Just to point out, the Numenorians/Gondorians/Arnorians are essentially supposed to be Ancient Rome and its successor states.
However, Romans and Greeks are (contrary to popular belief) really not that different to Northern Europeans.
Italians:
Italian people - Google Search:
Greeks:
Redirect Notice
British (For comparison):
Italian people - Google Search:
Really not that different, so the casting of the Lord of the Rings films were good. People like Aragorn in the films also were shown with a slight tan (although whether that was his natural tone or just down to him being a Ranger and thus being out in the sun often is open to debate).
I do agree that the people used (with the possible exception of the actor that played Aragorn) did not meet the description of 'The Fair', though. And I firmly believe the reason they didnt includein the movies Imrahil or anyone from Dol Amroth was pretty much down to the fact they coldnt find anyone fair enough to play them (after all, the people of Tolfalas have both strong Elven and strong Numenorean heritage, and as such as said to be the most skilled, beautiful and physically powerful Gondorians).
Also not quite sure where the writer of that article got the idea Gondor as seen in the films stretched geographicaly from 'Italy to Turkey'. Its more like Italy and Greece, with the 'Turkey' part being Mordor/Harad, which Gondor hadnt ruled over for a significant period by the time of the War of the Ring.
The phenotypical reference point Tolkien gives for the Numenoreans are classical Romans, classical Greeks and classical
Egyptians, not modern day Italians and Greeks. There is a significant difference and one Tolkien himself would have well understood. Those photos you've linked are also a bit misleading; a large number of
Greeks and
Italians look significantly more
olive or
tan than that. Now, any nitpicking discussion of what precisely defines "white" has a tendency to get a tad uncomfortable for obvious reasons, and it's also an ultimately quite arbitrary category in which the legacy of 19th century racism still looms large.* But I think anyone should be able to agree that
this or
this does not look historically Anglo-Norse. There is a noticeable difference between olive or tan skin, dark black hair, and steel grey eyes, the traditional look of the Dúnedain, and fair skin, blond, brown or occasionally red hair, and blue eyes, the traditional look of Northmen, the Rohirrim, and children of the House of Haleth in general.
It's certainly pluasible there might have been some trend towards a paler skin tone and more varied hair colours as the Dunedain mixed with other peoples of Middle Earth, but we know that in Gondor even by the time of the War of the Ring, they still looked very alike and remarkably different from the Breeland men the hobbits were used to seeing. Regardless, we're definitely not talking people who look like stereotypical WASPs, as so often imagined by both critics and certain fans of LotR, and this is important to remember.
As for the other thing, I would presume the Anghraine was including South Gondor in her estimate, yes. Given that she was speaking about the historical span of Gondor as a kingdom and what it says about the cultural reference point they're drawn from (a big one being Byzantium, which controlled Turkey for most of its history and then lost it, just as Gondor did with South Gondor) the fact that they no longer controlled South Gondor by the time of the War of the Ring isn't hugely relevant.
*(On a side note, you would not believe some of the forums that even fairly innocuous google image searches like "South Italian People" can apparently get you to. Your own "Italian People" image seems to be from some sort of odd Euronationalist forum.)
The 'bloodline of Numenor' doesn't work that way.
King Eldacar of Gondor was only half-Numenorean, but his lifespan was that of a full Numenorean, and he was not weaker or anything either. This way of thinking was basically what caused the Kin-Strife.
The decay of Numenorean traits is either due to lack of piety or slow withdrawal of the Valar's gift after the downfall of Numenor itself.
Breeding with the men of Middle Earth is repeatedly called out in multiple places as diluting the Numenorean bloodlines. it might not be the sole factor, but it absolutely is a factor in the diminishment of Men in Arda.
[X] Victorious they returned to the city with spoils of food and timber, and the children of the House of Haleth were put to work in the fields for the sins of their fathers.
@Dark Abstraction do you have any quotes or explicit evidence that support this theory? Keep in mind that sources 'written' by people from Gondor or Numenor regarding this matter have been proven wrong before (my previous post explained one example), so 'Word of God' or hard evidence would be useful here.
I'd put it this way - the half-Northman Eldacar lived longer than two of the later pure-blooded kings of Numenor itself. Numenorean lifespan began decreasing after they rejected the Elves and the Valar - the one king that reversed this trend was the one who repented.
There are a number of conflicting indicators here and it's always been a point of contention amongst fans. Ultimately at some point we do have to admit that there are some things we might uncomfortable which are still true.
Elrond outright calls the Dúnedain out for miscegenation as one of the reasons for their decline, for example. He by any standard is probably a reliable source, being both one of the wisest loremasters in Middle Earth and a Númenórean himself. There are a couple of other mentions in the
Akallabêth and elsewhere that I recall. It's also certainly true that Eldacar, and half-Northman, was in many ways more Númenórean than the most pureblooded Gondorian nobility, and that the ultimate causative factor of the decline of Dúnedain was their fall from grace and having left Númenor itself. The best reconciliation I've come up with for this is to look at Tolkien's theory of "blood" in this context as being as much Lamarckian as it is Darwinian.
Actions and beliefs are what are passed through and define bloodlines, thus Eldacar, who was virtuous and good, inherited as much of the grace of Númenor in exile as any man might hope too, whilst the "pure" Gondorian nobility began to fail due to their fear and hatred of death in their hearts. Likewise mass mixing of bloodlines with lesser Men
can cause the dissipation of the Dúnedain race, not necessarily because of "blood purity" in a racialist sense but because of a slow weakening of their dedication to Eru and the remembered beliefs and practices of their homeland. If these can be preserved, as they probably were under say Elendil, then intermarriage with Middle Men is likely less problematic, especially since they are still ultimately Edain. Although I cannot say in all honesty that I believe Tolkien would have thought that Dúnedain interbreeding with say, Easterners or Southrons would ever lead to good things; there are some problematic things in the text from a modern perspective that we just have to accept as being what they are.
They were. I don't know if any of those are still around, but they were, like, super painful to do. Pixel by pixel. I've learned my lesson and this is being done less like a representation of reality and more like an in-universe map.
As for the defenses, just trust that I'll account for the river. Remember Osgiliath is the same way, so it isn't an unfamiliar challenge for the Dunedain.
Sweet love of god that sounds time consuming.
I really like this style a lot as well, I think. It has a very Tolkienic feel to it.
I always trusted that you'd account for the river, my point on the defences was more that it potentially obviates a lot of the advantages of a tiered set-up. An ideal tiered defensive schema (like Minas Anor)
forces your enemy to overcome each tier, which collectively can be an immense challenge. But with a river to our backs, if our riverward defences are weaker than going through X number of tiers, a rational enemy will always prefer to attack them.
Current Treasury: 16 gold
Sell 2 Wood: +6 gold
Buy 2 Food: -2 gold
Buy 2 Stone: -6 gold
Sell 1 Lebethron: +3 gold
Militia: -2 gold
Mercantile District: +2 gold
Population: + 5 gold
NET INCOME: +6 gold
CONCLUSION
Cutting taxes by 50% will only cost us ~2 gold of income.
We can afford to cut our taxes in half for two years.
It will only reduce our income to +4 gold per turn, and if the population grows, our taxes go up anyway.
VOTE
[X] Sell 2 Wood (TA1983-TA1984) [Market Price+1]
[X] Buy 2 Food (TA1983-TA1984) [Market Price-1]
[X] Buy 2 Stone [Market Price] (Renew Contract)
[X] Lower Taxes (1 Gold per 2 Population) [+50% Growth]
I would tend to agree with your logic here. Population seems to be our crucial bottleneck right now and will likely continue to be for a while.
[X] Sell 2 Wood (TA1983-TA1984) [Market Price+1]
[X] Buy 2 Food (TA1983-TA1984) [Market Price-1]
[X] Buy 2 Stone [Market Price] (Renew Contract)
[X] Lower Taxes (1 Gold per 2 Population) [+50% Growth][/QUOTE]
More population will grow our tax base and also allow us to do more things. I would honestly not be inclined to raise these taxes again for the foreseeable future, unless there is a major project we want to complete or a war we need to fight. Growth should be our priority for the moment.