#women of middle earth

[suzannahnatters]

So here's one of the coolest things that has happened to me as a Tolkien nut and an amateur medievalist. It's also impacted my view of the way Tolkien writes women. Here's Carl Stephenson in MEDIEVAL FEUDALISM, explaining the roots of the ceremony of knighthood: "In the second century after Christ the Roman historian Tacitus wrote an essay which he called Germania, and which has remained justly famous. He declares that the Germans, though divided into numerous tribes, constitute a single people characterised by common traits and a common mode of life. The typical German is a warrior. [...] Except when armed, they perform no business, either private or public. But it is not their custom that any one should assume arms without the formal approval of the tribe. Before the assembly the youth receives a shield and spear from his father, some other relative, or one of the chief men, and this gift corresponds to the toga virilis among the Romans--making him a citizen rather than a member of a household" (pp 2-3). Got it?

Remember how Tolkien was a medievalist who based his Rohirrim on Anglo-Saxon England, which came from those Germanic tribes Tacitus was talking about? Stephenson argues that the customs described by Tacitus continued into the early middle ages eventually giving rise to the medieval feudal system. One of these customs was the gift of arms, which transformed into the ceremony of knighthood: "Tacitus, it will be remembered, describes the ancient German custom by which a youth was presented with a shield and a spear to mark his attainment of man's estate. What seems to the be same ceremony reappears under the Carolingians. In 791, we are told, Charlemagne caused Prince Louis to be girded with a sword in celebration of his adolescence; and forty-seven years later Louis in turn decorated his fifteen-year-old son Charles "with the arms of manhood, i.e., a sword." Here, obviously, we may see the origin of the later adoubement, which long remained a formal investiture with arms, or with some one of them as a symbol. Thus the Bayeux Tapestry represents the knighting of Earl Harold by William of Normandy under the legend: Hic Willelmus dedit Haroldo arma (Here William gave arms to Harold). [...] Scores of other examples are to be found in the French chronicles and chansons de geste, which, despite much variation of detail, agree on the essentials. And whatever the derivation of the words, the English expression "dubbing to knighthood" must have been closely related to the French adoubement" (pp 47-48.)

In its simplest form, according to Stephenson, the ceremony of knighthood included "at most the presentation of a sword, a few words of admonition, and the accolade." OK. So what does this have to do with Tolkien and his women? AHAHAHAHA I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED. First of all, let's agree that Tolkien, a medievalist, undoubtedly was aware of all the above. Second, turn with me in your copy of The Lord of the Rings to chapter 6 of The Two Towers, "The King of the Golden Hall", when Theoden and his councillors agree that Eowyn should lead the people while the men are away at war. (This, of course, was something that medieval noblewomen regularly did: one small example is an 1178 letter from a Hospitaller knight serving in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem which records that before marching out to the battle of Montgisard, "We put the defence of the Tower of David and the whole city in the hands of our women".) But in The Lord of the Rings, there's a little ceremony.

"'Let her be as lord to the Eorlingas, while we are gone.' 'It shall be so,' said Theoden. 'Let the heralds announce to the folk that the Lady Eowyn will lead them!' Then the king sat upon a seat before his doors and Eowyn knelt before him and received from him a sword and a fair corselet."

I YELLED when I realised what I was reading right there. You see, the king doesn't just have the heralds announce that Eowyn is in charge. He gives her weapons.

Theoden makes Eowyn a knight of the Riddermark.

Not only that, but I think this is a huge deal for several reasons. That is, Tolkien knew what he was doing here.

From my reading in medieval history, I'm aware of women choosing to fight and bear arms, as well as becoming military leaders while the men are away at some war or as prisoners. What I haven't seen is women actually receiving knighthood. Anyone could fight as a knight if they could afford the (very pricy) horse and armour, and anyone could lead a nation as long as they were accepted by the leaders. But you just don't see women getting knighted like this.

Tolkien therefore chose to write a medieval-coded society, Rohan, where women arguably had greater equality with men than they did in actual medieval societies.

I think that should tell us something about who Tolkien was as a person and how he viewed women - perhaps he didn't write them with equal parity to men (there are undeniably more prominent male characters in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, at least, than female) but compared to the medieval societies that were his life's work, and arguably even compared to the society he lived in, he was remarkably egalitarian.

I think it should also tell us something about the craft of writing fantasy.

No, you don't have to include gut wrenching misogyny and violence against women in order to write "realistic" medieval-inspired fantasy.

Tolkien's fantasy worlds are DEEPLY informed by medieval history to an extent most laypeople will never fully appreciate. The attitudes, the language, the ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS use of medieval military tactics...heck, even just the way that people travel long distances on foot...all of it is brilliantly medieval.

The fact that Theoden bestows arms on Eowyn is just one tiny detail that is deeply rooted in medieval history. Even though he's giving those arms to a woman in a fantasy land full of elves and hobbits and wizards, it's still a wonderfully historically accurate detail.

Of course, I've ranted before about how misogyny and sexism wasn't actually as bad in medieval times as a lot of people today think. But from the way SOME fantasy authors talk, you'd think that historical accuracy will disappear in a puff of smoke if every woman in the dragon-infested fantasy land isn't being traumatised on the regular.

Tolkien did better. Be like Tolkien.

#tolkien #middle earth #jrr tolkien #lord of the rings #lotr #the lord of the rings #eowyn #writing fantasy #fantasy #female characters #writing #historical fiction #medieval women #medieval history #medieval #history #womens history

[autistook]

Happy International Women's Day 💗🌷

#lotr #lord of the rings #the lord of the rings #girl power motherfucker #eowyn #éowyn #arwen #lotr arwen #arwen undómiel #arwen evenstar #rotk #fotr #tolkien #lotr gifs #lotr edit #lotredit #middle earth #Middle-Earth #jrrt #international women's day

[mrkida-art]

Bear women from Middle Earth

#beorning #beornings #beorning women #my art #the hobbit #tolkien #lotr #the lord of the rings #lord of the rings #the silmarillion #middle earth #jrr tolkien #tolkien fanart #skin-changers #western beornings #GIANT BEAR LADIES #yeee

[cultofthewyrm]

LOTR: Eowyn & Witch King Angmar by Coliandre

#lord of the rings #the witch king of angmar #eowyn #pelennor fields #warrior women #fantasy art #middle earth

[anghraine]

cressida-jayoungr replied to this post:

Wait, what's this about squirrels? That's one I haven't run across!

It's one of the many factoids from Tolkien's essay on Númenor in The Nature of Middle-earth! He talks about gender and relationships with animals there:

they [Númenórean women] were generally nearer to men than is the case with most races in stature and strength, and were agile and fleet of foot in youth. Their great delight was in dancing (in which many men also took part) at feasts or in leisure time ... But nearly all women could ride horses, treating them honourably, and housing them more nobly than any other of their domestic animals. The stables of a great man were often as large and as fair to look upon as his own house. Both men and women rode horses for pleasure ... and in ceremony of state both men and women of rank, even queens, would ride, on horseback amid their escorts or retinues ... The Númenóreans trained their horses to hear and understand calls (by voice or whistling) from great distances; and also, where there was great love between men or women and their favorite steeds, they could (or so it is said in ancient tales) summon them at need by their thought alone. So it was also with their dogs. For the Númenóreans kept dogs, especially in the country, partly by ancestral tradition, since they had few useful purposes any longer ... It was men rather than women who had a liking to keep dogs as "friends". Women loved more the wild (or "unowned") birds and beasts, and they were especially fond of squirrels, of which there were great numbers in the wooded country. ...The woods of Númenor abounded in squirrels, mostly red, but some dark brown or black. These were all unafraid, and readily tamed. The women of Númenor were specially fond of them. Often they would live in trees near a homestead, and would come when invited into the house. (NOME 325-326, 335-6)

Conclusion: a) Númenóreans were, as a people, significantly larger than other humans, b) Númenórean women were more similar in size and strength to the men of their people than is usual among humans, and c) these gigantic women liked to befriend normal squirrels.

#just envisioning 6'9" númenórean women setting eyes on random squirrels: FRIEND!!!!! #cressida jayoungr #respuestas #nature of middle earth #legendarium blogging #númenórë #team dúnedain #long post

[merilles]

A messy doodle of Dúvain and Amarthiel~

#prepare for trouble and make it double! #middle-earth is plagued by not one but two (2) evil women with swords #lotro #lotr #amarthiel #narmeleth #nazgul #the black blade of lebennin #oc #lotr oc #oc: duvain #my ocs #art #my art #merilles

[thatannoyingbitch]

eowyn getting rejected by a man and responding by killing the witch king then falling in love with someone way hotter than the guy who rejected her is such an inspiration to me

#eowyn #eowyn of rohan #lotr eowyn #lotr #lotr shitpost #eowyn x faramir #lord of the rings #witch king of angmar #i am no man #women with swords #the lord of the rings #middle earth #tolkien jokes #lotr funny #lotr memes #tolkien funny #lotr jokes #faramir x eowyn

[cambion-companion]

How it feels

#comfort characters #aemond targaryen #fictional love #lord of the rings #house of the dragon #star wars #immersive daydreaming #fictional men #fictional crushes #men written by women #harry potter #middle earth #westeros

[geekashgaming]

Y’all I just gotta say, if you’re gonna whine over lady custodes let me just say…. I’m actually thinking of buying them now just to make the neckbeards cranky. I’ve been in this hobby for 2 decades and have heard so much whiney bs from grown men who don’t think women belong in the hobby PERIOD!

If you really are so easily offended then let me just say… you wouldn’t last if you were a minority. We have actual shit to deal with. You go ahead and keep pretending like you’re not the snowflake though I guess.

#warhammer community #warhammer miniatures #big gay #tabletop #chaos daemons #warhammer 40k #warhammer age of sigmar #great unclean one #lotr #middle earth strategy battle game #40k #right wing chuds #adeptus custodes #women #women space marines next #geeky girls

[love-from-middle-earth]

It is not a betrayal to be happy while others are suffering. No matter what is going on in the world, in your life, or in the lives of those around you, you are allowed to do things you enjoy. You are allowed to smile. You are allowed to think about other things. Never taking time for yourself is not a sustainable or healthy strategy in any context, but especially not when you’re handling heavy emotional matters or working to make changes in the world. Those things are vital and important, but so are you, and without you, that important work couldn’t get done! So allow yourself to rest. To be joyful. To laugh and have fun. You—and life—are both complex enough to hold dualities.

Love,

Rosie Cotton-Gamgee

#rosie cotton #love from middle earth #self care #self love #tolkien characters #tolkien women #encouraging words #positivity #mental health #jrr tolkien #encouragement #lotr #middle earth #lord of the rings #tolkien #emotional health

[who-canceled-roger-rabbit]

Given my, uh, feelings for both Ungoliant and Ursula, I guess my “type” is immense eldritch villainesses with eight limbs and names starting with U

#mind you i still need to read the #silmarillion #but i know about #ungoliant #from cultural osmosis and especially from tv tropes #evil women tag #ursula #the little mermaid #tolkien's legendarium #middle earth #j. r. r. tolkien #j.r.r. tolkien #j r r tolkien #jrr tolkien

[maia-radfemdu]

me: :(

middle aged Spanish lady: vida/cielo/preciosa/guapa/cariño/mona/corazón etc etc

me: :) <3

#personal #this Earth is built o n the shoulder of middle aged women and we should respect them more methinks

[darklordsauron]

My evolution of my feeling towards Amazon's Rings of power series Part 2:

Me after watching the director talk about it-

Me after researching the theories about the meteor (most likely that it is Sauron)-

Me after finding out about the nomadic hobbits-

Me after seeing the orcs-

Me after Amazon accused the Tolkienites of being racist -

(There definitely was racist bastatds complaining for no fucking reason. They are wrong and deserve to die horribly. However 90% of the Tolkienites are good people who have more than one brain cell. It was just wrong of Amazon to accuse the entire fandom.)

Me after seeing Gil-Galad-

After watching trailer 2-

Me presently-

#amazon series #amazon #the rings of power #long hair for the elves #the silm #the silm fandom #lord of the rings #jrr tolkien #dwarven women deserve beards #gil galad #the silmarillion #lord of the rings meme #the silmarillion meme #middle earth #why #lotr #memes #stop amazon #amazon is a money sucking machine #second age #tolkien elves #tolkien #elves #the hobbit #tolkienite

[fandomsarefamily1966]

“There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”

#little women #the lord of the rings #frodo baggins #I HAD TO OKAY #think about it though #like many of us who are disabled and/or mentally ill #they 'try not to be a trouble' to their loved ones #EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE CARRYING SOMETHING THAT'S LITERALLY KILLING THEM #and they're happy to carry that pain so no one else will have to #and they don't (often) complain even though they'd have every right to #and just like in my parallel quotes #they try to comfort their loved ones as they're ready to depart this world #and I don't think people realized just how much Frodo had done for Middle-earth until he was gone #I just... #😭 #❤️ #💔 #(yes I know Frodo isn't shy) #(but I think the rest applies very well)

[l-alan-l]

Ngl after watching two more episodes of Rings of Power I got used to short haired elves (some still look goofy to me but nvm) and as the story unfolds more and more I started to actually like the show.

#still mad about the beardless dwarf women #middle earth #tolkien #lotr rings of power #rings of power

[richardnixonbutagirl]

my crush asked me if I was a cheerleader when I was in high school and I had to admit that I didn’t even go to high school <3 just normal girl things

#it was because I mentioned pom poms and bringing in my old toy ones to cheer on my friend #we were sitting on the same table #I asked if I could move his backpack so that I could sit down because I was tired and had cramps and he so sweetly said ‘yes of course!’ #and moved it himself which is the bare minimum of decency but like he just was so soft spoken oh jeez #I told him that I wasn’t homeschooled because of any weird religious reasons #and he jokingly said ‘tell us about the flat earth Natalie’ #just some very normal things that gave me butterflies today!! #he also was judgmental of dudes that date way younger women so wonk wonk I don’t have a chance #and he imitated a raccoon and ate candy like Warren Beatty ate that carrot in bugsy #just to make me laugh <3 #and I took off my pants again today and he didn’t even flinch because he’s already seen me naked oh silly Natalie #also I was modeling for my friend and he took some test shots while I was talking incessantly about Clint Eastwood go figure #and he was concerned about my lack of sleep! and he said that he hated that some dudes had made me uncomfortable! #and he HARSHLY judged the middle aged man I was trying to have a thing with when I was 19 #and uh uh uhhhh #what else #you know I really should just keep a diary like a normal person #whatever anyway it was a nice day even without him because I had fun with my friends even though I was dog tired #also the boy who asked me out before is messaging me and he BEAMED when he saw me today but idk that’s also just how he smiles #so maybe it means nothing #personal