Highlights
- The Battle at Helm’s Deep is a significant event in The Lord of the Rings saga, serving as a major battle for the Fellowship and advancing Théoden’s character arc.
- The movies include a key difference from the books by including the Elves in this battle, whereas they are absent in the original novels.
- Peter Jackson’s decision to include the Elves in the battle adds cinematic flair, demonstrates the unity among the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, and allows for a sympathetic character death.
The Battle at Helm’s Deep is one of the biggest events in The Lord of the Rings saga. This huge conflict is one of the first actual battles that the Fellowship becomes involved in. In the movies, it’s the climactic event of The Two Towers. The battle is both a giant action set piece and a way to move the story along, particularly with Théoden’s character arc. It’s emotional and cathartic to watch the armies of Rohan band together and fight the forces of evil.
The movies, however, include a key difference from the books when it comes to this battle. A major plot point in the film version of events is that the Elves travel to Helm’s Deep to assist. However, they are not present at this battle in the books. This, of course, begs the question: why did the movies choose to include the Elves in this battle? There are a number of answers to this question, but first, it’s important to know the context behind the Battle at Helm’s Deep and where these groups were fighting in Tolkien’s novels.
RELATED: LOTR: Why Is Rohan So Important?
What Was The Battle at Helm’s Deep?
The Battle of Helm’s Deep, also called the Battle of the Hornburg, was the first large-scale battle during the War of the Ring. The Rohirrim were defending the Hornburg — the stronghold of Rohan located at the gorge called Helm’s Deep — from Saruman’s forces of Uruk-hai and Orcs. Saruman was working under the influence of Sauron, in one of Sauron’s many attempts to take over Middle-earth. The Hornburg was supposed to be difficult to breach, as explained by Théoden in The Two Towers novel:
‘It is said that the Hornburg has never fallen to assault,’ said Théoden; ‘but now my heart is doubtful. The world changes, and all that once was strong now proves unsure. How shall any tower withstand such numbers and such reckless hate?’
When Saruman’s army attacked, they attempted to break down the gate of the Hornburg with tree trunks. Thankfully, they were stopped by an attack team led by Aragorn and Éomer. The opposing army raised ladders to help them scale the giant wall that protected the Hornburg as Rohan’s army, including the Fellowship, fought them off. Unfortunately, a large portion of the wall was destroyed by the Fire of Orthanc, an explosive weapon that Saruman had invented.
The explosion allowed a huge portion of the Orcs to come in through the newly created hole, which eventually led to the Rohirrim being forced to retreat into the Glittering Caves. In the morning, Théoden and Aragorn led a cavalry to force the Uruk-hai back. Meanwhile, Éomer, Gimli, and the company in the caves forced the opposing army out of the Deep. Gandalf also arrived with a thousand foot-soldiers and charged Saruman’s army, leading to their defeat and the end of the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
Where Were The Elves Fighting In The Books?
In the movies, the Elves fight right alongside the Rohirrim, and are present for all the aforementioned action. In the books, however, the Elves are not present at the Battle of Helm’s Deep.
It isn’t stated directly in the main novels, but Tolkien revealed in Appendix B that the Elves of Lórien had their own battles to fight at this time. They couldn’t offer aid at Helm’s Deep, because they had to protect their own lands from armies coming out of Moria and Dol Guldur. There isn’t much detail provided about their situation, as it was only mentioned in passing.
Why Were The Elves At Helm’s Deep In The LOTR Movies?
This begs the question: why did Peter Jackson decide to include the Elves of Lórien in the movie version of the Battle of Helm’s Deep? Obviously, it makes the battle a bit more cinematic to have the Elven armies fight alongside the Rohirrim. After focusing on how small and ill-prepared the people of Rohan were for battle, the Elven presence provides hope for the audience.
Though Helm’s Deep was being attacked, Sauron’s forces were causing conflicts all over Middle-earth. Thus, Jackson wanted to demonstrate this by showing the Elves fighting as well. He did so in a cohesive way by including them in the action at Helm’s Deep, rather than cutting away to an unrelated battle. This was a way to prove that the Elves weren’t sitting around doing nothing during this period. They were just as involved with protecting Middle-earth as the men of Rohan and Gondor were.
This was Jackson’s way of emphasizing the unity between the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. It also gave him the opportunity for a character death that the audience would be sympathetic towards, with Haldir’s fall in battle. It’s not a direct adaptation of Tolkien’s writing, but Peter Jackson was thinking dramatically, and wanted to create the narrative that would best fit the cinematic experience.
The Lord of the Rings
- Created by
- J. R. R. Tolkien
- Current Series
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Leave a Reply