Eowyn was born as the second child to Eomund and Theodwyn. She and her brother were related to the King of the Rohan, Theoden, through their mother. Theodwyn was the sister of the king. After her father was slain and her mother died of illness early in the third age, the siblings were left with nowhere to turn. Not wanting to leave his niece and nephew alone, King Theoden took Eomer and Eowyn in and raised them as his own children.
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In adulthood, Eowyn cared for her ailing uncle for several years. His health had been failing due to the influence of Saruman and Grima Wormtongue. Eowyn was saved however when Gandalf appeared and restored King Theoden to his former health, under the agreement that Rohan would join in the fight against the Dark Lord. Theoden, now feeling a strength he hadn’t in years, opted to rejoin battle on the front lines. In his absence, he elected Eowyn to lead the people, who did so reluctantly.
Eowyn wound up leading the people to shelter in the White Mountains while Aragorn and the Riders of Rohan battled Saruman at the Battle of Hornburg. Aragorn eventually passed through Dunharrow so that he could take the Paths of the Dead. Eowyn, who had come to grow feelings for Aragorn, confessed to the would-be king. Already betrothed to Arwen, Aragorn reluctantly turned her down.
With the final battle on the horizon, the Steward of Gondor, Denethor II, called upon aid from Theoden’s men against Mordor. Eowyn wanted to join her surrogate father in battle after having been denied before, however, he refused her again. Angered by this refusal, Eowyn disguised herself to look like a man and joined the ride to Minas Tirith. Finding a kindred spirit in Merry, who also wanted to follow his friends into battle. She took the hobbit along on her horse Windfola and the two rode with Theoden’s army.
After the battle had been raging for a short time, Eowyn found herself a part of King Theoden’s escort. The Witch-King of Angmar soon became aware of the army’s presence and attacked Theoden. The Witch-King’s Nazgul killed Theoden’s horse and aimed to kill the king as well. Eowyn, under her disguised name of Dernhelm, stood between the two in defense of Theoden. The Witch-King, led by Glorfindel’s prophecy that no man would strike him down, pressed his attack and broke Eowyn’s shield after she killed his Nazgul. The film and book slightly re-order the sequence of events, however, at a fateful moment, Eowyn removes her helm and declares that she is no man. Merry stabs the Witch-King from behind, weakening him, and Eowyn stabs the fiend through the head.
After slaying the Witch-King and cementing herself in history, Eowyn quickly began to succumb to her injuries. The dying Theoden, who lay nearby, used his dying words to profess that Eowyn had been dearer than a daughter to him. Her brother Eomer saw her lying on the battlefield, seeming quite dead, and was enraged. He charged into battle to avenge her, as another found her to still be alive. Eowyn was sent to the Houses of Healing where she was healed by Aragorn using the plant Athelas.
Eowyn remained in Minas Tirith as the rest of the army marched onward to the Black Gate. While recovering, Eowyn met Faramir and soon fell in love as both recovered from their battle wounds. Following the conclusion of the War of the Ring, Eowyn settled down and married Faramir, choosing a life of peace outside of battle. Eowyn later insisted that Merry be made a Knight of the Riddermark. While attending Theoden’s funeral and Eomer’s coronation, Eowyn gifted Merry with the Horn of Rohan. In later years, Faramir and Eowyn would have at least one son and later a grandson who wrote The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen.
After this point, her death isn’t recorded anywhere. It can be readily assumed that Eowyn lived a long and happy life with her husband Faramir. Although she once held dreams of the glory of battle, seeing the carnage firsthand quickly rectified this in her mind. Her life of peace following her search for battle seems incongruous, but seeing how things turned out for other glory seekers, this was likely the best ending she could have seen.
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