Entwash

"Entwash" by Jef Murray
River
Entwash
General Information
Other names	Onodló (S)
Location	Central Rohan, flowing from Fangorn to Nindalf and Anduin
Type	River

The Entwash was a great river in Rohan, notable for its huge inland delta.

Geography

The sources of the Entwash were springs whose waters fell from Methedras, the southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains. Where they coalesced into one stream the collected waters flowed just south of Wellinghall, Treebeard's home. At its origin the Entwash was a noisy stream that cascaded over rocks and then hurried down the sloped terrain of Fangorn. From there the stream coursed eastward through Fangorn to the south-east corner of the forest.

Upon leaving the forest the river was still swift-flowing and its banks were deeply carven. Leaving the woods, the river flowed past the Wold of Rohan, and then headed south. As the river passed southward across Rohan its flow became more sluggish and the banks became fens. At some point it was traversed by the Entwade ford. At the latitude of Edoras it was joined by the river Snowbourn from the west; at their confluence great thickets of willows grew.

Turning east, the Entwash flowed towards Anduin, which it joined just south of the Falls of Rauros, in the huge inland delta known as the Mouths of Entwash. The splitting of the river marked the border of Rohan. The Mering Stream (or Glanhír) met the southernmost of the Entwash's arms there. The delta where the Entwash widened and joined the Anduin was a land of marshes that travelers were advised to avoid. The influx of water was so great that across the Anduin the marshes of Nindalf (Wetwang) arose.

History

In T.A. 2510, when the Steward Cirion granted the land of Calenardhon to Eorl the Young to be the realm of Rohan, the two leaders (along with the Prince of Dol Amroth and Éomund, the chief captain of the host of the Éothéod) defined the borders of their respective domains. The border ran along the Mering Stream from the Firien Wood to the southernmost arm of the Entwash, west up this waterway to the beginning of the delta, and then east along the northernmost arm of the Entwash to the Anduin.

The upper part of the Entwash served as another boundary, for it divided Rohan into Westemnet and Eastemnet. These were also known as the West-mark and East-mark for military purposes.

After the Breaking of the Fellowship, Orcs carried Merry and Pippin to the point where this river exited Fangorn Forest, followed by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. The Orcs were stopped just short of Fangorn by riders from Rohan. Merry and Pippin found the opportunity to escape and they followed the river into the woods, and taken by Treebeard the Ent west along the stream to his home. In the meantime the Three Hunters followed the tracks along the river and into the forest, where they met Gandalf the White.

When Éomer became King of Rohan he discarded the old offices of Second and Third Marshals of Rohan and instead created the positions of Marshal of the West-mark (the first of whom was Erkenbrand) and Marshal of the East-mark (the first of whom was Elfhelm).

Etymology

Entwash was a translation of the Sindarin name Onodló, named for the Ents (Onodrim) of Fangorn Forest, but the origin of the name was largely forgotten by the Rohirrim. Onodló comes from Onod ("Ent") + ló ("stream").

Entwash is a modernization of Old English Entwaesc (waesc "flood water"), so modernised because it was recognisable by speakers of Westron. Gondorians used that name, assimilated to their own language.

Portrayal in adaptations

2012: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Entwash in The Lord of the Rings Online

The Entwash is a major landmark in Rohan and serves as the boundary between the in-game regions of East and West Rohan. The 2012 Riders of Rohan expansion only included the Eastemnet, so the Entwash was completely impassable. The 2013 Helm's Deep expansion completed the rest of Rohan and added several crossings to the Entwash, as well as allowing the players to simply swim across. After leaving the Fangorn Forest, the river flows through the lush "Entwash Vale" (the in-game region of the Wold being more narrowly defined as laying near Anduin as opposed to the entire north of Rohan) and slows down to allow for crossing between the towns of Eaworth and Oserley. It then passes towns of Garsfeld and Entwade, which guards the ford of the same name. The large town of Snowbourn stands where the river of the same name joins Entwash, which continues to flow east through the marshland area, passing the town of Fenmarch before leaving the borders of Rohan and flowing into Anórien where it forms the Mouths of Entwash.