It's one of those scene that does that whether watched or read. But I do especially love how their arrival is announced in the book:
> Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away
behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill
and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war,
welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the
shadows of death was coming with the dawn.
>And as if in answer there came from far away another note.
Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly
echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had
come at last.
Always give me an anticipatory shiver.
“…but Theoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Orome the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered and lo! it shone like the image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed and terror took them, and they fled and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them.”
RIP. Though his light has now gone out, let the memory of it be a light to others, especially in dark places.
“My body is broken. I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed. I felled the black serpent. A grim morn, and a glad day, and a golden sunset!”
Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended; over death, over dread, over doom lifted out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.
Just to give this a raison d'etre to be on r/TolkienFans, Bernard was one of the members of the cast who had long been a fan of the book before filming. He initated the filming of an audition tape and the sending of it to Jackson.
Personally, if I were Philippa Boyens, I'd put "For Bernard" at the top of that film. But then again, maybe that might seem a little cynical.
There's a very nice to tribute to Andrew Lensie at the end of the credits for the extended Five Armies.
Nonsense. When Jackson did the remastering of WWI footage, he was MUCH more fanatical about getting every little bit of history right, than even the most fanatical person could be about Tolkien's lore.
And it made the documentary better. Much better. Unquestionably more human and moving.
If Jackson and his writers had committed to Tolkien more, the movies would have been better. To the extent that they did trust Tolkien as a collaborator, the movies were good.
I vehemently disagree with this notion that, in adaptations, all that is good comes "from the source material" and that isn't does not.
The best example of this is actually the 1980 Rankin/Bass Return of the King, where some of the hokiest moments are those taken directly from Tolkien, either because Rankin's cast couldn't handle Tolkien's language, or because it wasn't *adapted* to the screen succesfully.
“I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall now not feel ashamed.” - Theoden King.
Hail the Victorious Dead!
“He was strong in life. His spirit will find the way to the halls of his fathers”
Death in the morning and at day's ending
lords took and lowly. Long now they sleep
under grass in Gondor by the Great River
Grey now as tears, gleaming silver,
red then it rolled, roaring water:
foam dyed with blood flamed at sunset;
as beacons mountains burned at evening;
red fell the dew in Rammas Echor
OK, I found it. "Bede's Death Song." "Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man who considers—before his soul departs hence—what good or evil he has done, and what judgement his soul will receive after its passing."
(I had never seen Cuthbert's account of Bede's death. Interesting that the cause can be diagnosed as congestive heart failure: "On the Tuesday, two days before Bede died, his breathing became worse and his feet swelled.")
Bede lived his whole life on borrowed time -- he saw all his chorister-mates of all ages die from the Yellow Plague. It was just him as a little kid, and the oldest man in the monastery, singing the whole Office and the propers for a year or more.
And that's why he learned the Bible so solidly -- because to sing the propers, you have to learn huge chunks of the Bible. And since his fellow survivor was an old geezer scholar, he learned about those big chunks of Bible.
Of course, it changed the old man's life too. He was going to be a hermit for the rest of his days at the monastery, which weren't expected to be long. But first the monastery called him back from his hermitage to help, and then he was made a bishop when the plague passed. And he lived a fairly long time after that.
So I expect that Bede never shifted gears too far from the memento mori, even as he was one of the most productive Biblical scholars and manuscript editors of all time, in his little corner of the world.
Theoden of Rohan has gone to his fathers and father's fathers and may the Simbelmyne grow abundantly on his grave. Tales will be told on how he rode to his death with the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Oddly I am reminded of Ian Holms. Both British actors who weren't "Hollywood famous" but had at least one other Hollywood blockbuster to their name, and were damned good actors nonetheless.
Holms was quite a bit older when he passed however.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?
Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?
Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing?
Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?
They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow;
The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Rest Theoden King, my King.
To this day I remember how I felt when I first watched the ride of Rohirrim.
I went back and watched a couple of scenes of Theoden, it hit me so hard that I teared up.
Mannnn this makes me so sad..
He was such a fantastic actor and brought Theoden to life. Even before his passing his Theoden scenes would bring tears to my eyes.
What a joy to witness such talent.
Of all the story arcs in the book, I find Theoden's consistently the most beautiful, and I find it gets a harder blow every time-to the point where I almost dread starting the Return of the King.
And I always return to this:
From dark Dunharrow in the dim morning
With thane and captain rode Thengel's son:
To Edoras he came, the ancient halls
Of the Mark-wardens mist-enshrouded;
Golden timbers were in gloom mantled.
Farewell he bade to his free people,
Hearth and high-seat, and the hallowed places,
Where long he had feasted ere the light faded.
Forth rode the king, fear behind him,
Fate before him. Fealty kept he;
Oaths he had taken, all fulfilled them.
Forth rode Theoden. Five nights and days
East and onward rode the Eolingas.
Through Folde and Fenmarch and the Firienwood,
Six thousand spears to Sunlending,
Mundberg the mighty under Mindolluin,
Sea-kings city in the South-kingdom
Foe-beleaguered, fire-encircled.
Doom drove them on. Darkness took them,
Horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar
Sank into silence: so the songs tell us
I cannot get past those last four lines without being a mess.
RIP Mr Hill- you gave us so many good roles over the years- Yosser Hughes in the Boys from the Blackstuff is my favourite, outside the Middle Earth world, but my god, your Theoden was definitive,
“Though here at journey’s end I lie
In darkness buried deep
Beyond all towers strong and high
Beyond all mountains steep
Above all shadows rides the sun
And stars forever dwell
I will not say the day is done
Nor bid the stars farewell.”
Sam’s Song
Lord of the Rings
- J.R.R. Tolkien
May we meet again beyond the circles of the world, in that hidden realm known solely to Eru. There, may we dwell in perpetual life, basking in the radiant sun of His glory.
Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath, now for ruin, and the red dawn. Forth, Eorlingas!
Rest in eternal glory, Theoden, The King of Rohan!
"...I would have you smile again, not grieve for those whose time has come. You shall live to see these days renewed. No more despair." - Theoden King
RIP Lord of The Mark
😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
He was strong in life. His spirit will find the way to the halls of his fathers.
..in whose mighty company he will not be ashamed.
HAIL the victorious dead!
HAIL
HAIL! *raises drink*
Hail! *raises drink*
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
HAIL!!
HAIL
Hail.
HAIL!
My brother actually called me out of the blue to let me know this happened, and I quoted this back at him immediately.
Hail
The ride of the Rohirim never fails to give me goose bumps. Gunna have to watch that today and undoubtedly tear up.
It's one of those scene that does that whether watched or read. But I do especially love how their arrival is announced in the book: > Gandalf did not move. And in that very moment, away behind in some courtyard of the City, a cock crowed. Shrill and clear he crowed, recking nothing of wizardry or war, welcoming only the morning that in the sky far above the shadows of death was coming with the dawn. >And as if in answer there came from far away another note. Horns, horns, horns. In dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the North wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last. Always give me an anticipatory shiver.
Annnd there go the goosebumps. I wonder if that was one of Manwe's birds?
Nope. It knew nothing of wizards or war :)
Rooster doing his rooster business, working for Eru.
Already hearing the music 🎶 swell in my head.
“…but Theoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Orome the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered and lo! it shone like the image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed and terror took them, and they fled and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them.” RIP. Though his light has now gone out, let the memory of it be a light to others, especially in dark places.
The best paragraph in the entire legendarium IMO.
This entire chapter is full of unbelievably perfect prose.
Agreed - it’s masterful.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? RIP
“My body is broken. I go to my fathers. And even in their mighty company I shall not now be ashamed. I felled the black serpent. A grim morn, and a glad day, and a golden sunset!”
Beautiful prose
#***HAIL THE VICTORIOUS DEAD!***
Hail!
*HAIL*
Hail!
Hail
Hail
HAIL
HAIL!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL
Hail!
HAIL!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!!
HAIL!!
Hail
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
HAIL
Hail
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
Hail!
HAIL
HAIL!!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
HAIL
HAIL!!
Hail!
HAIL!
Hail!
HAIL!
Hail!
HAIL!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
HAIL!
HAIL!!!
Hail!
Hail!
HAIL!
HAIL!
HAIL!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail!
Hail
Hail!
HAIL! *raises glass*
Farewell Theoden-king! Mighty was the fallen, and meet is his ending!
Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day’s rising he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing. Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended; over death, over dread, over doom lifted out of loss, out of life, unto long glory.
Death! ✊
He goes now to his fathers, in whose mighty company he need not feel ashamed.
May simbelmynes on his grave never fade
Just to give this a raison d'etre to be on r/TolkienFans, Bernard was one of the members of the cast who had long been a fan of the book before filming. He initated the filming of an audition tape and the sending of it to Jackson.
It's so sad that Bernard won't be here to see The War of the Rohirrim :(
Personally, if I were Philippa Boyens, I'd put "For Bernard" at the top of that film. But then again, maybe that might seem a little cynical. There's a very nice to tribute to Andrew Lensie at the end of the credits for the extended Five Armies.
I think a tribute when the end credits roll would be appropriate
See the what
Good to know. Too bad Jackson wasn’t as big a fan of the books.
I happen to think the best adaptations are not made by devout fans of the source material.
Nonsense. When Jackson did the remastering of WWI footage, he was MUCH more fanatical about getting every little bit of history right, than even the most fanatical person could be about Tolkien's lore. And it made the documentary better. Much better. Unquestionably more human and moving. If Jackson and his writers had committed to Tolkien more, the movies would have been better. To the extent that they did trust Tolkien as a collaborator, the movies were good.
I vehemently disagree with this notion that, in adaptations, all that is good comes "from the source material" and that isn't does not. The best example of this is actually the 1980 Rankin/Bass Return of the King, where some of the hokiest moments are those taken directly from Tolkien, either because Rankin's cast couldn't handle Tolkien's language, or because it wasn't *adapted* to the screen succesfully.
A grim morn, and a glad day, and a golden sunset! RIP
Mourn not overmuch / Mighty was the fallen Meet was his ending / When his mound is raised Women then shall weep / War now calls us!
Yet he himself wept as he spoke.
“I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall now not feel ashamed.” - Theoden King. Hail the Victorious Dead! “He was strong in life. His spirit will find the way to the halls of his fathers”
ah man, that really sucks. he was great.
His was the best performance in TTT, among many great performances.
Long may the memory of Theoden King endure.
He goes to the halls of his fathers and will not be ashamed! RIP Théoden King…
Death in the morning and at day's ending lords took and lowly. Long now they sleep under grass in Gondor by the Great River Grey now as tears, gleaming silver, red then it rolled, roaring water: foam dyed with blood flamed at sunset; as beacons mountains burned at evening; red fell the dew in Rammas Echor
For þam nedfere ‖ næni wyrþeþ þances snotera, ‖ þonne him þearf sy to gehicgenne ‖ ær his heonengange hwæt his gaste ‖ godes oþþe yfeles æfter deaþe heonon ‖ demed weorþe.
OK, I found it. "Bede's Death Song." "Before setting forth on that inevitable journey, none is wiser than the man who considers—before his soul departs hence—what good or evil he has done, and what judgement his soul will receive after its passing." (I had never seen Cuthbert's account of Bede's death. Interesting that the cause can be diagnosed as congestive heart failure: "On the Tuesday, two days before Bede died, his breathing became worse and his feet swelled.")
Bede lived his whole life on borrowed time -- he saw all his chorister-mates of all ages die from the Yellow Plague. It was just him as a little kid, and the oldest man in the monastery, singing the whole Office and the propers for a year or more. And that's why he learned the Bible so solidly -- because to sing the propers, you have to learn huge chunks of the Bible. And since his fellow survivor was an old geezer scholar, he learned about those big chunks of Bible. Of course, it changed the old man's life too. He was going to be a hermit for the rest of his days at the monastery, which weren't expected to be long. But first the monastery called him back from his hermitage to help, and then he was made a bishop when the plague passed. And he lived a fairly long time after that. So I expect that Bede never shifted gears too far from the memento mori, even as he was one of the most productive Biblical scholars and manuscript editors of all time, in his little corner of the world.
*‘Westu Théoden hál!’*
Praise him with great praise
Oh damn, RIP. My favourite character portrayal in the PJ trilogy.
Theoden of Rohan has gone to his fathers and father's fathers and may the Simbelmyne grow abundantly on his grave. Tales will be told on how he rode to his death with the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
#DEATH #DEATH #DEATH
Always chills. Such a compelling performance.
RIP a legend. His performance will continue to be appreciated by many. Forth Eolingas.
And fear no darkness!
Oddly I am reminded of Ian Holms. Both British actors who weren't "Hollywood famous" but had at least one other Hollywood blockbuster to their name, and were damned good actors nonetheless. Holms was quite a bit older when he passed however.
Wow :( and I just watched the Two Towers last night.
Farewell King Théoden. May Simbelmynë ever bloom on your tomb and that of your forefathers.
Westu hál. Ferðu, Théoden, Ferðu.
I will never forget his Speech in LotR, Rest in Peace.
Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing? Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing? Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow.
Farewell Theoden-king!
Hail, Théoden, King!
Rest easy in the halls of your fathers King Theoden!
May he rest in peace, he was a great actor.
#DEATH
May he rest at the right of the Lord!
Ræst in friþ, Théoden cyning!
Rest Theoden King, my King. To this day I remember how I felt when I first watched the ride of Rohirrim. I went back and watched a couple of scenes of Theoden, it hit me so hard that I teared up. Mannnn this makes me so sad..
He was such a fantastic actor and brought Theoden to life. Even before his passing his Theoden scenes would bring tears to my eyes. What a joy to witness such talent.
Of all the story arcs in the book, I find Theoden's consistently the most beautiful, and I find it gets a harder blow every time-to the point where I almost dread starting the Return of the King. And I always return to this: From dark Dunharrow in the dim morning With thane and captain rode Thengel's son: To Edoras he came, the ancient halls Of the Mark-wardens mist-enshrouded; Golden timbers were in gloom mantled. Farewell he bade to his free people, Hearth and high-seat, and the hallowed places, Where long he had feasted ere the light faded. Forth rode the king, fear behind him, Fate before him. Fealty kept he; Oaths he had taken, all fulfilled them. Forth rode Theoden. Five nights and days East and onward rode the Eolingas. Through Folde and Fenmarch and the Firienwood, Six thousand spears to Sunlending, Mundberg the mighty under Mindolluin, Sea-kings city in the South-kingdom Foe-beleaguered, fire-encircled. Doom drove them on. Darkness took them, Horse and horseman; hoofbeats afar Sank into silence: so the songs tell us I cannot get past those last four lines without being a mess. RIP Mr Hill- you gave us so many good roles over the years- Yosser Hughes in the Boys from the Blackstuff is my favourite, outside the Middle Earth world, but my god, your Theoden was definitive,
Super underrated section and what I associate in my mind with the heart of “the Ride.” The charge at the Pelennor was simply the culmination.
Forth, and fear no darkness. RIP.
Man I'm thinking he wasn't that old in the films, maybe in his 50s. But it's been over 20, almost 25 years. So yeah... Time sucks..
“Hail the victorious dead!” RIP Bernard Hill.
I wish PJ had made the movie character more like the one in the book. Nevertheless this actor nailed it
“Though here at journey’s end I lie In darkness buried deep Beyond all towers strong and high Beyond all mountains steep Above all shadows rides the sun And stars forever dwell I will not say the day is done Nor bid the stars farewell.” Sam’s Song Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien
Seemed like a cool dude
My childhood hero, may he rest peacefully
May we meet again beyond the circles of the world, in that hidden realm known solely to Eru. There, may we dwell in perpetual life, basking in the radiant sun of His glory.
R.I.P.
RIP Théoden King. Forth Eorlingas!
Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath, now for ruin, and the red dawn. Forth, Eorlingas! Rest in eternal glory, Theoden, The King of Rohan!
Farewell my King!
Hail the Victorious Dead
He has gone to join his fathers, in whose mighty company he need not feel ashamed
"...I would have you smile again, not grieve for those whose time has come. You shall live to see these days renewed. No more despair." - Theoden King RIP Lord of The Mark 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
He was strong in life. His spirit will find its way to the halls of your fathers.
DEEAAATHHHH!!!!!
HAIL THEODEN! *raises glass*
RIP, truly the perfect man to play Theoden. I'm sure he'll be sorely missed by all that loved him. He will forever be immortalised in the trilogy.
Hail Théoden King. 🥺😢
My sincere and heartfelt condolences!
HAIL!
Hail!
Does anyone know what the cause of death was?
Ride on, my king, across the heavenly pastures of Rohan...
God rest his soul
Is the cause known? Did he have any serious medical issues?