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Middle-Earth Tours
Tour 1: The People of Middle-Earth
Théoden
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Now the four companions went forward, past the clear wood-fire burning upon the long hearth in the midst of the hall. Then they halted. At the far end of the house, beyond the hearth and facing north towards the doors, was a dais with three steps; and in the middle of the dais was a great gilded chair. Upon it sat a man so bent with age that he seemed almost a dwarf; but his white hair was long and thick and fell in great braids from beneath a thin golden circlet set upon his brow. In the centre upon his forehead shone a single white diamond. His beard was laid like snow upon his knees; but his eyes still burned with a bright light, glinting as he gazed at the strangers. Behind his chair stood a woman clad in white. At his feet upon the steps sat a wizened figure of a man, with a pale wise face and heavy-lidded eyes.
There was a silence. The old man did not move in his chair. At length Gandalf spoke. 'Hail, Théoden son of Thengel! I have returned. For behold! the storm comes, and now all friends should gather together, lest each be singly destroyed.' --TTT, "The King of the Golden Hall" |
In the Golden Hall of the Rohirrim,
by Luca Michelucci |
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Théoden, by Dan Govar |
Slowly Théoden left his chair. A faint light grew in the hall again. The woman hastened to the king's side, taking his arm, and with faltering steps the old man came down from the dais and paced softly through the hall. Wormtongue remained lying on the floor. They came to the doors and Gandalf knocked.
'Open!' he cried. 'The Lord of the Mark comes forth!'--TTT, "The King of the Golden Hall" |
detail from a pic of Théoden,
by Timothy Ide |
Théoden Espies the Serpent
Banner, by Michael Kaluta |
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| In the movies, Théoden is played by Bernard Hill (and Wormtongue, incidentally, is played by Brad Dourif). |
image from theonering.net |
image from the TTT visual companion, courtesy of New Line |
image from a Decipher trading card |
Slowly Théoden stretched forth his hand. As his fingers took the hilt, it seemed to the watchers that firmness and strength returned to his thin arm. Suddenly he lifted the blade and swung it shimmering and whistling in the air. Then he gave a great cry. His voice rang clear as he chanted in the tongue of Rohan a call to arms.--TTT, "The King of the Golden Hall" |
image from a Decipher trading card |
image from the official movie site |
image from the official movie site |
For more on Théoden, visit the Rohan section |
Full-size versions of these pictures are on display at Rolozo Tolkien, the official LotR movie site, There and Back Again, and theonering.net.
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