The Tarma Lands
The Tarmas Lands (Q. "Tarmëarménar") were one of the six great western principalities of old Arthedain.House Tarmeär ruled the North Moors and some of the land south of Lake Evendim.
TA 1640[]
Seven Great Houses (Q."Nossër Melehtar") dominated the aristocracy of the kingdom of Arthedain . Each owned considerable property and maintained a military force more-or-less independent of royal control .The Patriarchs (Q. "Nossëturi") of the Great Families were permanent members of the Royal Council . The House Tarmeär, strongest in wealth and influence among the ruling families of Arthedain , gained their prestige by both numbers and talent, contributing many family members to both the military and civilian sectors of government and to the Council of Seers and the Guardians of the Palantiri . Their chief stronghold , Tarmabar , sprawled over a hilltop south of Lake Evendim , unconfined by keep walls . Although the aging Tarmëar Nossëtur seldom traveled into Sîrgala , his policies and prejudices playex a key role in local events . The Tarmas lands shared a border with Sîrgala ; the leaders of House Tarmëar had sought privileges and control within the Elvish province for centuries . The first Tarmeäri came to Sîrgala in the late Second Age as keepers of an observatory on Cloudbreak Watch , the tallest of the hills overlooking the southern shores of Lake Nenuial . More family members and retainers arrived during the persecutions of Ar-Pharazôn . Always friendly with the Wood-elves of the Pinnath Aelinhith (S. "Lake-mist Downs, "Lake Moors") , the refugees founded a second observatory and monastery at Tarmabar , at the western end of the moors , in T.A . 2 . Over the course of many centuries , the family' s wealth and prestige grew steadily . Tarmeäri influence in Arnorian politics was second only to that of the royal family . As Arthedain's power has dwindled over the years , the Tarmëari had come to be seen as a threat . Other powerful families , such as the Oromenyar and Hyarmenyar Houses , now routinely opposed their influence . For centuries , the Hîredair (Lords ) Tarmëar had accumulated privileges and charters in Sîrgala , with the expectation that the decline of the Sîrrandrai Elves would allow them to exploit the province to their advantage . King Argeleb II and his advisers , while denying such intentions publicly , granted the Periannath settlement rights to the Shire in large part to block Tarmëari expansion . Finralin en Tarmeär , the Hîradar during these years , could not defeat the King in council , but strove mightily to resist Hobbit expansion into the province . Most of the villages and strategic points in northern Sîrgala showed a Tarmëar presence . Their soldiers , clad in distinctive silver-grey tunics , had the power to investigate and prosecute crimes, both real and imagined , as far south as Mich Hollow . Where royal soldiers would strike Hobbits as aloof , Tarmëar officials showed arrogance and often outright hostility . Hobbits feared them , avoiding their soldiers and hired thugs as best they could. The traditional Tarmëar lands were relatively green and prosperous , good for farming and grazing , as well supporting a selection of limestone and marble quarries- Their western reaches , around Tarmabar , were dotted with terraced gardens and orchards. Along the southern edge : the Tarmëar fiefdom lay the Meadow Downs (the North Moors to Hobbits).Between the Lake Moors and the Meadow Downs lay the Gladelands —fertile , rolling country , where grains and good oak mixed with stone cottage barns . The peasants of this goodly country were loyal to the Tarmëari and convinced that the "Halflin ' and Gob ' hordes to the south" meant to take what they had. Hobbits who crossed the border into this otherwise peaceful country were in severe danger of a beating or lynching .
References[]
- MERP:Arnor