Battle of the Pelennor Fields

Eowyn fighting the Witch King

10 Mar 2015 | From Uladzya of Czech Republic

OFFICIAL POSTCROSSING

Éowyn is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, who appears in his most famous work, The Lord of the Rings. She is a noblewoman of Rohan who is described as a shieldmaiden. She was a shieldmaiden of Rohan, daughter of Éomund and Theodwyn, younger sister of Éomer and niece of King Théoden. After the War of the Ring, she married Faramir and had one son with him, Elboron.

In Return of the King, she disguised herself as a man and under the alias of Dernhelm, travelled with the Riders of Rohan to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields outside the White City of Minas Tirith in Gondor, carrying with her Merry Brandybuck, who had also been ordered to remain behind, on her horse Windfola.

During the battle of the Pelennor Fields, she confronted the Witch-king of Angmar, Lord of the Nazgûl, after Théoden was injured. In a rage, the Witch-King attacked her, but she cleaved the head off his Fell Beast. The Witch-King shattered her shield with a blow of his mace, breaking her arm, but stumbled when Merry stabbed his leg from behind with a Barrow-blade of Westernesse make. Éowyn stabbed her sword through the Witch-King's head, killing him, and thus fulfilling Glorfindel's prophecy a thousand years earlier at the Battle of Fornost that "not by the hand of man" would the Witch-King fall.

Éowyn soon passed out from the pain in her arm, and was believed dead until Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth realized she still lived. Éowyn was brought to the Houses of Healing, hovering near death from the effects of having struck the Witch-king. There Éowyn met Faramir, with whom she soon fell in love.