The Encyclopedia of Arda - Shieldmaidens (original) (raw)

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random
Dates The original shieldmaidens dated, very approximately, from the early [twenty-seventh century](../chronicle.html?startyear=2601&startage=3&endyear=2700&endage=3&c=The Twenty-seventh Century of the Third Age) of the Third Age; Éowyn was born in III 2995, and gave up the title of 'shieldmaiden' in III 3019 Race Men Division Northmen Culture Rohirrim Meaning Derived from Old Norse skjaldmær, a term for a female warrior Indexes: Alphabetical: S Men About this entry: Updated 7 May 2014 This entry is complete Female warriors of the Rohirrim Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV There seems1 to have been a historical tradition in Rohan for the women of that people to fight beside the men, though by the later years of the Third Age this tradition - if it existed at all - had been relegated to history. These female warriors were known as shieldmaidens, and Éowyn of Rohan claimed to follow this heritage. It's not clear how 'official' this title was; though Éowyn used it of herself on several occasions, there is no record of any other such shieldmaidens existing at the time of the War of the Ring. After her victory over the Lord of the Nazgûl in the Battle of the Pelennor, Éowyn herself abandoned the title to become a healer, thus apparently bringing the tradition of the shieldmaidens of Rohan to an end. Notes 1 There is no direct reference to the shieldmaiden tradition in canonical sources, but earlier versions of the text (reproduced in volume VIII of The History of Middle-earth) do allude to it. There we have a reference to the women of Rohan fighting against an invasion of Easterlings during the reign of Eorl's grandson (named there as Brego, but following later versions this would be Aldor). This invasion would have been about four hundred years before Éowyn's time. See also... Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Chieftain of the Ringwraiths, High Nazgûl, King of the Nine Riders, Lady of the Shield-arm, Lord of the Nazgûl, Master Bag, White Lady, Wraith-lord Indexes: Alphabetical: S Men About this entry: Updated 7 May 2014 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2013-2014. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus' free Job Profiler module defines ideal DISC profiles for any role.

The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien

ALPHABETICAL RACES PLACES MISCELLANEOUS REFERENCE INTERACTIVE

SHARE User guide Latest entries FAQ and e-mail Disclaimer and bibliography Awards Old and rare words Lexicon of names Excyclopedia of Arda Movie-goer's Guides: • The Fellowship of the Ring • The Two Towers • The Return of the King The Hobbit Viewer's Companions: • An Unexpected Journey • The Desolation of Smaug • The Battle of the Five Armies Tolkien links Book news Latest Chronicle Calendar Old and rare words Lexicon of names Links Random

Dates The original shieldmaidens dated, very approximately, from the early [twenty-seventh century](../chronicle.html?startyear=2601&startage=3&endyear=2700&endage=3&c=The Twenty-seventh Century of the Third Age) of the Third Age; Éowyn was born in III 2995, and gave up the title of 'shieldmaiden' in III 3019 Race Men Division Northmen Culture Rohirrim Meaning Derived from Old Norse skjaldmær, a term for a female warrior Indexes: Alphabetical: S Men About this entry: Updated 7 May 2014 This entry is complete Female warriors of the Rohirrim

Years of the Trees First Age I Second Age II Third Age III Fourth Age IV There seems1 to have been a historical tradition in Rohan for the women of that people to fight beside the men, though by the later years of the Third Age this tradition - if it existed at all - had been relegated to history. These female warriors were known as shieldmaidens, and Éowyn of Rohan claimed to follow this heritage. It's not clear how 'official' this title was; though Éowyn used it of herself on several occasions, there is no record of any other such shieldmaidens existing at the time of the War of the Ring. After her victory over the Lord of the Nazgûl in the Battle of the Pelennor, Éowyn herself abandoned the title to become a healer, thus apparently bringing the tradition of the shieldmaidens of Rohan to an end. Notes 1 There is no direct reference to the shieldmaiden tradition in canonical sources, but earlier versions of the text (reproduced in volume VIII of The History of Middle-earth) do allude to it. There we have a reference to the women of Rohan fighting against an invasion of Easterlings during the reign of Eorl's grandson (named there as Brego, but following later versions this would be Aldor). This invasion would have been about four hundred years before Éowyn's time. See also... Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Chieftain of the Ringwraiths, High Nazgûl, King of the Nine Riders, Lady of the Shield-arm, Lord of the Nazgûl, Master Bag, White Lady, Wraith-lord Indexes: Alphabetical: S Men About this entry: Updated 7 May 2014 This entry is complete For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page. Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2013-2014. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ. Website services kindly sponsored by Discus from Axiom Software Ltd.Discus' free Job Profiler module defines ideal DISC profiles for any role.