An encyclopedia of Middle-earth and Numenor

Geography

History

Map of Wilderland

Important Dates

Names & Etymology

Wilderland was the name of a large region east of the Misty Mountains. It included Mirkwood, Lothlorien, the Lonely Mountain, Dale, and Lake-town. Men, Elves, and Dwarves lived in Wilderland, and Hobbits originally lived there as well.

Geography:

Wilderland stretched from the Misty Mountains to the River Running and the Sea of Rhun. East of Wilderland was Rhun. On the northern boundary of Wilderland were the Grey Mountains, beyond which was the Northern Waste. South of Wilderland lay Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor.

The Great River Anduin flowed south through Wilderland for much of its course. It was formed by the Greylin from the Grey Mountains and the Langwell from the Misty Mountains. The town of Framsburg was located at the source of the Anduin when the Eotheod - ancestors of the Rohirrim - lived there from 1977 to 2510 of the Third Age.

Other rivers that joined the Anduin from the Misty Mountains were the Rushdown, Gladden, Silverlode, Nimrodel, and Limlight. South of the Limlight was Rohan, which was not a part of Wilderland. Lothlorien was on the west side of the Anduin around the Silverlode and Nimrodel. North of Lothlorien was the Dimrill Dale where the eastern entrance to the Dwarf-realm of Khazad-dum was located.

The marshes of the Gladden Fields were around the Gladden River on both sides of the Anduin. Hobbits of the Stoor variety had settlements near the Gladden Fields but by the end of the Third Age they were gone.

The Old Forest Road came down from the High Pass of the Misty Mountains and crossed the Anduin at the Old Ford and then continued east through Mirkwood. About 25 miles north of the Old Ford, the Carrock stood in the middle of the Anduin. The home of Beorn the skinchanger was on the east side of the Anduin between the Carrock and Mirkwood. His people the Beornings lived nearby on both sides of the river.

A large part of Wilderland east of the Anduin was covered with the great forest originally named Greenwood the Great but later called Mirkwood. Mirkwood stretched about 425 miles from its northern end to its southern end. There was a large clearing called the East Bight on the eastern side of southern Mirkwood.

In the southwestern corner of Mirkwood was Dol Guldur, a secret stronghold of Sauron whose evil presence cast a gloom over the forest. Rhosgobel - the home of Radagast the Wizard - was on the western edge of Mirkwood. There were also dwellings of the Woodmen in the western part of the forest south of the Old Forest Road.

North of the Old Forest Road were the Mountains of Mirkwood. The Enchanted Stream began in the Mountains of Mirkwood and joined the Forest River which flowed through northern Mirkwood. The Wood-Elves lived in northern Mirkwood, and the halls of the Elvenking Thranduil were along the Forest River near the eastern edge of the forest. The Forest River emptied into Long Lake east of Mirkwood.

Long Lake was the site of a settlement of Men called Lake-town, built out on the water. Another town of Men called Dale was north of Lake-town at the foot of the Lonely Mountain. The Dwarves had a realm under the Lonely Mountain.

The River Running flowed from the Lonely Mountain through Long Lake and then curved southeastward to the Sea of Rhun, forming the eastern boundary of Wilderland. Due east of the Lonely Mountain were the Iron Hills, apparently outside of Wilderland. The Redwater from the Iron Hills joined the River Running. Farther east, beyond the Sea of Rhun, was the land of Rhun where the Easterlings lived.

Between Mirkwood and the Sea of Rhun south of the River Running were open plains. This region, including the East Bight of Mirkwood, was originally inhabited by the Northmen who were the ancestors of the Rohirrim but it was frequently invaded by Easterlings from Rhun. The wine-making region of Dorwinion was in the far east of Wilderland on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Rhun.

South of Mirkwood was the desolate region called the Brown Lands, which were once the gardens of the Entwives. The Emyn Muil marked the southern boundary of Wilderland east of the Anduin. To the south were Mordor and the region of Gondor called Ithilien.

History:

In ancient times, the Elves awoke in far eastern Middle-earth and began their Great Journey westward. Some of the Elves stopped when they reached the Misty Mountains and decided to settle in the woods by the Anduin in Wilderland. These Elves were of the kindred called the Teleri and they became known as Silvan Elves or Wood-Elves. The forest on the east side of the Anduin was named Greenwood the Great, while the smaller forest west of the Anduin was later called Lothlorien.

The Entwives settled in the region south of Greenwood shortly before the beginning of the First Age. They planted gardens and orchards there.

Men awoke in the far east at the beginning of the First Age and also began to migrate westward. Some of these Men settled in Wilderland. They spread out east of Greenwood and around Long Lake as well as in the Vales of the Anduin west of Greenwood. They became known as the Northmen because they lived in the northern part of Middle-earth.

The Northmen were akin to the Edain. The Edain were Men who had continued migrating west to Beleriand and later became the Numenoreans. The Northmen were said to be most closely related to the Edain of the House of Hador. Many of the Northmen had blonde hair and were tall and strong. The Northmen were courageous opponents of the servants of Morgoth who troubled Middle-earth during the First Age.

The Northmen mainly lived in small, scattered homesteads and villages. They also had a few small townships defended with wooden fences and dikes. They did not have the means or skill to work with metal, so they made trades with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum and the Iron Hills.

The Dwarves received food from the Men of Wilderland in exchange for tools and weapons. Sometime in the First or early Second Age, the Dwarves built the Old Forest Road through Greenwood to travel between Khazad-dum and the Iron Hills.

Hobbits originally lived in the Vales of the Anduin in Wilderland. They lived near communities of Men in part because of the protection they provided, and their language was similar to the languages of the Men of Wilderland. Hobbits of the Stoor branch were especially friendly with Men and lived near the banks of the Anduin. The Fallohide Hobbits lived near the woods and were acquainted with Elves, while the Harfoot Hobbits lived in the foothills of the mountains and had dealings with Dwarves.

After the destruction of Beleriand at the end of the First Age, some Sindarin Elves migrated eastward to Wilderland. They established realms in Lothlorien and Greenwood where Wood-elves lived in scattered communities. An Elf named Amdir became the Lord of Lothlorien. The Woodland Realm in Greenwood was apparently established by Oropher, though by some accounts it was his son Thranduil.

The Woodland Realm was originally centered around Amon Lanc in southwestern Greenwood. Over time the Elves migrated northward, both because of the growing power of Sauron in Mordor to the south and to distance themselves from the realm of Lothlorien across the Anduin to the west. For a while they lived in the mountains north of the Old Forest Road.

Elves from Lothlorien and Greenwood fought in the War of the Last Alliance against Sauron at the end of the Second Age. Amdir and Oropher were both killed in battle. Amdir was succeeded by his son Amroth as King of Lothlorien, while Thranduil became King of the Woodland Realm in Greenwood. The gardens of the Entwives south of Greenwood were destroyed during the war and became the Brown Lands.

In the year 2 of the Third Age, Isildur was killed by Orcs in the Gladden Fields while travelling north to Arnor. The One Ring was lost in the waters of the Anduin.

Sauron went into hiding in the East for a time but he returned secretly around 1050 and built the stronghold of Dol Guldur on Amon Lanc in southwestern Greenwood. A shadow fell on the forest and it became known as Mirkwood. Evil creatures including Great Spiders came to live there. The Elves of the Woodland Realm moved farther north to the eastern edge of the forest near Long Lake.

The Hobbits began to leave Wilderland at this time. The Harfoots crossed the Misty Mountains westward into Eriador around 1050. They were followed by the Fallohides in 1150. That same year, Stoors crossed the Redhorn Gate and moved to Dunland and the Angle. But there was also danger west of the Misty Mountains where the Witch-king of Angmar had his realm, so some of the Stoors returned to Wilderland around 1356 and settled near the Gladden Fields.

The Northmen became allies of the Men of Gondor, to whom they were distantly related. The Men of Gondor were the descendants of the Numenoreans, who in turn were descended from the Edain of Beleriand. The ancestors of the Northmen were kinsmen of the Edain who had settled in Wilderland rather than continuing west to Beleriand.

At the height of its power, Gondor had acquired territory in southern Wilderland east of the Anduin as far as the Sea of Rhun. But they did not settle there and instead invited the Northmen to spread out in the plains east of Mirkwood. Gondor benefited from the protection provided by the Northmen against the Easterlings of Rhun.

The Northmen prospered with the help of their powerful ally and their population increased. They made settlements on the eastern edge of Mirkwood and cut down many trees, creating the clearing called the East Bight. They raised horses on the open plains east of the forest.

However, some of the Northmen became allied with the Easterlings in order to gain wealth and power for themselves. In 1248, the Regent of Gondor launched an attack on the Easterlings in part gain back the loyalty of the wayward Northmen. Afterwards the Regent called himself Romendacil, meaning "East-victor."

Romendacil continued to strengthen relations with the Northmen. He took many Northmen into his service. In 1250 he sent his son Valacar to be an ambassador to the court of King Vidugavia of Rhovanion who was the most powerful leader of the Northmen. Rhovanion was the Sindarin name for Wilderland, but Vidugavia's domain only extended from the eastern edge of Mirkwood to the River Running.

Valacar married Vidugavia's daughter Vidumavi and they had a son named Eldacar. Some of the people of Gondor objected to this mixed marriage and to the favor shown to the Northmen by Romendacil. When Eldacar became King of Gondor in 1432, the civil war of the Kin-strife began.

In 1437, the throne of Gondor was usurped by Castamir and Eldacar fled to Rhovanion. He returned and reclaimed his throne in 1447 with an army of Northmen and loyal Men of Gondor. Afterwards, a number of Northmen settled in Gondor and mixed with the population.

In the winter of 1635, the Great Plague came from the East. Many of the Northmen who lived east of Mirkwood died. The Plague spread quickly among them because most of the Northmen had taken shelter from the harsh winter in crowded communal houses. The Northmen were not skilled in healing and medicine. In 1636 the Plague spread to Gondor and on to Arnor and the Shire.

In 1851, a new enemy from Rhun appeared. They were called the Wainriders because they travelled in wains, or wagons. The Northmen had not fully recovered their strength and they were unable to withstand the assaults of the Wainriders. Many Northmen were killed and others were scattered.

In 1856, Marhari of the Northmen joined forces with King Narmacil II of Gondor and fought the Wainriders in the Battle of the Plains. The Wainriders were victorious and Narmacil was killed. Marhari also died while leading the rearguard covering the retreat.

After the battle, many of the surviving Northmen were enslaved and their land was occupied by the Wainriders. Some escaped northward across the River Running, where their kinsmen had established the town of Dale. Others fled to Gondor.

Marhari's son Marhwini also managed to lead some of his people to safety. They settled in the Vales of the Anduin between the Gladden River and the Carrock, mainly on the western bank of the river. They called themselves the Eotheod, meaning "Horse-people." The Eotheod remained allied with Gondor.

In 1899, the Wainriders planned an invasion of Gondor. At the same time, the enslaved Northmen intended to revolt against the Wainriders. Marhwini of the Eotheod learned of these plans and informed King Calimehtar of Gondor.

Calimehtar led an army to draw out the Wainriders while the enslaved Northmen attacked the Wainriders' settlements in Wilderland. But the settlements were guarded by the Wainriders' women, youths, and old men, and most of the rebelling Northmen were killed. Calimehtar's army along with Marhwini and the Eotheod defeated the Wainriders' forces and they were temporarily subdued.

In the next century, Marhwini's son Forthwini again warned Gondor of an impending attack by the Wainriders. The Eotheod joined the Northern Army of Gondor in battle against the Wainriders but they were defeated and King Ondoher of Gondor and his sons were killed. Earnil and the Southern Army of Gondor defeated the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp. The Wainriders never returned, but the Eotheod did not try to reoccupy their former lands east of Mirkwood.

Instead, in 1977, Frumgar led the Eotheod farther north in the Vales of the Anduin. They settled above the source of the Anduin between the Langwell and Greylin. They built a stronghold there called Framsburg after Frumgar's son Fram. Fram slew Scatha the Worm from the Grey Mountains but he was killed by Dwarves who disputed his claim to the Dragon's hoard.

In 1980, the Balrog awoke in Khazad-dum. The next year in 1981, the Dwarves abandoned Khazad-dum. Many Elves also fled from Lothlorien, including Amroth who went in pursuit of his lover Nimrodel and later drowned trying to find her. Celeborn and Galadriel became Lord and Lady of Lothlorien at this time.

Thrain I led some of the Dwarves of Khazad-dum to the Lonely Mountain where he established a new realm in 1999. Thrain's son Thorin I left the Lonely Mountain in 2210 and went to the Grey Mountains. The Grey Mountains were an untapped resource because they had been infested with Dragons until the death of Scatha the Worm.

Sauron had left Dol Guldur in 2063 when Gandalf the Grey came there to investigate. For about four centuries there was a Watchful Peace. But in 2460, Sauron returned to Dol Guldur with increased strength.

In 2463, the One Ring was found in the Gladden Fields by Deagol, who was one of the Stoors living near the river. Deagol was killed for the Ring by his companion Smeagol who went into hiding under the Misty Mountains in 2470. The Stoor community by the Gladden Fields dwindled and was gone by the end of the Third Age.

In 2510, the Eotheod received a call for help from Gondor which was under imminent attack by the Balchoth - Men from Rhun who had occupied the Northmen's former lands east of Mirkwood. Eorl the Young and his army helped defeat the Balchoth in the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. Cirion, the Steward of Gondor, gave the Eotheod the province of Calenardhon. The Eotheod left their land at the source of the Anduin and relocated to their new home which was named Rohan.

Dragons from the Northern Waste began to trouble the Grey Mountains again in 2570, and in 2589 Dain I and his son Fror were slain by a Cold-drake. In 2590, the Dwarves fled from the Grey Mountains. Some led by Gror went to the Iron Hills while others led by Thror returned to the Lonely Mountain.

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain prospered for many years. They traded with the Men of Dale who also prospered during this time. But in 2770 the Dragon Smaug came from the North and attacked the Lonely Mountain. The Men of Dale abandoned their town and many fled to Lake-town on Long Lake. The surviving Dwarves - including Thror, Thrain II, and Thorin Oakenshield - wandered homeless for many years.

Thror tried to reclaim Khazad-dum leading to the War of the Dwarves and the Orcs. The Battle of Azanulbizar was fought in the Dimrill Dale in 2799. The Dwarves were victorious but they did not reoccupy Khazad-dum because the Balrog still lurked there. Thrain II later set out for the Lonely Mountain but was imprisoned in Dol Guldur. Gandalf found Thrain before he died, and the Wizard learned that Sauron was in Dol Guldur.

In 2941, Bilbo Baggins came to Wilderland on a quest with Thorin and Company to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from Smaug. Bilbo met Beorn - a man who could turn into a bear - at his house near the Carrock east of the Anduin. On the way through Mirkwood, Bilbo killed a number of Great Spiders that had captured the Dwarves. Thranduil and the Wood-Elves also captured the Dwarves but Bilbo freed them and they escaped in barrels down the Forest River to Lake-town.

Smaug destroyed Lake-town and was killed by Bard the Bowman. Afterwards, an army of Orcs and Wargs arrived seeking revenge for the death of the Great Goblin who had been killed by Gandalf when Thorin and Company crossed the Misty Mountains. The Dwarves joined with their kinsmen from the Iron Hills and the Men of Lake-town and Elves of Mirkwood to defeat the Orcs and Wargs in the Battle of the Five Armies. The Dwarves reclaimed their realm at the Lonely Mountain and Men rebuilt the towns of Dale and Lake-town.

Meanwhile, the White Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur. Sauron returned to Mordor, and in 2951 he sent the Nazgul Khamul to Dol Guldur.

In 3018, the Nazgul searched the Vales of the Anduin for the One Ring because they mistakenly believed that Hobbits still lived there. The Fellowship travelled through Wilderland in early 3019, stopping in Lothlorien and continuing by boat down the Anduin.

During the War of the Ring, Sauron's forces launched several attacks throughout Wilderland. Lothlorien was attacked by forces from Dol Guldur on March 11. On March 15, there was another assault on Lothlorien as well as an attack on the Elves of Mirkwood. That same day Easterlings attacked Dale and the Lonely Mountain. The Battle of Dale lasted three days until March 17 when Brand of Dale and Dain of the Lonely Mountain were killed. The Men and Dwarves were besieged in the Lonely Mountain. Lothlorien was attacked a third time on March 22.

Sauron was defeated when the One Ring was destroyed on March 25. On March 27, the Easterlings were defeated at the Lonely Mountain by the Dwarves and Men led by Thorin Stonehelm and Bard II. On March 27, Dol Guldur was destroyed by Celeborn and Galadriel and the Elves of Lothlorien. The shadow was lifted from Mirkwood and it was renamed the Wood of Greenleaves.

The southern part of the Wood of Greenleaves became East Lorien and the northern part remained the Woodland Realm, while the central part of the forest was given to the Woodmen and the Beornings. Lothlorien was eventually abandoned but the Elves of the Woodland Realm continued to thrive in the Fourth Age. Dale and the Lonely Mountain prospered as independent realms under the protection of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.

Note: There is no definitive chronology of the Years of the Trees. These dates are based on "The Annals of Aman" in The History of Middle-earth, vol. X, Morgoth's Ring.

Years of the Trees:

1115
During the Great Journey, some Elves settle in the forests that became known as Greenwood the Great (later Mirkwood) and Lothlorien.

1495
The Entwives make gardens south of Greenwood around this time.
 

First Age:
Men migrate westward across Middle-earth and some settle in Wilderland.
 

Second Age:
During the early part of the Second Age, Sindarin Elves settle in Lothlorien. Amdir becomes King of Lothlorien. The Woodland Realm is established in Greenwood by Oropher or Thranduil.

3434-3441
War of the Last Alliance. Amdir of Lothlorien is killed and is succeeded by Amroth. Oropher of the Woodland realm is killed and is succeeded by Thranduil. The gardens of the Entwives are destroyed and become the Brown Lands. Sauron is defeated and the One Ring is taken from him. His spirit goes into hiding in the East.
 

Third Age:

2
Isildur is killed in the Gladden Fields and the One Ring is lost in the waters of the Anduin.

1050
Sauron returns from the East and secretly builds the stronghold of Dol Guldur in Greenwood. A shadow falls over the forest and it becomes known as Mirkwood. The Elves move farther north in the forest. Gondor reaches the height of its power under Hyarmendacil I, including territory in southern Wilderland. The Harfoot Hobbits leave Wilderland and cross the Misty Mountains into Eriador.

1150
The Fallohide and Stoor Hobbits leave Wilderland and move into Eriador.

1248
Romendacil II of Gondor defeats a large army of Easterlings in order to ensure the loyalty of the Northmen.

1250
Romendacil II sends his son Valacar as an ambassador to the court of King Vidugavia of Rhovanion. Valacar marries Vidugavia's daughter Vidumavi soon afterwards.

1255
Birth of Valacar's son Eldacar in Rhovanion.

1260
Romendacil II of Gondor calls Valacar home from the court of Vidugavia.

1356
Some of the Stoors return to Wilderland and settle on the banks of the Anduin.

1432
Eldacar becomes King of Gondor. The civil war of the Kin-strife begins.

1437
Castamir usurps the throne of Gondor. Eldacar flees to Rhovanion.

1447
Eldacar returns to Gondor with an army of Northmen and loyal Men of Gondor. He kills Castamir at the Battle of the Crossings of Erui and resumes the throne of Gondor.

1635
The Great Plague begins to spread from the East, coming first to the Northmen of Rhovanion.

1636
The Great Plague spreads through Middle-earth.

1851
The attacks of the Wainriders upon the Northmen and Gondor begin.

1856
King Narmacil II of Gondor and Marhari of the Northmen are killed in the Battle of the Plains against the Wainriders. The Northmen are slain, enslaved, or scattered. Marhari's son Marhwini leads a group of survivors to live in the Vales of the Anduin and they become the Eotheod.

1899
King Calimehtar of Gondor defeats the Wainriders with the help of Marhwini and the Eotheod. The Northmen enslaved by the Wainriders stage an unsuccessful revolt and most perish.

1944
The Wainriders allied with Khand and Near Harad march to war against Gondor on two fronts. The Eotheod fight with the Northern Army of Gondor but they are defeated. Earnil and the Southern Army of Gondor defeat the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp.

1977
Frumgar leads the Eotheod north to a new land at the source of the Anduin.

1980
The Balrog awakes in Moria and kills King Durin VI.

1981
The Balrog kills King Nain I and the Dwarves flee Khazad-dum. Many Elves flee Lothlorien, including Nimrodel and Amroth. Celeborn and Galadriel become Lord and Lady of Lothlorien.

1999
Thrain I establishes a realm under the Lonely Mountain.

2060
The Wise begin to suspect that Sauron is inhabiting Dol Guldur in Mirkwood.

2063
Gandalf goes to Dol Guldur. Sauron flees into the East. The Watchful Peace begins.

2210
Thorin I and many other Dwarves settle in the Grey Mountains.

2460
Sauron returns with increased strength to Dol Guldur. The Watchful Peace ends.

2463
Deagol finds the One Ring and is murdered for it by Smeagol.

2470
Smeagol goes to live in the tunnels of the Misty Mountains.

2501
Death of Eorl's father Leod. Eorl becomes the leader of the Eotheod. He tames the wild horse Felarof, father of the mearas.

2510
The Eotheod come to the aid of Gondor at the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. The Eotheod relocate from the Vales of the Anduin to their new land of Rohan given to them by Cirion, Steward of Gondor.

2570
Dragons from the Northern Waste begin to trouble the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains.

2589
Dain I and his son Fror are slain by a Cold-drake in the Grey Mountains.

2590
Dwarves flee from the Grey Mountains. Gror leads some to the Iron Hills. Thror leads others to the Lonely Mountain.

2770
Smaug the Dragon captures the Lonely Mountain. Some Dwarves escape including Thror, Thrain II and Thorin.

2790
Thror enters the Dimrill Gate of Khazad-dum and is slain by Azog.

2793
The War of the Dwarves and the Orcs begins.

2799
Battle of Azanulbizar between the Dwarves and the Orcs. The Dwarves are victorious but do not recolonize Khazad-dum, where the Balrog still dwells.

2845
Thrain II is captured on the edge of Mirkwood and taken to Dol Guldur.

2850
Gandalf returns to Dol Guldur and learns that the evil presence is Sauron. Gandalf finds Thrain II in the dungeon and receives the map and key of the Lonely Mountain from him. Death of Thrain II.

2851
Gandalf urges an attack on Dol Guldur but Saruman overrules him. Saruman begins searching the Gladden Fields for the One Ring.

2939
Sauron's servants search the Gladden Fields for the One Ring.

2941
Thorin Oakenshield returns to the Lonely Mountain accompanied by Bilbo Baggins. Smaug is killed by Bard the Bowman. Lake-town is destroyed. Battle of the Five Armies. The Dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain. The White Council drives Sauron from Dol Guldur.

2942
Sauron returns in secret to Mordor.

2944
Bard rebuilds Dale and becomes King. Gollum emerges from the Misty Mountains and begins searching for the Ring.

2951
Khamul and one or two other Nazgul are sent to occupy Dol Guldur.

3009
Aragorn and Gandalf begin searching for Gollum in Wilderland and the Mountains of Shadow.

3017
A messenger from Mordor comes to the Lonely Mountain seeking news of Bilbo and the Ring.

3018
Aragorn captures Gollum and brings him to Mirkwood where Gandalf questions him. Orcs attack the Elves and Gollum escapes captivity. The Nazgul search the Vales of the Anduin for the land of the Hobbits but find nothing.

3019

January 15: Aragorn leads the Fellowship out of Moria to Lothlorien.

February 16: The Fellowship leaves Lothlorien and travel in boats down the Anduin pursued by Gollum.
February 17: Gwaihir brings Gandalf the White to Lothlorien.
February 23: The Fellowship is attacked by Orcs on the Anduin.
February 25: The Fellowship passes the Argonath.

March 11: Lothlorien is attacked by forces from Dol Guldur.
March 15: Second assault on Lothlorien. Thranduil and his people repel an attack from Dol Guldur. Easterlings attack the Men of Dale and the Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and the Battle of Dale begins.
March 17: Deaths of Brand and Dain Ironfoot in the Battle of Dale. The Men of Dale and the Dwarves are besieged by the Easterlings in the Lonely Mountain.
March 22: Third assault on Lothlorien.
March 25: The One Ring is destroyed and Sauron is defeated.
March 27: News of Sauron's defeat reaches the Lonely Mountain. Bard II and Thorin Stonehelm defeat the Easterlings.
March 28: Celeborn leads a force from Lothlorien to capture Dol Guldur. Galadriel casts down the walls.

April 6: Celeborn and Thranduil decide on the new boundaries of their realms. Mirkwood is renamed the Wood of Greenleaves. The southern part of the Wood of Greenleaves becomes East Lorien. The northern part remains the Woodland Realm. The central part is given to the Woodmen and Beornings.

Wilderland
The name Wilderland is based on the word wilderness. It also includes the word wilder meaning "wander astray" or "bewilder."
"Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings," entry for Wilderland
 

Rhovanion
Rhovanion is a Sindarin name meaning "Wilderland." The word rhovan apparently means "wild." The name Rhovanion applied to the entire region of Wilderland. Vidugavia called himself King of Rhovanion, but his domain was only the land between Mirkwood and the River Running.
The Silmarillion: Index entry for Rhovanion, p. 347
Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings: "Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion," p. 326
 

The Wild
The Wild is a general term that includes Wilderland as well as the eastern part of Eriador. The Edge of the Wild was at the River Bruinen.
The Hobbit: "A Short Rest," p. 55-56; "The Last Stage," p. 311-12

The Hobbit: "An Unexpected Party," p. 31-34; "A Short Rest," p. 55; "Out of the Frying-pan into the Fire," p. 112 and passim; "Queer Lodgings," 123-26, 129, 142-45, 149 and passim; "Flies and Spiders," passim; "Barrels out of Bond," passim; "A Warm Welcome," passim; "On the Doorstep," passim; "Inside Information," passim; "Not at Home," passim; "Fire and Water," passim; "The Gathering of the Clouds," passim; "A Thief in the Night," passim; "The Clouds Burst," passim; "The Return Journey," passim; "The Last Stage," p. 310, 316-17

The Fellowship of the Ring: "Prologue - Concerning Hobbits," p. 11-12; "The Shadow of the Past," p. 61-68; "Many Meetings," p. 241-42; "The Council of Elrond," p. 253-55, 263-69; "The Ring Goes South," p. 287; 294-95; "Lothlorien," passim; "The Mirror of Galadriel," passim; "Farewell to Lorien," passim; "The Great River," passim; "The Breaking of the Fellowship," p. 416-17

The Two Towers: "Treebeard," p. 79; "The White Rider," p. 102, 106; "The Window on the West," p. 287

Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings: "The North-kingdom and the Dunedain," p. 321; "Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion," p. 325-29, 331, 334; "The House of Eorl," p. 344-46; "Durin's Folk," p. 353-60

Appendix B of The Lord of the Rings: "The Tale of Years," passim

Appendix D of The Lord of the Rings: "The Calendars," p. 388

Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings: "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age," p. 407-408, 413, 415

Unfinished Tales: "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn," p. 236-48, 252-53 note 5, 256-61; "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields," p. 271-77, 280-81, notes 12, 13, and 14, 282-83 note 20; "Cirion and Eorl," p. 288-300, 307, 310 note 4, 311 note 5 and 6, 314 note 30; "The Quest of Erebor," p. 322, 324, 326, 330; "The Hunt for the Ring," p. 337-39, 342-45, 352 note 1, 353 note 9

The Silmarillion: "Of the Coming of the Elves," p. 53-54

The History of Middle-earth, vol. X, Morgoth's Ring: "The Annals of Aman," p. 82-83

The History of Middle-earth, vol. XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth: "Of Dwarves and Men," p. 302-306, 310-11

"Guide to the Names in The Lord of the Rings," p. 196

The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien: Letter #214

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