Ferthu Theoden Hal! - Page 6
© Michael Martinez
Eowyn's training as a shieldmaiden must therefore have been dictated by Theoden. But for what purpose? He had no queen and she had no hope of becoming either the captain of Theoden's guard or a Marshal of the Mark. Did Theoden foresee that war would come to Rohan in his time, and that it would be war of the most desperate kind which his people hadn't seen for generations? Yet, there is an incongruity between Eowyn's obvious martial education and the facts of the story presented in The Two Towers. Why didn't Theoden think of Eowyn when he needed to appoint someone to govern the people of Edoras when he rode to Helm's Deep?
It may be that Eowyn's education was more a matter of sport. That is, she may have been trained as a shieldmaiden as a way of helping to maintain the tradition of the shieldmaiden among the Rohirrim. If that was the case, there may have been few women like Eowyn in Theoden's time. Perhaps he was even reviving an ancient custom his people had not observed for generations.
Theoden made some interesting decisions during his reign as King of the Mark. He didn't just sit around and wait for old age to take him. It cannot be said that Theoden was moved to bring Gondorian customs to Rohan. It may be that Thengel had attempted to elevate Rohan to Gondor's culture. Tolkien does say that the language of Gondor was spoken in the King's household during Thengel's reign, and that some of the Rohirrim were not entirely happy with that change. Theoden at least restored use of the old language as a means of distinguishing between friend and foe. Even in his dotage, that was a shrewd move.
The training of Eowyn may thus also have been a move to restore traditions which his father may have allowed to fall by the wayside. Theoden may have seemed like a Renaissance king to the Rohirrim, a restorer of old traditions. Hence, their love for him would be even greater than their love for his father.
Theoden's life is therefore not as much a questionmark as the lives of many of his forebears. The sudden advent of his character into the main story, long foreshadowed by Gandalf's account at Rivendell, is rounded out by a solid representation of the relationship Theoden had built up with his people through the decades. The history is there, and it seems to be stand out behind the story clearly enough to show that Theoden isn't simply a convenient resource to throw at the reader as a means of helping the story along.
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