Rohan - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

skytree · 05-22-2010, 09:53 AM

Which European culture does Rohan most closely resemble? Vikings/Scandanavia?

Lastande Took · 05-22-2010, 11:00 AM

I thought it felt like a combination of early Briton and Scandinavian cultures.

skytree · 05-22-2010, 08:48 PM

I was thinking Celtic/Scandanavian. I know the Celts made use of horses in warfare, at least as accomplished charioteers.

Aiwendil · 05-22-2010, 10:57 PM

To me they seem more English (Anglo-Saxon) than British or Scandinavian. Obviously, part of that has to do with their language being represented by Old English. But the choice of Old English was surely not arbitrary; I'd say it reflects something about their society and their outlook that resembles that of the Anglo-Saxons.

I don't see anything particularly Celtic or Scandinavian about them, but maybe that's just me. The emphasis their culture places on horses certainly does set them apart from the Anglo-Saxons, but I don't know that I'd call it particularly Celtic; a lot of peoples used horses, after all.

skytree · 05-22-2010, 11:09 PM

I know Mead Halls or at least I think were completely unique to Scandinavian cultures in Europe, and of course wearing their hair long and braided with beards is similar to the Viking culture. Of course both the Celts and Vikings commonly buried warriors of renown in elaborate mounds, many that are still being discovered today. Unlike the Angles or Saxons, the Celts and Vikings tended toward tribalism and a nomadic life, avoiding large population concentrations. Those are the things that stood out to me.

Aiwendil · 05-23-2010, 09:17 AM

Good points. The Anglo-Saxons did have mead halls much like the Scandinavians, though - indeed, the O.E. word for such a hall was 'meduseld'.

05-22-2010, 09:53 AM	#1
skytree Haunting Spirit Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 51	Rohan Which European culture does Rohan most closely resemble? Vikings/Scandanavia?

05-22-2010, 11:00 AM	#2
Lastande Took Animated Skeleton Join Date: May 2010 Location: The Old Forest of Virginia Posts: 44	I thought it felt like a combination of early Briton and Scandinavian cultures. __________________ Tom-fool of a Took! Holmesian.net, the official unofficial home for Sherlock Holmes fanatics.

05-22-2010, 08:48 PM	#3
skytree Haunting Spirit Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 51	I was thinking Celtic/Scandanavian. I know the Celts made use of horses in warfare, at least as accomplished charioteers.

05-22-2010, 10:57 PM	#4
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	To me they seem more English (Anglo-Saxon) than British or Scandinavian. Obviously, part of that has to do with their language being represented by Old English. But the choice of Old English was surely not arbitrary; I'd say it reflects something about their society and their outlook that resembles that of the Anglo-Saxons. I don't see anything particularly Celtic or Scandinavian about them, but maybe that's just me. The emphasis their culture places on horses certainly does set them apart from the Anglo-Saxons, but I don't know that I'd call it particularly Celtic; a lot of peoples used horses, after all.

05-22-2010, 11:09 PM	#5
skytree Haunting Spirit Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 51	I know Mead Halls or at least I think were completely unique to Scandinavian cultures in Europe, and of course wearing their hair long and braided with beards is similar to the Viking culture. Of course both the Celts and Vikings commonly buried warriors of renown in elaborate mounds, many that are still being discovered today. Unlike the Angles or Saxons, the Celts and Vikings tended toward tribalism and a nomadic life, avoiding large population concentrations. Those are the things that stood out to me.

05-23-2010, 09:17 AM	#6
Aiwendil Late Istar Join Date: Mar 2001 Posts: 2,224	Good points. The Anglo-Saxons did have mead halls much like the Scandinavians, though - indeed, the O.E. word for such a hall was 'meduseld'.