The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Odola

Well-Known Member
The trailer dropped, so we might start discussing it.

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First off - my main problem with it.:

In the original Helm's daughter treated like many women were in "real world" annals - with her "privacy" respected - her name was not mentioned to protect it - even posthumously - from the scandal of the tale (it was perceived as far better for her own reputation to be "forgotten" than to be remembered for the association with a criminal) - to let it untarnished by it.
In former times women were often being shown respect by "not being talked about" (except in context of their "famed beauty" and "famed craft skill"), especially not in dubious contexts - so this approach make sense. Letting a woman be "talked about" was a sign of disrespect toward her, her memory and her family.

But the animation seems to have not sense for such subtleties, and that is the problem for me. It does get neither men's nor women's honour in ancient times - and how those differed - and as the Rohirrim are a "honour culture" and especially this one is a "honour tale", so this setup shown in the trailer feels miles off and a misrepresentation.

The animation seems to make it an "action/agency" story while it is originally a "honour story" - which is a pity.
 
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Well, regarding the heroine's name: "Hera" it is an Old English word meaning "vassal" originating in the verb "to hear" (in the sense "to obey") but it is a male word. Doubt anybody would give male word to name a newborn girl in Rohirric culture.
Do you think it is a nickname?

héra Weak Masculine Noun
One who obeys another, a servant, follower
hera
Weak Masculine Noun
A vassal
 
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no, a lot of licensed products mess up the Anglo-saxon for little reason... it is not like it would be complicated to make up names in the essex dialect and latinize the spelling. I don't know why they put so little effort in the linguistic details ... you could ask most Anglists or Medievists, even i can do it with a little preparation.

They really seem to think languages aren't important and at best a superficial coat... but this is TOLKIEN we're talking about!!!
 
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