Excerpts from "Aragorn"
EXCERPT 1 :
The concluding paragraphs of Chapter 1.6 (The Palantír Confrontation).
"The Palantír confrontation was a momentous achievement from the point of view of the courage and mental strength required, and because it was a pivotal action in the struggle to destroy the Ring. When Aragorn looked into the Palantír the destruction of the Ring began to look as if it might be achievable, a fact illustrated by Gandalf's glimmer of hope, expressed to Pippin in LotR 5.4 on realising that Sauron's darkness was not due to Frodo: 'I believe that the news that Faramir brings has some hope in it.' Just prior to this, he had been brooding on Denethor's words that Frodo's venture was 'a fool's hope'. The most visible result of Aragorn's action was the journey through the Paths of the Dead which brought about the defeat of the Corsairs and the victory at the Pelennor Fields. However the true and deeper significance was the effect on Sauron's mind, which led to a brooding obsession with Isildur's heir, making him oblivious to the real danger posed by Frodo, Sam and Gollum, and leading to a carelessness and lack of control which enabled them to continually elude capture. This distraction operated right up until the final denouement when the small Army of the West at the Morannon was saved by the timely destruction of the Ring ..... but the timely destruction of the Ring was only made possible by the diversion strategy begun by Aragorn in a chamber at the top of the Hornburg on March 6th. Frodo, Sam and Gollum between them destroyed the Ring, but Aragorn had made it possible for them to do so.
The final significance of the Palantír confrontation was the effect it had on Aragorn himself during the remainder of the War of the Ring. Once he had made the decision to go through the Paths of the Dead and had succeeded in obtaining the support of Legolas and Gimli for his actions, he shook off his exhaustion and became strong and decisive, to the extent that it was the strength of his will and his charisma alone that enabled him and his companions to travel safely through the Haunted Mountain, to withstand the terror of the Dead and to endure the almost impossibly gruelling ride to Pelargir followed by the voyage up the river with a major battle at the end of it. After the battle he spent most of the night healing people then took part in the Last Debate the following morning prepared to continue acting as bait for Sauron - a role he carried out until the final moment when the Ring was destroyed. He did not falter once during this period but confidently made his own decisions, courageously tackling whatever came his way. The knowledge that he had been capable of mentally deceiving and defeating Sauron gave him the necessary faith in himself.
Sauron's Ring may have been Isildur's Bane, but Isildur's heir made himself Sauron's Bane."
The concluding paragraphs of Chapter 1.6 (The Palantír Confrontation).
"The Palantír confrontation was a momentous achievement from the point of view of the courage and mental strength required, and because it was a pivotal action in the struggle to destroy the Ring. When Aragorn looked into the Palantír the destruction of the Ring began to look as if it might be achievable, a fact illustrated by Gandalf's glimmer of hope, expressed to Pippin in LotR 5.4 on realising that Sauron's darkness was not due to Frodo: 'I believe that the news that Faramir brings has some hope in it.' Just prior to this, he had been brooding on Denethor's words that Frodo's venture was 'a fool's hope'. The most visible result of Aragorn's action was the journey through the Paths of the Dead which brought about the defeat of the Corsairs and the victory at the Pelennor Fields. However the true and deeper significance was the effect on Sauron's mind, which led to a brooding obsession with Isildur's heir, making him oblivious to the real danger posed by Frodo, Sam and Gollum, and leading to a carelessness and lack of control which enabled them to continually elude capture. This distraction operated right up until the final denouement when the small Army of the West at the Morannon was saved by the timely destruction of the Ring ..... but the timely destruction of the Ring was only made possible by the diversion strategy begun by Aragorn in a chamber at the top of the Hornburg on March 6th. Frodo, Sam and Gollum between them destroyed the Ring, but Aragorn had made it possible for them to do so.
The final significance of the Palantír confrontation was the effect it had on Aragorn himself during the remainder of the War of the Ring. Once he had made the decision to go through the Paths of the Dead and had succeeded in obtaining the support of Legolas and Gimli for his actions, he shook off his exhaustion and became strong and decisive, to the extent that it was the strength of his will and his charisma alone that enabled him and his companions to travel safely through the Haunted Mountain, to withstand the terror of the Dead and to endure the almost impossibly gruelling ride to Pelargir followed by the voyage up the river with a major battle at the end of it. After the battle he spent most of the night healing people then took part in the Last Debate the following morning prepared to continue acting as bait for Sauron - a role he carried out until the final moment when the Ring was destroyed. He did not falter once during this period but confidently made his own decisions, courageously tackling whatever came his way. The knowledge that he had been capable of mentally deceiving and defeating Sauron gave him the necessary faith in himself.
Sauron's Ring may have been Isildur's Bane, but Isildur's heir made himself Sauron's Bane."
EXCERPT 2
Taken from Chapter 2.2 (Dúnedain): part of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and his mother Gilraen.
"Gilraen was forty-four when Aragorn left Rivendell and she would live for another fifty-six years. Nothing further is recorded of her life until her final meeting with Aragorn just before her death in 3007 when she told him that this was their last parting because she would soon die. Although she was now a hundred years old she made it plain that she had aged prematurely - especially for someone of Isildur's blood - due to the burden of care she had suffered over the years and to her premonition of the horrors which were now approaching in Middle-earth. To put her distress into context:
By the time of her last meeting with Aragorn she seemed to be consumed by despair, maybe doubting the truth of her mother's prophecies and fearing the worst for her son. The fact that she is recorded as living alone when she returned to her own people perhaps shows that this state of mind was something which afflicted her quite early on in her life. Or it may have been nothing more than ensuring that she could have Aragorn entirely to herself when he visited. It must be stressed that, due to Aragorn's ignorance of his identity as a child, it was only during his adulthood when she was separated from him for probably years at a time that she had been able to have a frank mother/son relationship with him. Perhaps another hint to Gilraen's character lies in HoM-e V12 Part One Chapter IX(ii) where she is described as '... fearless and strong as were all the women of that kin...' In addition, as I mentioned earlier, she felt that she had married too young. These characteristics do not appear in the published LotR, but Tolkien clearly did see her thus at some point. Considering the dangerous and secretive lives her people led it would have been very necessary for everyone to be able to defend themselves when it came to the crunch. As far as the case of Gilraen was concerned, premature marriage and motherhood followed by early widowhood, along with dependence on Elrond's charity and goodwill, were hardly likely to lead to happiness for someone who perhaps hankered after a much more physically protective role in her community. Would she rather have been fighting Orcs?
Aragorn's grief at knowing that his mother's death was approaching is very evident in the account in App AIv as he tried to comfort her with the words, 'Yet there may be a light beyond the darkness; and if so, I would have you see it and be glad.' A man of his sensitivity and perception would have been under no illusion as to what she had suffered and he would naturally have wanted her to be there to share in his joy if he became king and wedded Arwen. Her last words to him before he left were, 'Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim' (translated as: 'I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself'). At its first occurrence the word "Estel" begins with a capital "E", thus denoting Aragorn himself (whom she still addressed by this childhood name) as the embodiment of hope for the Dúnedain, while the second, lower-case, "estel" indicated her own personal lack of hope. It is open to interpretation how this speech was said: with sadness? bitterness? sarcasm? or a mixture of these?
On Aragorn's departure we are told that he 'went away heavy of heart.' As well as the grief and guilt he must have felt at having spent so little time with her - unavoidable though that was - and now having to leave her in such a situation, her decline and despair must have been deeply unnerving for him knowing her gift of foresight, thus making it more difficult for him to keep his own hopes up. She died less than a year later. The fact that he was absent at the time would have only increased his distress.
Was Gilraen's death the first incident which really brought home to Aragorn the ability of Sauron to crush even the strongest people by despair? Was it a foretaste of the attack at Sarn Ford twelve years later when his Rangers were overcome by the Nazgûl? The Dúnedain were tough, but at Sarn Ford they couldn't cope with the Nazgûl, and Gilraen couldn't cope with Sauron-induced despair. Was his mother's decline - and later the Sarn Ford incident - a shock and revelation to Aragorn? Did they stir up a hatred in him for what Sauron had done to him personally, as well as to Middle-earth in general?
Gilraen must have been much missed at his coronation and wedding."
Taken from Chapter 2.2 (Dúnedain): part of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and his mother Gilraen.
"Gilraen was forty-four when Aragorn left Rivendell and she would live for another fifty-six years. Nothing further is recorded of her life until her final meeting with Aragorn just before her death in 3007 when she told him that this was their last parting because she would soon die. Although she was now a hundred years old she made it plain that she had aged prematurely - especially for someone of Isildur's blood - due to the burden of care she had suffered over the years and to her premonition of the horrors which were now approaching in Middle-earth. To put her distress into context:
- It was now over five years since Bilbo's farewell party. Aragorn and Gandalf knew that the One Ring had been found and were intermittently searching for Gollum.
- Aragorn was seventy-six and had thus been enduring his life of homelessness, danger and hardship for well over fifty years. She hardly ever saw him and the anxiety she must have suffered in his absence - not to mention her concern at his appearance when she did see him - would undoubtedly have sapped any positive feelings she might have about the future.
- Had she seen relations and friends suffering illness, premature death and despair due to the increasing evil?
- Also, did she herself know that the Ring had been found - either through her own foresight or because Aragorn had actually told her?
- The Nazgûl had not yet made an appearance in the North, but there may have been other creatures/spirits sent by Sauron which broke down people's strength and resistance, causing fear and hopelessness. For example see LotR 6.7 when Barliman Butterbur referred to '... dark shapes in the woods, dreadful things that it makes the blood run cold to think of.'
By the time of her last meeting with Aragorn she seemed to be consumed by despair, maybe doubting the truth of her mother's prophecies and fearing the worst for her son. The fact that she is recorded as living alone when she returned to her own people perhaps shows that this state of mind was something which afflicted her quite early on in her life. Or it may have been nothing more than ensuring that she could have Aragorn entirely to herself when he visited. It must be stressed that, due to Aragorn's ignorance of his identity as a child, it was only during his adulthood when she was separated from him for probably years at a time that she had been able to have a frank mother/son relationship with him. Perhaps another hint to Gilraen's character lies in HoM-e V12 Part One Chapter IX(ii) where she is described as '... fearless and strong as were all the women of that kin...' In addition, as I mentioned earlier, she felt that she had married too young. These characteristics do not appear in the published LotR, but Tolkien clearly did see her thus at some point. Considering the dangerous and secretive lives her people led it would have been very necessary for everyone to be able to defend themselves when it came to the crunch. As far as the case of Gilraen was concerned, premature marriage and motherhood followed by early widowhood, along with dependence on Elrond's charity and goodwill, were hardly likely to lead to happiness for someone who perhaps hankered after a much more physically protective role in her community. Would she rather have been fighting Orcs?
Aragorn's grief at knowing that his mother's death was approaching is very evident in the account in App AIv as he tried to comfort her with the words, 'Yet there may be a light beyond the darkness; and if so, I would have you see it and be glad.' A man of his sensitivity and perception would have been under no illusion as to what she had suffered and he would naturally have wanted her to be there to share in his joy if he became king and wedded Arwen. Her last words to him before he left were, 'Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim' (translated as: 'I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself'). At its first occurrence the word "Estel" begins with a capital "E", thus denoting Aragorn himself (whom she still addressed by this childhood name) as the embodiment of hope for the Dúnedain, while the second, lower-case, "estel" indicated her own personal lack of hope. It is open to interpretation how this speech was said: with sadness? bitterness? sarcasm? or a mixture of these?
On Aragorn's departure we are told that he 'went away heavy of heart.' As well as the grief and guilt he must have felt at having spent so little time with her - unavoidable though that was - and now having to leave her in such a situation, her decline and despair must have been deeply unnerving for him knowing her gift of foresight, thus making it more difficult for him to keep his own hopes up. She died less than a year later. The fact that he was absent at the time would have only increased his distress.
Was Gilraen's death the first incident which really brought home to Aragorn the ability of Sauron to crush even the strongest people by despair? Was it a foretaste of the attack at Sarn Ford twelve years later when his Rangers were overcome by the Nazgûl? The Dúnedain were tough, but at Sarn Ford they couldn't cope with the Nazgûl, and Gilraen couldn't cope with Sauron-induced despair. Was his mother's decline - and later the Sarn Ford incident - a shock and revelation to Aragorn? Did they stir up a hatred in him for what Sauron had done to him personally, as well as to Middle-earth in general?
Gilraen must have been much missed at his coronation and wedding."
EXCERPT 3
Taken from Chapter 2.5 (Hobbits): part of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and Merry.
"While studying the relationship between Aragorn and Merry I came to the conclusion that it was influenced by two things which happened to Merry before they actually met.
The first was the imprisonment of the Hobbits in the Barrow-downs the previous day by one of the wights which had been roused by the Lord of the Nazgûl (UT 3.4ii). Merry - alone of the Hobbits - had experienced a strange awareness of past events. In App AIiii it is suggested that this particular barrow was the burial place of the last Prince of the old northern sub-kingdom of Cardolan who had been killed in TA 1409. While in his trance Merry had experienced the attack on the Dúnedain of Cardolan by the Men of Carn Dûm and had felt the spear which pierced the Prince's heart. The knife which Tom Bombadil subsequently gave him from the hoard in the barrow had been forged by the Dúnedain during the early days of the Third Age when the North Kingdom still existed and its chief enemy was the Witch-king of Angmar (the Lord of the Nazgûl) whose power was centred on Carn Dûm. This knife was the one which Merry would use to help Éowyn slay the Witch-king at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
The second incident was Merry's encounter with two of the Nazgûl (already mentioned), during which he felt drawn into following them, then lost consciousness and dreamed that he was falling into deep water. On coming to himself again when roused by Nob, he panicked and fled back to the inn, where he and Nob recounted the details of the attack to the other Hobbits and Aragorn. From his description Aragorn realised that he had been briefly affected by the Black Breath. [Regarding Merry's dream during the first night at Tom Bombadil's, involving water spreading round the house: I am unable to decide whether this was linked to the experience of being trapped in the willow on the bank of the Withywindle, or whether it was in anticipation of the incident with the Nazgûl, or of the flooding of Isengard by the Ents.]
Thus before becoming acquainted with Aragorn, Merry had already had close encounters with the Nazgûl and the Dúnedain. He was being drawn into the ancient prophecy made by Glorfindel that the Witch-king would not be slain by the hand of man. His experience of facing the Nazgûl and his glimpse of the history of Cardolan could be seen as preparation for his part in the destruction of the being whose mission had been to eliminate Aragorn's people and the line of Isildur in particular. This is the context in which I set my analysis of the interactions and relationship between Aragorn and Merry. I feel that Merry would have had a subconscious affinity with Aragorn, and with hindsight it is possible to pick up hints of Aragorn's foresight concerning what was to happen to Merry.
From Aragorn's point of view, witnessing the effect of the Nazgûl encounter on Merry gave him some insight into how Hobbits - as opposed to Men - reacted in such circumstances. He had already seen how Harry Goatleaf the gatekeeper had been left 'white and shaking' when questioned by them and realised how Bill Ferny and some of the travellers from the South were in danger of being driven to evil deeds by them (LotR 1.10). When Merry explained that it wasn't either courage or foolishness which had made him follow the Nazgûl, but that he had been drawn by them, Aragorn perhaps gained a better understanding of why Frodo had put on the Ring in the common-room. This would also make him appreciate the compulsion Frodo would face on Weathertop. The wonder he felt at Merry's stout heart showed that he was already starting to learn about Hobbit toughness and unexpectedly strong resistance to the Nazgûl - which would also be displayed by Frodo after his wound."
Taken from Chapter 2.5 (Hobbits): part of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and Merry.
"While studying the relationship between Aragorn and Merry I came to the conclusion that it was influenced by two things which happened to Merry before they actually met.
The first was the imprisonment of the Hobbits in the Barrow-downs the previous day by one of the wights which had been roused by the Lord of the Nazgûl (UT 3.4ii). Merry - alone of the Hobbits - had experienced a strange awareness of past events. In App AIiii it is suggested that this particular barrow was the burial place of the last Prince of the old northern sub-kingdom of Cardolan who had been killed in TA 1409. While in his trance Merry had experienced the attack on the Dúnedain of Cardolan by the Men of Carn Dûm and had felt the spear which pierced the Prince's heart. The knife which Tom Bombadil subsequently gave him from the hoard in the barrow had been forged by the Dúnedain during the early days of the Third Age when the North Kingdom still existed and its chief enemy was the Witch-king of Angmar (the Lord of the Nazgûl) whose power was centred on Carn Dûm. This knife was the one which Merry would use to help Éowyn slay the Witch-king at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
The second incident was Merry's encounter with two of the Nazgûl (already mentioned), during which he felt drawn into following them, then lost consciousness and dreamed that he was falling into deep water. On coming to himself again when roused by Nob, he panicked and fled back to the inn, where he and Nob recounted the details of the attack to the other Hobbits and Aragorn. From his description Aragorn realised that he had been briefly affected by the Black Breath. [Regarding Merry's dream during the first night at Tom Bombadil's, involving water spreading round the house: I am unable to decide whether this was linked to the experience of being trapped in the willow on the bank of the Withywindle, or whether it was in anticipation of the incident with the Nazgûl, or of the flooding of Isengard by the Ents.]
Thus before becoming acquainted with Aragorn, Merry had already had close encounters with the Nazgûl and the Dúnedain. He was being drawn into the ancient prophecy made by Glorfindel that the Witch-king would not be slain by the hand of man. His experience of facing the Nazgûl and his glimpse of the history of Cardolan could be seen as preparation for his part in the destruction of the being whose mission had been to eliminate Aragorn's people and the line of Isildur in particular. This is the context in which I set my analysis of the interactions and relationship between Aragorn and Merry. I feel that Merry would have had a subconscious affinity with Aragorn, and with hindsight it is possible to pick up hints of Aragorn's foresight concerning what was to happen to Merry.
From Aragorn's point of view, witnessing the effect of the Nazgûl encounter on Merry gave him some insight into how Hobbits - as opposed to Men - reacted in such circumstances. He had already seen how Harry Goatleaf the gatekeeper had been left 'white and shaking' when questioned by them and realised how Bill Ferny and some of the travellers from the South were in danger of being driven to evil deeds by them (LotR 1.10). When Merry explained that it wasn't either courage or foolishness which had made him follow the Nazgûl, but that he had been drawn by them, Aragorn perhaps gained a better understanding of why Frodo had put on the Ring in the common-room. This would also make him appreciate the compulsion Frodo would face on Weathertop. The wonder he felt at Merry's stout heart showed that he was already starting to learn about Hobbit toughness and unexpectedly strong resistance to the Nazgûl - which would also be displayed by Frodo after his wound."
EXCERPT 4
Taken from Chapter 2.7 (Rohirrim): the summing up of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and Éowyn.
"When Tolkien eventually rejected the idea of Aragorn returning Éowyn's love, the reason he gave was that he was too old, lordly and grim for her (HoM-e V7 Chapter XXVI), and it is easy to see why he decided this. Éowyn was twenty-four and Aragorn eighty-eight when they met and even allowing for Aragorn's Dúnadan life-span with its extended period of vigorous manhood, this was a big age-gap. Regarding him being too lordly, his Elvish and Númenórean lineage alone provide adequate evidence of this, but it is quite clear that, even for a Númenórean, Aragorn was something special - as recognised/prophesied by the likes of Elrond, Gandalf, Galadriel, Arwen and Ivorwen. Aragorn's grimness and the reasons for it are well-documented in App AIv, as well as in the main text of LotR. His suffering and trials, both mental and physical, would have killed a lesser man due to their severity and length. In the aftermath of his struggles and with the burden of kingship ahead he needed a wife like Arwen with her Elven wisdom and perception, and the strength and fidelity to forsake her people and her immortality for him, someone capable of helping him to achieve his own mental healing. The Aragorn/Éowyn relationship was inherently untenable.
Tolkien provides further information on this subject in LET 244, a draft written around 1963 to an unknown reader who appears to have criticised some aspects of the Éowyn/Faramir relationship. He says: 'It is possible to love more than one person (of the other sex) at the same time, but in a different mode and intensity. I do not think that Éowyn's feelings for Aragorn really changed much; and when he was revealed as so lofty a figure, in descent and office, she was able to go on loving and admiring him. He was old ... when not accompanied by any physical decay age can be alarming or awe-inspiring.' [Tolkien's emphasis].
*******************
As Éowyn accepted and returned Faramir's love she renounced a number of things:
This sudden change in her could be seen as rejecting her previous spirited independent ways and yielding at last to the dominant male culture, accepting her role as a woman, etc. However I should like to offer a different interpretation, namely that she was emulating Aragorn in those areas where his chief renown lay, as a healer and a renewer, the "renewer" aspect being indicated by the passage I have just quoted. Through Faramir's love and influence, she had come to understand Aragorn better, realising that his prowess in battle was not necessarily his finest quality, though it was the one she had originally admired. Perhaps too she had seen that he did not crave renown and battle for their own sake. Above all she had learnt that his healing and compassion were worthy of admiration and reverence. In other words she was coming to know him rather than the 'shadow' and the 'thought' which Aragorn had referred to in the Houses of Healing. Also of course Aragorn had been responsible for saving not only her own life, but that of the man she was in love with as well. Therefore it was quite logical that Éowyn should now want to be a healer. When the Warden of the Houses of Healing discharged her from his care she told him, 'Yet now that I have leave to depart, I would remain. For this House has become to me of all dwellings the most blessed.' (LotR 6.5). She accordingly remained there until Éomer arrived from the Field of Cormallen, perhaps occupying herself with learning the skills of a healer."
Taken from Chapter 2.7 (Rohirrim): the summing up of the discussion on the relationship between Aragorn and Éowyn.
"When Tolkien eventually rejected the idea of Aragorn returning Éowyn's love, the reason he gave was that he was too old, lordly and grim for her (HoM-e V7 Chapter XXVI), and it is easy to see why he decided this. Éowyn was twenty-four and Aragorn eighty-eight when they met and even allowing for Aragorn's Dúnadan life-span with its extended period of vigorous manhood, this was a big age-gap. Regarding him being too lordly, his Elvish and Númenórean lineage alone provide adequate evidence of this, but it is quite clear that, even for a Númenórean, Aragorn was something special - as recognised/prophesied by the likes of Elrond, Gandalf, Galadriel, Arwen and Ivorwen. Aragorn's grimness and the reasons for it are well-documented in App AIv, as well as in the main text of LotR. His suffering and trials, both mental and physical, would have killed a lesser man due to their severity and length. In the aftermath of his struggles and with the burden of kingship ahead he needed a wife like Arwen with her Elven wisdom and perception, and the strength and fidelity to forsake her people and her immortality for him, someone capable of helping him to achieve his own mental healing. The Aragorn/Éowyn relationship was inherently untenable.
Tolkien provides further information on this subject in LET 244, a draft written around 1963 to an unknown reader who appears to have criticised some aspects of the Éowyn/Faramir relationship. He says: 'It is possible to love more than one person (of the other sex) at the same time, but in a different mode and intensity. I do not think that Éowyn's feelings for Aragorn really changed much; and when he was revealed as so lofty a figure, in descent and office, she was able to go on loving and admiring him. He was old ... when not accompanied by any physical decay age can be alarming or awe-inspiring.' [Tolkien's emphasis].
*******************
As Éowyn accepted and returned Faramir's love she renounced a number of things:
- Her wish to be a queen.
- Her "shieldmaiden" role.
- Her wish to compete with the Riders.
- Her love of battle songs to the exclusion of others.
This sudden change in her could be seen as rejecting her previous spirited independent ways and yielding at last to the dominant male culture, accepting her role as a woman, etc. However I should like to offer a different interpretation, namely that she was emulating Aragorn in those areas where his chief renown lay, as a healer and a renewer, the "renewer" aspect being indicated by the passage I have just quoted. Through Faramir's love and influence, she had come to understand Aragorn better, realising that his prowess in battle was not necessarily his finest quality, though it was the one she had originally admired. Perhaps too she had seen that he did not crave renown and battle for their own sake. Above all she had learnt that his healing and compassion were worthy of admiration and reverence. In other words she was coming to know him rather than the 'shadow' and the 'thought' which Aragorn had referred to in the Houses of Healing. Also of course Aragorn had been responsible for saving not only her own life, but that of the man she was in love with as well. Therefore it was quite logical that Éowyn should now want to be a healer. When the Warden of the Houses of Healing discharged her from his care she told him, 'Yet now that I have leave to depart, I would remain. For this House has become to me of all dwellings the most blessed.' (LotR 6.5). She accordingly remained there until Éomer arrived from the Field of Cormallen, perhaps occupying herself with learning the skills of a healer."