Théoden
fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium
Théoden is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings. The King of Rohan and Lord of the Mark or of the Riddermark, names used by the Rohirrim for their land, he appears as a supporting character in The Two Towers and The Return of the King. When first introduced, Théoden is weak with age and sorrow and the machinations of his top advisor, Gríma Wormtongue, and he does nothing as his kingdom is crumbling. Once roused by the wizard Gandalf, however, he becomes an instrumental ally in the war against Saruman and Sauron, leading the Rohirrim into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
Scholars have compared Théoden to Theodoric, King of the Visigoths, and Théoden's death in the battle to Theodoric's in the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields. He has been contrasted, too, with another protagonist in The Lord of the Rings, Denethor Steward of Gondor; where Denethor is harsh, Théoden is open and welcoming.
Fictional biography
The Two Towers
Théoden is introduced in The Two Towers, the second volume of The Lord of the Rings, as King of Rohan. By this point Théoden had grown weak with age, and was largely controlled by his chief advisor Gríma Wormtongue, who was secretly in the employ of the corrupt wizard Saruman. One of the last Hunt for the Ring manuscripts says Wormtongue has "great influence over the king", who is "enthralled by his counsel".
In Unfinished Tales, it is further implied that the failure of the king's health was "...induced or increased by subtle poisons, administered by Gríma".
“Théoden” enters the record as fictional character from J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Théoden, fictional and character can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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This entry incorporates text from “Théoden” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.