The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Warning ! Spoilers for The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrim ahead !

The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrimis basically a Rohan prequel , which meant a staring opportunity to redefine Éowyn ’s role within her kingdom . lay out just under 200 years beforeThe Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring , War of the Rohirrimcenters on the difference between King Helm Hammerhand and the Dunlendings . However , the legendary Rohirrim leader is n’t the main protagonist of the 2024 movie . or else , Héra , Helm ’s girl , is at halfway stage — creating a singular chance forWar of the Rohirrimto smartly retcon Éowyn’sLord of the Ringsstory .

Éowyn was the most heavily boast female theatrical role inTolkien’sThe Lord of the Rings . She was have intercourse to be beautiful and passionate , and after watching Rohan suffer under Saruman ( and Sauron , by extension ) , Éowyn became determined to defend her dwelling . She primp as a humankind and rode into battle inThe Lord of the Rings : The Return of the Kingand defeated the Witch - king of Angmar , satisfying the prognostication that " no human being " could down the wraith . Now , The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrimhas usher in a similar characterinHéra , who , like Éowyn , became a Shieldmaiden of Rohan .

The Lord of the Rings The War of the Rohirrim official poster

Éowyn Is A Shieldmaiden Of Rohan In Lord Of The Rings

Rohan Had At Least One Shieldmaiden Centuries After War Of The Rohirrim

In Tolkien’sThe Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers , Éowyn severalize Aragorn she is a Shieldmaiden of Rohan . She says this for inform the human thatshe is capable with a sword because she has been trained in combat since puerility . It ’s for this understanding thatÉowyn was so well equipped to face up off against the Witch - Riley B King of Angmarand come up out victorious ( with the help of the Hobbit Merry , of course ) .

Miranda Otto , who play Éowyn in Peter Jackson’sLord of the Ringsmovies , return to the purpose to recount inWar of the Rohirrim .

Though Éowyn ’s status as a Shieldmaiden is made clear in theLord of the Ringsbooks , there was never much clip spent explain what this really meant . Éowyn was discipline to contend , but she was n’t really bear or permit to — that ’s why she had to dress as a humanity and sneak onto the battlefield . It ’s implied that Shieldmaidens hold a symbolic position , butWar of the Rohirrimprovided more context for Rohan ’s female fighters .

A collage image of the War of the Rohirrim and Eowyn in Lord of the Rings

War Of The Rohirrim Retcons The History Of Rohan’s Shieldmaidens

The New Lord Of The Rings Movie Explains Where Rohan’s Shieldmaidens Come From

Éowyn ’s role as a Shieldmaiden has become all the more challenging now thatWar of the Rohirrimhas created a more elaborated history for these women . too soon in the celluloid , it ’s break that theShieldmaidens were Rohirrim womanhood who courageously press to fight back their family after the Isle of Man were lose in battle . This was age before Héra was suffer , and most original Shieldmaidens had died out — with the exception being Olwyn . As Rohan ’s population of piece and son was touch on , there was no need to school further Shieldmaidens to protect the land , sothe role was fundamentally forgotten .

If I am to return to the across-the-board world of Peter Jackson ’s midway - earth , The War of the Rohirrim ’s approach seems to me an idealistic means to go about it .

Despite this , it becomes light inWar of the Rohirrimthat Olwyn , who swore her armed service to Helm Hammerhand and his daughter , trained Héra in the way of the Shieldmaidens . So , when no one was left to fight Wulf and the Dunlending US Army , Héra suffer before them with a sword and carapace . If it were n’t for her , Rohan would have been drop off , and Wulf would have claimed rule over the kingdom . The logical implication here is thatHéra bring back the bequest of the Shieldmaidens , which is why , nearly two centuries later on , Éowyn carried the rubric . It ’s an efficacious and poetical retcon of this Lady of Rohan ’s report .

Miranda Otto as Eowyn holding a sword in The Lord of the Rings.

Custom image by Ana Nieves

What Tolkien Had To Say About The Role Of Shieldmaidens

Tolkien Took Inspiration From Norse Mythology

Tolkien did n’t provide much explanation for what Éowyn ’s use as a Shieldmaiden really meant , but the legendary generator also did n’t invent this concept . Shieldmaidens , or Shield - maidens , are a feature of Scandinavian folklore . They are condition warrior , and various legends tell of individual women who turn out up when they were needed . Additionally , Shieldmaidens are often associated with Norse Valkyries , female warrior beings who channelize individual to Valhalla . Since Rohan and its people are based heavily on the Anglo - Saxons , this makes a great deal of sense for its characters .

2024 ’s new Lord of the Rings movie made a powerful option placing Héra in the same league .

It ’s fitting thatcharacters like Éowynwould be associated with hefty mythical organism like Valkyrie . In the same way , 2024 ’s newLord of the Ringsmovie made a brawny selection come out Héra in the same league . It ’s evident in both this and Tolkien ’s central trilogy that Shieldmaidens are a sadly look out over group . They are n’t expected to crusade , and important bod like Héra are forgotten all . However , as Éowyn tells a fellow Shieldmaiden ’s story inThe Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rhohirrim , it ’s exculpated thatthe legacy of these brave cleaning woman , from Olwyn to Héra and beyond , be on .

Hera with her sword drawn and a steely look in The War of the Rohirrim

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mark before the events of the original Lord of the Rings trilogy , The Lord of the Rings : The War of the Rohirrim is an animated action - adventure fantasy film that stick to a King of Rohan named Helm Hammerhand . When his dwelling house arrive under siege by Dunlendings , Hammerhand prepares himself and his allies to fight back against them , with the state of war leading to the eventual establishment of Helm ’s Deep .

Hera and Helm from War of the Rohirrim

Custom image by Ana Nieves

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim