Alignment | Protagonist |
---|---|
Race | Man |
Weapons/Equipment | Spear Sword Shield |
Dead or Alive | Alive |
Nationality | Rohan |
Status | King of Rohan |
Éomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings.
Lore[]
The son of Éomund and Théodwyn, of the House of Eorl; Éomer is the third Marshal of the Riddermark at the start of the Lord of the Rings. Both he and his sister, Éowyn, were adopted by their uncle Théoden, king of the Rohirrim, after their parents' death. His first appearance in the story is in The Two Towers, as the leader of the éored who attacked and killed the Uruk-Hai who had kidnapped the Hobbits, Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took as they camped near Fangorn forest. He helped Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas by providing them with two horses, Hasufel and Arod; and guiding them to the spot where the attack had taken place.
On his return to Edoras, Éomer reported to Théoden of his meeting of the Ranger and his companions, and is promptly imprisoned on the orders of Gríma Wormtongue. Grìma, who had been keeping the king in a sickly stupor, had the power to do so, being Théoden's advisor, as well as the King having signed the order. Soon thereafter, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas arrived in Edoras with Gandalf the White, who released the king from Saruman's spell. Éomer was released and restored in honour, in which role he contributes to success at the battle of the Hornburg. Here there is a discrepancy between the film and the book. In the second volume of The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers; he and his éored, led by Théoden and Aragorn, drove Saruman's army of Orcs and Dunlendings from the walls of the Hornburg, buying valuable time for Gandalf to arrive with Erkenbrand. In the film The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Éomer is not present for most of the battle; he arrives at the last moment with Gandalf.
Éomer has a major role in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, the pivotal battle of The Return of the King. After he fought bravely for Rohan and Gondor, he was dismayed to find Théoden mortally wounded in the battle and Éowyn lying unconscious and seemingly dead nearby. Théoden, with his dying breath, appointed him King of Rohan, and Éomer decided to throw himself and the remaining Rohirrim at the endless waves of enemies, hoping to weaken them as much as possible, even at the expense of his men and himself. However, Aragorn saved them when he arrived unexpectedly from Pelargir, fulfilling his prediction that the two leaders would fight together again. Aragorn's arrival and reinforcements routed the Orcs, and he and Éomer won the battle. Aragorn's healing hands, along with his Ranger's knowledge of medicinal plants, later restored Éowyn to perfect health.
At the climax of The Return of the King, Éomer accompanied Aragorn to the Gates of Mordor for the final stand against Sauron. Their hope was to distract Sauron long enough for the One Ring to be destroyed in Mount Doom, leading to his downfall. After Théoden's funeral, Éomer stayed in Minas Tirith to help Aragorn, now King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom, rebuild his kingdom.
Éomer had met Princess Lothíriel of Dol Amroth during his stay in Gondor, and they were soon wed. She later bore him a son. Éomer's sword was called Gúthwinë (Old English: gūð wine, "battle friend"), and was a gift from his father, Éomund.
Adaptations[]
In the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings by Ralph Bakshi, Éomer is portrayed as a renegade. He does not have many lines, but is still important to the plot.
He also appears in the 1980 Rankin/Bass animated version of The Return of the King, albeit without lines.
In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Éomer was played by New Zealand actor Karl Urban. His role is somewhat diminished in comparison to the books. In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, he is exiled by Gríma before meeting Aragorn. As an outcast, he leads a troop of riders loyal to King Théoden northward out of Rohan rather than being imprisoned in Edoras.
In both the Bakshi and Jackson versions, he arrives at the climax of the "Battle of Helm's Deep", accompanied by Gandalf (although the animated film does not single him out at Helm's Deep). In this sense, his character has been combined with the character of Erkenbrand, who, in the book, is the one with whom Gandalf returns to Helm's Deep.
Éomer's actions in Jackson's adaptation of The Return of the King did not significantly depart from those in the book, save for a few scenes (such as Éomer letting out a defiant cry at the approaching Corsair ships during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, only to realize the ships have been captured by Aragorn) that were omitted for time. In Jackson's adaptation Éomer is also responsible for the death of the leader of the Mûmak-riding Haradrim, while in the book it is Théoden who slays the Haradrim chieftain, who is on horseback. Also, Éomer's speech after Théoden's death in the book is spoken instead by Théoden himself before the first charge in the movie. Neither is Éomer present at the death of Théoden in the film. The close friendship he shares with Aragorn in the books is not developed in the films.