Men of the Three Houses

The first Men awoke in the land of Hildórien in the distant East of Middle-earth as the Sun rose for the first time. These early Men fell under the shadow of Morgoth, but some attempted to escape the influence of the Dark Lord. Hearing rumours from the Dark Elves that a Light of hope shone in the West, they set out toward it. After centuries of wandering westward, three clans of these Men found their way to the Blue Mountains, and crossed those mountains to enter Beleriand.

The first of these peoples to make the crossing, and the first to encounter the Elves who dwelt beyond the mountains, were led by one Balan. He would later be known as Bëor, and his people became known as the House of Bëor, the First House of the Edain. (The name Edain was an Elvish word that originally referred to all Men, but later came to be used exclusively for the Men of this House and the two that followed.) The Men of the House of Bëor eventually settled in the northern land of Dorthonion, and from them came the lords of Ladros.

Following the House of Bëor came a people known as the Haladin, who were only distantly related to the Bëorians and spoke a language of their own. These people settled at first in the southern parts of Thargelion, but there they suffered a devastating Orc-raid. Haleth, who had lost her father Haldad in the raid, led her people on a long and arduous journey westward until they reached the Forest of Brethil. There the Men of Brethil, as they became known, were ruled by the House of Haleth through the remainder of the First Age.

The Third House was the most populous clan, more closely akin to the Bëorians than to the Haladin. These people were led over the Blue Mountains by a Man named Marach, but the House is more usually named for Marach's illustrious great-great-grandson, Hador Lórindol. The people of the House of Hador allied themselves with the High Kings of the Noldor, and dwelt in Dor-lómin to the northwest of Beleriand. Hador and his descendants were indeed Lords of Dor-lómin until the time of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

The Nirnaeth Arnoediad was a disastrous battle for the Men of the Three Houses, resulting in the loss of Dorthonion and Dor-lómin, the homelands of the Houses of Bëor and Hador. Nonetheless, Men of all Three Houses survived to the time of the War of Wrath that brought the First Age to an end in the defeat of Morgoth. As a reward for their service in the Wars against the Dark Lord, these Men were granted a new home across the Great Sea, and thus Númenor was founded. The Men of Númenor could trace their ancestry back to the Men of the Three Houses, and indeed their first King, Elros Tar-Minyatur, was a direct descendant of the lords of the House of Hador.