[artanisoflorien]

There's a thread going in the General Discussion Forum about Canon/Fanon, but rather than hijack that thread, I thought I'd post my question here. This is one of those "what is canon?" questions.

What exactly did it mean to be a Shieldmaiden of Rohan? I've gone back through Two Towers and Return of the King and can only find one reference to that term in either book. And it isn't very specific…just a passing mention that Eowyn was one (the one?). I've also searched the Encyclopedia of Arda with no luck. And I've asked my few LOTR-knowledgable friends my questions and have not gotten any answers. Either there is no information, or I'm looking in all the wrong places. So, here are my questions. Help, please?



1. Was it "the Shieldmaiden" (as in only one) or was it "a Shieldmaiden" (as in one of many)?

2. Was this a title that Eowyn inherited by being Theoden's niece? Or could just anyone be a Shieldmaiden?

3. Was there specific training involved? What function did a Shieldmaiden perform?

4. Is this whole Shieldmaiden thing a fun bit of Fanon after all?

I've got this horribly persistant little plot bunny tugging on the leg of my jeans, and if I don't figure out these answers and deal with him soon, the little buggar is going to drive me nuts!



Does anyone know where I can go to find some info? Thanks for any help you can give!

[Ellbee]

[Andreth]

I can't remember any references to exactly what being a shieldmaiden entailed. Eowyn went through some changes in the earlier versions of the story (in the HoMe volume War of the Ring) but I don't recall any explanation on the shieldmaiden distinction.

This article has some information about it, but it's mostly just speculation.

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/tolkien/49877

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

[inglor]

I've heard/read the term Sheildmaiden used in other writings and I don't think it is a Tolkien specific term. I'm fairly certain Ellbee is correct that it is a term for a woman who is trained to fight as a warrior. That is how I've always viewed the term.

When all else fails, Google the term (that makes 5)



Inglor

[Hathor]

My personal view?

She was called a shieldmaiden because... that was what she was. She was a maiden. She had a shield. She knew how to use it. There were probably other shieldmaidens dotted around Rohan over the ages. Perhaps an old tradition from when they lived in the North and needed to defend themselves? Eowyn says in the movie "The women of this country long ago learnt that those who do not use a sword can still die upon them." (Paraphrased.) That indicates that other women can use weaponry, here and there. Just... not many.

There's litle canonical imformation on this (alas!) but there's something that makes me uneasy about thinking there's a whole army of shieldmaidens. Mary-Sues abound and keep on trampling all over my beloved Eowyn.

[miriel361]

Let me think - Bodicea - around this time anyway. Many tribes did not leave their wives behind when they went to war. The women went on to fire on the men, and tend the wounded later on. And if the men lost, the women would fight too. What choice did they have with their menfolk dead? All they had to look forward to then was slavery.

I think they probably were trained.

Some fought too.... think of the Valkyries who even had special powers. It wasn't simply a myth.

More specifically, a shieldmaiden held the shield and protected her man from a rear attack.... although I think I got that one from an SF story and is not based on historical fact

[Roisin]

I got the impression that Eowyn was expected to use her abilities to protect people at home when the men were off at war. Maybe it is sort of an official position given to various women in the royal house of Rohan. Seems sensible enough. Of course I'm not sure what poor Eowyn was supposed to do if she was the only one trained to fight and had nobody but women, children, and old men to back her up.

That was something that bothered me about TTT, and I realize it was faithful to Tolkien, but why were so many able-bodied women stuck in the caves? Hell, give them a sword and put them up on the battlements. They were going to die anyway if the battle went against them.

(And yes I realize that in the book they were at Dunharrow instead, but the same principle.)

Roisin

[Hathor]

Somebody who is untrained with a sword/weaponry is more of a hindrance than a help. I've just started various bits of training for medieval battle re-enactment and oh my god, am I bad. It's so hard to do the job properly, and I've ended up injuring most of my squad in the process.

Now, you could say it's just me and my lack of athletic ability. Which is pretty true. Except for the fact that most if not all newbies are like that. Put a lot of newbies into a battle situation and... yeesh. I think that a lot of them would be quite good if given a little bit of training and a calmer situation, but in reality, they'd be rubbish.

Basically? They'd die anyway if it went against them, but there's a good chance they'd buggar up the whole battle if they were let out into a chaotic situation with no training.

[Yavanie]

In response to Hathor and what can happen to insufficiently trained troops:

have you seen The Last Samurai? The untrained but better armed troops get massacred by the "barbaric, savage" samurai with just swords.

anyway, my twin sister has been training in midevil swordplay and reenactment for 10 years and every time I see her she is covered in bruises.

[Hathor]

[Yavanie]

depends on whose rib(s) you break!!!

[Hathor]

[artanisoflorien]

Thanks to all you guys for the help, the suggestions, and the discussion. This is all great. I'm getting lots of good ideas from you all. I'm envisioning agonizingly strenuous training sessions, bruises, broken bones…poor Eowyn!

Andreth, thanks so much for the link to the article. It's already come in very handy. There's a whole lot more useful information than just the stuff about Eowyn. Now, I've realized, I need to do some more research on Rohan before I get too much further into this!

Hathor, I promise I will try to do my best to do full justice to Eowyn. If any Mary Sues get in her way, I'll have her mow them down!