 The Riders are a Germanic warrior-society, exemplifying the "northern heroic spirit", like the Anglo-Saxons.But the "crucial" fact is the language; Honneger notes that Tolkien had represented Westron speech as modern English; since Rohan spoke a related but older language, Old English was the natural choice in the same style; Tolkien's 1942 table of correspondences also showed that the language of the people of Dale was represented by Norse.Honegger notes that this does not equate the Rohirrim with the Anglo-Saxons (on horseback or not), but it does show a strong connection, making them "the people most dear to Tolkien and all medievalists."