One of the most common themes in The Lord Of Rings trilogy is that of absent parents, especially mother figures. There are several mothers who are not featured in the films, such as Arwen’s mother, who went to the Undying Lands of her people after being tortured and wounded in the Second Age. Boromir and Faramir’s mother is also absent, her name was Finduilas, and she died not long after giving birth to her second son. This is partly what prompted Denethor the Steward of Gondor to start looking into the seeing stone that shows him the approaching darkness from Mordor, which only hastens his doom and despair.
Notably, King Theoden of Rohan also lost his wife Elfhild, who died during the childbirth of their son Theodred, but there is one set of siblings in the story who have unfortunately lost both of their parents, rather than just their mother. That is Eowyn and Eomer, the niece and nephew of the king. During the extended scene in the Two Towers, in which the people are fleeing Edoras towards the keep of Helms Deep, Theoden explains to Aragorn that Eowyn’s father was slain by orcs in battle, one of many great battles in the history of Middle Earth, and that her mother died of grief not long after. So who were the sibling’s parents, and what is the tragic story behind their demise?
Eowyn and Eomer are related to the king of Rohan through their mother Theodwyn, who is Theoden's sister. She was a noblewoman and married their father Eomund in the Third Age, a thousand years after the timeline of the Amazon Lord of the Rings Series. Eomund was the marshal of a group of riders tasked with protecting the horse-herds of the lands from the encroaching orcs, who liked to steal the fold and eat them.
It was during a raid that his riders were ambushed by a large trap of Orcs, waiting for them in Emyn Muil. All of them were slain by the enemy, and news of their father's death reached Rohan a few days later. Theodwyn, so overcome with the grief of losing her love, began to fade. She tried to raise her two children alone but was quickly taken over by despair and illness, of which she died a few years later. Eowyn and Eomer were then taken in by her brother the king, and raises as his own children. Eowyn was just 7 at the time.
Her name is an amalgamation of her parents’ names, ‘Eo’ from her father, and ‘Wyn’ from her mother, and means ‘love of horses,’ which are sacred to their people. There are many powerful horses shown throughout the trilogy, including Shadowfax, who Gandalf rides, and Bill The Pony, who helps the fellowship travel from Rivendell to the Mines of Moria, but it is only later when Eowyn rides into battle with Merry (one of the 9 members of the fellowship) under the disguise of man’s armor, that she truly appreciates the magnanimity of these amazing creatures, and lives up to her namesake.
As for Eomer, being the older of the two, he took up the role of trying to guide and protect his little sister, which is why he despises Wormtongues lustful gaze over her. It is also why he tries to prevent her from riding to Pelennor Fields with the rest of the army, because he wishes to spare her from harm, and has not yet realized that she is just as capable a warrior as he is.
Despite their difficult start in life, the two siblings do eventually find their own peace and happiness alongside the valor they earn in the war. Eowyn marries Faramir, who becomes a chief captain of Gondor and advisor to King Aragorn. They have a son together and live out the rest of their days contentedly. Eomer becomes King of Rohan after the death of Theoden in battle, marrying a maiden named Lothiriel. They also had at least one son, named Elfwine, who succeeds Eomer as king after his death.
When looking into Tolkien’s own life, it is easier to understand the lack of mother figures in his books. He suffered a similar tragedy in his childhood when his own mother died of complications that arose from her diabetes. Tolkien was 12 years old at the time and thus had to go through the difficulties on the path ahead of him, including fighting in the First World War and losing dear friends during this terrible period of human history, without his mother’s support. His father also died when he was just 3 years, so he grew up as an orphan in an oratory, where he and his younger brother were raised by a priest friend of their mothers. He therefore relates most powerfully with his characters whose parents have died and was able to find some catharsis and self-healing within the pages of his fictional works.
