Every time I pass a Rohan store (yes, there is a clothing store chain called Rohan) I always get tempted to run in there, and shout: "the Beacons are lit! Gondor calls for aid!"
- This is amazing.. !! Trully awesome. - Yepp and imagine the ptotags circled by 100 stuntsmen fully armored cavalry in rohan colors, and flags fly in the wind.. and the protag says what are the news on the plains of rohan? - No way.. we cannot do this.. this is perfect. - Look this, they are the first takes.. - O.O [gasmic sounds]
@@st3v3nk3 I felt something like this. Eomer and the Rohirrim and Theoden giving his final epic speech in the Pellenor Fields. Only thinking about it I get the chills and my eyes become wet. Seeing the extended versions once more these days. What an outstanding masterpiece this trilogy is. Eternal
Theoden is my favorite character. But his death was so necessary for the story and I don't blame Tolkien for writing that part. Great leaders die courageously.
Always remember watching the extended dvds way back and he when interviewed about Theoden was so grateful and honoured to play the part and wear the armour which he said was exquisite. RIP
"spear shall be shaken, shield shall be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now, ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!"
Sons of Gondor! Of Rohan! My brothers! I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me! A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship. But it is not this day. An hour of woes and shattered shields when the age of Men comes crashing down! But it is not this day! This day we fight! By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you stand! Men of the West!
1:14 I cried. This trilogy wasn't part of my childhood, it was my childhood. I've heard more amazing movie scores than I can count, I'm an absolute sucker for theme. But this truly holds a place in my heart that nothing else will.
I promised my father before he passed away, that I will learn this thoroughly , it makes me cry because everytime I listen to this soundtrack I think of him, plus its such an inspiration... I'm glad that JRR Tolkien created the Lord of the rings..!
I'm 25 now. I was but a little boy when the trilogy released. For 15 years these 3 movies have kept me in an infatuation. Though the movies deviated from J.R.R Tolkien's original creation by half, the ingeniously woven script made the effect of these movies ineffacable in our mind. The pantheon of great warriors like Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Eomer, Boromir , King Theoden , Gandalf the grey wizard, Lady Eowyn throngs in our subliminal mind and beckons us to be lost into a fantasy world-- The Middle Earth
Sourav Chakraborty this is totally correct, right now I'm watching the fellowship of the ring with my father. it is still amazing, no other fantasy movie or series could ever be compared to the Lord of the rings
I performed Aragorn's monologue at the gates for my final in a college drama class. I'm a 5' woman, but let me tell ya, I raised that foam sword and felt every word like I was about to take on the orcs my own dang self. Love this series.
5' women can do things 6' men can't. My mother was also a 5' woman. She was a high level nurse. She could look at a blood sample in the syringe & already tell you part of the lab results. She worked in important hospitals, caught doctors in rx mistakes & they knew it's best to listen to her. When there was a special ward for extreme hard to care post op patients, it was she who would the sole caretaker nurse position. After an incident wherein several people were severely burned, she was the only one of the nurses & doctors who had dedication to work in it for the entire 6 months that ward functioned. 😳
***** And let that pride shine. For this world grows darker and darker. We need people that are not afraid of death. We need people that are not afraid of the darkness. We need people that will lead us into rust and ruin. Don't let anyone take this pride from you. And when we leave this life, whenever that may be, just be sure you left a legacy that will honor that pride. That pride is not boasting in one's own accomplishments but in the pride of having your own homeland and nation to fight for!
"Now silently the host of Rohan moved forward into the field of Gondor, pouring in slowly but steadily.... After a while the king led his men away somewhat eastward, to come between the fires of the siege and the outer fields. Still they were unchallenged, and still Théoden gave no signal.... A smell of burning was in the air and a very shadow of death. The horses were uneasy. But the king sat upon Snowmane, motionless, gazing upon the agony of Minas Tirith, as if stricken suddenly by anguish, or by dread. He seemed to shrink down, cowed by age. Merry himself felt as if a great weight of horror and doubt had settled on him.... They were too late! Too late was worse than never!.... Then suddenly Merry felt it at last, beyond doubt: a change. Wind was in his face! Light was glimmering.... But at that same moment there was a flash, as if lightning had sprung from the earth beneath the City. For a searing second it stood dazzling far off in black and white, its topmost tower like a glittering needle: and then as the darkness closed again there came rolling over the fields a great boom. At that sound the bent shape of the king sprang suddenly erect. Tall and proud he seemed again; and rising in his stirrups he cried in a loud voice, more clear than any there had ever heard a mortal man achieve before: Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden! Fell deeds awake: fire and slaughter! spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered, a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises! Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! With that he seized a great horn from Guthláf his banner-bearer, and he blew such a blast upon it that it burst asunder. And straightway all the horns in the host were lifted up in music, and the blowing of the horns of Rohan in that hour was like a storm upon the plain and a thunder in the mountains. Ride now, ride now! Ride to Gondor! Suddenly the king cried to Snowmane and the horse sprang away. Behind him his banner blew in the wind, white horse upon a field of green, but he outpaced it. After him thundered the knights of his house, but he was ever before them. Éomer rode there, the white horsetail on his helm floating in his speed, and the front of the first éored roared like a breaker foaming to the shore, but Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins, and he was borne up on Snowmane like a god of old, even as Oromë the Great in the battle of the Valar when the world was young. His golden shield was uncovered, and lo! it shone like an image of the Sun, and the grass flamed into green about the white feet of his steed. For morning came, morning and a wind from the sea; and the darkness was removed, and the hosts of Mordor wailed, and terror took them, and they fled, and died, and the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then all the host of Rohan burst into song, and they sang as they slew, for the joy of battle was on them, and the sound of their singing that was fair and terrible came even to the City." - The Return of the King, LoTR Book 5, Ch 5, The Ride of the Rohirrim
Arise, arise riders of Theoden! Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! A sword day! A red Day! Ere the sun rises! Ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending! DEATH!!! DEATH!!! DEAAAATH!!! . . . FORTH EORLINGAS !!
I'm an LOTR geek who's been to NZ and these Rohan scenes were filmed in the prairies between the Mackenzie desert and Christchurch. I instantly recognized the scenery on my long bus ride from Wanaka to Christchurch.
One of the most melancholic and nostalgic movie soundtracks ever made. Howard Shore is a genius and an excellent film trilogy directed by a very talented director in the form of Peter Jackson and filmed in the beautiful New Zealand.
+Nicholas Brown I would prolly say Deaf then. Your eyes tell you so many more things and lets you enjoy the truly beautiful things in this world if you ask me.
Imagine sitting on the cliffs a warm summer evening seeing the still water and the red sun setting in the distant while you see your friends sitting by the barbeque. Different opinions my friend :) But we all find different things in life beautiful
In my opinion this is the best lotr theme of them all. It comes close to being my favorite theme of all time. Jurassic Park will always beat it however
Man, this makes me so emotional. When I listen to this there's a weird joy mixed with sorrow that I feel. It makes you feel like a hero that's coming home after many years of battles. It has something so nostalgic about it. Finally coming home to your land hat you left behind a long long time ago. And you feel like you're regaining something back, a former state of glory or maybe grace. Perhaps innocence.
This has become one of my all time favourite OST songs. Brilliant! You can feel the wind as it dries your face, all the chills of the weather and it tells about an empire with a glorious past and a tragic but heroic future. I love these kind of themes - they could tell the story on their own. I have never read the book but after listening to this one, I can almost feel that I've become an expert of the Rohan history. Absolutely amazing piece of art!
+Leonardo Aero No shame in it my friends. It is an absolutely gorgeous piece of music and deserves no less honor than a completely emotional response. Give it another listen.
To those who are wondering the iconic Edoras theme at 1:17 is Exodus from Edoras, Disc 2, Track 5 of The Two Two - Complete Recordings Disc Set called Exodus from Edoras and starts at about 4:40 in that track. Thats followed by The King of the Golden Hall from the regular Two Towers OST Just so y'all won't have to hunt as I had to
definitely the most gripping theme of the entire soundtrack... it somehow triggers feelings of nostalgia, honour and pride. It's beautiful and sad at the same time.
Its almost 2020 so 18 years later and 1:16 still gives me goosebumps every time what an amazing trilogy the best one for me wish it never ended though :( but as u know all good things come to an end
I wish I could lose my memory so I could see Lord of the Rings all over again.....and be amazed all over again......There is no other movie like those. A true masterpiece of a trilogy!
This quote makes me wanna take my wood chopping axe and go to war against all that is evil:"Muster the Rohirrim. Assemble the army at Dunharrow. As many men as can be found. You have two days. On the third, we ride for Gondor... and war."
Where now are the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the horn and the hauberk and the golden hair flowing? They have passed like rain in the mountain, like a wind in the meadow The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow Who shall gather the smoke of the deadwood burning Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning? This is my favourite quote
Now I know where Bethesda got their inspiration for Whiterun. The City is perched on a hill in the middle of the plains, the snowy mountains are their backdrop. It's windy, but never bitterly cold. They love horses, so much so that it's incorporated in everything they make and use...such as the guards shields. Their King is a middle aged man with a beard and a short temper, though makes up for in wisdom and courage, for what he lacks in Ballin and Swag...
0:00 to 1:04 the first half of "The ride of the rohirrim", 1:05 to 1:14 a part from "the uruk-hai", 1:15 to 4:50 mostly from "the king of the golden hall", 4:50 to 5:38 " Helm's deep", 5:39 to 6:11 the second half of "the ride of the rohirrim", 6:12 to 6:43 the HAIL scene at rohan beginning of ROTK, 6:44 to the end; the end of the "gollum's song". if i say something, i certainly mean it. as you see, there is no theme of "fields of the pelennor". :) think before you drive.
Whiterun was inspired by Edoras, the capital city of Rohan from LOTR. No wonder they look similar. The city built on a hillside with the great hall at the summit. Even Skyrim's tundra resembles the vast open terrain of Rohan's plains. In the books, Edoras has a stone wall and is a grander city than it appears in the films but that was only because the areas it was filmed in were 'protected environments' so they were limited in what they could construct for the set. Whiterun is basically Edoras by the description in JRR. T's novels. They even share the same banner of a horse!
MrAynis Yeah man, the developers went back in time and showed the game to Tolkien and Tolkien said, "Wow, this is interesting, this gives me an idea for a story"
Eh the studio wanted a trilogy instead of one or two movies. I think Jackson did the best he could with having to string that small book out that much.
+Napoleon Rapem'Hard You are so wrong to just see your point of view with your parochialism.. The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit were movies none would make or dare to make that they were to big and impossible to even create except Peter Jackson! - The movies are told by Peter Jackson understanding by J.R.R Tolkien stories. With that sad it's Peter Jackson movies! And you must respect that man for his magnificent result which brought us our beloved "Middel Earth" to live not just on cinema.
My favourite soundtrack from the trilogy, and probably the only one other than John Williams which I would put in my personal top10. Mesmerizing. Also, one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history is when Théoden grasps his sword again. Stunning!
I fell in love with this music the first time I heard it. My heart started to beat faster I shivered, while the hair on my back was standing. O God, how sweet the sound, Of this soundtrack.
seriously, I didn't ever feel interested to watch lord of the rings movies. One day my friend give me the game "Lord of the Rings, Battle for middle earth" and "Lord of the Rings, Rise of the Witch King". Start from the game, I start watching all of the movies, including The Hobbits and I was like holy shit how come I didn't watch this beautiful movies. P/S : I've read the book and thanks everyone for recommending me to read the book.
Holy shit i that game was a huge part of my childhood. I played it for years building up bases and I just went back and played it today to visit the good ol days. I miss being a kid omg everything was so entertaining back then.
Моя самая любимая музыка из всей трилогии фильмов. Прямо за душу цепляет, играет на ней, ощущается эта свобода страны коневодов, её просторы и дух... я просто не знаю, как ещё описать это непередаваемое чувство. Один из тех моментов, когда скрипка не делает мелодию грустной, а даже наоборот, придаёт душевность и свободу мелодии.
I don't why but the entire Soundtrack and themes if Lotr gets me so emotional evey time. They really created an outstanding epic artistic cinematic peace.
British history is complex anyway. There is a kind of myth which even very great authors such as J.R.R Tolkien let go unchallenged, that the Anglo-Saxon blood line took over most of England. Modern genetics studies indicate that in truth, the closer to the South East of England you go in the present day, the more 'Anglo-Saxon' DNA you'll find. However, towards the peripheries, the South West, Wales in the West, the North West of England, bits of the North East of England, and of course the Northernmost lands of Caledonia ie Scotland, well...those places hugging a more peripheral margin thanks to centuries of English encroachment since well before the time of 1066 AD, they are home to far more ancient Brythonic/old Briton blood. Otherwise colloquially referred to since the 18th century when the word was invented in a British theatre house, as 'Celtic'. In truth, albeit a sensitive issue - with loads of social justice warriors and white guilting hipsters getting outraged and in a hissy fit the moment anyone dares to talk about white western European gene pools for no reason really save their own hatred for white people - it can actually be said there has *always* been a 'native stock' of our species Homo sapiens in the British lands for tens of thousands of years. Hunter-gather nomads initially, in a British land connected to the mainland due to much lower sea levels in the Ice Ages (no prizes for why, with all that water locked up in the extensive Ice caps, miles thick and going down to the latitudes of London and New York in the Northern Hemisphere in the last couple of Ice Ages alone) Technically, human species such as Homo neanderthalensis and Homo heidelbergensis, inhabited the Britain as far back as 800,000 years. Homo sapiens got to Europe about 40,000 years ago and there'd be humans nomadically reaching and living around Britain, Doggerland (part of the land drowned by the North Sea when the Ice caps melted back) and elsewhere, between 30,000-35,000 BCE (before common era) In the last 15,000-10,000 years there have been more permanent populations of Homo sapiens on the island, which by 9,500 years ago was basically cut off from the rest of Europe by the massive 300 foot global sea level increase as trillions of tonnes of ice melted around the world. A population of humans was trapped and would be isolated for thousands of years, until late Neolithic to Bronze Age times, when they'd be able to seafare and have the naval technology to make naturally crafted ships to cross the channel. Trade and intercommunication occurred between the continent and the island of Britain. By Roman times, Britain was far from a land of 'savages' which the Romans thought it was. Well, it was like many places including Germania, a place full of mysticism and old naturalistic and proto-pagan like gods, and full of old rituals and customs which could scare modern sensibilities. A land of ancient ''Celtic''/Brythonic stock. Long before the coming of the English. When the consul of Rome and triumvir Julius Caesar himself invaded Britannia, considerably long before the time of Emperor Claudius strategically speaking, even after just having crushed Gaul in the legendary Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar himself was defeated and forces to retreat. The Roman soldiers, of around what I think were 10,000 or so landed in around 2 Legions of an expeditionary invasion, weren't used to the British lands, weather and certainly not its people. Arrogantly barging into a land they thought would be easy to crush, the Romans were surprised to find the landing zones in the southern areas contested, and tribal armies waiting for them. British warriors, painted in blue and white dyes and paints, with waxed, spiked hair, or long and shaggy hair wild with thick beards. Many of them wore little if anything, some many, being stark naked. In battle, whipped up into a bloodlust and frenzy with naturalistic drugs and basically being crazy lunatics in battle high out of their minds on mushrooms and plant based drugs. Drinking alcohol heavily, screaming, banging their mainly bronze and iron shields and swords, spears and axes, raining volleys of arrows and the richest and most skilled among them, being able to use British style chariots. Julius Caesar's legions were mauled badly on the coasts of Britain, in a less well remembered episode of his career, and of the Romans of that century of their long history. It was considered a futile expedition and the Empire was not then able to follow up the failure with vengeance. Caesar moved onto to bigger ventures, allowing the mishap and embarrassment in Britannia to be brushed under the carpet mainly. It came much later, when Emperor Claudius brought 40,000 Roman soldiers in a different kind of invasion, made with aforethought of how the Romans had failed before, their legions ripped to pieces by terrifying native warriors in vast numbers screaming and charging at them on the shorelines, their ranks culled by hundreds of fast chariots smashing into them in the confusion. This time, the Romans took their time picking off one tribe at a time, and making alliances between rival tribes to play them off against each other, and usually absorbing and crushing their 'allies' after they got what they wanted. This went on for centuries until they resolved they could not be bothered to take Caledonia (Scotland) and so built the Hadrian's Wall and Antonine Wall to make a frontier against it. Even during Claudius and Nero's time, the Iceni Rebellion very nearly overthrew Roman rule of the island, with a massive uprising starting in what is Eastern England today, threatening to destroy the entire Roman garrison. Entire legions were ambushed and annihilated. If not for the resolve and cold cunning of tactics and strategy of Roman General Suetonius Paulinus, the Governor of Britannia, Nero would have lost Britannia. With his remaining legions, he held a line and chose a battleground to defend, taking the initiative, and Queen of the Iceni tribe, Boudicca, was simply unable to break his deadly 'sawed wedge line' formations. Romans, with cruel efficiency against the far less organised Britons attacking aimlessly in droves, stole a shock victory which even their disciplines and 'state of the art' Legions weren't really meant to necessarily achieve. As many as 200,000-250,000 or so Britons attacked just 10,000 Romans, and the Romans held them, repelled them, and killed as many as 80,000 for the loss of apparently just 400-500 Romans. Roman propaganda, I expect; but at very least 50,000 Britons would likely have been killed, for what I think is more likely to be at least a thousand or so Romans. Strange, considering they'd already just lost half their garrison and thousands of Romans had already been killed by the overwhelming rebel army. Roman Rule would continue for several more centuries with further rebellions meeting the same end. Boudicca killed herself with poison, though she has become a legend in British history; the tall, fierce and brave redhead warrior queen who came so close to defeating the legions of Rome. A worthy candidate for the inspiration of the Goddess Britannia, so famous in British heraldry and symbolism. In essence, you have this age old time of British natives inhabiting the island with some intermingling from the continent, and then the Romans crashing in onto the scene. Romano-Britain was a very distinct thing and eventually the small Roman presence was mostly accepted and the Romans left their mark with many forts, hot baths and temples. Oh, and massive walls in the far north, lest we forget. It was a serious province and was its own entity. In 399 AD the Roman legions pulled out to help defend a dying Western Roman Empire, and it was no use; Rome was defeated and sacked by Alaric of the Goths in 410 AD, a turning point in history. Rome would continue, but Western Roman Imperialism was changed forever, and mostly the true power which would now come from Rome, was its young Christian papacy - the Popes of Rome had come. [1/2]
[2/2] Over time, the Romans did come back to Britain and more wars and power struggles on the continent led more of their forces away. Romans like Constantius Chlorus (father of Constantine the Great who made Christianity the state religion of the Western and Eastern Roman Empire) and others such as Septimius Severus, restored semblances of Roman rule in their far flung British province, but in the end, travesties of emperors and civil wars, barbarian invasions and mercenary armies of tribal peoples such as the Angles, Saxons and Jutes which they'd tried to use as auxiliary soldiers, turning on the enfeebled Romans who were so outnumbered now, their own Empire too big to control and swallowing them up, cut Britain off. The Romans used to Angles of the mainland European territory of Angeln, among others, as 'foederati' - allies of the Romans. As in Germania, this didn't always turn out how the Romans wanted, with some turning against them when they realised how fragile Roman rule actually was beneath the fanfare and smoke and mirrors. Eventually, the English who the Romano-British had invited to fight the enemies of the mainland Britons, including the Caledonian (''Scottish'') Pictish and Hibernian (''Irish'') Scotti tribe (the Scots of today are mainly descending from the Scotti tribe from Hibernia/Ireland, who came over to Caledonia/Scotland once the time and power of the Picts was fading, ironically) because the Romano-British were growing too weak to handle it themselves, were betrayed by their own mercenary foederati. The Anglo-Saxons realised that this fertile and wealthy land was able to be taken from the Romans with little difficulty; shrewd profiteering and self-service, won out over whatever care they had for staying loyal to those Romans who saw them as inferiors anyway. Anglo-Saxon Britain would endure for six centuries after this, with successive missions by the Church of Rome to 'install' Christianity as the state religion of England. The Heptarchy of England generally sums up how Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, Sussex, Essex, Kent and East Anglia, were the main seven kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England. However, Anglo-Saxon England is a very, very complicated matter. Angles, Saxons and Jutes spread from the South East, but the local population fought them hard for years. One of these battles is Mount Badon, where King Arthur of the Britons, defeated the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and gave the British natives another 50 years of breathing space, before the Anglo-Saxons overwhelmed them. Roman influence survived in Britain in the form of Christianity replacing Anglo-Saxon and Viking paganism eventually, also helping to overthrow the ancient British beliefs. Vikings invaded from time to time and even made colonies in Britain, but Alfred the Great defeated them, and England hardened itself to repeated Viking attacks. By 1066, the Anglo-Saxons were the most advanced people in Western Europe, with Britain being a strong, fertile and rich land. It had its own laws, coinage, taxation system, agricultural policies and standing armies. It was a centre of culture and high arts, in a golden age which would be ignorantly disparaged as the 'dark ages' by Medieval Christian propaganda after 1066. No prizes for why this happened - in 1066, the Normans invaded. And that is a whole different story... The Vikings under Tostig, King Harold Godwinson's own brother, invaded England in 1066, capturing Northumbrian lands and taking the city of York, defeating the local English Lords, Earls and Thanes (Knights) at the Battle of Fulford. King Harold, who had no choice but to leave the south of England to race North to fight this Viking menace with his Royal Army, had already been guarding the south coast, knowing that the Normans of William the Bastard and Duke of Normandy was coming, calling the coronation of King Harold illegal. He was awaiting a big fight with the Normans as soon as the weather changed and the wind blew north, allowing the Norman ships to take sail and land their army in England. Must have been agonising for Harold, but what could he do; couldn't just let 8,000 Vikings run riot in England behind the lines. In a truly epic feat for a thousand year old Western army, he moved his Royal Army 250 miles North from Wessex territory, to meet the Vikings in battle - in just *5 days*. For a modern army, on foot, that would be far less difficult, with nice tarmac roads and motorways to walk down (in the scenario they couldn't use motor vehicles) Back then, it was a complex patchwork of poorly maintained muddy roads through foggy British forests. Imagine walking/quick marching 250 miles, in thousand year old versions of leather and fabric boots, through mud, carrying your own weight in armour, helmets, woolen garments, weapons and shields, cross-country, in just 5 days. Not something which we could describe as pleasant - and *then fight a huge Viking army in battle at the end of this road*. Pretty amazing really. At the Battle of Stamford Bridge, the English Royal Army caught the gloating Vikings off guard; they were sat encamped around a river and the river cut their camp in half either side of the riverbanks. When the English arrived and charged the field, the Vikings were bathing, relaxing, getting drunk and feasting on a sunny afternoon. They hadn't thought it was possible for Harold to set upon them in just 5 days. They thought they had way more time. A mistake. Half the Viking army was trapped on the English side of the river and though it didn't take long for some of the Vikings to arm themselves with their weapons and put at least some of their kit on, the English were fully armed and armoured and cut through their disorganised ranks like a hot knife through butter. Thousands of Vikings died - of the 300 Viking longships used to invade England, only around 22 were needed to take the survivors home to Scandinavia. A huge defeat for the Vikings, marking the end of their golden age; the Vikings were declining heavily after this point, being little more than pests and household guards thanks to Stamford Bridge. However, the battle drained English numbers; fighting Vikings is never easy, even when you have the element of surprise. The English lost 2,000-3,000 lives for their decisive victory. Having marched so fast, fought so heroically and become so exhausted and bloodied in battle, the English then heard the awful news that the Normans got the wind for their ships, and had landed a massive army in the south at Hastings. Just imagine how that'd feel to learn that, if you'd just been in the battle at Stamford Bridge. Anglo-Saxons were very unlucky that year. Normans were already committing atrocities and savaging the villages around the landing zones, killing, looting, pillaging, raping and stealing. But then the Royal Army of Harold, almost as quickly as it went North, came south, and formed a defensive line just north of Hastings. A very impressive feat. On Senlac Hill, the brave English locked shield in a shield wall, and stood fast. William had to attack them all day in one of the cruelest and bloodiest battles of the century in which it occurred. For well over 10 hours the armies struggled, hacking and stabbing at each other in brutal melee CQC (close quarter combat) Time and again the shield wall held, and no matter their technological and numerical advantage, the Normans couldn't break it. They charged and fell back, dozens of times, stabbing and probing for weaknesses in the wall. Just imagine being in a battle like that. Arrows raining down, spears thrusting from behind shields, swords swinging and cutting into human bodies, axes cutting through helmets and skulls, the screams of the dying and injured. It was no easy victory for the Normans. The exhausted English - already tired and hungry before the battle even began - did their best and they deserved to win. But history remembers how they fell. King Harold was allegedly struck down fatally by a Norman arrow hitting his eye, killing him instantly, late in the battle. His most elite warriors, the English Royal Guards and Thanes of the Huscarls (basically his Kingsguard) rallied around his corpse on a mound of dead bodies on the hillside. They made a circular shield wall bristling with swords, spears, axes and House of Wessex flag banners, and refused to retreat. Around them, the battle degenerated in an all out melee with English lines breaking and the numbers, cavalry (the English had none) and comparative freshness of the Normans winning through inevitably. As the main force slowly lost the struggle and thousands died, the Huscarls stubbornly held on. The Normans had to kill them man to man, to the last man, in the following hour or so, an when they did, they hacked up and mutilated fallen King Harold's corpse. Thousands died on both sides, but in their rout the English lost more in the end, in narrow defeat. William had stolen a completely undeserved (in at least my opinion) victory from the jaws of defeat. The fortunes of war. He spent the rest of his life brutalising the local native population and murdering anyone who got in his way. 10,000 Norman elites and soldiers, lording it over 2 million native Britons and Anglo-Saxons. English medieval history followed, with the Crusades and other matters aplenty. But at the Battle of Hastings 1066, 6 centuries old Anglo-Saxon England, died.
And it would have been full of Northumbrian English, with the land-hungry Scots to the north, their old foes the Strathclyde Welsh to the west, and far to the south their Northumbrian kin in Bamburgh were under threat from the Viking wolves who now dwelt south of the Tees. The only other free English were far, far to the south in Wessex. Edinburgh would have been less like Edoras and more like that farm in Zulu getting ready for its last stand.
Seen all the films including both The Hobbit AUJ and The Hobbit DOS, read all the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, now I've to read the trilogy of The Hobbit. Simply, i'm inloved with this saga.
tbh, the books are pretty hard to read and tend to drag quite a bit in certain parts. Tolkien created quite an amazing world and story, but to be honest the structure of the books were not very good.
Your also make me tear a bit! Hope you a grand ol' time in the afterlife buddy! You were a good part of my childhood, and it was always a blast to see you on screen, then and now all the same! :,D
