Thread: Horse breed of Mearas?

Have you ever wondered the origin of Mearas?

First of all, think about the horses of Aman. Those horses are stronger, faster and live longer than the usual ones.

As the Noldor fled to Middle-Earth, some of them came with the Feanorean Elves. Celegorm and Curufin had ones. The other one of those horses was taken by Beren, as a payment for Celegorm trying to steal Lúthien to himself by force. After that Beren was wandering some time alone with the horse, and then set the hungry horse free to look for greener lands, as it reads in the Lay of Leithian. The poem says nothing about the horse from that point forward.

It crossed my mind that maybe it's possible that the horse which Eorl the Young tamed was the wild descendant of the horse from Aman which Beren released earlier. Your thoughts?

Originally Posted by Lindaelle

Have you ever wondered the origin of Mearas?

First of all, think about the horses of Aman. Those horses are stronger, faster and live longer than the usual ones.

As the Noldor fled to Middle-Earth, some of them came with the Feanorean Elves. Celegorm and Curufin had ones. The other one of those horses was taken by Beren, as a payment for Celegorm trying to steal Lúthien to himself by force. After that Beren was wandering some time alone with the horse, and then set the hungry horse free to look for greener lands, as it reads in the Lay of Leithian. The poem says nothing about the horse from that point forward.

It crossed my mind that maybe it's possible that the horse which Eorl the Young tamed was the wild descendant of the horse from Aman which Beren released earlier. Your thoughts?

I like that idea. If a couple of swords can survive the fall of Gondolin and the ruin of Beleriand why can't a horse flee southwards away from the fighting and find the green fields of what eventually became Rohan.

I agree. Especially because we have a real life analogue: when the Spanish came to America, it didn't take very long for a handful of lost horses to become herds roaming the almost the entire continent.

Originally Posted by Lindaelle

It crossed my mind that maybe it's possible that the horse which Eorl the Young tamed was the wild descendant of the horse from Aman which Beren released earlier. Your thoughts?

Éomer says of the Mearas to Aragorn, “For the sire of their race was the great horse of Eorl that knew the speech of Men.” (The Riders of Rohan, The Two Towers.)

Gandalf says that the Mearas were the “lords of horses”. (‘The White Rider’, op.cit.)

Théoden says, “There is none like to Shadowfax. In him one of the mighty steeds of old has returned. None such shall return again.” (‘The King of the Golden Hall’, op.cit.)

The account in Appendix A, II, ‘The House of Eorl’ does not say where the white foal that Léod captured came from. We can only assume that he found it among the herds of wild horses running free on the plains. (When it was grown the horse threw Léod when he attempted to mount it. Léod died when his head struck a stone. Eorl persuaded the horse to submit to him and named it Felaróf.)

Mearas are not mentioned by name in The Silmarillion, and only briefly in Unfinished Tales with nothing on their origin. In the latter, however, Christopher Tolkien provides the singular form of mearas, which is mearh, and states that Felaróf translates to “very valiant, very strong.” (Mearh and mearas are Old English words meaning “horse” and “horses”, respectively. Old English is used in LOTR as an analog for Rohirric.)

Mearas is not found in the index to The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, so I assume that it is not discussed.

The entry for Mearas in Robert Foster's The Complete Guide to Middle-earth states, "It was believed that Oromë brought the first meara [sic.] to Middle-earth from Valinor, such was their beauty and strength."

The entry for Mearas on The Encyclopedia of Arda has contains the following note:

There are two contradictory accounts of the origins of the mearas. According to Éomer, they were descended from Felaróf, the great horse of Eorl. On the other hand, there was a popular tale among the Rohirrim that the ancestors of these horses were brought to Middle-earth by Oromë from Aman. This tale seems to be mere legend, though, as Éomer's account is confirmed by Tolkien himself in Unfinished Tales. The date of III 2510 used above is the date Eorl rode Felaróf into the south to the aid of Gondor.

I'm a bit mystifed by the statement, "This tale seems to be mere legend, though, as Éomer's account is confirmed by Tolkien himself in Unfinished Tales." I found nothing on the origin of the mearas in UT. Éomer only knows the origin of the mearas among the Rohirrim. I do not take his statement to include their origin in Middle-earth, of which he would likely know nothing.

I probably overlooked it, but I was not able to find the original source regarding the belief that Oromë brought the mearas to Middle-earth mentioned in the Foster's Guide and The Encyclopedia of Arda. Foster only references the entries in LOTR mentioned above. The Encyclopedia of Arda does not provide specific references.

So from what I can determine the origin of the mearas cannot be confirmed by any of Tolkien's published works, unless there is something in The History of Middle-earth. (I own all twelve volumes, but not the separate index that covers all twelve volumes. I do not presently have the time to search each individual index.) I personally do not care to speculate or invent some wild theory without more information.

What a coincidence, I was thinking about Middle earth horses myself last week, particularly the relationship between the long lifespans of elvish horses (and dogs) and whether this lifespan was increased by living in the undying lands. Rochalor the horse of Fingolfin resided on Middle earth for 450 years, Huan the hound for about 500 years (thats alot of dog years) but aparrently the lifespans of the hobbits who arrived an Valinor was unchanged?, yes I know the effect of living in the undying lands has been much debated, but it would seem all creatures living there are immortal, not just the elves. Nahar the horse of Orome is another interesting riddle, did Orome arrive in Arda, mounted on his horse?, he could hardly be known as the rider or huntsman if he didnt, but horses (olvar and kelva) had yet to be sung about by Yavanna. Its sometimes stated that Nahar was a maiar but how can a maiar take the shape of something that didnt yet exist, or was Yavanna inspired in her creation of Horses by Nahar?.

This is complicated further when we consider that prior to the destruction of Almarin all the animals were endemic to middle earth, therefore horse and dogs were taken to Aman from middle earth stock where somehow their lifespans were increased, but not from anything intrinsic to the undying lands, but when they returned to middle earth they had a lifespan much longer than their middle earth counterparts. Clearly you have all been conned and Ar Pharazon was right about the effect of the undying lands.

There could be a certain link in this riddle. Celegorm was a loyal follower of Oromë while he was in Aman. Oromë gave him Huan the hound, but did he also give him his horse, I need to check this out or reread it...

But yes, the connection between Lay of Leithian and Rohan lore is still a theory I made, I'll admit that.

Originally Posted by oldbadgerbrock

I probably overlooked it, but I was not able to find the original source regarding the belief that Oromë brought the mearas to Middle-earth mentioned in the Foster's Guide and The Encyclopedia of Arda. Foster only references the entries in LOTR mentioned above. The Encyclopedia of Arda does not provide specific references.

Indeed I did overlook it. Apparently I was not thorough in my perusal of Appendix A, II, ‘The House of Eorl’:

It was upon Felaróf that Eorl rode to the Field of Celebrant; for that horse proved as long lived as Men, and so were his descendants. These were the mearas, who would bear no one but the King of the Mark or his sons, until the time of Shadowfax. Men said of them that Béma (whom the Eldar call Oromë) must have brought their sire from West over Sea.

Of course this is conjecture, not fact.