# Lady Eowyn as a Fighter...



## HLGStrider (Apr 22, 2002)

It always seemed a little far fetched that Eowyn could jump on a horse and defeat the Nazgul... so I was wondering, do you think that she had any training? I mean, was it just luck and instinct that let her beat the evil creature, or was she a cronic tom boy who had managed to sneak into fencing lessons?


----------



## Elias (Apr 22, 2002)

I don't think that it was just luck. She had obviously a lot of training before she even thought about to go to the fight. It would have been stupid not to train before attacking a nazgul (you have to be really brave or very stupid to attack, there's no doubt about that Eowyn was brave).


----------



## Niniel (Apr 22, 2002)

Of course she had training. She calls herself 'shield-maiden of the Rohirrim', so she must have been trained in fighting.


----------



## Beleg Strongbow (Apr 22, 2002)

Not what everyone says is correct. She probably did have some training though. Probably by herself though. Fighting runs in her blood and she definitley isn't a coward. That would all have helped to kill the nazgul. She would have seen her bro Eomer go to battle and fight lots of times so she had an idea wat to do. She was sort of a tom boy 2.


----------



## Eomer Dinmention (Apr 22, 2002)

With her personality, i think that maybe Eomer and Eowyn might have trained together. Maybe Eomer might have taught Eowyn. But i think that she defenately had help. but from who. I don't know


----------



## Elanor2 (Apr 22, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Niniel _
> Of course she had training. She calls herself 'shield-maiden of the Rohirrim', so she must have been trained in fighting.



That "shield" thing rings a bell. If I remember correctly, Roman tradition says that the celts and brittons had some women fighters in with them. I think that they use to ride in the chariots with the men and used shields to protect the archer/swordman.

However, this would not fit with the Rohirrim, who were mostly light cavalry, but it might be related. Perhaps part of the women's training was done with shields, to protect the fighting men from arrows or swords. If Eowyn had that kind of training, she might have picked up lots of hints about sword fighting too.

Does someone know more about Rohirrim fighting techniques?


----------



## Lantarion (Apr 22, 2002)

I suppose the Rohirrim were not so much a warlike people but rather a pretty equal lot. They believed in equal rights for men and women (which sort of contradicts the obviously feudal-related kingdom-system used in Middle-Earth, but there you go), and so why wouldn't women be trained in military combat arts like men? I suppose the men valued the stay-at-home feature in ost women, but they wouldn't stand in the way of their will. Despite their more frail physical body they would certainly be able to learn to use a sword, probably a bow, and maybe a spear. 
Anyway, I do think Éowyn was trained in battle. She might have done it partially in secret, with her father being a sort of conservative oldie, but I believe she learned a few tricks from her brother.


----------



## Gandalf White (Apr 22, 2002)

*But.......*

Do we even know that Eowyn defeated the Nazgul? It could have been Merry, don't you think? It's rather unclear at this part in the book.


----------



## Gil-Galad (Apr 22, 2002)

We shouldn't forget that Eowyn like all Rohirrims liked riding and horses,so it's obvious she was able to ride.I'm not sure whether she had any fighting skills but it was said that not a man's hand would kill the chief of the Nazguls...so I think she was the only woman who would kill the boss.It was just a fate,I think.


----------



## HLGStrider (Apr 22, 2002)

Even if she didn't take out the Nazgul himself, she definately killed his flying beast! That's a feat in itself. 
That women would be allowed to train doesn't go along with Eowyn's little speech to Aragorn about women being allowed to throw themselves on their man's funeral pyre, but not fight... Or am I remembering that wrong? It does seem that she must've had some training.


----------



## Anamatar IV (Apr 22, 2002)

how much training do you need to swing a sword at a corrupted dragons head while he speeds by and then stand up to the lord of the nazgul?  Of course she had training. They should m,ke a book bout the rohirrim.


----------



## HLGStrider (Apr 22, 2002)

Horse riding isn't the same as using a sword...


----------



## Anarchist (Apr 22, 2002)

A part of "The Return of the King" might solve this debate. It's when Aragorn meets Eowyn. In their talk, Eowyn says these words:



> But I am of the house of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade and I do not fear either pain or death.



I don't think she says these things just to win Aragorn's heart. Her spirit is strong and she states clearly that she knows how to wield a blade. In this discussion she cintinously states that she wants to go to war, not to stay and defend the castle. I am sure she has had some training, perhaps because she is the daughter of the king or maybe because the women of Rohan are all trained for war.


----------



## Greenwood (Apr 22, 2002)

Anarchist

I think you are right. Probably most Rohirrim of both sexes, at least of the nobility, learned how to ride. Eowyn being the neice of the King and daughter and sister to a Marshal of the Mark also probably received some training in the use of a sword.


----------



## Niniel (Apr 23, 2002)

I agree, I don't think that all the women of the Rohirrim were trained in fighting, but Éowyn must have been, because she was a noble woman. I think she did slay the Nazgul eventually, I re-read the part yesterday. First she slays his flying beast, then Merry stabs the Nazgul from behind in his leg, and Éowyn then stabs him in the chest. So she does kill him.


----------



## e.Blackstar (Jan 29, 2005)

Well I suppose that Eowyn maybe was a bit more of a rouge/tomboy than most so she learned to fight, but it probably also had to do a bit with her being noble, having clout with the hierarchy, and also growing up with the king, a prince, and her brother the warrior.


----------



## Valandil (Jan 30, 2005)

e.Blackstar said:


> ... and also growing up with the king, a prince, and her brother the warrior.



And maybe too, that neither her mother (d. when Eowyn was 7) nor Queen Elfhild (d. at Theodred's birth - 17 years before Eowyn was even born) was around. Either of their feminine influences may have tried to deter Eowyn's interest in martial pursuits - or at least successfully prevented her interests from being satisfied.

I think you're right - growing up with her older brother, with her much older cousin - with an indulgent uncle who gradually became more and more distracted, as she grew more and more into a young woman... good opportunity for her to get to learn those skills.


----------

