[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

I was going to say, that the names I gave, Redwald, would actually be Rædwald (Reodwald?) and Ælfred.

If I understand my etymology and linquistics correctly, the Æ sound was prominent in Wessex (the south near Winchester) whereas the Eo sound was prominent in Mercia (Oxford and surround).

And maybe, we could say that people from different Emnets had different Anglo-Saxon dialects, but that might be pushing it. I'm not an expert on how Tolkien wanted the Rohirrim (Eorlings?) to speak Englisc.

I think this is a valid point, and one that Tolkien would have appreciated, especially considering that Anglo-Saxon England stretched across a rather hilly land (in general) that takes up less space than the plains of Cardolan (Rohan). Granted, the Anglo-Saxons had few horses whereas the horses of the Eorlingas turn Rohan's plains into a virtual highway such that dialects would arguably be minimized. It's a tough call. Anyway, I think we need not get ourselves bogged down in this too much. We can use any Anglo-Saxon name we like, be it Mercian, Wessexian, Kentish, East Anglian, Yorkish, take your pick.