Borondir
Borondir Udalraph (died 15 April, Third Age 2510) was a Gondorian soldier during their war against the Balchoth. He was one of six riders sent to seek the aid of the Northmen, and was the only one to reach them alive. He brought the Northmen to the Battle of the Field of Celebrant, but died protecting his lord Cirion.
History
Borondir was a great rider who possessed great courage and great endurance, whose family claimed to be descended from a captain of the Northmen who served under the old kings of Gondor.
At the end of the winter of Third Age 2509, a large force of Balchoth was mustering along the southern edge of Mirkwood. When Cirion, the Steward of Gondor, learned of this danger and called for volunteers to ride to the Éothéod, a group of Northmen who lived near the upper Vales of Anduin, to ask them for help. Borondir came forward and was chosen by Cirion as one of six riders. On 10 March of Third Age 2510, Borondir was senty by Cirion in the first of three pairs of riders to ride to the Éothéod. Each pair was sent out with a day's interval between them, and each rider was given a message learned by heart and a small stone incised with the seal of the Stewards.
Borondir's companion was killed in an ambush near Dol Guldur, but Borondir escaped with luck and the speed of his horse. He was pursued as far north as the Gladden Fields. When he reached the Éothéod on 25 March, he had gone two days without food, and was so spent that he could barely speak Cirion's message to their leader Eorl. He was the only messenger that arrived at Éothéod. Nothing was ever heard again of the other four riders.
Eorl gathered an army of approximately seven thousand fully-armed riders and some hundreds of horsed archers, and set forth on 6 April. Borondir rode by Eorl's right hand to serve as guide. When a gleaming white mist flowed from the elven realm of Lothlórien over the river Anduin drove back the glooms of Dol Guldur and hid their approach, it seemed to Borondir that Galadriel, the lady of Lothlórien was assisting them on their way past Dol Guldur.
The Éothéod arrived at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant in time to rescue the Gondorian army, which was backed against the Limlight river in a hopeless situation. Borondir was the first to cross the river, and cleft a path to aid Cirion. The arrival of the Éothéod swung the battle, and the Balchoth were crushed, but Borondir died defending Cirion.
After the battle, Borondir was laid in a tomb in the Hallows of Minas Tirith. He was long remembered in the song of Rochon Methestel, the "Rider of Last Hope".
Etymology
Borondir is probably a Sindarin name. Its meaning and components are not glossed, but it possibly means "Steadfast-man" and is a compound of boron ("steadfast", "trusty man", "faithful vassal") and dîr ("man").
Other names
Borondir's Sindarin epithet Udalraph means "the Stirrupless".
Portrayal in adaptations
2020: The Lord of the Rings Online:
Borondir briefly appears in a flashback narrating the history of the Éothéod.
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 21/05/2026.
