Idis was a Rohir Princess and the niece of Théoden Ednew, as the daughter of Meril of Cair Andros and Anbar Cilgir. She was a child at the time of the War of the Ring, but even so she managed to record her perspective upon the evacuation of Cair Andros, and later she contributed her knowledge, alongside that learned by Meriadoc Brandybuck from her uncle, of the history of her land recorded in the Red Book. In older age, she would return to Rohan herself, and perpetuate her Númenórean blood among the Rohirrim through marriage to a nobleman of Westfold. Her descendants would do likewise, and soon among the Rohirrim, there came to be a strange elite of half-Dúnedan nobles and chieftains.
Notes[]
In early drafts for the Lord of the rings Idis had been a precursor of Éowyn, JRR tolkien later decided that Thèoden had only one child and replaced the part of Idis with Théoden's niece. It is stated in these later drafts that Théodred was the only child of the King, and therefore the part of Idis, although heartfelt and tempting, cannot be reconciled, as she does not appear in the later drafts.
However, a different purpose can be drawn from her presence. Thèoden had also a sister, and in non-cannon sources she is named Meril, and was said to have married a Dúnedan nobleman from Gondor. It is also evident that, while they are likely not intended to be the Saxons or other ancestors to the Britons themselves, the Rohirrim are clearly intended to represent a Germanic culture, akin or perhaps even ancestral to the English (though the Hobbits resemble rustic modern English, it is more likely, based on Tolkien's depiction of them, that they represent a historical form of Gnomes, such as existed in Anglo-European folklore, as well as to incorporate modern English culture in an ancient context.) Finally, it is evident that Tolkien envisioned that the modern Britons, if they did not have a degree of Númenórean blood, that at least they preserved the memory of the isle of Atlantis and the associated histories of the Elder Days. All of these factors point to two conclusions; that the Rohirrim, possibly equivalent to a historical people such as the Germans or Franks, represented the ancestors of later Britons; and that either the Dúnedain mingled with their people, lending them a degree of political advancement and skill asMariners, or that at least folk of the Dúnedain instructed them in ancient lore and craft, thus allowing for ancient history to be preserved.
While these concepts may be far-flung in terms of Tolkien's personal vision, or in terms of real-life genealogical history, it provides a non-tragic role for Idis, as the niece of Thèoden; as a half-Dúnedan girl, and later noblewoman, who as an adult perpetuated Dúnedan blood among her people, perhaps becoming a common practice among Rohirric noblewomen. Otherwise, if identified as Thèoden's niece, or daughter, than her absence from the account of the War of the Ring can only be explained by her death, which indeed would be more tragic, as well as unnecessary, than simply explaining her as a foreign relative of the King who provided a political and social role later in life.
References[]
- 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "The King of the Golden Hall", pp. 445, 447, 450