The Collaborative International Dictionary
Northman \North"man\ (n[^o]rth"man), prop. n.; pl. Northmen. One of the inhabitants of the north of Europe; esp., one of the ancient Scandinavians; a Norseman.
Wikipedia
J. R. R. Tolkien adopted the term Northmen in his fiction; his "Northmen" were Men that lived in the north of Rhovanion in Middle-earth, and were friendly to Gondor.
The Northmen who dwelt in Greenwood the Great and other parts of Rhovanion were friendly to the Dúnedain and were after the Dúnedain the most noble Men in Arda, counted as Middle Men by the Dúnedain, and believed to have been descended from the same group of Men as the Edain, the Atanatári (similar to how the Noldor viewed the Sindar in the First Age). The only difference was that they did not cross the Ered Luin into Beleriand and therefore did not go to Númenor. The result of them not participating in the War against Morgoth was their considerably shorter lifespan as compared to the lifespan of the Dúnedain, whose lifespan was enhanced by the Valar after the War of Wrath. They were important allies of Gondor and served as a buffer against the Easterlings, and in the Army of Gondor. For a time many of them even became subjects of Gondor, as the realm extended beyond the river Anduin.
East of Greenwood the Great was the kingdom of Rhovanion, and this became the most important nation of the Northmen. In the fourteenth century of the Third Age, King Rómendacil II of Gondor sent his son Valacar as an ambassador to Vidugavia, king of Rhovanion. Valacar loved Rhovanion and its king's daughter Vidumavi. He married her, and she bore him a son whom she called Vinitharya in her mother tongue. Vinitharya succeeded his father as Eldacar, the first king of Gondor who was not of pure Dúnadan descent; a civil war, the Kin-strife, resulted.
Shortly after the death of Vidugavia a small group of Northmen moved to the vales of Anduin between the Gladden Fields and Mirkwood, probably to flee from the Wainriders, who had enslaved Rhovanion. After the evil Kingdom of Angmar was defeated by Gondor and the remains of Arnor in 1977 T.A., these Northmen moved north and began to call themselves the Éothéod. They were skilled horsebreeders and horsemen. In 2510 T.A. they responded to a plea of help from the trapped Gondorian army at the Field of Celebrant. After they helped Gondor win this important victory they were rewarded the province of Calenardhon and became known as the Rohirrim.
The Men of Dale, Esgaroth and the Beornings were also counted under the Northmen, as were the woodsmen of Mirkwood. The woodsmen of Mirkwood may have been closely related to the Beornings as Aragorn said "and with the Beornings of the wood". Also considered to be part of the Northmen were the Men from the distant place of Dorwinion. Most of Rhovanion had been depopulated after the wars of the Easterlings and the Great Plague.
Northmen or Norsemen are the group of people as a whole who speak one of the North Germanic languages as their native language.
Northmen may also refer to:
- Northmen (Middle-earth), a fictional people from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth
- Northmen (Dungeons & Dragons), a fictional people from Dungeons & Dragons
- Northmen: A Viking Saga, a 2014 film
- Quebec Nordiques, the English translation of Nordiques is Northmen
In the Forgotten Realms setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the Northmen are a fictional seafaring people. They are based on the Vikings, and inhabit the northern parts of the Moonshae Isles. Descendants of raiders from the island of Ruathym, the Northmen are a sturdy, war-ready people who worship the god Tempus. Unlike the Ffolk, who also inhabit the Moonshaes, the Northmen aren't interested in admiring the subtle beauty of nature and are more comfortable out at sea.
The Northmen scorn agriculture in favor of raiding and making war. They wrested much of the northern Moonshaes from the hands of the Ffolk. The remaining kingdoms of the Ffolk are the favored raiding targets of the Northmen, but their adventures also carry them to the Sword Coast, and occasionally as far south as Calimshan.
Usage examples of "northmen".
He became the first of the High Kings, and his legendary battles with Firbolgs and northmen made for stirring verse.
The deep, sturdy coracles of the Ffolk bobbed next to sleek longships of the northmen, and both were dwarfed by the looming decks of Calishite trading galleons.
A pair of savage, yellow-bearded northmen stood behind Pawldo, jabbering in their strange tongue full of yerg and url sounds.
Thus, even before the weather had broken completely, the northmen had provisioned their longships, bade farewell to their homes, and taken to sea.
From Iron Keep, the northmen could reach Moray, Gwynneth, or Callidyr - all the lands of the Ffolk.
This forest separated the fortresses of northmen clans that had long ago conquered the northern reaches of Gwynneth.
Fluttering proudly from lower towers were the symbols of other kings of the northmen, kings who were Thelgaar's guests.
He bellowed for the attention of his countrymen, and gradually the northmen turned their eyes to the fierce, yellow-bearded figure.
Only gradually did the northmen realize that Thelgaar had stood again, and slowly the tumult ceased enough that the old king could be heard.
It spoke to the heralds of Thelgaar, and summoned the other kings of the northmen to council.
The spirits of the northmen soared, as the news brought fresh confidence, and jubilant awareness of their own might.
My father was an honored captain in the king's regiment, but he died in the last war with the northmen, before I was born.
All who heard knew that the wind symbolized the coming of the northmen, who had rolled across much of the Isles of Moonshae with the same implacable force as the icy gale.
The danger includes the threat of the northmen, but this is not the paramount danger perceived by the council of mages.
His influence may be able to dissuade the northmen from all-out war, but we cannot count on this.