Elfhelm, Marshal of the Mark

In the realm of Rohan the highest military rank was Marshal of the Riddermark, of which there were three. Each marshal was responsible for leading the muster of a particular region. The First Marshal, the highest, was responsible for the muster of Edoras and the King’s Lands; the Second, for the muster of Helm’s Deep; and the Third, for the muster of Aldburg the old capital. The three Marshals were key to the defense of the Mark and therefore the men holding these positions were the chief obstacles to the plans of Saruman the White. In the days of his youth, Théoden King himself had led the muster of Edoras so that there was no need for a First Marshal, and when the king fell under the influence of Saruman, his wicked counselor Gríma ensured that the position remained vacant. The king’s son, Théodred, was the Second Marshal, but he was slain by Saruman’s orcs at the Fords of Isen. The Third Marshal was Éomer, the king’s sister-son, who was arrested and imprisoned by Gríma for disobeying the king’s laws.

When the Fords of Isen came under attack by Saruman’s orcs, the situation there was dire. Holding the fords, Théodred and his men were in sore need of reinforcement, but there was no Marshal in Edoras to call upon. Yet help was still to be found. Although officially there was no First Marshal of the Riddermark, the duties of the position were overseen by Elfhelm of the Muster of Edoras. At the urgent summons of Théodred, Elfhelm rode forth in haste from Edoras with four éoreds, or companies of riders, coming to the Fords of Isen in time to prevent the defeat of the Rohirrim, but not, alas, in time to prevent the death of the Prince Théodred.

After the Battle of the Hornburg, Elfhelm was given command of the first éored of the Muster of the East-mark. During the Ride of the Rohirrim to the aid of Minas Tirith, Elfhelm turned a blind eye to the presence of Meriadoc Brandybuck, though the king had forbidden the hobbit to accompany the Riders. It was a wise judgement that would have far-reaching and fortuitous consequences. During the charge of the Rohirrim onto the besieged field of Pelennor, Elfhelm was given command of the king’s right flank, and there, under the shadow of the great wall of Minas Tirith, Elfhelm and his riders destroyed the orcs operating the Enemy’s siege engines.

Later, after the Ring went into the fire and the Enemy was cast down for ever, Elfhelm was a witness at the coronation of King Elessar of Gondor. After the Rohirrim returned to the Riddermark, he was assigned to the newly-created position of Marshall of the East-mark and given command of all the forces of eastern Rohan.

The word “marshal” has an interesting etymology. It came into English via Anglo-Norman, Old French, and Latin, but ultimately it’s a Germanic word, from either Frankish marhskalk or Old High German marah-scalc, both meaning “horse-servant, horse-knight”. The Old English form would have been mearh-scealc and if it had remained in usage it would have the form “mareshalk” in modern English. As for the outfit, the seed of this one was the shield. I always think it looks like someone took down the door from one of the meadhalls of Rohan and strapped it to their arm. The new summer festival cloak didn’t really grab me when I fist saw it, and I had no intention of using it with this outfit, but on a whim I tried it out and I loved it! In fact I was really pleased with this outfit in general (I actually think that unfortunately the screenshots I took don’t do it full justice — mounted combat screenshots are a bit tricky). I hope you enjoy it too.

Elfhelm

• Head: Burnished Helmet of the Dunland Warlord (quest reward — Dunland [71] An Honourable Exchange), umber
• Shoulders: Pauldrons of the Stoic Stag (quest reward — Dunland [66] Stealing and Squealing), turquoise
• Back: Cloak of Nárië (bartered — Summer Rewards vendor/Cosmetic Rewards Part 1), turquoise
• Chest: Westemnet Battle Armour (crafted — Metalsmith T9), white
• Hands: Gloves of the Hammerhand (pre-order — Helm’s Deep), default
• Feet: Eastemnet Battle Boots (crafted — Metalsmith T8), olive
• Shield: Laerdan’s Defender (quest reward — epic [50] Volume 1, Book 12, Chapter 6: Laerdan’s Escape/heavy shield)
• Weapon: Carved Yew Spear (crafted — Woodworker T3/spear)

Steed

• Body: Caparison of West Rohan (looted — West Rohan warband lootboxes), turquoise
• Head: Burglar’s Halter (purchased — LOTRO Store), white
• Saddle: Burglar’s Saddle (purchased — LOTRO Store)
• Legs: Leggings of Thorin’s Hall (purchased — LOTRO Store), turquoise
• Hide: Solid Warsteed (auto-granted), white
• Tail: Simple Tail (auto-granted), white

Tips: The helm and shoulders in this outfit share their appearance with other Dunland armour rewards. The shield has the same skin as Toramath (quest reward — Lonelands [26] An Honourless People). The steed’s caparison drops from warbands in West Rohan; I find the least frustrating way to reliably get this piece (and its matching halter and saddle) is to wait until you are level 91 or higher, and then defeat the warband of Snapfang north of Aldburg. He drops all three cosmetics, and has very few other items on his loot list, so they tend to drop fairly reliably. If you’re not too bothered about adhering to the Rohirin theme of this outfit, or want to repurpose it with an elven theme, adding the the Accessory of Rivendell looks superb!

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