Mearas

Origin

The Mearas are the noblest horses of Middle-earth and the pride of the Rohirrim, whose whole way of life is built on the horse. Their story begins before Rohan existed, among the Éothéod in the upper vales of Anduin. Léod, lord of the Éothéod, captured a wild white foal and tried to break it when it was grown; the horse threw him and he died. His son Eorl, only sixteen, hunted the horse down and, rather than kill it, demanded that it serve him for life as the price of his father's death. The horse understood him, submitted, and was named Felaróf. He would bear only Eorl, he needed no bit or bridle, he understood every word spoken to him, and he lived as long as a Man. When Cirion of Gondor called for aid in T.A. 2510, Eorl rode Felaróf to the Field of Celebrant, and the reward of that ride was the land of Rohan.

Felaróf's descendants are the Mearas. The Rohirrim said that their ancestors had been brought out of the West over the Sea by Béma, the name they gave to the Vala Oromë, whose own horse was Nahar; the texts record this as the belief of the Rohirrim and not as fact. Whatever their origin, the Mearas are set apart from all other horses. They are white or silver-grey, larger and swifter and longer-lived than any ordinary breed, and they will not suffer any rider but the King of the Mark or his sons.

Shadowfax

In the days of Théoden the chief of the Mearas was Shadowfax, silver-grey by day and invisible by night, and swifter than the wind. In September of T.A. 3018 Gandalf, fresh from his rescue from Orthanc, came to Edoras with a warning that Théoden, under Gríma's influence, would not hear, and was told to take any horse and be gone. He took Shadowfax. It took days to tame him, and the King and his counsellor were furious that the greatest of the Mearas had gone to a wandering wizard; but the horse came willingly at last, carried Gandalf faster than any horse had run to the Shire and Rivendell, and returned to Rohan afterwards of his own accord. When Gandalf came again to Edoras in March 3019 and Théoden was healed, the King gave Shadowfax to him outright, and the horse carried him to Minas Tirith, stood unmoved before the Witch-king at the broken gate, and bore him to the Black Gate.

Snowmane and the other horses of the kings

Théoden's own horse was Snowmane, a great white horse who carried him on the ride to Helm's Deep and the long road to Gondor and died under him on the Pelennor, pierced by a dart and crushing the King in his fall. The text does not call Snowmane a Meara in so many words, but he was the King's horse, and the Atlas lists him among them. Éomer's Firefoot and the other horses of the Riders were not Mearas; the distinction between the King's horses and the rest of the herds of the Mark is one the Rohirrim kept carefully.

Nature and custom

What distinguishes the Mearas is intelligence and choice. Felaróf chose to serve Eorl; Shadowfax chose to serve Gandalf. Neither could be ridden by anyone else, and Shadowfax would not wear saddle or bridle. They understand speech and act on it; Shadowfax answered Gandalf's whistle from far away. Their lifespan, equal to a Man's, meant that a Meara might serve a king for the whole of his reign. In war they were fearless: Shadowfax alone of all the beasts of Minas Tirith did not flee the Nazgûl.

Fate

The Mearas remained the horses of the kings of Rohan into the Fourth Age. What became of Shadowfax after Gandalf's departure is not told in the texts used by the Atlas.

White or silver-grey, larger and swifter than any other horse; Shadowfax's coat shone by day and hid him by night. They live as long as Men and do not tire as ordinary horses do; Shadowfax could run from Rohan to the Shire in under a week.

The Mearas are the property of the kings of Rohan and no other, and the Rohirrim held the gift of Shadowfax to Gandalf to be almost a sacrilege. They bear no bridle, answer a call, and choose their riders.

The Rohirrim said that the sires of the Mearas were brought from the West by Béma, whom the Eldar call Oromë. Their recorded ancestor was Felaróf, the wild horse that killed Léod and was tamed by his son Eorl in the Éothéod.

Still the mounts of the Kings of the Mark at the end of the Third Age.