ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the encounter between the Hobbits Merry and Pippin and Théoden, King of Rohan, after which the Hobbits remark that Théoden was “polite.” The chapter will discuss how politeness indicates cultural boundaries between the modern and medieval in which the Hobbits are on the modern end. Furthermore, the Rohirrim undergo change and development and, like many of the people in Tolkien’s world, are not static or fixed. Théoden thus can be the once ideal heroic warrior and urbane, well-mannered gentleman.
