactic designed to keep Gondor busy for long enough for Sauron to reclaim Mordor. They achieved that goal, but they paid the price for working for the Dark Lord.
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