Throughout theLord of the RingsandThe Hobbittrilogies, there are countless examples of what it takes to make a great warrior: not only amazing battle strategy and weapon mastery but also honor, loyalty, and bravery in the face of adversity. A truly great warrior is someone who puts the needs of those they are protecting above themselves, and someone who does what is right, even if it means defying the orders that they have been given.
All of these traits can be seen inEowyn, the shield maiden of Rohan, and in Tauriel, the elven guard of Mirkwood. There are lots of good battle scenes for both of these characters, against very different types of foes, and both characters are great examples of strong women within Tolkien’s world. But of the two, who is the better warrior?
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Eowyn rides out into battle alongside the other brave soldiers who charge into Pelennor Fields tohelp defend Minas Tirithfrom the onslaught of orcs at its walls. Despite everyone around her belittling her, and believing that she isn’t as capable as a man would be, Eowyn valiantly and bravely fights nonetheless, because it’s what she believes to be right. She is ordered by king Theoden to stay with the women and children, she is told by her brother that if she saw the true horrors of war she would turn and run, and she is even bid by Aragorn to stay behind as it ‘isn’t safe for her’. Yet she makes one of the most monumental differences in the whole war when she kills the Witch King.
This is a huge blow to the forces of Sauron as she effectively defeats his second in command. She protects Merry, she battles to save her uncle, and she defeats several orcs along the way, making her a very formidable warrior. This is her first taste of battle nonetheless, and although she does incredibly well,she still has a lot to learnabout the survival that it takes to be a true warrior. She is mostly self-taught, and she has a brave heart, but has been somewhat limited in her exposure to the skills and agility that she could have learned with her sword-wielding if she had been given the time and trust that the men in her kingdom were afforded.
Tauriel on the other hand is a seasoned fighter. She is a member of the elven guard of Mirkwood, and as such she has spent years battling to defend the kingdom, especially from the foul creatures that have been ever encroaching upon the borders in recent years, like the giant spiders that have filled the forest with gloom and position. Tauriel is a born warrior, who has incredible skills with her blades, which she can wield several of at once, and also with a bow and arrow, which isthe specialty of her race. She can hit a fast-moving target from miles away, and is very deft at killing goblins and wargs that attempt to attack her realm. This is demonstrated in many moments across the movies, like the barrel scene in which Tauriel can be seen shooting her bow as she runs through the woods, jumping and aiming all at once.
Tauriel is a hunter in the sense of being able to track the target that she is following, and she is also trained in the arts of healing, which helps her protect the wounded on the battlefield. She is a much more rounded warrior, with far more experience and expertise than Eowyn after her years in service of Thranduil. But with the elven king comes the same adversity that Eowyn has faced, forThranduil seems ever disapproving of Tauriel, and for some reason seems to undervalue and undermine her skills.
Both of these strong female characters have very different skill sets, but both lack something that the other seems to have in abundance. For Eowyn it’s the years of training and lived experience that Tauriel has, that the shield maiden wasn’t afforded, and for Tauriel it’s the strong heart and the boldness that seems so ingrained in Eowyn. Tauriel is a fantastic fighter, butuntil she meets Killi, she never really has anything to fight for, and has lacked the compassion and the inspiration that would truly push her to her limits and give her the determination to go above and beyond.
This is something that Eowyn has had all her life, and it is the light that she keeps burning inside of her when all of the walls seem to be closing in around her, when all hope seems lost, she finds the salvation within herself, which is something that only starts to emerge within Tauriel by the end of the trilogy, and only because she finds a love deep enough to change her.
