Rohan

[Lastande Took]

I thought it felt like a combination of early Briton and Scandinavian cultures.

[skytree]

I was thinking Celtic/Scandanavian. I know the Celts made use of horses in warfare, at least as accomplished charioteers.

[Aiwendil]

To me they seem more English (Anglo-Saxon) than British or Scandinavian. Obviously, part of that has to do with their language being represented by Old English. But the choice of Old English was surely not arbitrary; I'd say it reflects something about their society and their outlook that resembles that of the Anglo-Saxons.

I don't see anything particularly Celtic or Scandinavian about them, but maybe that's just me. The emphasis their culture places on horses certainly does set them apart from the Anglo-Saxons, but I don't know that I'd call it particularly Celtic; a lot of peoples used horses, after all.

[skytree]

I know Mead Halls or at least I think were completely unique to Scandinavian cultures in Europe, and of course wearing their hair long and braided with beards is similar to the Viking culture. Of course both the Celts and Vikings commonly buried warriors of renown in elaborate mounds, many that are still being discovered today. Unlike the Angles or Saxons, the Celts and Vikings tended toward tribalism and a nomadic life, avoiding large population concentrations. Those are the things that stood out to me.

[Aiwendil]

Good points. The Anglo-Saxons did have mead halls much like the Scandinavians, though - indeed, the O.E. word for such a hall was 'meduseld'.

[Rumil]

Hi all,

The Prof's intentions on this are quite revealing. First he gave the Eothraim names from the Dark Age Goths, that were famous horsemen. When they settle in Rohan the names change to Anglo-Saxon.

JRRT considered the Norman conquest a tragedy for English culture (not surprisingly being a Prof of Anglo-Saxon). Therefore in some ways the Rohirrim are a 'fantasy' version of the Anglo Saxons that retained their horsemanship and their independence.

The Goths and English, and later Scandinavians had a number of cultural links and similarities. Certainly the areas of Northern Holland, Germany and Denmark, home of the progenitors of the English and later partly Viking were linked by culture such as the tale of Beowulf, of which JRRT produced a famous translation.

[garm]

I don't think Tolkien had a real-world template in mind when he came up with the Rohirrim. Or at least, not any one race or nation. In a letter he mentions 'Homeric horsemen', for example.

As for the Anglo-Saxon connection: it's true that he used elements of the language to relate the Rohirrim to the rest of Middle earth; A-S is to Rohirric as modern English is to the Westron. But that's about all. Let me quote from Lee and Solpova's excellent book, 'The Keys of Middle earth':

'(Tolkien) states that he was not trying to 're-create' anything but instead was at pains to note that: "No one would learn anything valid about the 'Anglo-Saxons' from any of my lore, not even that concerning the Rohirrim; I never intended that they should" (Tolkien: A30/1,f.121)'
(op.cit. pp.201-2)

The note in brackets refers to a shelf-mark at the Bodleian Library. Lee and Solopova are at pains to point out that others disagree with Tolkien; esp. Tom Shippey, who reckons the Rohirrim resemble Anglo-Saxons in every way, except their love of horses. But I agree with Tolkien - the so-called 'Anglo-Saxon' period covers many peoples and sub-cultures over time; from the migration days of the fifth and sixth centuries to the conversion to Christianity; from the time of Alfred up to the Conquest.

I think Tolkien was speaking professionally - he was not an A-S historian, and in these matters would defer to others who were; such as Sir Frank Stenton. I guess Tolkien was merely being precise.



BTW, Rumil - Tolkien did make a translation of Beowulf, but it hasn't been published - yet! I think you meant Tolkien wrote a famous lecture on Beowulf.