Tolkien Reads The Ride of the Rohirrim 

If you ever feel like you can't ever create anything worthwhile, remember that Tolkien thought this sequence was kind of weak and considered scrapping it.

RIP Bernard Hill

And so passes Théoden, King of Rohan, Lord of the Riddermark, Last of the second line of Kings and first of his name. May he find honor in the halls of his fathers.

What is brilliant about Tolkien's prose here, is that there really isn't detail about the actual fight itself, more of the epic and poetic nature of what it felt like to have witnessed such an event. Mythic.

God I love hearing his pronunciations and cadence. The part where he says spears shall be shaken. Shields be splintered sounded for all the world to me like it was from the Beowulf intro.

You think nothing can ever be more epic and powerful than the film version of the Ride of the Rohirrim. Then you hear the Original Text in the words of the Master himself.

Never before and again was a mortal man compared to one of the Valar, a middleman none the less. I hope that Bernard Hill is now sitting next to the Valar and his forefathers in peace. Rest In Peace

If only Tolkien had narrated his entire work

Now I wish we had an audiobook with Tolkien reading his own works like this. What a WONDERFUL voice he had for narrating.

I love how Tolkien slowly builds up the metaphor of the water breaking the dam, at first just "pouring in slowly but steadily" and then when charging they "roared like a breaker foaming to the shore": As one could say: The dam of uncertainty is breached and the full force of light and horse and bravery is sweeping over the orcs... So amazing...

The man survived world war I, lost several of his best friends in the process, and instead of drinking himself to an early grave and beating his family out of grief he chose to create one of the most beautifully crafted stories of our time. I wish I got to meet him

"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:" "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." Bernard Hill embodied Theoden to legendary levels.

I love how Tolkien gets caught up in the moment while reading this

The comparison of Théoden to Oromë *chef's kiss*

"Too late was worse then never" I'm not expert and correct me, but that line is something a soldier could say.

The parallel between Hurin saying "The day shall come once more" back in the first age in the battle of many tears, and Theoden saying " 'Ere the sun rises!" in the third age. Beautiful.

Hail Theoden, king! May he rest in peace!

The gravity with which he reads the word "boom". I legit shiverred.

A man who had spent WW1 in the trenches and seen unbelievable sadness and pain could pour out all his imagination and feelings into dozens of books. I wish I had as much determination and creativity as JRR Tolkien

This brought me close to tears, to actually hear the voice of the writer himself *with* the movie. 😭Beautiful.

That horn added in has no reason to hit as hard as it does.

i can't explain why but i cried

Tolkien survived WWI and lost several of his best friends and decided to do this with his life. Truly an amazing human being

Hail Theoden King of the Mark. may you find peace in the halls of your fathers. Hail now Eomer, King.

There's a beauty about Tolkien's usage of language that is unparalleled by any other author.

Hail the victorious dead.

Our boy Théoden snatching a horn and blowing it so mightily it breaks in two. That would pump you up to charge headfirst into the host of Mordor

It’s a pity that Tolkien did not record his own narration of his magnum opus. The lord of the rings is narrated perfectly by its creator.

"But Theoden could not be overtaken", IMO is right next to "and Morgoth came." as most epic lines in the Legendarium.

Dude can write.

In Gondor’s darkest hour, Rohan came to its aid.

Only one other being in Middle-earth besides Fingolfin was ever compared to Orome, and that was Theoden.

Am I the only one who shudders at the way Tolkien says the word "boom"?

Yesterday the world lost a great man. Hail Théoden King, may you now rest forever in the halls of your fathers for the world is now just a little bit darker without your brilliance to shine upon it.

I wish Jackson would have emphasized the horns more. In the book it was something Tolkien used to spark hope into the breast of the people of Gondor. Saying that forever after tears would spring to Pippin's eyes whenever he heard a horn. "Horns, horns, horns, in dark Mindolluin’s sides they dimly echoed. Great horns of the north wildly blowing. Rohan had come at last.”

It was Tolkien that taught me to love to read. I still remember being completely engrossed, lost in these very passages, the narrative of this battle. I wish I could speak to Tolkien, and thank him.

HAIL THE VICTORIOUS DEAD

Theodan's last ride, and the death of the witch king of the nazgul is by far the best and most epic part of the entire trilogy. I can barely read it aloud without crying, and yet here the master does it so composed and eloquently! Truly the greatest of all time!

There is a reason why LotR is timeless.

I’m reading return of the king every night for my 10 year old and this was the one chapter I absolutely could not wait to read. I’m not shamed to admit I choked up. Theoden being compared to Orome is the epitome of the word epic.

One of the best scenes ever written. The scene where Aragorn bows to the hobbits is another one that gets me every time.

This man was there and fought. He won

Hail the victorious dead! 😢

The book was just simply amazing. Movies were awesome as well, but the writing was a masterpiece

Yo this guy was a stone cold genius. No one will ever do high fantasy better in all of history to come.

My good Lord! 😢 THIS WAS AMAZING! Brought to tears at the sound of The Professor himself Mustering the Rohirrum!!!❤❤❤🧝‍♂️🧝‍♀️🧙‍♂️🍻

This brings tears to my eyes.

"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 tire 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."

So, it was not only the sudden impact of the Rohirrim with their thundering horns that broke the fighting spirit of the besieging ork army. It was the unexpected predominance of light which meant that Sauron's power had been overcome. The protective shield of darkness for the orks that also demoralized men was gone. This reminds me of the battle of Helm's Deep where the morale of the orks was mainly crushed not by the Rohirrim but by the unexpected appearance of a whole moving forest of angry huorns.

Hail the victorious dead!

still make my skin shivers. greatest writer in modern times. unmatched champion with a pen in his hand. true legend

I regularly read this and other passages from Tolkien to my young son for his bedtime story. He's currently 11 months old, I think by the time he turns 10 or so I'll be able to make it through without getting choked up.

Fey he seemed, for the battle fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins.

i will never in my lifetime be able to explain how much this means to me

every time I see it, I click it. And every time I click it, I say "jesus fucking christ it's so good".

I would love to know what Tolkien imagined the Rohirrim singing to sound like

Sh!t. A man who went to war, saw brothers die, evil blossomed with impunity from the blood spilled on every field. This man lived. Survived. Not only endured the horrors that sought to claim his body and flesh but also his sanity and soul... ...this man... ...wrote. A story. The story of man. The story of good, and of heart. A story that no matter how many cultures over the vast pages of history scrawl THEIR story it's never lost, never forgotten. Of love. Of sacrifice. Of greed. Of anger. Of self. Of selflessness. Of the hero. Not just the great vanquisher, the one who could flick dragons from off his mighty nose. No. The one who stopped himself. Who let self die. Who chose to sacrifice, so that others might live to ask the questions. No matter the where or when, mankind seems to always need to write down, tell, and sing these same stories. ......why do you think that is?

Tolkien reads prose like poetry, it's actually amazing to listen to. I'm glad this video survived.

Fucking inspiring. I almost cried a little.

Bro, I got chills from hearing Tolkien read this scene

I remember when I got into my first day in college and meeting people. l Would ask them for what they liked and when l said that l loved Tolkien's work, MANY would say that they disliked LOTR because and l quote "It's a harry potter rip off" Imagine my reaction

There's a reason why Tolkien is a master writer.

When I got finished reading LOTR, it was like I was in a trance. My mind was in Tolkien's world while my body was still in the normal physical world here. Honestly, other books are paltry compared to Tolkien's works. You can tell it was a labor of love to him. I'm fortunate to live in a time where the books and the movies exist.

This was beautiful. J.R.R. Tolkien was indeed as masterful linguist. Imagine listening to him reciting the entire trilogy as an epic ballad.

The man sounds like a sports commentator. LEGEND!!!

"Bless us and splash us, my precious!" I own a couple of vinyl LPS of Tolkien reading from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. His recitation of Riddles in the Dark is especially entertaining. I haven't listened to these recordings in years. Thank you for refreshing my memory of hearing the author himself reading excerpts from his magnum opus.

I've listened to this countless times, here and elsewhere. I always felt bad for Guthlaf, the banner bearer. His horn had been borrowed by Theoden and so when "all the horns of the host were lifted in music", I believed Guthlaf had no horn to blow and join in. Silly me, I now think, because of course a banner bearer for King Theoden has more horns at hand! I like to think that once it "burst asunder", Guthlaf shrugs and grabs his spare.

Rip King

This was my favorite scene in the entire trilogy. Always makes me tear up 🥹🥺🥹

Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers RAN LIKE NEW FIRE IN HIS VEINS

RIDE NOW! RIDE NOW! RIDE TO GONDOR! God I love Theoden

Hail Theoden, Son of Thengul, King of the Golden Hall.

His voice is in his words. Wonderful to hear him.

“They were too late. Too late was worse than never.” Might sound extra for saying this but I feel like a Catholic like Tolkien, especially one of his caliber as author, might have had an unease writing that. Knowing he was the god of this world and he was allowing this slaughter to happen was maybe exhilarating for him to write on paper. And it gave such fire and fuel to him lifting up the riders into victory word after word.

it's just too good, I keep coming back

Thank you, thank you! I was saddened to see that video gone. I wish I could help with crediting the original uploaders. Meanwhile, I thank you once again!

Hearing this brought tears to my eyes

You have to think there is some amount of divine intervention here based on what is happening to the scene and the sudden change in Theoden

1:42 '...its topmost tower like a glittering needle..' Like an obelisk. Absolutely brilliant reading: thank you for this! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

This is pure gold, now I know how Tolkien himself pronounce the words he created like valar or eored

I bet Tolkien would be so proud of how well the battle scenes were done in the movies. Not everything was perfect, but the action was insane.

THANK YOU 1000000000 for bringing back this immense video, an absolute masterpiece of Tolkien’s godlike skill ❤❤❤

Such raw power in his words, it's impossible not to be overcome by it. And why not, when not all tears are an evil. 🥲

The things that this video does to my emotions at .75x speed.

This is why the internet was invented folks. The cumulative creativity of society has the decision to make things like this happen or absolute poison. But this video defy's all the shit we all worry about society creating. This is why Tolkien is my favorite author and my biggest inspiriation. This is what people are meant for. I never knew my grandparents but I feel close to John from reading all his works. I hope you all have a good day. Edit: and yes i did drink typing this and this is what i decided to do with it

The music & soundtrack in combination with this reading is absolute perfection. That moment when the horns come in… magnificent.

Tolkien's books inspired me to try my hand in fantasy world building

Wow. Made me cry.

When i was young, Tolkien books was my favourite

...rolling over the fields a great BOOM

Thank you for reuploading this! Nothing gives me chills like Theodeon's charge

Even though I've read the books this gave me goosebumps!

RIP Bernard,Hail Theoden king!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would totally buy an officially licensed audio book of a Tolkien AI voice reading the trilogy.

He says "ride now, gondor" as if it was only his cry that moved the whole legion!

I don’t think there is a better video than this on RU-vid

This is one of the rare scenarios where the movies are on par with the books in terms of quality.

I cried

What a beautiful gift this is. Thank you!

I haven't re read LOTR in a while, but the power of Tolkien's language and vision, makes me want to pick it up right away. Think I'll go find my old copy....