The Rhovanion Project

The Rhovanion Project is my first attempt at armorsmithing. Beyond the occasional set of bracers or belting, armor-making in general was uncharted territory for me, and I reveled in the challenge.

The Project is named after the land upon which the Eorl the Young and his people formed the kingdom of Rohan, the land of the Horse-Lords. The armor suits in this project were designed using the same Anglo-Saxon and Norse cues that inspired the Rohirric Culture.

The Honor Guard drew heavily from Norse and Anglo-Saxon armor and arming wear. 12-gauge hardened steel plates were cut, bent and weathered before being riveted to leather armor. A mixture of plate and scale armor were used throughout the piece, and cold-cast crests adorn the tasset-belt. The armor is fully functional and built in similar vein to historical armor, with fur accents, Norse-style tunics, and a simple cloak to round out the arming wear.

The spearheads were 3D-printed, modeled after spearheads from the Lord of the Rings films. After prepping, painting, and weathering, they were affixed to hand-stained oak shafts, which themselves were finished with a hand-rubbed oil and weathered to match.

Rohirrim Honor Guard Model: Jeremy Edjan
Photographer: Nicolas Franz Pattillo