Summary
When Théoden, the King of Rohan, first appeared inThe Lord of the Rings, he seemed to be in a decrepit state. While he could still somewhat speak coherently in the book, he is portrayed as almost senile in the film. It has not been fully established what exactly happened to him, and J.R.R. Tolkien simply notes in Appendix A that Théoden “fell into a decline under the spells of Saruman, but was healed by Gandalf”. However, the influence of Gríma, Théoden’s chief counselor, on the king is also established in the series.
Gríma (commonly known as Wormtongue) serves as a secondary antagonist inThe Lord of the Rings, and is described as “a wizened figure of a man, with a pale wise face, and heavy-lidded eyes”. He exploited his position to help Saruman prepare for his invasion of Rohan. However, if Saruman was the one casting the spell, what role did Gríma have to play in bringing down the ailing king?
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What Did Gríma Do to Théoden?
Little is told about Gríma, son of Gálmód, before he joined Théoden’s court. Although he was a Man of Rohan, he joined forces with Saruman at some point and became his mole in Edoras. It is unknown how he became chief advisor to the king, but the position enabled him to weaken the Rohirrim so that Saruman could eventually take over. In return, Saruman promised him power and wealth, as well asmarriage to Théoden’s niece, Éowyn(whom he greatly desired).
Over the years, Théoden’s health began to fail until he became completely powerless around TA 3014 (just a few years before the War of the Ring). He seemed to be deteriorating prematurely, both in body and mind. Even though Saruman was the one who cast spells on the frail king, Gríma was also responsible for Théoden’s state. As Saruman’s primary objective was to make Rohan vulnerable to future attacks while he prepared his army, he needed to employ a spy who could not only inform him about any developments but also diminish Théoden’s abilities as a ruler. Moreover, Saruman was stilla secret ally of Sauronduring that time. Thus, if Théoden had suddenly shown symptoms of a magically-induced illness, it would have made the wizard look suspicious (especially since he also lived nearby). As a result, Saruman probably considered it necessary to find someone else who could take the fall.
As it happened, people did grow suspicious of Gríma since he had an undeniable influence on Théoden — to the extent that the king could not even think independently. As Tolkien stated inUnfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, “When Théoden was sixty-six, his malady may thus have been due to natural causes, though the Rohirrim commonly lived till near or beyond their eightieth year. But it may well have been induced or increased by subtle poisons, administered by Gríma. In any case, Théoden’s sense of weakness and dependence on Gríma was largely due to the cunning and skill of this evil counselor’s suggestions.”
Gríma played on his fears and made him doubt his own men through lies and persuasion. When Théodred and Éomer (Théoden’s son and nephew respectively) actively opposed Saruman’s gradual preparations to take over Rohan, Gríma used his control over Théoden to stop them from attacking the Orcs and Dunlendings. He even tried to cause disagreement between the two. When he failed, he convinced Théoden that Théodred was an incapable heir and Éomer was fighting for his own gain. Although Théodred was mortally wounded at the First Battle of the Fords of Isen, the film implies thatGríma actually murdered him. Later, when Éomer reported that he met Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas in Rohan and let them go free, Gríma made Théoden order for his arrest.
As Gandalf told Théoden afterward, “Ever Wormtongue’s whispering was in your ears, poisoning your thought, chilling your heart, weakening your limbs, while others watched and could do nothing, for your will was in his keeping.”
Did Théoden Spare Gríma?
Despite Gríma’s efforts to prevent Gandalf the White from entering, the wizard and his companions arrived at Edoras in TA 3019.Gandalf managed to restore Théodento his former self by using his staff (“There was a flash as if lightning had cloven the roof”). Later, “many things which men had missed” were recovered from Gríma’s trunk, including Théoden’s sword, Herugrim. Apparently Gríma had stolen several valuable items from the House of Eorl, some of which he had also sent to Saruman.
After learning of Gríma’s deception, Théoden gave him a choice: either he could prove his loyalty by fighting against Saruman’s forces in battle, or he could leave. He chose the latter, while Théoden and his people rode to thestronghold of the Hornburg. In the film, Théoden is about to kill Gríma (“Your leechcraft would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast!”) but Aragorn asks to let him go as “enough blood has been split on his account”.
Gríma fled to Isengard, where he ended up beingcaptured and imprisoned by the Entswith Saruman at Orthanc. After the One Ring was destroyed, Gríma followed Saruman to the Shire, where the latter sought revenge from the Hobbits. Ultimately,the Scouring of the Shireended withGríma slitting the throat of his abusive masterbefore being shot down by the Hobbits’ arrows.
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