#the riddermark

[theworldsoftolkein]

Éomer & Éowyn - by Fatharani Yasmin

[gizamalblythe]

i know its usually ‘gondor is so much more cultured and advanced compared to rohan’ but the rohirrim hold their horses in the highest regard so i think that not only is rohan far cleaner than gondor, they also know what soap is and aldburg has a sewer system

[themoonlily]

It's not like I have any super defined ideas on this, but I think there's some sweet unexplored ground in the relationship between Éomer and Lothíriel, and how their respective peoples explain the world.

I mean, Rohirrim and their ancestors never took part in the events of the First and Second Ages, and only beccome players during the Third Age. Entire centuries have gone by without them being involved in the grand drama of Middle-earth. One may assume they've heard something about the wars of Beleriand and Númenor the Valar and such - they do hold Oromë in reverence and believe that he brought the ancestors of mearas to Middle-earth - but it's very possible that they have a more or less different idea of how the history of the world has gone down until the War of the Ring than Lothíriel's people in Dol Amroth do.

Sure, they've learnt what they would from Gondor during the alliance between the two kingdoms, but it's bound to be somewhat different from what Gondorians believe. I expect it's some version of their previous knowledge combined or supplemented with what they've heard from their allies. I mean, people don't tend to change their whole worldview at once, they're more likely to add new information to their existing understanding as far as it complements it. Rohirrim's conception of the Elves (and the Golden Wood in particular) seems to attest to this. For them, the Elvish folk has become something strange and dangerous. One may ask: what other things about the history of Middle-earth have altered in their understanding?

And then there's of course the nature of the history of Middle-earth as adapted and translated texts. Gondorians probably have access to very different sources than what Bilbo, the progenitor of the Red Book of Westmarch, did in Rivendell. Dol Amroth might even have more close records of Númenor's history, because the city was established before the Downfall.

But anyway, I think it's safe to say that Lothíriel would have a certain understanding of history and it would be in some ways different than what Éomer, a man raised in an oral culture, would have. It's a very interesting point of difference between them, I think!

[riddikulusims]

One of our favorite parts of owning the Centre Équestre Riddermark, formerly known as the Riddermark Equestrian Centre is watching the horses we own and breed develop in their training over the years and enjoying the progression and competitive success of our training staff.

Snow has started to fall here in France and some of our riders are preparing to go out into the cold for a nice ride. Two of those riders are our own Leanne Forbes and a new, but old addition, Cosette Durand. Cosette worked and lived with us in Ireland for a short time before returning home to France to work alongside he twin sister, Lisette, at Le Centre Equestre des Champs with the infamous Offaly Pietri.

She came to visit when she heard we had relocated and since Le Centre Equestre des Champs has closed its doors, we offered her a position with us and she accepted.

featuring Leanne Forbes with Gettysburg REC and Cosette Durand with Foxberry's Rosentau, both are KWPN stallions

[forth-eorlinga]

[themoonlily]

It's interesting to think of what Lothíriel means to Rohirrim, to Éomer, and in particular the women of Rohan. Sure, they have a legendary example in Éowyn, but as we know, Éowyn goes on to live her life in Gondor. Lothíriel, being the Queen of Rohan, would in many ways be a much closer or at least a more everyday example of female power.

Also there are some really interesting ingredients to what the situation would be after the War of the Ring: there hasn't been a queen since Thengel died, the situation at Meduseld has been toxic for some time, the whole country has been at the brink of destruction, the ruling House is struggling to survive, there are no young heirs... Meduseld is probably in some kind of disarray.

And this is the situation where Lothíriel becomes a queen. She's the first woman in this role in a very long time and only the oldest of the people remember a time when she had a predecessor. I guess Éomer would do his best to make things easier for her, but he doesn't know what it looks like when you have a queen, so I imagine he is going to stumble a bit.

But I guess it's important for Rohirrim to know that now there's a queen in Meduseld. She might not be what the expected, but she's better than nothing. And considering Éomer is called the Blessed, I'm pretty sure she's a damn good Lady of the Mark.

[theworldsoftolkein]

Palace of King Theoden - by Breath-Art

[theworldsoftolkein]

Éomer