Rivendell_librarian
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There is an excellent diagrammatic map (plus commentary) of Helm's Deep in Fonstad's Atlas of Tolkien's Middle Earth which corresponds closely to Alan Lee's beautiful illustration below.
We have now moved from the level of companies to that of armies. Rohan's mounted force have ridden out to face Saruman's forces head on as urged by Gandalf. Hammond and Scull point out that Saruman enjoys a strategic advantage in that his forces can easily approach the important Fords of Isen on both sides of the Isen whereas there is a huge difference and difficulty for Rohan's Westfold forces under Erkenbrand. Whether disposed east or west for the Fords they face the danger of encirclement and being cut off from Edoras. Theoden's force learns of Erkenbrand's defeat at the Fords from a lone rider sent to warn Edoras. There is a hint here that Erkenbrand is a resourceful and wise commander though sadly we don't hear from him in this chapter. A "shield wall" is mentioned indicating the Rohirrim have fought as infantry in this engagement.
Gandalf counsels a change of plan: to make for the stone fortress of Helm's Deep set in a deep valley of the White Mountains. Gandalf then mysteriously rides off towards Isengard drawing disparaging remarks from some of the Rohirrim. Is this due to the Wormtongue effect? My view is that it is prompted by Gandalf's continuing possession of Shadowfax. Gandalf may have been mysterious of his inentions here simply because he was unsure of the true situation.
There follows a vivid description of the attack by Saruman's forces of orcs and Dunlendings on Helm's Deep: a much larger force against a smaller force in a stronghold: the classic confrontation. There are Homeric descriptions of acts of heroism by our heroes. Eomer and Aragorn fight together as do Legolas and Gimli of course. I'm not convinced about the value of Gimli and Legolas's headcount competition. Theoden is immobilised by dark thoughts as he sees his people being destroyed but is revived by Aragorn and they ride out to face their foes.
The situation is direst just before the dawn when Erkenbrand's relief column (marshalled by Gandalf) and the Fangorn Huorns defeat and completely obliterate Saruman's forces.
There may have been a couple of biblical allusions in this chapter. Tolkien tells us that Erkenbrand, master of Westfold "being wise, had repaired the wall and made the fastness strong". This compares with Nehemiah: "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart." The confrontational conversation between Aragorn and the Orcs before the great gates recalls that between the besieging Assyrians and Hezekiah's commanders in Jerusalem. The Assyrians were also destroyed in a mysterious miraculous manner.
As discussed at length elsewhere, PJ made significant changes to this account but one line he added to the dialogue sums up this marvellous action packed chapter well:
"The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep, one last time!" delivered wonderfully by the marvellous Bernard Hill.
We have now moved from the level of companies to that of armies. Rohan's mounted force have ridden out to face Saruman's forces head on as urged by Gandalf. Hammond and Scull point out that Saruman enjoys a strategic advantage in that his forces can easily approach the important Fords of Isen on both sides of the Isen whereas there is a huge difference and difficulty for Rohan's Westfold forces under Erkenbrand. Whether disposed east or west for the Fords they face the danger of encirclement and being cut off from Edoras. Theoden's force learns of Erkenbrand's defeat at the Fords from a lone rider sent to warn Edoras. There is a hint here that Erkenbrand is a resourceful and wise commander though sadly we don't hear from him in this chapter. A "shield wall" is mentioned indicating the Rohirrim have fought as infantry in this engagement.
Gandalf counsels a change of plan: to make for the stone fortress of Helm's Deep set in a deep valley of the White Mountains. Gandalf then mysteriously rides off towards Isengard drawing disparaging remarks from some of the Rohirrim. Is this due to the Wormtongue effect? My view is that it is prompted by Gandalf's continuing possession of Shadowfax. Gandalf may have been mysterious of his inentions here simply because he was unsure of the true situation.
There follows a vivid description of the attack by Saruman's forces of orcs and Dunlendings on Helm's Deep: a much larger force against a smaller force in a stronghold: the classic confrontation. There are Homeric descriptions of acts of heroism by our heroes. Eomer and Aragorn fight together as do Legolas and Gimli of course. I'm not convinced about the value of Gimli and Legolas's headcount competition. Theoden is immobilised by dark thoughts as he sees his people being destroyed but is revived by Aragorn and they ride out to face their foes.
The situation is direst just before the dawn when Erkenbrand's relief column (marshalled by Gandalf) and the Fangorn Huorns defeat and completely obliterate Saruman's forces.
There may have been a couple of biblical allusions in this chapter. Tolkien tells us that Erkenbrand, master of Westfold "being wise, had repaired the wall and made the fastness strong". This compares with Nehemiah: "So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart." The confrontational conversation between Aragorn and the Orcs before the great gates recalls that between the besieging Assyrians and Hezekiah's commanders in Jerusalem. The Assyrians were also destroyed in a mysterious miraculous manner.
As discussed at length elsewhere, PJ made significant changes to this account but one line he added to the dialogue sums up this marvellous action packed chapter well:
"The Horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep, one last time!" delivered wonderfully by the marvellous Bernard Hill.
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