Hi all,
The Prof's intentions on this are quite revealing. First he gave the Eothraim names from the Dark Age Goths, that were famous horsemen. When they settle in Rohan the names change to Anglo-Saxon.
JRRT considered the Norman conquest a tragedy for English culture (not surprisingly being a Prof of Anglo-Saxon). Therefore in some ways the Rohirrim are a 'fantasy' version of the Anglo Saxons that retained their horsemanship and their independence.
The Goths and English, and later Scandinavians had a number of cultural links and similarities. Certainly the areas of Northern Holland, Germany and Denmark, home of the progenitors of the English and later partly Viking were linked by culture such as the tale of Beowulf, of which JRRT produced a famous translation.
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Rumil of Coedhirion
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