BREELAND
BREELAND
Breeland was devastated during the War of Wrath, but a few Men survived in the southern reaches of the Old Forest, near the mouth of the Withywindle. There they fished in the lower Withywindle and the Brandywine, and gathered nuts and berries in the forest.
The population was low at the beginning of the Second Age, as Men slowly returned to their traditional nomadic existence in the Downs. Their fortunes improved when herdsmen arrived from Enedwaith and the White Mountains, far to the south. The Southerners were taller but of slighter build, with light hair and dark eyes. The goats they brought soon found their ways into the Breemen's tribes, but the cattle of the Southerners were not suited for the Breemen's constant migrations. The Southerners settled on the eastern shore of Midgewater and along the upper Brandywine River. There, they tended their flocks and grew roots and cabbages, the only crops that could withstand the cool climate of Breeland.
At first the interactions between between the Breemen and Southerners, were cordial. And there were many marriages between the two peoples. But, as the enclaves of Southerner grew, the seasonal movements of the Breemen became more and more restricted, until at last hostilities forced the Breemen to abandon the vale of the Brandywine and the shores of Midgewater.
The first settlement at Bree was established in about II 1000 as a trading center between the Southerners and the Breemen. At first it was an chance meeting place on neutral ground, but eventually a grew to be a small village, peopled with Breemen of mixed parentage. A new kind of Breeman was born, and there they have remained. The settlement became a convenient stopping place for Elves traveling between Lindon in the west, and Hollin (Eregion) in the South.
The first settlement of Breeland was destroyed in II 1695, when Sauron invaded Eriador. The elves remained in their strongholds, and Sauron's orcs swept through the area. The Southerners took up arms to protect their homes, and were massacred. The fields and villages were burned and the people slaughtered wherever they were found. Only a tithe of their formal population remained. The Breelanders and remnants of the Southerners fled into the Downs, where they were hunted mercilessly in the night.
The next winter, Sauron's army withdrew to attack Eregion to the south. But many orcs remained behind and delved tunnels deep beneath the Downs, where they remained a threat to the Breelanders until the Third Age. A small Orc hall was dug beneath Bree hill, but it was soon abandoned.
Sauron's army went on to defeat the Elves of Eregion and burn their halls at Tharbad and in the Valley of the Glanduin River. But, in II 1700 the Army of Númenor landed in the Gray Havens, and on the northern plains of Minhiriath utterly destroyed Sauron's forces.
The Breemen feared these lordly men in shining armor even more than they feared Sauron, and they fled before them. Their great war horses in particular filled them with dread. Although the main force passed far south of Breeland and crossed the Brandywine at Sarn Ford, a light cavalry passed through Bree and drove thence down the Hoarwell and Grayflood in a devastating flanking action. The clatter of the armor and thunder of the hooves of the passing Númenórian cavalry unnerved the Breemen. They threw themselves to the ground or fled into the Chetwood.
After the departure of the Númenórian army, there followed THE BLACK YEARS, a time of desperation in which Men hunted Orcs, and Orcs hunted Men, and neither triumphed. The orcs were driven into subterranean strongholds, from which they occasionally emerged to plunder, but at great cost. And, the Breemen grew to shun the vales of the Downs and to fear the night.
The balance shifted in favor of the Breemen after Númenórian rebuilt their outpost at Tharbad. From their haven at Lond Daer, the Númenórians traveled up the Grayflood, harvesting metals and furs, and especially timber for their great ships. At Tharbad, the Breemen traded for steel weapons and armor, but they never lost their fear of the Númenórians.
In II 3262, a far greater Númenórian army defeated Sauron on the Anduin, far to the East. And this time the conquerors took him prisoner to Númenór. Thereafter, their attitudes toward the Breemen changed, and many "lesser men," as they came to regard the Breemen, were imprisoned and taken to Númenór as slaves. Only the orcs fared worse, for they were hunted for sport even in their strongest retreats, and slaughtered wantonly. Once again, Bree fell into decline and the Breemen who remained hid in The Chetwood and the Old Forest, and Bree was abandoned.
For the Men of Bree, the abandonment of the outpost at Tharbad in II 3310 was a mystery. Only a few old ships remained at Lond Daer. But the Elves in Lindon knew that the Númenórians had begun their assault on Valinor.
News of the downfall of Númenór was brought to Breeland by the trembling of the Earth and the flight of the Elves. Forewarned, the Elves of Lindon had fled far inland, even to Bree. Afterward, when they returned to the devastation of The Gray Havens, they met Elendil and his four great ships. Gil-Galed and Círdan befriended Elendil, but most of the Breelanders who had accompanied the Elves on their return, shunned them. Only a few men welcomed them as they spread eastward, and some of these were from Bree.
In II 3310, Elendil and his people crossed the Lhûne and the Hills of Evendim, and came to Lake Evendim, where they began construction of their Capital of Annúminus. At its height, it surpassed even Osgiliath as a center of learning and culture, but even in its beginning the the Kingdom of Arnor was beset by darkness. In II 3429 Sauron attacked the southern Kingdom of Gondor and a small army of Númenórians and Elves marched down the Anduin to the aid of Gondor. Eventually (II 3441) the Last Alliance defeated of Sauron. But as Sauron fell so did Elendil, Gil-Galed, and the flower of the host of Númenór.
The defeat of Sauron by the Last Alliance marked the beginning of the Third Age. Most of the Army of Arnor did not return to Annúminus, but so great was the afterglow of wisdom from Númenór, that Arnor flowered to become the great Kingdom of the North. Its endless canals and lush gardens surpassed those of ancient Númenór. It was called the city of water and light. To the west the Dúnadan as they came to call themselves, built the towers of Elostirion, and to the east the built Amon Sûl atop the Weather Hills. In these, and in the high Tower of the Faithful in Annúminus they placed their greatest relics - the Palantír.
Soon the population spilled over into a second city at Fornost in the North Downs. At its zenith (II 860) Arnor covered all of Eriador and Northern Eregion, south into the Regions of Minhiriath, Enedwaith, and Dunland, which separated it from the Southern Kingdom of Gondor. Thereafter, Arnor was separated into three kingdoms, Arthedain in the North, Rhudaur to the West, and Cardolan to the south. In addition to Annúminus and Fornost of Arthedain, Carcolan held the cities of Tharbad and Sarnford, and the main settlement of Rhudaur was Armithel at the crossing of the Hoarwell River.
The History of Arnore According to Hildigrim
Archet
Although Archet is isolated culturally from the other villages they are nonetheless friendly to visitors from within Bree. However, they are suspicious of anyone from outside Breeland, and do not tolerate Elves or Dwarves. There is neither a marketplace nor an inn in the village.
Disputes among Archetmen are decided by a Council of Elders made up of representatives of the prominent families of Archet. There is no wall or hedge, as in Bree, so young men are selected and compensated by the Council to stand watch by night. More serious matters are handled by Bree, or the Rangers.
see also http://bree.elendor.net/Frames/Help/towns.htm
Bree
Bree has always existed as a way-station - as a resting place for nomadic tribes in the First Age, as a rendezvous and trading place during the Second Age, and as the intersection of the great roads of Arnor during the Third Age. Its inhabitants have forever welcomed travelers and prospered from that action.
Hobbits first came to Bree from the west in about III 1300, Over ¼ of Bree's population is Hobbit, and it is the only place in Middle Earth where this melding occurrs. Staddle is home to a few Hobbit families, and Comb is made up almost entirely of Hobbits. Bree is also know as the origin of the Hobbits of the Shire. In about III 1600, Marcho and Blanco Fallohide led a group of colonists from Bree westward to found the Shire.
Even though The Bree Hobbits themselves are descended from immigrants from the Angle of Rhudaur (and those from the Vale of the Anduin), they look down on Shire Hobbits as "upstarts" and "squatters." Fallowhides no longer live in Bree, and the prominent family names are Banks, Brockhouse, Longhole, Mugwort, Sandheaver, Tunnelly and Underhill.
Bree is the financial center of the region. It boasts a marketplace which is open 5 mornings a week, a business district where metal goods and cloth are sold, and the Prancing Pony Inn. Nearly all of the transactions with traveling merchants take place in the marketplace or at the Prancing Pony. The marketplace lines the main road through town, from the well to the Prancing Pony. Fresh produce from the Bree gardens and from nearby Combe are the chief item. In addition to citizens of Bree and the nearby vilages, the marketplace is often visited by dwarves and other travlers on the Great Road. The accepted currency is the gold and silver coins of Arnor, valued at their weight in precious metal. The value of "coppers" varies from stall to stall in the market.
Bree's prosperity carries with it certain civic responsibilites. Upkeep of the hedge, well, streets and marketplace is overseen by a Town Council, selected by Bree's prominent citizens. Civil works are paid for by the Council Members and by fees levied for selling goods in the marketplace. The Council also pays the guard who operates the west gate after dark, and provides his quarters, there. It is responsible for rousing the Bree Militia.
The Militia is lead by a Captain, ordinarily the man generally believed to have had the greatest military experience, assuming he owns a sword. Their chief actions are against highwaymen so foolish as to establish a permanent camp. Amazingly, several thieves have been caught by the Militia, and their punishment has been swift and fair, because Bree has no jail.
The gatekeeper unofficially serves as the town constable, but there is no prison. He is responsible for collecting fees for selling goods in the marketplace, he closes the east gate at sundown and mans the through the night. He oversees the maintenance of the hedge, which is secure except for a stretch of rocky ground to the northwest of town. It has been fortified repeatedly with stone, but boys of every age know the shortcut to the old north road.
Bree's, and Breeland's, greatest protection is afforded the Rangers of Eriador. Following the destruction of Arthedain, Orcs re-invaded the North Downs, and Trolls become common in the Trollshaws and Ettenmores. Stealthy actions by the Rangers have generally kept them from entering Breeland. Far worse beings haunt the Barrowdowns, but they are bound to that place. A young dragon is said to have entered Carn Dûm, and if a dragon were to visit Bree, the town would surely be lost.
At the time of the War of the Ring, Bree's chief citizen is the innkeeper Barlyman Butterbur, and the Captain of the Rangers of the Eriador is Strider.
Map of Eriador)
(History of Eriador)
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Chetwood
Combe
The rich fields are maintained in a three year fallow-rotation tradition, making them more productive than even the croplands of The Shire. The farmers of Combe even claim to have been the first to grow pipeweed, but this is firmly discounted in The Shire (particualary in Longbottom) because the climate of Combe is considered to be too cold for growing pipeweed.
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Midgewater
Staddle
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