Why the Rohirrim Did Not Recognize Éowyn in The Lord of the Rings (2024)

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings films, Éowyn wanted to fight to defend her homeland of Rohan, but King Théoden did not allow her. This was due in part to the kingdom's gender roles, though according to J. R. R. Tolkien's novels, female warriors were not entirely unheard of in Rohan; shieldmaidens fought against the Easterlings during the reign of Brego, the second King of Rohan. It was also due to Théoden's desire to keep Éowyn safe. She therefore disguised herself as a male Rohirrim, hiding much of her face behind a helmet, and rode to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields like her brother and uncle.

She brought Merry, whom the Rohirrim had similarly discouraged from joining the fight, along with her. In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, she lifted him onto her horse and whispered, "Ride with me." Merry immediately recognized her and excitedly responded, "My lady." During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, she dueled the Witch-king of Angmar, the leader of Sauron's forces. Just before dealing the fatal blow, she removed her helmet, revealing her identity to those on the battlefield. This was a memorable and powerful moment, but if Merry could recognize her so easily, how did her disguise fool the rest of Rohan's soldiers?

Éowyn Forged a New Identity

Tolkien's novel included some details that Jackson's film did not, such as the new identity that Éowyn created for herself while in disguise. She went by the name Dernhelm, which subtly hinted at her identity, as it meant "Hidden Protector" in Old English. As Dernhelm, she concealed her identity by rarely speaking, though she did have some lines of dialogue. It must have been a convincing disguise, as Merry did not recognize her as he did in the film. Tolkien did not inform his readers of Dernhelm's identity either; it seemed that he was a new character introduced just before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In the novel, Tolkien frequently introduced characters even towards the end of the story, so this was not out of place.

Merry and the readers learned that Dernhelm was Éowyn at the same point the Witch-king did. In the chapter "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" from The Return of the King, Tolkien wrote, "Facing them stood she whom [Merry] had called Dernhelm. But the helm of her secrecy had fallen from her... Éowyn it was, and Dernhelm also." Jackson's choice to reveal her identity earlier removed an element of surprise from her duel with the Witch-king, but it allowed the audience to be more invested in her actions before that moment. Further, in a film, it would have been more difficult to hide the fact that Dernhelm looked and sounded the same as Éowyn. The Lord of the Rings novel was able to obscure this by keeping descriptions of Dernhelm's face and voice rather vague.

Tolkien Foreshadowed the Dernhelm Reveal

• In an earlier draft of The Lord of the Rings, Éowyn went by Grimhelm instead of Dernhelm.
• The horse upon whom Éowyn and Merry rode was named Windfola; he fled in terror when he saw the Witch-king.
• Though Éowyn did not use the name Dernhelm in Jackson's film, The Return of the King's soundtrack included a piece titled "Dernhelm in Battle."

The novel version of The Lord of the Rings did include some clues about Dernhelm's identity. Merry noted that Dernhelm was shorter and thinner than most of the Rohirrim. He thought little of this, as he assumed that Dernhelm was simply younger than the others, but it matched Éowyn's appearance. According to the chapter "The King of the Golden Hall" from The Two Towers, she was "slender" but "strong... and stern as steel." Merry's description of Dernhelm's eyes also matched Éowyn's, as they were cold, gray, and grim. Tolkien often associated Éowyn with cold imagery; in the aforementioned passage, Aragorn "thought her... fair and cold," and he saw "cool pity in her eyes." Faramir later compared her to a flower made of ice.

When Merry looked at Dernhelm's face, he saw the eyes of someone who had lost all hope and was prepared to die in battle. In the novel, Éowyn essentially had a death wish; she felt powerless, and throwing herself into certain doom was the only way she felt that she could take control of her fate. Further, Tolkien indicated a personal connection between Dernhelm and Théoden. Dernhelm broke away from the other Rohirrim to stay near him, and when he died, Dernhelm wept. In the chapter "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" from The Return of the King, Merry assumed this was because Dernhelm "had loved his lord as a father," which was far more accurate than he knew.

The Rohirrim Respected Éowyn

• A division of Rohirrim riders was called an éored.
• The éored to which Éowyn belonged was led by Elfhelm.
• After the War of the Ring, Éomer made Elfhelm the Marshal of the East-mark.

In The Lord of the Rings novel, some of the Rohirrim might have recognized Éowyn. In the chapter "The Ride of the Rohirrim" from The Return of the King, Tolkien wrote, "There seemed to be some understanding between Dernhelm and Elfhelm... He and his men ignored Merry and pretended not to hear if he spoke. He might have been just another bag that Dernhelm was carrying." When first reading The Lord of the Rings, this passage seemed to refer only to Merry's presence on the battlefield. However, when armed with the knowledge of Dernhlem's true identity, it took on an additional meaning. Perhaps the other Rohirrim were well aware of who Dernhelm was and chose to ignore it. When Faramir asked one of the Rohirrim about Éowyn fighting in the chapter "The Houses of Healing" from The Return of the King, he replied, "We knew naught of her riding until this hour, and greatly we rue it." However, this soldier could have been lying, or he could have been from a different éored than Dernhelm.

Why would the Rohirrim have ignored Dernhelm's identity and even lied about recognizing her? Pragmatically, they needed all the help that they could get. Only 6,000 Rohirrim rode to Minas Tirith; this was a third of the opposing Haradrim army alone, not counting the Easterlings, Orcs, and other warriors who made up the forces of Sauron. Yet a more thematically significant reason was that the Rohirrim respected Éowyn. Though Tolkien did not use the term about her, she was the princess of Rohan, and the Rohirrim held her in high esteem. In "The King of the Golden Hall," Théoden questioned who would lead the kingdom in his absence, to which Háma, the Captain of the King's Guard, replied, "There is Éowyn, daughter of Éomund... She is fearless and high-hearted. All love her. Let her be as lord to the Eorlingas, while we are gone." If she believed it was her place to fight, the Rohirrim did not want to stand in her way.

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a series of epic fantasy adventure films and television series based on J. R. R. Tolkien's novels. The films follow the adventures of humans, elves, dwarves, hobbits and more in Middle-earth.

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Latest Film

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

Upcoming Films

The Lord of The Rings: The War of The Rohirrim

First TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Latest TV Show

The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

First Episode Air Date

September 1, 2022

Cast

Elijah Wood , Viggo Mortensen , Orlando Bloom , Sean Astin , Billy Boyd , Dominic Monaghan , Sean Bean , Ian McKellen , Andy Serkis , Hugo Weaving , Liv Tyler , Miranda Otto , Cate Blanchett , John Rhys-Davies , Martin Freeman , Morfydd Clark , Ismael Cruz Cordova , Charlie Vickers , Richard Armitage

Character(s)

Gollum , Sauron

Video Game(s)

LEGO Lord of the Rings , Lord of the Rings Online , The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum , The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age , The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers , The Lord of the Rings: War in the North , The Lord Of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth , The Lord of The Rings: Battle For Middle-Earth 2 , The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Genre

Fantasy , Action-Adventure

Where to Stream

Max , Prime Video , Hulu

Summary

The Lord of the Rings is a long-running fantasy franchise created by J.R.R. Tolkien. The core series consists of four primary books: The Hobbit, The Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers, and The Return of the King, all of which have been adapted into films. The Lord of the Rings core franchise centers around Frodo Baggins, a living being known as a hobbit, and a group of heroes from the various kingdoms such as the kingdom of man, the kingdom of dwarves, and the kingdom of elves. Together with the great wizard Gandalf, the group will embark on a perilous quest across Middle Earth to take The One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it, before it can corrupt anyone and return to the hands of the evil entity known as Sauron, hellbent on conquering all of Middle Earth. The original novel/prequel films, The Hobbit, stars Frodo's uncle Bilbo Baggins as he embarks on a quest from the comfort of his home and seeks the treasure of a dragon known as Smaug. Bilbo stumbles upon The One Ring on his quest, and finds himself amidst a great war. The most recent media for the franchise is the currently airing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, airing exclusively on Prime Video.