Helm Hammerhand Anime: First Pictures and an Old English ‘Hera’

We have some news on the upcoming War of the Rohirrim anime. It will apparently be two and a half hours in length, with Peter Jackson as Executive Producer, and Helm’s daughter Hera will be the main character.

Also, pictures:

The bloke in the middle picture is Freca’s son, Wulf.

To my mind, it looks promising, and since we know that Helm had a daughter, whom he refused to marry to Wulf, it’s fair enough to make her the main character. Not least because her father and brothers die – she’s able to survive without messing with the story. Sure, her cousin Fréaláf also survives, but he’s only the cousin. A daughter is closer to the immediate action.

My only quibble is the choice of name Hera, which is, of course, from Greek mythology, rather than being taken from Old English, like the rest of the Rohirric names.

Now, Tolkien subjects Helm’s family to theme-naming. Not only the King himself (Helm Hammerhand), but also his sons (Haleth and Hama), and his sister (Hild) have names starting with H. This is not an accident. Alliteration was a strong component of Old English literature.

Hera might not be Old English, but it falls into that H pattern, while also evoking both femininity and power in the minds of the audience – she’s named after the Greek Queen of the Gods. But can we find a genuine Old English alternative?

https://www.ukdeedpolloffice.org/old-english-names-for-girls/

We’ve got:

• Haydn
• Hailee
• Hereswith
• Heaburge
• Hilda

Now, Hilda (‘battle’) strikes me as most promising, and it has the additional advantage of evoking Brunhild, the warrior-queen of Germanic legend (cue Wagner’s Ride of the Valkyries). The problem is that the name overlaps with her canonical aunt Hild. But there’s no particular reason the elder Hild needs to appear at all in the movie – so transferring the name to Helm’s daughter seems viable. Failing that, Hereswith would be my choice.

• June 12, 2024
• Tolkien essays, Watching
• 6 Comments