SHP Forums

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 12:08 am**

Well, I thought you'd love the "War of the Rohirrim". It's LOTR!

I'm curious about it, myself (especially after having read the Silmarillion last year).

So, on the one hand, I've been put off by all the haters writing "reviews". On the other hand ... Haters gonna hate. *shrug*

But it's hard to know what's what, because reviews for this seem to fall into three categories, and there are lots of reviews, and it's difficult to know (at first glance) which is which:

1. A "hater" bagging the film because "OMG! They changed the Tolkien canon! How dare they!"

2. A "hater" bagging this film because "Gaaah! I don't mind the new stuff, but why remove [Character XYZ], who was so significant in the book?"

3. A more measured "Well, this, this and this is good; this one, I didn't care for; and this one, I would've done differently".

And the only responses for #1 and #2 are "Sheesh, OK. Calm down. Raging about it won't change the film. Here's a glass of water. Better now?"

Oh, and by the way: isn't it fun how EVERYONE has helmets, except the Heroine(TM) and the Love Interest(TM) ... even the King of Rohan?

I mean, I know why they do it like that - because the actors' and actresses' agents insist that their face and hair should be revealed as much as possible - but here, it's all animated. So who cares? You want to risk a head injury? You're both rich, you can both afford helmets, so put 'em on, ferchrissakes.

Sorry. I wouldn't normally be this salty about it, except that the same thing happens ... in every ... fantasy ... film. And it drives me bonkers. If this was real, these guys would be the first casualties. I just can't take it seriously.

================
Anyway, I got Torin's Passage in the GOG sale earlier this morning and tried it, just before going out. I was a little confused by the lack of the usual menus (e.g. how to save? How to load? How to quit?) but I'm sure I'll figure it out.

I'll go and retry KQ7 now. Thanks

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:24 am**

Tawmis wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2025 1:39 pm
Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Thu Jan 02, 2025 12:51 am Interesting. (And thank you for reading my Wall of Text(TM)! I feel humbled now).
Yes, I know the feeling of being up all night with games ... but to me, that only happened with two games: Quest for Glory 5 and Neverwinter Nights 1 (the original, not the expansions).
I don't think I can explain logically how playing them felt, at least to me. Looking back at them now, they look and feel a bit basic. But I guess, back then, they felt as groundbreaking as KQ1 must've done, way back then.
Anyway, onward and upward to KQ7! (And then TP! Torin's Passage, not ... the other kind of TP).
People will like what they like. I may give you a difficult time about King's Quest VII or whatever, but in the end, it's all a matter of taste.
For example, plenty of people know I love cartoons. I watch (the original) Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, the Dungeons & Dragons cartoons, X-Men the Animated series, pretty much on repeat (usually go to sleep watching one of those). And plenty of these people that know me have recommended various anime shows that they love - but I just can't get into, because I don't care for the animation style. However, there's always exceptions, like I loved Battle of the Planets. And even most recently I went and saw The War of the Rohiirrim - and it is very much anime style:

But I absolutely loved it.

But overall, never really cared for anime. No matter how much folks may praise some show or movie.

So, I hope you take no offense. We're entitled to enjoy what we enjoy!

(... but Torin's Passage really is great... except for the Butternuts... it's OK to absolutely hate that part...)

I saw it. I am more excited to see Sonic 3 movie today.

But War of Rohirrim is at best, okay if you ignore Tolkien. Which makes it slightly worse since Tolkien is just a good story teller. But from my personal view on the movie. Its at best a guilty pleasure that one might see on TV at best. But i can say this, its atleast better than "Rings of Power" tv series, it atleast wasnt that bad. But yeah its not Tolkien thats the issue only.

When it comes to anime. I tend to rate "Bleach" series very high. Easy to get into, and its not too extreme.

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am**

RE: War of Rohirrim

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:24 am I saw it. I am more excited to see Sonic 3 movie today.
But War of Rohirrim is at best, okay if you ignore Tolkien. Which makes it slightly worse since Tolkien is just a good story teller. But from my personal view on the movie. Its at best a guilty pleasure that one might see on TV at best. But i can say this, its atleast better than "Rings of Power" tv series, it atleast wasnt that bad. But yeah its not Tolkien thats the issue only.
When it comes to anime. I tend to rate "Bleach" series very high. Easy to get into, and its not too extreme.

You're right, it's not Tolkien, because he's been deceased for quite some time.
There is no movie that I can think of that is 100% accurate to the source material.
The Avengers - that's not how they formed in the comics. It's not even close. But still a good movie.
Lord of the Rings, the movie, took quite a few different liberties, still a great series a movies.
The Hobbit.... well, somehow they effed that one up quite a bit. But, mostly can be forgiven.
I seriously doubt Sonic 3 is going to be true to the source, but I bet you're not going to mind that one bit.
But that said, to each their own, as I said before. You didn't enjoy it as much as I did, and that's OK.
I've not seen a single Sonic movie because as much as I loved the games, the movies hold no appeal to me.
But that's not the only one - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, enjoyed the original comics - never saw any of the movies or watched the cartoons.
Mortal Kombat, however, I loved the video game and have seen all the movies (good or bad).

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 1:57 pm**

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am RE: War of Rohirrim

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:24 am I saw it. I am more excited to see Sonic 3 movie today.
But War of Rohirrim is at best, okay if you ignore Tolkien. Which makes it slightly worse since Tolkien is just a good story teller. But from my personal view on the movie. Its at best a guilty pleasure that one might see on TV at best. But i can say this, its atleast better than "Rings of Power" tv series, it atleast wasnt that bad. But yeah its not Tolkien thats the issue only.
When it comes to anime. I tend to rate "Bleach" series very high. Easy to get into, and its not too extreme.
You're right, it's not Tolkien, because he's been deceased for quite some time.
There is no movie that I can think of that is 100% accurate to the source material.
The Avengers - that's not how they formed in the comics. It's not even close. But still a good movie.
Lord of the Rings, the movie, took quite a few different liberties, still a great series a movies.
The Hobbit.... well, somehow they effed that one up quite a bit. But, mostly can be forgiven.
I seriously doubt Sonic 3 is going to be true to the source, but I bet you're not going to mind that one bit.
But that said, to each their own, as I said before. You didn't enjoy it as much as I did, and that's OK.
I've not seen a single Sonic movie because as much as I loved the games, the movies hold no appeal to me.
But that's not the only one - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, enjoyed the original comics - never saw any of the movies or watched the cartoons.
Mortal Kombat, however, I loved the video game and have seen all the movies (good or bad).

I recently saw it. Sonic 3 movie. And i can say. Boy the whole trilogy is amazing, its both entertaining for video game fans but also for people who have no clue about the video games.

I think my only true nerd side nitpick (Which is basically nothing type of complaint is). I sorta feel "Hayden Christensen" if he was cast, would have been more closer to the Shadow the Hedgehog voice actor from the games than "Keanu Reeves". Though nothing against Keanu by any means. But absolutely great movies!

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:04 pm**

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 1:57 pm I recently saw it. Sonic 3 movie. And i can say. Boy the whole trilogy is amazing, its both entertaining for video game fans but also for people who have no clue about the video games.
I think my only true nerd side nitpick (Which is basically nothing type of complaint is). I sorta feel "Hayden Christensen" if he was cast, would have been more closer to the Shadow the Hedgehog voice actor from the games than "Keanu Reeves". Though nothing against Keanu by any means. But absolutely great movies!

That's cool. I am glad you enjoyed it. Did it stay completely accurate to the source material?

Because, it'd be wild if they didn't stick to actual source material and not veer off for the sake of making an entertaining movie.

Am I right?

Please know, it's in jest. I am glad you enjoyed the movie.

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:32 pm**

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 3:04 pm
DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 1:57 pm I recently saw it. Sonic 3 movie. And i can say. Boy the whole trilogy is amazing, its both entertaining for video game fans but also for people who have no clue about the video games.
I think my only true nerd side nitpick (Which is basically nothing type of complaint is). I sorta feel "Hayden Christensen" if he was cast, would have been more closer to the Shadow the Hedgehog voice actor from the games than "Keanu Reeves". Though nothing against Keanu by any means. But absolutely great movies!
That's cool. I am glad you enjoyed it. Did it stay completely accurate to the source material?

Because, it'd be wild if they didn't stick to actual source material and not veer off for the sake of making an entertaining movie.

Am I right?

Please know, it's in jest. I am glad you enjoyed the movie.

I say it was spot on enough where it pleases both game fans and movie fans. They obviously had to take away some fat for it to work in a screenplay for a movie. Example
Eggman gunning robots down in beginning of the game to get to Shadow, is obviously not in the film like it was in the game, or Rouge the Bat. But i thought it was good!

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm**

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am RE: War of Rohirrim

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:24 am I saw it. I am more excited to see Sonic 3 movie today.
But War of Rohirrim is at best, okay if you ignore Tolkien. Which makes it slightly worse since Tolkien is just a good story teller. But from my personal view on the movie. Its at best a guilty pleasure that one might see on TV at best. But i can say this, its atleast better than "Rings of Power" tv series, it atleast wasnt that bad. But yeah its not Tolkien thats the issue only.
When it comes to anime. I tend to rate "Bleach" series very high. Easy to get into, and its not too extreme.
You're right, it's not Tolkien, because he's been deceased for quite some time.

True, of course. But I don't think that's the issue; the issue is that Tolkien gave us the source material for the Second Age (Silmarillion), and "Héra" (the heroine of the film) more or less replaced Haleth and Háma, the sons of Helm Hammerhand - to whom she was a sister (but the Silmarillion says nothing about her).

That's the second time in as many movies (first the Hobbit, now this...) that a female heroine is basically invented out of nothing.

Please let me clarify: I have nothing whatsoever against female leads. I was sorry for Liv Tyler and Miranda Otto when the original LOTR films were made, because in the books, both Arwen and Eowyn did many more heroic films than in the films. (IIRC, in the books Arwen even showed up at the Siege of the Hornburg). But the movies cut those scenes out. I've no idea why. It would've been great to see them get more screen time.

So, more power to women as lead characters, in LOTR and other films. That's what I say!

But when one character (especially one invented out of nothing) replaces one that was already part of the canon...? I don't understand why. Were the film-makers afraid to let the three siblings (Héra, Haleth and Háma) SHARE the screentime, as Karl Urban and Miranda Otto (Eomer and Eowyn) did in the LOTR films? Or were they afraid that the viewing public, who haven't read the Silmarillion, would roll their eyes and say "Sure, sure, here we go again - another Eomer/Eowyn story?"

Keeping the three characters (and giving them equal share) would have made the story richer. The story could do more with three siblings - cooperate with each other, go against each other, tease each other as siblings do, etc.

Alternatively, Helm Hammerhand could also have had more to do as a father; whether it would've been telling his sons to let their sister have her moment, or whatever, it would've been something.

As things stand, Helm's sons hardly shows up in the film, which is a shame. We could (for instance) have seen more from the book, e.g. Haleth defending Edoras and dying on the steps of Meduseld (which would've been better than dying in a generic battle), or Háma and Helm fleeing to Helm's Deep, where Helm might have sought to repent his folly and seek redemption in battle ... I don't know.

BTW, Háma didn't die "in front of Helm's eyes", as in the film; he volunteered to lead an expedition to secure supplies, went out in a snow storm, and was lost). To me, that increases the tension; Helm and the audience are waiting and wondering inside the fortress, not knowing what happened to his son. Maybe a survivor struggles inside to tell him and us? It would definitely be a good tragic scene.

I mean, the film is fine for what it is, but it could be better ... and that's my opinion, for what it's worth. *blush*

What do you think?

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am There is no movie that I can think of that is 100% accurate to the source material.

Agreed.

No movie CAN be 100% accurate to the source material; movies and books (or movies and theatre plays, or ... etc.) are very different media.

- A book can be as long or short as the author wants it to be. The author has complete control: the plan of the story can be changed as needed, etc.
- A film has to keep to a certain length (roughly 2 hours is normal). Changes have to be made, especially if the book is long.

There's lots of other differences for sure, but those are the most important ones.

Posted: **Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:15 pm**

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm True, of course. But I don't think that's the issue; the issue is that Tolkien gave us the source material for the Second Age (Silmarillion), and "Héra" (the heroine of the film) more or less replaced Haleth and Háma, the sons of Helm Hammerhand - to whom she was a sister (but the Silmarillion says nothing about her).

She doesn't replace them. Both brothers are in the animated movie.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm Please let me clarify: I have nothing whatsoever against female leads. I was sorry for Liv Tyler and Miranda Otto when the original LOTR films were made, because in the books, both Arwen and Eowyn did many more heroic films than in the films. (IIRC, in the books Arwen even showed up at the Siege of the Hornburg). But the movies cut those scenes out. I've no idea why. It would've been great to see them get more screen time.

Well, a lot of times, things get cut out because if you were to make a movie exactly like a single book, most movies would indeed end up like three movies (The Hobbit, I am looking at you... but you, you were done horribly).

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm So, more power to women as lead characters, in LOTR and other films. That's what I say!

Agreed, especially if done well. And Hera, to me, was done well. Her interaction with someone else was very, very, cool. Won't say who, as I don't wanna spoil it for ye (or anyone who hasn't yet seen it).

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm But when one character (especially one invented out of nothing) replaces one that was already part of the canon...? I don't understand why. Were the film-makers afraid to let the three siblings (Héra, Haleth and Háma) SHARE the screentime, as Karl Urban and Miranda Otto (Eomer and Eowyn) did in the LOTR films? Or were they afraid that the viewing public, who haven't read the Silmarillion, would roll their eyes and say "Sure, sure, here we go again - another Eomer/Eowyn story?"

Uh, all three DO share screen time. Both of them (the brothers) are in it. A lot. And play very important rolls. And done very well.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm Keeping the three characters (and giving them equal share) would have made the story richer. The story could do more with three siblings - cooperate with each other, go against each other, tease each other as siblings do, etc.

Hera, obviously gets more time, as this is her story. But rest assured, the other two brothers are in it, quite a bit.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm Alternatively, Helm Hammerhand could also have had more to do as a father; whether it would've been telling his sons to let their sister have her moment, or whatever, it would've been something.

Uh, he does.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm As things stand, Helm's sons hardly shows up in the film, which is a shame. We could (for instance) have seen more from the book, e.g. Haleth defending Edoras and dying on the steps of Meduseld (which would've been better than dying in a generic battle), or Háma and Helm fleeing to Helm's Deep, where Helm might have sought to repent his folly and seek redemption in battle ... I don't know.

Um, did you read they don't show up? Because they're in it from the start and all throughout.

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm BTW, Háma didn't die "in front of Helm's eyes", as in the film; he volunteered to lead an expedition to secure supplies, went out in a snow storm, and was lost). To me, that increases the tension; Helm and the audience are waiting and wondering inside the fortress, not knowing what happened to his son. Maybe a survivor struggles inside to tell him and us? It would definitely be a good tragic scene.

I can only say that... the scene you're mentioning it... effing amazing in the movie.
And beyond tragic.

Posted: **Tue Jan 07, 2025 3:45 pm**

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Dec 06, 2024 9:16 pm I remember the chicken, the sky is falling.

Now I know what you mean. But ugh - the voice for that chicken is so high-pitched, it was sometimes difficult to understand what it was going on about, other than "The sky is falling."

Ow, my ears.

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 11:53 pm
Tawmis wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 1:23 pm
DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 12:33 am Well Kings Quest 7 starts off with the most hardest puzzle in the game, then normalize it later.
It just feels like it shouldn't be the first thing to start with, but that may be just me
Which puzzle was it that was the hardest?
Haha good one

But i found the well puzzle hardest. I just struggled a whole lot before I could go further.

I just let the well puzzle go and concentrated on other things first. So I finished Chapter 1 relatively quickly.

I also enjoyed the little rodent trying to trade with Valanice, and his rhymes.

However, I did die in the desert ... just once ... while trying to offer the spirit some water. I'd say that was the hardest thing about chapter 1: the spirit constantly walks off before Valanice has a chance to offer him water. Very frustrating. I kept having to double-back to the well, then back to the desert to try again. Save at the well, back to the desert, can't find the spirit, Valanice dies, repeat.

By the way: what happens if Valanice gives that spirit salt water? (Yes, I know - EVIL!

Valanice would probably say it'd be wrong, or something. But I'm just curious).

Collector wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2024 4:48 pm I have grown to appreciate KQ7 more than when it first came out. It seemed to turn away from all that I liked about KQ6. After all, it is a Jane Jensen game, one of my favorite game designers. And at the time, I disliked the more cartoony artwork in its effort to be more Disney like. However, Neal Grandstaff's soundtrack has really grown on me and Lorelei's writing and puzzles are good. Also, the backgrounds are really enjoyable, in spite of the fact that the sprites still fail me. Sometimes I fire up chapter 3 just to enjoy the "Bountiful Woods".

May I say, I also enjoyed chapter 3's "Bountiful Woods" and the backgrounds. (I'm not sure who played the deer, but he has a nice bass voice). But I most enjoyed the gate-guard and his increasingly ludicrous excuses for why Valanice couldn't come in.

The bridge was interesting. When I first saw it, I was half-expecting Valanice to have to recruit a team of tiny mouse masons who would rebuild the bridge lickety-split! Or something.

I didn't expect the bridge to become a copy of the Bifrost. I'm still not sure HOW that happened. *shrug*

I'm also a bit confused at how quickly, once you repair the bridge, the sky actually does fall.

Is there a connection between the two?

Posted: **Wed Jan 08, 2025 11:28 am**

Rath Darkblade wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 10:46 pm
Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am RE: War of Rohirrim

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 8:24 am I saw it. I am more excited to see Sonic 3 movie today.
But War of Rohirrim is at best, okay if you ignore Tolkien. Which makes it slightly worse since Tolkien is just a good story teller. But from my personal view on the movie. Its at best a guilty pleasure that one might see on TV at best. But i can say this, its atleast better than "Rings of Power" tv series, it atleast wasnt that bad. But yeah its not Tolkien thats the issue only.
When it comes to anime. I tend to rate "Bleach" series very high. Easy to get into, and its not too extreme.
You're right, it's not Tolkien, because he's been deceased for quite some time.
True, of course. But I don't think that's the issue; the issue is that Tolkien gave us the source material for the Second Age (Silmarillion), and "Héra" (the heroine of the film) more or less replaced Haleth and Háma, the sons of Helm Hammerhand - to whom she was a sister (but the Silmarillion says nothing about her).

That's the second time in as many movies (first the Hobbit, now this...) that a female heroine is basically invented out of nothing.

Please let me clarify: I have nothing whatsoever against female leads. I was sorry for Liv Tyler and Miranda Otto when the original LOTR films were made, because in the books, both Arwen and Eowyn did many more heroic films than in the films. (IIRC, in the books Arwen even showed up at the Siege of the Hornburg). But the movies cut those scenes out. I've no idea why. It would've been great to see them get more screen time.

So, more power to women as lead characters, in LOTR and other films. That's what I say!

But when one character (especially one invented out of nothing) replaces one that was already part of the canon...? I don't understand why. Were the film-makers afraid to let the three siblings (Héra, Haleth and Háma) SHARE the screentime, as Karl Urban and Miranda Otto (Eomer and Eowyn) did in the LOTR films? Or were they afraid that the viewing public, who haven't read the Silmarillion, would roll their eyes and say "Sure, sure, here we go again - another Eomer/Eowyn story?"

Keeping the three characters (and giving them equal share) would have made the story richer. The story could do more with three siblings - cooperate with each other, go against each other, tease each other as siblings do, etc.

Alternatively, Helm Hammerhand could also have had more to do as a father; whether it would've been telling his sons to let their sister have her moment, or whatever, it would've been something.

As things stand, Helm's sons hardly shows up in the film, which is a shame. We could (for instance) have seen more from the book, e.g. Haleth defending Edoras and dying on the steps of Meduseld (which would've been better than dying in a generic battle), or Háma and Helm fleeing to Helm's Deep, where Helm might have sought to repent his folly and seek redemption in battle ... I don't know.

BTW, Háma didn't die "in front of Helm's eyes", as in the film; he volunteered to lead an expedition to secure supplies, went out in a snow storm, and was lost). To me, that increases the tension; Helm and the audience are waiting and wondering inside the fortress, not knowing what happened to his son. Maybe a survivor struggles inside to tell him and us? It would definitely be a good tragic scene.

I mean, the film is fine for what it is, but it could be better ... and that's my opinion, for what it's worth. *blush* What do you think?

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:03 am There is no movie that I can think of that is 100% accurate to the source material.
Agreed. No movie CAN be 100% accurate to the source material; movies and books (or movies and theatre plays, or ... etc.) are very different media.

- A book can be as long or short as the author wants it to be. The author has complete control: the plan of the story can be changed as needed, etc.
- A film has to keep to a certain length (roughly 2 hours is normal). Changes have to be made, especially if the book is long.

There's lots of other differences for sure, but those are the most important ones.

One correction. (But i use internet as a source so)
But "Hera" was a made up name for the movie. The daughter of Helm isnt even named originally apparently. But i thought the film was okayish. I enjoyed it more than Rings of Power tv series for sure.

Posted: **Thu Jan 09, 2025 2:28 am**

Tawmis wrote: ↑Fri Jan 03, 2025 11:15 pm She doesn't replace them. Both brothers are in the animated movie ...

Uh, all three DO share screen time. Both of them (the brothers) are in it. A lot. And play very important rolls. And done very well ...

Hera, obviously gets more time, as this is her story. But rest assured, the other two brothers are in it, quite a bit ...

Uh, he (Helm Hammerhand -Ed.) does (appear in the film -Ed.) ...

Um, did you read they don't show up? Because they're in it from the start and all throughout ...

Um, sorry.

Yes, I read a lot of reviews of this film, and a few were annoyed because - apparently? - Helm's part (and the two brothers' parts) were cut back to make it Hera's story.

I wasn't annoyed about that, but some reviews even suggested that Hera's part became so large that her brothers and father hardly even got a look in ... which, I thought, was odd. *shrug*

But it's good that it doesn't happen that way. Oh well. Haters gonna hate.

DonaldDuckCo wrote: ↑Wed Jan 08, 2025 11:28 am One correction. (But i use internet as a source so)

But "Hera" was a made up name for the movie. The daughter of Helm isn't even named originally apparently. But i thought the film was okayish. I enjoyed it more than Rings of Power tv series for sure.

No worries -- and yes, you're right. Helm's daughter, originally, wasn't even named.

I wonder why she was called "Hera", though ... which is a Greek name (Zeus's wife), not Anglo-Saxon. Maybe they wanted something that starts with "H"? Helm, Haleth, Hama ... Hera.

There's a fantastic online source for names, called Behind The Name (the link is to female Anglo-Saxon names).

The website gives you a list of names from any cultural background, together with their meanings, where they originated, famous people with those names, and how popular the names are now. Very useful.

Unfortunately, the only female Anglo-Saxon name that starts with H is Hild (or Hilda). Does sound too heroic, does it ... despite the fact that "Hild" means "battle". RAH!

Or, how about Loefgifu (literally meaning "Beloved Gift")?

I can see Helm calling his daughter his "beloved gift". Or, for a more adventurous name, how about Wassa - a short form of the longer name Wathsige (pronounced WATH-si-geh), composed of the elements wath ("hunt") and sige ("victory"). Yeah!

Sure, they're not as familiar as "Hera" ... but they're a lot more authentically Anglo-Saxon. (And yes, I know I'm going off-topic here).

Posted: **Thu Jan 09, 2025 7:04 pm**

On the name Héra in “The War of the Rohirrim” film: it could have been derived from the Anglo-Saxon name element “here” (OE: “army”) (insofar as the Rohirrim are only Anglo-Saxon-inspired and not genuinely Anglo-Saxons) as attested in two female names listed in the “Regesta Regum Anglorum,” a collection of royal charters from the Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms of England from the seventh century to 1066 C.E.(https://www.s-gabriel.org/names/marieke/anglosaxonfem/): (1.) Heregyð (OE: here [“army”] + guð [“battle”]), the beneficiary of a ninth-century will drawn up in Kent by her husband; and (2.) Hereswyðe (OE: here “army” + wide “strength”), attested as a Northumbrian saint, whose more famous sister, Hilda, was the Abbess at Whitby. Looks like the filmmakers did select a plausible name for this context.

From: https://middle-earth.xenite.org/was-hel ... amed-hera/

Also from that site -

Should All Rohirric Names Be Drawn from Anglo-Saxon Sources?

Actually, no. If you’re naming characters in fan fiction, games, movies, TV shows, or whatever and you want them to be Rohirrim, you don’t have to limit yourself to Old English names. Tolkien occasionally used generic northern names like Baldor, Helm, Hild, and Wulf for his characters. These names might be more likely to occur in Scandinavian languages, and maybe Tolkien was slipping in a philological hint that the Rohirrim maintained some connections to their distant kin in and near Dale (even if only linguistically so).

If you want to create a female character, the names Ella or Inga would probably be suitable. You could also use Aelfwyn, Wulfwyn, and Wynhelm. Wynn, Wyn means “joy, delight” so you could probably add it to almost any noun and make a suitable female name. Hunig is the Old English word for “honey”, so Hunigwyn, Hunwyn could be a girl’s name. Old Norse hunang is the word for “honey”, so Hunwyn might work or Hunja if you wanted the name to be more “Dalish”.

Another pre/suffix you could try using is ást-,-ást (sounds like “ost”). This word means “love” in Faeroese (derived from Old West Norse) and Old English æst,est means “consent, kindness, pleasure”. The name Astrid is generally believed to derive from words meaning “god”+”beautiful” (frida,frid).

Also, from goggle -

In the "Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim" film, Helm Hammerhand's daughter is named Hera because, while Tolkien never explicitly gave her a name in his writings, the filmmakers likely chose "Hera" as a nod to the Greek goddess of marriage and women, potentially reflecting her role as a strong and important figure in her father's lineage and the Rohirrim's history; the name also possibly has a connection to the Anglo-Saxon "here" meaning "army," fitting with the warrior culture of the Rohirrim.

Which this would also make sense, since in the movie, her sole role was the be married to Freca's son, Wulf. So being named after a goddess of MARRIAGE and WOMEN, would truly fit, since Tolkien never gave her a name.

Posted: **Fri Jan 10, 2025 6:33 am**

Fair enough. *nod* I was only bringing this up because I write historical fiction (and have been for years), so when I write a story, one of my main concerns is choosing the right names for my characters.

LOTR, and Middle-Earth more generally, is - of course - not historical fiction. The books, though, are inspired deeply by Anglo-Saxon and Norse myths and naming conventions, and the films are further inspired by Anglo-Saxon and Norse architecture, blacksmithing techniques, etc. (Note that I said "inspired by"; I'm not expecting LOTR to have Vikings or Anglo-Saxon warriors, obviously!)

So, if the film-makers chose the name "Hera" from Greek myth, it's an odd choice. If it's a linguistic choice from Old English or Old Norse, that's more understandable. That's all.

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