[Rumil]

Hi all,

It does seem strange and uinlikely overall that there was no contact.

The reasons I think include the extreme insularity of the elves and the uneasy superstitousness of the Rohirrim, as has been said.

Also there is an aspect of differing ecological niche, the Rohirrim are set up for life on plains, horse-riding herdsmen. They are not really interested in the woods as there's no grazing, and may even be frightened of the woods as unfamiliar terrain. In many aspects they appear half-nomadic, not making permanent settlements except their strongholds at the foot of the White mountains. They used tents on the trip to Minas Tirith, like the Mongols and yurts perhaps? Therefore the North Western areas appear to have no permanent settlements, but are occasionally visited by the nomadic herdsmen and their herds.

Conversely the elves don't appear to have much in the way of horses and due to the 'embalming' nature that has been well discussed, are not much interested in venturing away from their forest.

Occasionally a curious Rohir would venure into Lothlorien, but either turned back or never re-appeared (mentioned somewhere in LoTR). How would this pan out? I think the lonely traveller (already rather jumpy due to the legends) would possibly be diverted out of Lothlorien by the landscape, like Frodo and co. in the Old Forest. Maybe they had an arrow strike the tree in front of them, I don't think the Elven wardens would kill them, but certainly frighten them off. Another possibility is the 'falling asleep trick' that the Mirkwood elves pulled on Bilbo et al. If, despite these, the Rohir persisted then the elves would seem to have accepted them, but Lothlorien is not a place for mortals, time is perceived differently etc. The Rohir might not leave at all, or only after many years, much like the legends of those that visit the faerie realms.