📖👀 Chapter 5 (📔Book V): The Ride of the Rohirrim

[Rivendell_librarian]

An alliterative chapter title that writes itself. I wouldn't be surprised that Tolkien chose the name Rohirrim to enable this resonant chapter title.

We take a step back from the cliff-hanger of the previous chapter to a point on the journey between Edoras and Mundburg (Minas Tirith). Merry feels lonely and the mysterious Dernhelm says nothing but seems well known to and respected by the Rohirrim commander Elfhelm. The sounds of drums in the Druadan forest come from the Woses or wild men who are squat and broad chested people who look like the Pukel men of Dunharrow.

Their leader, Ghan-buri-Ghan, meets with Theoden and Eomer and describes an ancient side path which will enable the Rohirrim to evade the forces of Mordor that are blocking their route. It seems that the Woses numbers have diminished due to persecution by the taller men as well as orcs. The Woses are well apprised of the current situation and hate the orcs or gorgun. Hirgon and another errand-rider are found beheaded, hence Denethor not knowing that Rohan would come.

The Rohirrim deal quickly with the few orcs on the Rammas Echor and draw up to see the ongoing siege and destruction of Minas Tirith, a place Theoden would know well, having grown up in Lossarnach. Theoden hesitates but then the wind changes (just as Ghan-buri-Ghan predicted) the flash of the breaking of the city gate is seen and Theoden cries:

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
Spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!

The battle plan was to divide in three with Theoden and Eomer in the centre, Elfhelm on the right and Grimbold on the left and play it "heads up". Theoden leads and battle fury is firing his veins. "The hosts or Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them."

Dare I say that Bernard Hill (r.i.p.) crying the one word "death" was pretty good cinema.

Though the first part of the scene made me think that delivery people always seem to ring the bell at awkward moments.

 

[TrackerOrc]

Dare I say that Bernard Hill (r.i.p.) crying the one word "death" was pretty good cinema.

Indeed you may.
Wonderful actor in a wonderful role.

 

[TrackerOrc]

'Merry wanted somebody to talk to, and he thought of Pippin. But that only increased his restlessness. Poor Pippin, shut up in the great city of stone, lonely and afraid.'

Another example of a seemingly unimportant phrase which actually cuts through and jumps out at you - Pippin's situation brilliantly summed up here.

 

[Rivendell_librarian]

Indeed you may.
Wonderful actor in a wonderful role.

This is a good video about Bernard Hill's performance as King Theoden

 

[TrackerOrc]

This is a good video about Bernard Hill's performance as King Theoden

For Scousers of a certain age such as myself, Bernard Hill will always be Yosser Hughes from 'Boys from the Black Stuff', but I think his performance as Theoden runs it a very close second.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

I'll have more of my blatherings on this chapter when time permits, but I want to say here that putting "Death!" into Theoden's mouth made no sense to me; it's Eomer who cries this, on discovering Eowyn lying, apparently dead, on the field: "A fey mood took him". Reading the passage makes clear his sense of black despair, absent in Theoden's speech before the charge.

 

[Eljorahir]

The greatest mathematician in the story, Ghân-buri-Ghân, demonstrates his grasp of the distributive property of mathematics. (I hope I'm using distributive property correctly. It's been a while since 8th grade math class.):

'I am great headman, Ghân-buri-Ghân. I count many things: stars in sky, leaves on trees, men in the dark. You have a score of scores counted ten times and five...'

(20 × 20) × (10 + 5) = 6000

And, his count checks out with Theoden's assessment in an earlier chapter:

'...Yet six thousands at the least shall ride behind me...'

 

[Halasían]

I'll have more of my blatherings on this chapter when time permits, but I want to say here that putting "Death!" into Theoden's mouth made no sense to me; it's Eomer who cries this, on discovering Eowyn lying, apparently dead, on the field: "A fey mood took him". Reading the passage makes clear his sense of black despair, absent in Theoden's speech before the charge.

Yet another contamination of lore by PJ.
I love Éomer in this chapter, and his somewhat reckless charge. The whole scene with Theoden, Eowyn, Merry, the Nazgul, the Witch King, and all is really gripping.