Images of Northern courage According to the scholar
Elizabeth Solopova, the character of Théoden was inspired by the concept of
Northern courage in
Norse mythology, particularly in the
Beowulf epos: the protagonist of a story shows perseverance while knowing that he is going to be defeated and killed. This is reflected in Théoden's decision to ride against Sauron's far superior army in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. There are also repeated references by Tolkien to a historic account of the
Battle of the Catalaunian Fields by the 6th century historian
Jordanes. Both battles take place between civilizations of the "East" (
Huns) and "West" (
Romans and their allies,
Visigoths), and like Jordanes, Tolkien describes his battle as one of legendary fame that lasted for several generations. Another apparent similarity is the death of King
Theodoric I of the Visigoths on the Catalaunian Fields and that of Théoden on the Pelennor. Jordanes reports that Theodoric was thrown off by his horse and trampled to death by his own men who charged forward. Théoden also rallies his men shortly before he falls and is crushed by his horse. And like Theodoric, Théoden is carried from the battlefield with his knights weeping and singing for him while the battle still goes on. Numerous scholars have admired Tolkien's simile of Théoden riding into his final battle "like a god of old, even as
Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young".
Fleming Rutledge calls it imitative of the language of myth and saga, and
an echo of the messianic prophecy in Malachi 4:1-3.
Jason Fisher compares the passage, which links the blowing of all the horns of the host of Rohan, Oromë, dawn, and the Rohirrim, with
Beowulfs pairing of
ær dæge ("before day", i.e. "dawn") and
Hygelaces horn ond byman ("Hygelac's horn and trumpet") in lines 2941-2944.
Peter Kreeft writes that "it is hard
not to feel your heart leap with joy at Théoden's transformation into a warrior", however difficult people find the old Roman view that it is sweet to die for your country,
dulce et decorum est pro patria mori. The Tolkien scholar
Tom Shippey writes that Rohan is directly
calqued on Anglo-Saxon England,
taking many features from Beowulf, and not only in personal names, place-names, and language. He states that Tolkien's
lament for Théoden equally closely echoes the dirge that ends the Old English poem
Beowulf. Théoden's warriors and gate-guards behave like
Beowulf characters, making their own minds up rather than just saying "I was only obeying orders".
Théoden vs Denethor Tolkien scholars including
Jane Chance contrast Théoden with another "Germanic king",
Denethor, the last of the
Ruling Stewards of Gondor. In Chance's view, Théoden represents good, Denethor evil; she notes that their names are almost
anagrams, and that where Théoden welcomes the hobbit
Merry Brandybuck into his service with loving friendship, Denethor accepts Merry's friend,
Pippin Took with a harsh contract of
fealty. Hilary Wynne, in
The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia, writes further that where both Théoden and Denethor had despaired, Théoden, his courage "renewed" by Gandalf, went to a hopeless-seeming battle at Helm's Deep and won, and then again on the Pelennor Fields where "his attack saved the city of Minas Tirith from sack and destruction". Shippey makes the same comparison, extending it to numerous elements of the two Men's stories, writing that Théoden lives by a theory of Northern courage, and dies through Denethor's despair. ==In adaptations==