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Steelsheen  by Ecthelion of the fountain 1 Review(s)
LindeleaReviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/4/2025
The world is already showing signs of strain. Darkness doesn't just happen overnight; it sneaks in and can be quite subtle – a shadow here, a shadow there – until suddenly you're aware that things have changed much more than you realized as the shadows were beginning to creep in.

Ah, those overprotective big brothers... but Éowyn seems to have her head on straight. “I learn,” Éowyn replied simply. (I had to laugh, though, because my younger hobbits in my stories are often being told variations on "Wait until you're older.")

At such a young age, she begins to perceive the cage. Poor lass. But Théodred is a bright spot. Do I detect an adolescent crush (infatuation?) beginning to form? She's about the right age for that, it seems.

Elfhild as a sort of Middle-earth vigilante. Robin Hood? (Drawling: Better look out, boys, there's a new sheriff in town.)

I've heard from other fanfic writers that Kingsfoil tastes pretty vile, in their view. It sure smells purty, though. (I don't know why I'm talking like a cowboy movie tonight.)

Ages in Tolkien's peoples are interesting to ponder. When I first started writing hobbits, it seemed odd to me that fanon had female hobbits marrying around age 30 or older, while male hobbits didn't marry until they came of age at 33 or even waited until they were older (in my stories, 40 is average marriage age for a male hobbit). Until I realized that 30 in a hobbit seems equivalent to about 20 in a human. Thus, Rosie Cotton Gamgee was 37 when she had her first child and 58 (so, seemingly not as old in hobbit terms as it would be for a woman of today) when she had her last! Hobbits' time scale is different from ours. (I'm not surprised that the Rohirrim might be different from what we're used to, as well.) Interestingly, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins was scandalously young (hobbit age: 23/human age: 15) when she married Otho. I wonder if JRRT made a math error or if he had a story in mind? (Of course, Arwen was robbing the cradle to marry Aragorn, and he was 88 at the time! I've calculated that, based on his age when he died, his age at his wedding would be roughly equivalent to a 31yo man of today.)

But I'm rambling. The bedtime police (cats) seem to be running behind schedule tonight.

Author Reply: For age—Unfinished Tales actually states that the Rohirrim typically live into their eighties, so their time scale is quite close to that of modern people. Examining the ages at which the Kings of the Mark had their heirs also supports this: being unwed into one’s forties would have been unusual. Thengel, for instance, wedded at 38 and was considered very late, and his being seventeen years older than Morwen is also noted—suggesting the match was unusual.

The House of the Stewards in Gondor is a little different, as their lifespan is longer than that of the Rohirrim. Denethor himself wed at 46 (and he was still very vigorous at 89). Yet even with this, Appendix A includes a note explaining Boromir’s resemblance to Eärnur, partially explaining his marital status.

As for the Númenóreans, there are multiple versions of their ageing and life scales. Aragorn’s “equivalent age” isn’t fixed, ranging anywhere from his thirties to forties in mortal terms. The Nature of Middle-earth covers this extensively :D

Hobbits, too, are special—so I don’t think we can use their absolute ages as a guide to physical maturity or development across races.

I’ve heard from other fanfic writers that kingsfoil tastes pretty vile— I don’t think there’s a canon description of its fresh taste, but I also imagine it can’t be great… hence Théodred’s comment 😂

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