#with: theodrs.

[remusjohnslupin]

Bealocwealm hafað fréone frecan forth onsended giedd sculon singan gléomenn sorgiende on Meduselde thæt he ma no wære his dryhtne dyrest and maga deorost.

[emilybeemartin]

I finally got some decent words on my manuscript and I also finished my kids' Halloween costumes in the nick of time, so I can have a little teenage Eomer, Theodred, and Boromir, as a treat.

Boromir can knock Eomer on his ass in the sparring ring but has never once beaten him in a horse race, and even after four decades it eats him alive.

The ages are off here because I didn't cross-check my dates before starting this, but I'm three trick-or-treats in and I can't make myself care. *mutates into hollow plastic pumpkin bucket*

[fyeahtheraceofmen]

Now dear Théodred lies in darkness, most loyal of fighters. The sound of the harp shall not wake the warrior; nor shall the man hold a golden wine-cup, nor good hawk swing through the hall, nor the swift horse stamp in the courtyard...

[mithrandirl]

No parent should have to bury their child.

@lotr20 day 5: sacrifice

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

To me, the most tragic element of Théodred’s sad story is how close he came to survival. When he was struck down by Saruman’s forces at the Isen, he had only the companies of Elfhelm and Grimbold to help him. But much greater aid was already on its way — Gandalf and the 3 hunters would soon arrive in Edoras. The healing of Théoden would release Éomer and the rest of the forces of Rohan to fully join the fray. Merry and Pip would help stir the ents into action. All of that miraculous help (unsummoned and unlooked for, as Tolkien was fond of saying) would come to fruition in less than a week if Théodred could have only held on that much longer.

He was born into tragedy, and he lived four full decades facing challenges and problems not of his own making. And then, when the solution to everything was finally just around the corner, he was denied the chance to see it. A lifetime of struggle, and he missed victory by a matter of mere DAYS. Just epically unfair.

[kindlythevoid]

It’s really beautiful how Tolkien takes the time to honor the dead. After Gandalf’s death, they take the time in Lothlorien to deal with their grief and sing their laments, but as there is no body, that’s all they can do.

But when Boromir dies, even when Aragorn has to make the decision to either pursue Frodo or Merry and Pippin, and both are rapidly growing farther from the three left, they take the time to honor their friend. They don’t leave immediately, even though efficiency would dictate otherwise. No, instead they take the time to decide how to “bury” him (quotations only because it’s not burying in the strictest sense of the word, but rather reverently dealing with Boromir’s body). And then they gather trophies of his last stand and arrange them in the boat with him, taking time to “[comb] his long dark hair and [array] it upon his shoulders.”

How many times have other adventurers dedicated valuable time to honor the bodies of fallen companions, specifically to this extent? More often than not, they have to leave them behind, or only take the time to fold their arms or close their eyes.

Occasionally, they’ll build a pyre or bury them or whatnot, but it’s always after the battle that they set aside a significant chunk of time, or they live up to the term of fantasy (which isn’t a bad thing!) and there is no time wasted in building a cairn or burial or what-have-you.

My point is that time is spent, time that could be used for more “productive” things, such as, I don’t know, pursuing Merry and Pippin whose lives are at stake. And it isn’t framed as a bad thing, because it isn’t! Each life is precious, even when only the body is left. And they take the, well, the time to acknowledge this, in a reasonable and conservative way. (And when I say conservative, I mean that they pick the burial most fitting for their running clock, balancing both their need for a grieving period as well as the haste that the hobbits will require.)

I can’t speak to the rest of the deaths in the books as I haven’t caught up and refreshed my memory, but I will touch on another death, this time in the movie, that shares the same theme.

Theodred.

While he certainly hasn’t been totally forgotten by the fandom, I believe it is fair to say that he gets less discussion. Which is fair, considering he gets almost no active dialogue that I can remember and he is unconscious for most, if not all, of his screen time (and book time) before dying shortly after.

And one could say it’s because he’s a prince, one could say it’s because he was the heir, etc., etc. But it honestly makes no sense to dedicate all that time to preparing and putting on a large funeral when Saruman is right at Rohan’s door and there are so many bigger and more impactful decisions to be making now that Theoden has his mind back.

But, again, it isn’t criticized in the movie. It isn’t treated as the wrong decision. The people, included Theoden, needed time to mourn and Theodred deserved to be honored, even in death, even as the great forces of orcs and Uruk-hai were marching across Rohan.

Time is valuable, time is precious, and it should be wasted, especially when you’re trying your hardest to make sure you and yours survive. But time is meaningless if you don’t use it to live and subsequently honor those who have lived.

[myceliumelium]

What if were were both princes among our people? What if we kissed over the borders of our lands? And we were both boys? What then?

[gandalf-the-fool]

[autistook]

February 25th - Théodred, prince of Rohan is slain.

[dfwbwfbbwfbwf]

Why did Boromir and Théodred never get married?

There isn't the weird Athrabeth logic of "oh we don't get married and have children when we're at war (which is exactly when we really should be busy repopulating but whatever, Calaquendi are weird)". It's actually the opposite! Rohan and Gondor, two kingdoms in perpetual war for centuries, even millennia, populated by Men, who don't live forever. That weird Calaquendi logic wouldn't exist.

And these two idiots (affectionate) are a little important in those kingdoms.

Théodred was the crown prince. Boromir was the Ruling Steward's heir. They were somewhat high ranking men in the kingdom. Y'know what somewhat high ranking men and women in kingdoms are supposed to do?

Marry and have heirs.

Both these men were in their forties. By this point, not only should they have children, but they should probably have grandchildren on the way. I don't really care about their preferences - this is a matter of national security!!!!!

I'm so confused.

[remusjohnslupin]

♦ LOTR WEEK | day four: 'gifts, burdens & choices'

[nihilizzzm]

So let’s talk for a moment about something I was discussing yesterday with my sister only to wake up today and be like “it’s so fuckin obvious why did we miss it?”, but also I think people tend to forget about it, idk.

So we were talking how Faramir is not giving 36 year old man vibes. He just seems younger, more emotionally invested in a way a 20 something year old would be. And then we checked how old are Éomer and Éowyn, because Éomer is in our mind somewhere near Faramir’s age and Éowyn is slightly younger.

So Éomer is 28 and Éowyn is 24.

And Faramir is 36.

And just to throw it in there, because it is important I swear, Boromir is 41 and Théodred is also 41.

And we also only then started talking how Boromir also seems younger than 41, like not much, but somewhere around 35?? Idk, he just has this adult spice to himself but with a hint of lost youthfulness.

And I only now remembered that those Gondor bitches are of the blood of Numenor. Not like Aragorn type of where we all know it’s crazy difference, but they still are.

So it’s now absolutely right to have Faramie vibe with Éomer and Éowyn and for those three to seem like being similar age.

And this also brings me to topic of Boromir/Théodred, one of my fav ships from lotr. Because they are technically the same age, but the line of Húrin is aging slightly differently. So I would risk saying here that Boromir would be slightly more, idk, childish? Less experienced emotionally and less mature? But still a grown man, if we are talking about their potential meeting in their twenties for example.

Idk, the concept of age with lotr is weird to discuss, because shit feels weird sometimes but then u remember none of those characters age as a normal human except the Rohirrim.

So i am deciding to just go with the vibe the character is giving me when it comes to writing.

And just to throw our 87 year old king here, he is in my mind somewhere around 38 to 41 if converted to normal person.

It’s an open discussion I would love to hear from someone who knows tolkien shit better than I do, because those are just some chaotic thoughts

[borom1r]

⚔️ 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒎𝒆 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔 ⚔️

Behold, an Ongoing Project! 📯

I've been wanting to compile this for a while, instead of frantically scrambling for references every time I sit down to write — I thought it would be fun to share! I'm mostly tackling this from the perspective of a fanfic author, and also as someone who's very into viking era-through-renaissance men's fashion and armor.

I think it's really fun to look at the decisions that were made strategically (to maintain actor mobility, for example), because they looked cool (Faramir's pointless hinged piece on his helmet), or because they were actually period-accurate (gambesons under chainmail, or worn as armor by themselves!). I'm also taking it as a chance to point out what these garments say about their owners!

I say this in the document itself, but there's no need to credit me if you reference/use the doc for your own writing ^_^ this is some of my favorite stuff to discuss, so just getting to share it is cool enough to me.

I'm purely focusing on human characters to start, because of the more solid real-world parallels, but I'm happy to add on to this if there are other characters you'd like to see!!

(@potatoflower7 + @rivers-for-me, tagging you both bc you interacted w/ the posts I made when I was just starting this!)

[sotwk]

I hear you are in a Theodred mood?👀 I was wondering if you have any headcanons you'd like to share about him? Or even what you enjoy about writing him?

6 SotWK AU Facts About Théodred

(that I'm looking forward to exploring in my upcoming Rohan WIP)

Théodred is not an only child. He had an older sister. That's right--Idis, daughter of Théoden, exists in the SotWK AU! She was the biggest influence in Théodred's life, the person he loved most. Sadly, Idis passed away from illness when he was just 11 years old, and this deeply affected him.

Théodred is a scholar first and a warrior second. He loves reading, and learned to write at a prodigiously early age. At the time of his death, he knew more about Rohan's histories than even the most experienced scholars in Edoras. He had to be forced by his father to dedicate more of his time to learning military skills.

Théodred is nearsighted, which makes him a poor marksman. As soon as he realized and accepted this deficiency, he focused his efforts on mastering close-quarter combat. He is considered one of the best swordsmen in Rohan.

Théodred values the tradition of shieldmaidens. He pushed for the training of his young cousin Eowyn despite the objections of both Théoden and Éomer. He is the patron and mentor of the shieldmaiden OC in my fic "Taken", and its WIP sequel.

Théodred was nearly betrothed to Lady Morwen, daughter of Hurin of Gondor, in a political match encouraged by their fathers. Ultimately, Théodred declined the engagement, unable to tolerate Morwen's condescension towards Rohan and her ideas (however well-intentioned) about "improving" Rohirrim culture.

Although he did wish to marry and have children, Théodred struggled to find the right woman to settle down with. He felt overwhelmed by his own high standards and the pressure of finding not just a wife, but a Queen who would love and serve Rohan as much he did.

In my head, Théodred is a magnificent character, and it would be a joy and honor to write more about him. (I say as I battle against this dreadful writers' block.)

Bonus headcanon: Théodred is HOT. (Thank you, Charlie Hunnam.)

I'm so happy to be receiving such great Asks from you again, Ace! <3 Thank you for the chance to gush about this man!

[torchwood-99]

At three, Éomer already envies his cousin's sword, helm and horse. But now Eomer has something Théodred doesn't, something that might even be better than sword, (might).

Eomer is a big brother, and very pleased with himself.

[from-the-coffee-shop-in-edoras]

Théoden rant incoming:

It is and always will be absolutely inexplicable to me that Tolkien makes Théoden a kindly and loving uncle and friend and king and ally but an apathetic and insensitive father who doesn’t seem to care about the death of his own son.

We aren’t there when Théoden is informed of Théodred’s death, so who knows how that went. But even if he grieved then, it is WEIRD that he basically never speaks of Théodred again or shows any emotion about him, even in scenarios where he’s directly prompted to.

When—only days after his death, mind you—they ride right through the place where Théodred was killed and buried, Théoden has no reaction. He laments the general loss of men in the battle but doesn’t acknowledge that his own son was among them, and he expresses no interest in looking on his son’s grave. Then they arrive at Isengard and Théoden says he wants to confront Saruman for having done him so much wrong and you think, “Yes! Finally! Tear that old wizard a new one for having murdered your only child!” But again he…doesn’t. He registers a number of righteous complaints (ravaging of the Westfold, killing and maiming of Háma, etc.) but not one of them is about Théodred. The murder of his son just days ago is absent entirely from Théoden’s list of grievances.

It’s not like Tolkien makes up for this silence by giving us ANY indication that Théoden is just too overcome by emotion to speak about Théodred. And it’s not like Tolkien just dropped the narrative thread and forgot about Théodred entirely, because Éomer brings him up (this is why we love Éomer) and reminds (!) Théoden that Saruman killed him. And yet Théoden still says and does nothing about it! So it was a CHOICE to make Théoden seem unfeeling and cold here. And I just don’t get it, because that’s obviously not what Tolkien was going for with the character over all. And it serves no narrative purpose. So why not just toss in a sentence or two to prove that Théoden isn’t a monster about his own son’s death???

(I've seen it suggested that Tolkien is trying to reflect Anglo-Saxon tradition--in which kings sometimes or often preferred their sisters' sons to their own sons because they knew for sure that the sisters' sons were blood relatives and couldn't always say the same of their own sons if they didn't trust their wives--but this...does not reflect any better on Théoden if it's true.)

Ok, rant over. Let’s all palate cleanse with the face of a father who actually did love his son and grieve his loss because PJ understood that this is IMPORTANT: