Tolkien Reads The Ride of the Rohirrim
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 มิ.ย. 2023
- Tolkien reads the Ride of the Rohirrim. The original version of this/the channel that originally posted this video seems to no longer exist, so I am reposting it here for all to enjoy! I would give them credit if I could. If anyone knows them, let me know!
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#tolkien #lordoftherings #lotr
If you ever feel like you can't ever create anything worthwhile, remember that Tolkien thought this sequence was kind of weak and considered scrapping it.
Great point! Haha
I mean, he was really lucky on that editorial decision because that sequence just barely salvaged the entire trilogy.
@@jdeckape what
@@jonathanlindstrom347 sarcasm
@@jdeckape *embarassed noises*
RIP Bernard Hill
I go to my fathers in whose mighty company, I shall not now feel ashamed
And so passes Théoden, King of Rohan, Lord of the Riddermark, Last of the second line of Kings and first of his name. May he find honor in the halls of his fathers.
Hail the victorious dead.
Hail!
God I love hearing his pronunciations and cadence. The part where he says spears shall be shaken. Shields be splintered sounded for all the world to me like it was from the Beowulf intro.
It’s magic
Totally, but Tolkien’s Beowulf 😍
What is brilliant about Tolkien's prose here, is that there really isn't detail about the actual fight itself, more of the epic and poetic nature of what it felt like to have witnessed such an event. Mythic.
Epic
Never before and again was a mortal man compared to one of the Valar, a middleman none the less. I hope that Bernard Hill is now sitting next to the Valar and his forefathers in peace.
Rest In Peace
Amen
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast "I go to the halls of my fathers but even in their grand company I shall not be ashamed" rest easy Bernard Hill
Not with the Valar, as they are bound to the circles of the world, unlike men. If he were to be with someone other than his forefathers, it would rather be with Illuvatar.
This was beautiful. J.R.R. Tolkien was indeed as masterful linguist. Imagine listening to him reciting the entire trilogy as an epic ballad.
It gets to me too
As story-tellers go, Tolkien is up there with Homer, Shakespeare, and whoever wrote Beowulf.
Now I wish we had an audiobook with Tolkien reading his own works like this. What a WONDERFUL voice he had for narrating.
Something AI will be able to do within a couple of years probably
@@alexk8599 If not already. I wonder if anyone has yet petitioned his estate on the matter.
@@alexk8599that would be orc-work indeed
I love how Tolkien gets caught up in the moment while reading this
And why wouldn't he ,he never saw it in motion picture as he died in 1973
“I go to my fathers, in whose mighty company I shall not now feel ashamed…” King Thoden of Rohan
If only Tolkien had narrated his entire work
What for, then no one would want to watch Lord of the Rings lol
I'm with Ryan, it would've been marvelous.
@@johnathonclayton6964 what do you mean watch. Read it, scoundrel.
@@NikoHL He means it would be so good that nobody would watch the movie.
I love how Tolkien slowly builds up the metaphor of the water breaking the dam, at first just "pouring in slowly but steadily" and then when charging they "roared like a breaker foaming to the shore": As one could say: The dam of uncertainty is breached and the full force of light and horse and bravery is sweeping over the orcs... So amazing...
So awesome
Yes! Even more, he continued the tidal metaphors during Éomer’s charge, in the next chapter, when the Rohorrim go berserk and charge the enemy recklessly crying “Death! Death!”
The man survived world war I, lost several of his best friends in the process, and instead of drinking himself to an early grave and beating his family out of grief he chose to create one of the most beautifully crafted stories of our time. I wish I got to meet him
Well said. Here here!
"Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:"
"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 Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young."
Bernard Hill embodied Theoden to legendary levels.
Hail Theoden, king! May he rest in peace!
Preach
The parallel between Hurin saying "The day shall come once more" back in the first age in the battle of many tears, and Theoden saying " 'Ere the sun rises!" in the third age. Beautiful.
Never noticed that before. That makes this so much better. Thank you!
Hail Theoden King of the Mark. may you find peace in the halls of your fathers. Hail now Eomer, King.
Hail the victorious dead.
The comparison of Théoden to Oromë *chef's kiss*
It might have also hinted that the spirit of Oromë was with him when he charged that day, in fact giving him that boost he needed.
Hail the victorious dead.
"Too late was worse than never."
Hits hard
I once read someone’s comment: “A soldier who has been through war knows that feeling”. (Or something like that). I think about this every time I hear that phrase. Brings me to tears most times
Rather a man have not seen the grim reality of the situation, than to have bear witness in person.
Being a veteran myself, it's very true @Pop_Culture_Podcast
RIP to Bernard Hill
In Gondor’s darkest hour, Rohan came to its aid.
HAIL THE VICTORIOUS DEAD
HAIL
Gives me goosebumps. It feels like an ancient myth passed along through oral tradition.
Very cool 😊
Fun fact, it's what Tolkien was going for. He was always upset that because of it's history and the various groups who'd conqured it in the past, Britian had lost most of its mythology. So he made the Lord of the Rings to be that. He even went so far as to joke that he got the story from a red book he found buried in an old ruin.
One of the joys of this reading is that, when you listen carefully to Theoden's speech, starting when he says "shield be splintered", you hear Tolkien change his accent to an accent reminiscent of Old English, the language he used as inspiration for the culture of the Rohirrim. It's marvelous to hear him step backwards into a deeper time -- come to think of it, I wonder if he was conscious of doing it.
Really cool observation!
Yo this guy was a stone cold genius. No one will ever do high fantasy better in all of history to come.
Yesterday the world lost a great man. Hail Théoden King, may you now rest forever in the halls of your fathers for the world is now just a little bit darker without your brilliance to shine upon it.
The gravity with which he reads the word "boom". I legit shiverred.
Same yo
A man who had spent WW1 in the trenches and seen unbelievable sadness and pain could pour out all his imagination and feelings into dozens of books. I wish I had as much determination and creativity as JRR Tolkien
Well said. Here here!
This brought me close to tears, to actually hear the voice of the writer himself *with* the movie. 😭Beautiful.
It hits me too man
"I will not say do not weep. For not all tears are evil"- Gandalf
That horn added in has no reason to hit as hard as it does.
Hits so good
It's probably a reference to Roland, one of Charlemagne's Paladins, blowing his horn in his last battle so hard his temples bled.
@@AnotherHistorianWargamer and the charge of the Rohrimm inspired by the Winged Hussars of Poland breaking the Siege of Vienna
Whoever paired each notable scene in the reading with its counterpart scene in the movie did one hell of a job synchronizing them. I couldn't believe how well they were paired together.
I cannot find the original. If you do, please share!
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast This was the first time I've ever heard of this - I didn't even know there was an original... If by some miracle I do stumble over the original, then I'll try to share it.
I didn't realize he passed away... may you find peace in your family's embrace sir Bernard Hill.
A sword day
A red day
And the sun rises
What genius!
*ere the sun rises . ( Ere means before)
@@okaloperdis7187 thank you, I've always wondered what that meant!
Tolkien was likely paraphrasing the Norse saga Voluspa here:
“Axe-time, sword-time,
shields are splintered.
Wind-time, wolf-time,
ere the world falls.”
(This part of the saga is describing Ragnarok - the world’s ending)
Hail the victorious dead! 😢
The battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins.
Rip my king
"But Theoden could not be overtaken", IMO is right next to "and Morgoth came." as most epic lines in the Legendarium.
Chills
There's a beauty about Tolkien's usage of language that is unparalleled by any other author.
Agreed
Indeed. Tolkien is up there with Homer, Shakespeare, and whoever wrote Beowulf.
Hearing him read this makes me realise how his epic passages harness the spirit of great poetry/rap/spoken word. Their flow and force take the meaning of the words to a new level.
Our boy Théoden snatching a horn and blowing it so mightily it breaks in two. That would pump you up to charge headfirst into the host of Mordor
Hell ya!
I read that as horse not horn. I was like, "uh, we watching the same thing?"
It actually would have suck. I understand why they didn't keep that for the movie, it's not cinematic and anticlimactic.
When you read it, it's fine (if you lack imagination).
When you listen to someone telling it (like here), it sounds epic.
But if you had witnessed it... hearing it (barely seeing anything), that would just have been the beginning of a horn, a blast, a big dude doing "pfffrrt" with his lips, and a terrible omen.
i can't explain why but i cried
It hits me too. No shame.
Blood memory
I like the addition of shouting “death” before they ride to gain courage, it is a very Norse way of going into a fight
Ya it was badass
Jackson took that from later on in the battle - in the book, after Eomer finds Theoden dead and Eowyn wounded, he starts chanting "Death" and all the Rohirrim chant it with him until Aragorn arrives.
@@joshf6136 That's awesome! Currently listening to the audiobooks so I have that to look forward to :D (I'm on the two towers)
In Gondor's darkest hour, Rohan came to the rescue.
Am I the only one who shudders at the way Tolkien says the word "boom"?
Me too. Gives me chills
It was Tolkien that taught me to love to read. I still remember being completely engrossed, lost in these very passages, the narrative of this battle.
I wish I could speak to Tolkien, and thank him.
He brought to the page, tales that live in our very blood.
The sentiments of a great many of us; well said, friend.
My good Lord! 😢 THIS WAS AMAZING! Brought to tears at the sound of The Professor himself Mustering the Rohirrum!!!❤❤❤🧝♂️🧝♀️🧙♂️🍻
It hits me too!
The professor really had a way with words.
He truly was the master of the written word. The way this has been done as absolutely astounding! Well done.👍
Dude can write.
Yup!
yeah, he should, like, try to write a whole book like this.
This guy, what’s his name? Tolkien, I think? He seems to enjoy fantasy literature
There is a reason why LotR is timeless.
Agreed!
I’m reading return of the king every night for my 10 year old and this was the one chapter I absolutely could not wait to read. I’m not shamed to admit I choked up. Theoden being compared to Orome is the epitome of the word epic.
Incredible. I hope to have the same experience some day. Thanks for sharing!
My dad read these books to me when I was around the same age. I would build model airplanes with his help whilst he read to me. Truly one of the best memories I have with him. This entire section stood out to me so hard because I could hear the emotion in my dads voice reading just how epic this all was. Now that I'm a grown man now, I totally get it.
@@ZentetsukenVIII finished the chapter and my son asked me if I was crying. “Why yes son, as a matter of fact I can’t help it.”
It’s a pity that Tolkien did not record his own narration of his magnum opus. The lord of the rings is narrated perfectly by its creator.
This is him tho, no?
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast Did he record all of the books though?
@@karlwilhelmmeinert7592 no idea
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast this is him, yes. I should have been more clear. Tolkien did not narrate every sentence in the lord of the rings, just this, Sam’s “troll song”, gollum’s riddles, and a few others.
@@roarytheromanarcanine oh cool. I wasn’t aware of that!
The book was just simply amazing. Movies were awesome as well, but the writing was a masterpiece
I agree!
One of the best scenes ever written. The scene where Aragorn bows to the hobbits is another one that gets me every time.
Yup!
That line from Aragorn gave me goosebumps just reading your comment!
His cadence and the pace at which he reads it makes the text all that more palpable, I imagine he knew in an out exactly how each line in the book should be read. - No Audiobook will probably ever compare.
The only one who knows would be his children, they could probably reenact how they remember him reading it to them, but I don’t think we will ever get to see that.
Chills
For what it's worth, I am an elementary school teacher and I am reciting an abridged version of the story for my students, little by little, each day. These stories work exceptionally well when spoken aloud, and to a room of enraptured students, each story beat rings out clear and true. It is near impossible to recount these events in front of an audience without being swept up in the momentum of the story. Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
This man was there and fought. He won
Truth
He lived one hell of a life. He was an officer in WWI. He saw rank upon rank of brave young men going to war. He saw death and slaughter the likes of which most men can never imagine. He went off to war with His closest friends, and came back alone. This is what you get when you combine Talent with hard work, love, and experience.
Only one other being in Middle-earth besides Fingolfin was ever compared to Orome, and that was Theoden.
Facts
I have chills every time at that part
All credit to Peter Jackson and Bernard Hill for capturing the absolute essence of this sequence. Yes many of the details are subdued and absent, but when you hear the reading over the scene it just clicks so well!
So great
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast As much as that is possible, perhaps I'm hearing something in Tolkien's voice, perhaps I'm merely imagining it, but the way Tolkien describes it? Jackson and Hill barely captured half of it in my opinion... what Tolkien reads is so much more powerful, it's beautiful!
Bernard Hill is a great actor.
Hail the victorious dead!
Hail!
I wish Jackson would have emphasized the horns more. In the book it was something Tolkien used to spark hope into the breast of the people of Gondor. Saying that forever after tears would spring to Pippin's eyes whenever he heard a horn.
"Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.”
I agree. They did a great job adding to the speech and I feel it the horns were used right it would have made theodan’s speech that much better.
I wish a lot about what Jackson did…
This scene man… my heart
"At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before:
Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
With that he seized a great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains.
Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor!
Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new tire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an 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 the 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. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City."
I’m not crying, you’re crying
Tolkien reads prose like poetry, it's actually amazing to listen to. I'm glad this video survived.
It’s incredible. I can’t get enough
Well he wrote prose like poetry too!
Rip King
This brings tears to my eyes.
Same
If it doesn’t, you’re either illiterate or simply not human.
And goosebumps!
I literally just got tears in my eyes, came to the comment sections afterwards and saw your comment. Same brother, same.
so say we all
Bro, I got chills from hearing Tolkien read this scene
I wish Tolkien had lived to see these movies. I think he would've been proud. Hollywood will never reach the heights established by these films ever again. A book written with love and passion, translated to the screen with love and passion, and embraced by the whole world.... The current generation just has... Rings of Power.... Eww.
The amount of passion that has gone into the books, movies, music, etc. is unparalleled
We may never see the likes of it again. Enjoy it 😊
every time I see it, I click it. And every time I click it, I say "jesus fucking christ it's so good".
I’m with you my friend
i will never in my lifetime be able to explain how much this means to me
I’m happy I could share!
Hail Theoden, Son of Thengul, King of the Golden Hall.
White horse upon a field of green but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house but he was ever before them. Maaaannn I love how he read that part...this whole moment gives me chills & brings tears to my eyes...thank you Tolkien!
Same. So powerful
When I got finished reading LOTR, it was like I was in a trance. My mind was in Tolkien's world while my body was still in the normal physical world here. Honestly, other books are paltry compared to Tolkien's works. You can tell it was a labor of love to him. I'm fortunate to live in a time where the books and the movies exist.
Well said!
I had the misfortune of the Lord of the Rings being one of the first works of literature I ever read for pleasure, and now nothing ever gets in the same ballpark, and it's disappointing. At least I have the Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin to enjoy.
Tolkien had a way with words. I love the movies, but the books will always be my first love... I need to read them again.
I used to reread them once a year…it’s been a while tho. I may need to do that again
So, it was not only the sudden impact of the Rohirrim with their thundering horns that broke the fighting spirit of the besieging ork army. It was the unexpected predominance of light which meant that Sauron's power had been overcome. The protective shield of darkness for the orks that also demoralized men was gone.
This reminds me of the battle of Helm's Deep where the morale of the orks was mainly crushed not by the Rohirrim but by the unexpected appearance of a whole moving forest of angry huorns.
Very cool 😊
The subtle work of the Valar at play...
@@BM-wf9uf It's also the reward for the endless struggle of the good side. Team Aragorn with Legolas and Gimli dared to march to the Army of the Dead and called them for aid. After that the three, although completely exhausted gathered fighters from the coast, sailed inland and attacked the ork army from behind. That's where the light came from.
Merry and Pippin managed to persuade the Ents to play an active role in the war which resulted in the change in the Helm's Klamm battle and in the conquest of Isengart. Also, their struggle paid off very well.
Terrific. I could see the action happening strictly through his reading. The words painted as good a picture of the event as the movie scene did.
Hell ya
I imagine it being recited in a fire lit Mead Hall, the audience spellbound like we are. The rhythm of the words as the horses start to gallop is intoxicating. Impossible not to be moved by it.
Incredible
RIDE NOW! RIDE NOW! RIDE TO GONDOR!
God I love Theoden
"Bless us and splash us, my precious!" I own a couple of vinyl LPS of Tolkien reading from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His recitation of Riddles in the Dark is especially entertaining. I haven't listened to these recordings in years. Thank you for refreshing my memory of hearing the author himself reading excerpts from his magnum opus.
Thats so cool!
His reading/ singing of Sam's troll song is gold.
Fey he seemed, for the battle fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins.
Chills
@@Pop_Culture_Podcast you replied quicker than my crush 🥺👉👈
@@aexndr387 here I am again
it's so goddamn good
There's a reason why Tolkien is a master writer.
For sure
When he shouted "Ride now, ride now, ride now" I felt like jumping out of my chair and marching to war.
Wonderful. I think I have to read the books again.
Ere the sun rises!
A truly wonderful idea
yes and remember what sjw dei trash the movies actually were, sadly. (theatrical releases, especially) nonetheless, they were a success better than nothing but a far lack of what they could've been without beddling propaganda and arrogant re-writes of the better's work by lessers
@unclebounce1495 SJW trash? Rings of Power is SJW trash, the Lord of the rings trilogy isn't.
@@FrancT- THIS!
What I wouldn't give to have the audiobooks narrated by Tolkien himself.
We can dream
I know it's not the same but I bet AI could replicate it. It wouldn't know how he would emphasize and read though.
The man sounds like a sports commentator. LEGEND!!!
Haha. Facts
no no, sports casters sound like him
Sports commentators could only DREAM of sounding like him. 😂
Hail, King of the Mark!
Thank you, thank you! I was saddened to see that video gone. I wish I could help with crediting the original uploaders. Meanwhile, I thank you once again!
You are very welcome! Thanks for the comment!
His voice is in his words. Wonderful to hear him.
RIP Bernard,Hail Theoden king!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was my favorite scene in the entire trilogy. Always makes me tear up 🥹🥺🥹
It hits me too
I would love to know what Tolkien imagined the Rohirrim singing to sound like
Same!
English football stadium banter is what I imagine
I've listened to this countless times, here and elsewhere. I always felt bad for Guthlaf, the banner bearer. His horn had been borrowed by Theoden and so when "all the horns of the host were lifted in music", I believed Guthlaf had no horn to blow and join in. Silly me, I now think, because of course a banner bearer for King Theoden has more horns at hand! I like to think that once it "burst asunder", Guthlaf shrugs and grabs his spare.
Rule one for all heralds: one is none; two is one. I’m sure Guthlaf had a backup
Lol. Poor Guthlaf. I’m sure he came prepared tho!
I remember when I got into my first day in college and meeting people. l Would ask them for what they liked and when l said that l loved Tolkien's work, MANY would say that they disliked LOTR because and l quote "It's a harry potter rip off"
Imagine my reaction
Unbelievable. People have no idea
Harry Potter is just occult trash. Tolkien is leagues above it. Also, those people are stupid if they think it's a "rip off" of Harry Potter. Tolkien died well before the first Potter book was ever published.
i love harry potter,i grew up with harry potter, and the art of harry potter progressing more serious from book 1 to book 7 as the target audience grows its quite creative,enjoyable and may i say unique art
but comparing harry potter with lord of the rings,is like comparing Beyonce's songs with Motzard.yeah beyonce';s songs are good no doubt,but it doesn't hold a handle at the feet of Motzard
same harry potter doesn't hold a candle at the feets of lord of the rings
@@firstname9954 well said!
Imagine my reaction, I charged at them like a Rohirrim into the horde of orcs in the Pelennor
Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers RAN LIKE NEW FIRE IN HIS VEINS
Chills
He came out of world war I, you can tell Tolkien witnessed something like this in person
@@schawdaya Battle Fury in the trenches of France in World War I? Are you joking?
@@Crafty_Spirit There was lots of battle fury in trench assaults, and still is. Sometimes it pays off. cf. Donbass.
@Crafty_Spirit why wouldn't there be battle fury? It was war, you'd need fury to charge headfirst into no man's land
it's just too good, I keep coming back
Can’t stop won’t stop…please share!
Sh!t.
A man who went to war, saw brothers die, evil blossomed with impunity from the blood spilled on every field.
This man lived. Survived. Not only endured the horrors that sought to claim his body and flesh but also his sanity and soul...
...this man...
...wrote.
A story. The story of man. The story of good, and of heart. A story that no matter how many cultures over the vast pages of history scrawl THEIR story it's never lost, never forgotten.
Of love. Of sacrifice. Of greed. Of anger. Of self. Of selflessness. Of the hero. Not just the great vanquisher, the one who could flick dragons from off his mighty nose. No.
The one who stopped himself. Who let self die. Who chose to sacrifice, so that others might live to ask the questions.
No matter the where or when, mankind seems to always need to write down, tell, and sing these same stories.
......why do you think that is?
Well said
The music & soundtrack in combination with this reading is absolute perfection. That moment when the horns come in… magnificent.
It is
1:42 '...its topmost tower like a glittering needle..' Like an obelisk.
Absolutely brilliant reading: thank you for this! 🙏🏻🙏🏻
You are very welcome! Pls share 😊
Delighted to do so! 😔😔💘💘@@Pop_Culture_Podcast
What was that anyway? Two trees from the land of Valar?
It was something Theoden saw as he sat astride his horse, poised for battle, looking at the City before him. Obelisks have been described as 'needles' in the past--however, in this case, it is the topmost tower emerging from the City skyline, that Tolkien is describing. We can only guess at which tower he is referring to...
An amazing reading! 🤗🥰@@Rizu-kc3ze
Wow. Made me cry.
It gets me too
...rolling over the fields a great BOOM
You can really see it
Hearing this brought tears to my eyes
Same man. Same
Where is the horse and the rider,
Where is the horn that was blowing,
They have past like rain on the mountains
Like wind in the meadow,
The days of gone down in the west behind the hills into darkness...
@@byronmoore5273 majestic
I read this many times, and I saw the movie at least three times... still getting a lump in my throat every time this scene comes up...
This is pure gold, now I know how Tolkien himself pronounce the words he created like valar or eored
True!