Eastfold
The Eastfold (the 'East-Earth, Land, Country') is the southeasternmost region of Rohan, bordered by the Entwash and the White Mountains.
Summary
The Eastfold has a population of approximately 2060. The region is slightly more rural and depopulated than the Westfold and Folde, and the landscape is dotted with old Gondorian fortifications. Notable settlements in the Eastfold include Thorpe and Rondgeld.
Climate and Ecology
Government and Military
The society of the Eastfold is mostly made up of self-governing extended families. In the larger settlements, one family will be in charge (there won't be much differentiation in social class, though). Naturally, these local rulers would all swear allegiance to Theoden.
The Eastfold also falls under the jurisdiction of Eomer, Third Marshal of the Mark, out of Aldburg. Forts and larger settlements should include training areas and muster fields to show their readiness for defense against Orc invaders.
Architecture
Villages, hamlets and homesteads all follow the system established in the Folde, with land divided into family plots. These plots will include one or more residential longhalls, buildings for food and grain storage, and space for vegetable allotments, and in many cases, animal enclosures. All plots also have a barn and/or profession-related workshop. The vast majority have bakehouses and/or weaving houses as well. The larger settlements are quite spread out, effectively a series of interconnected homesteads around a central alehouse.
The style is essentially identical to that of the Folde, emulating Anglo-Saxon longhouses. Buildings are rectangular (though on the small side, owing to the terrain), with thatched roofs and walls made of wood or clay. Larger buildings have doors on all four sides, and smaller ones have two, generally facing East and West. If houses are on a slope, they often have drystone foundations, especially higher-status dwellings. All residential buildings have supportive posts and a central hearth, with beds along the longer walls. Louvers are kften in the middle of the roof or on either end.
Economy
Agriculture
The Eastfold features fewer crop fields and more pastures, owing to hilly terrain and poor soil. What crop fields there are, though, include wheat, barley, seeds and small plots of flax.
Sheep and goats are pastured on steeper slopes; they're mostly kept for wool and milk rather than meat. This includes a smaller enclosure in a corner of the pasture. Cows and horses are pastured on more level terrain. Pigs and chickens are kept within the domestic space.
Coppices and pollards are common in homesteads and along roads
Industry and Professions
The vast majority of the populace have agriculturally-based professions. If there are crop fields nearby, the people living in a settlement are farmers. Lowland settlements feature more cattle/horses and more grain where available, while upland settlements feature more sheep and goats. Examples of other professions can be found in the Folde.
Every village should features a brewer/alehouse that also serves as a general meeting hall.
Wool Production
After being taken from sheep, wool first needs to be cleaned to remove all dirt and grime. It is then "carded" with special combs that straighten out the fibers. From there, it is spun into thread or yarn and woven into cloth.
Refining of wool is only be done on an as-needed basis; most would be left “raw” and traded with Gondor or other parts of Rohan.
Tar Production
Special kilns are built at lumber camps, with the bottom sloped towards a drainage hole. Wood is stacked tightly in the kiln, and covered with moss and dirt (keeping oxygen from entering; the wood mustn’t catch fire). A fire is then lit on top, and after a few hours, tar begins to flow out of the bottom. This process takes a few days.
Distribution of Professions
- Homestead 1: Sheep/goats, wool
- Homestead 2, 3: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese
- Homestead 4, 5: Horses/cattle, tanning/leather
- Homestead 6: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese
- Homestead 7, 8: Woodworker/carpenter
- Homestead 9: Sheep/goats, wool
- Homestead 10: Horses/cattle, tanning/leather
- Homestead 11, 12: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese
- Homestead 13, 14: Farmer
- Homestead 15: Woodworker/carpenter
- Homestead 16-21: Sheep/goats, wool
- Homestead 22: Rushes, bog iron/smithing, clay/pottery
- Homestead 23: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese
- Homestead 24: Horses/cattle, tanning/leatherwork
- Homestead 25: Rushes, bog iron/smithing, clay/pottery
- Hamlet 1: Horses/cattle, tanning/leatherwork, woodworker/carpenter
- Hamlet 2: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese, dyeing
- Hamlet 3: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese, dyeing, woodworker/carpenter
- Hamlets 4-6: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese, dyeing
- Hamlet 7: Rushes, bog iron/smithing, clay/pottery
- Hamlet 8: Sheep/goats, wool, cheese, dyeing
- Lumber camps: Lumber processing, tar production, charcoal
- Town, Village 4: Horse merchants for Gondor
Trade and Commerce
For the most part, trade is only done if a farmer has a surplus of livestock or produce, in which case they bring these goods to the Town or perhaps one of the Villages, where there would be markets. Merchants come from elsewhere in Rohan, or, occasionally, Gondor, bringing goods in short supply in the Eastfold.
Internal trade includes commodities not produced in all settlements: pottery, tools, rope, tar, etc (Note that active trade of all these goods doesn't need to be shown, but this should give some ideas for markets).
The main imports to the Eastfold are grains and other produce, both from the Folde and Anórien.
Wool and tar are the chief exports, both to Anórien and the rest of Rohan. They also sell horses to Gondor.
