Rohan and Lorien

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Rumil

Hi all,
Occasionally a curious Rohir would venure into Lothlorien, but either turned back or never re-appeared (mentioned somewhere in LoTR). How would this pan out? I think the lonely traveller (already rather jumpy due to the legends) would possibly be diverted out of Lothlorien by the landscape, like Frodo and co. in the Old Forest. Maybe they had an arrow strike the tree in front of them, I don't think the Elven wardens would kill them, but certainly frighten them off. Another possibility is the 'falling asleep trick' that the Mirkwood elves pulled on Bilbo et al. If, despite these, the Rohir persisted then the elves would seem to have accepted them, but Lothlorien is not a place for mortals, time is perceived differently etc. The Rohir might not leave at all, or only after many years, much like the legends of those that visit the faerie realms.

I just don't see many credible reasons for one of the Rohirrim to be in that area at all. They were said to "regard the eaves of Fangorn and the frowning walls of Isengard with dread", and they had no permanent habitations there; the only likely motivation for their presence in the Wold would be a military one, perhaps a mounted patrol here and there leading up to the War. And if Éomer's reaction to Aragorn's words was indicative of the ideas the Rohirrim had of Lórien, any of the soldiers who found themselves near it would have done all they could to avoid it.