Rohirrim Weapons



As one of the Riders of Rohan, the main aim in a weapon was that it had a good length, as the rider would attack form his horse ready to strike his foe. The rohirrims favoured Spears, Swords and Shortbows.



Sword:

The most distinctive feature of a Rohan sword was that it generally didn't have a fuller; instead it was milled so that it had a slightly concave diamond-shaped cross-section. The wide blade between twenty-eighty and thirty inches in length and tapered ver quickly to a rounded point. The hilt was just long enough for one hand to grip, and the relatively large guard and pommel were both rounded: this mirrowed the design of the shield and allowed the the greatest area for embellishing them, mostly with sun or horse motifs. As there was no state-founded army as such, apart from the Royal Guard, the sword would have been well cared for. Succesive generations would have added more elaborate engravings to the guard and pommel bu tye blade would have began to show its age, becoming narrower and weaker as chips gained in combat were bevelled out with a whetstone, reducing the width until eventually the swordsman or his family would need to trade goods in order to acquire ore for a new blade or commision for the local blacksmith.

The Rohan used thier sword in a downward slashing motion: when mounted this would be the only was it could be used but, on foot it suited thier strong armed and less sophisticated fighting stlye.


Herugrim:

Herugrim was the name of the kings sword, and it was a noble weapon. Many kings before Théoden had wielded this blade in battle and many enemies had it slain, including Orcs, Dunledings, Uruk-Hai and Wargs. In appearence it was similar to a standard Rohan sword, being single-handed and measuring about three foot in length; its fullered blade was undecorated, wereas the guard and pommel were ornate indeed: the guard was crafted in the likeleness of two horses' heads touching and was made of bronze, as was the large pommel. Herugrims Scabbard was wooden, covered in red leather and featyred an ornate bronze chape that complimented the ancient sword. Because Théoden was left-handed, Herugrim was worn on the kings right side. 

Spear:

The spear was the secoundry weapon for the riders, but the primary charging weapon, as it projected a sharp point beyond the front of the horse so it could be used as a lance, to exploit any weakness in the defensive line, and as a short-ranged throwing weapon. The spear was made of ash and stood approximatley nine feet high: its long tip was made of steel, half its three foot length was the cut out tip and the rest was the sheatg was rivited to the shaft - this was then bound to leather and swaged with two bronze rings to give a handgrip for pulling out the weapon after the kill. The combination of the steel tip, the heavy wiegth of two-inch-thick shaft, and the forward momentum when thrown from a moving horse, meant that these spears would penetrate any defence, wether amoured or not, often passing throught the next rank.  

Bow:

Although the bow was the Rohan's primary weapon it was not sophisticated; it was a short bow made from a single piece of wood. It was probably heated and slightly bent, shaped into a subtle curve, but this simple design was would not have produced a particularly powerful bow, giving it an effective range of about 125 yards. The arrows were short, as the draw distance was not great, and the tips featured the same cut-out design as the spear head, which was a cultural motif of Rohan. This could have been dicated by two things: the metal being in short supply, and to cut down the wiegth when carrying them. The cutouts would not have enabled to arrows to travel further; the Rohan would be more interested in having their arrows create big wounds that would bleed alot, so by removing some of the mass metal they could increase the surface area of the arrow while keeping the wieght the same. Unique among all arrows in Middle-Earth, the flights were made of leather; perhaps the Rohan's skill with a bow was not up to catching a bird in the first place. The quiver was all leather with an internal canvas bag, and could be bound tighter or wider depending on the numbers of arrows in it. The drawstring bad kept the arrows dry and futher stopped them from moving about when the warrior was on horseback. These two levels of security allowed the for the quiver to be slung across the back or hung down by the saddle. As the bows did not have an arrow rest, the Rohan wore leather gloves to protect thier fingers that drew the string and the bow hand from snapping the string.     

Axe:

In addition to the sword, the Rohan carried a light axe which was used on foot and horse back. It was about three feet long with a relatively small head whose balde was curved up towards the shaft. The high value of metal would have meant that the spear and arrow tips would have ben priority, followed by swods and armour, then other weapons. The axe would been carried in a belt loop, ready to be drawn in close combat against an un-mounted opponent, and used to hack down upon thier heads. It could also be thrown, but the warrior would then run the risk of having it thrown back at him. Examples have been discovered that feature bronze engraving on the balde; such beautiful work was likely produced by one of the Royal guard at Edoras.

Gúthwine:

Éomer's sword was named Gúthwine, and was the same length as most Rohan blades, being about twenty-eight inches from tip to guard. Like Théodens sword, the blade was fullered and the guard and pommel were made from solid bronze, the beautiful guard fashioned like all of Théoden's house resemble two horses; in Éomer's case they were skill fully crafted so that they reared on either side of the balde. The scabbard hung from the from a suspension system and was adorned with a heavily engraved bronze locket and chape.    



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