Though Hobbits speak the Common Tongue, Westron, they do have their own flavor of it and their own unique words. Hobbit is one such, as is smial (meaning a Hobbit-hole) and mathom (a personal favorite of mine, and a word that I want to enter the English lexicon, meaning “anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away”). The Hobbits originated in the region of the upper Anduin (hence Sméagol living near the Gladden Fields), as did the men of Rohan. So when Merry thinks that he can almost understand much of what the Rohirrim are saying to each other in their own language, it makes sense; think Italian and Spanish. As an example, the Rohirric word for “halfling” is “holbytla,” a clear cousin of the word “Hobbit.” It also serves as a reminder that Tolkien was one of the world’s leading philologists foremost, and that writing fantasy was a side-gig.
Mostly this is a moving-pieces into place chapter. Before the Rohirrim set off for Gondor, they are met by a messenger from Denethor requesting aid, which gives us the opportunity for a nice rundown of the situation. Merry expresses his unhappiness at being left behind, and Éowyn’s despair is apparent as well.
When I first read this, I had absolutely no clue that Dernhelm was in fact Éowyn going off to war, as women have always done. This seems like the opportune moment to link Kameron Hurley’s Hugo-award winning essay “We Have Always Fought”: Challenging the “Women, Cattle, and Slaves” Narrative. It’s a great read, and I link it whenever I feel like it’s appropriate. The overall point is: whenever someone challenges the “realism” of a work that has women doing [insert non-1950s-traditional-gendered-activity here], they’re full of it. Do some research, and you will see that women have always fought. That there have always been those who didn’t conform to “traditional” gender roles. How society has viewed and tolerated them can vary a lot, but they’re always there. Éowyn calling herself a “shield-maiden” isn’t some aberration - she knew how to fight.
In the end, not a lot to say about this chapter - which might be a nice change of pace from the last few entries, all of which were monsters. The next one will be too.
Next time, we have love daddy issues on the battlefield of the Siege of Gondor.