Posted: January 14, 1999 at 11:30:32: by Oberon
: : My sense is that Men weren't on the Council. As the Councils
: : were held in Rivendell, the Chieftains of the Dunedain of the
: : North might have sat in on the Councils (or some of them),
: : possibly. It seems unlikely (and there's no evidence) that
: : Gondor was in any way represented, though the Stewards may have
: : been kept abreast of the Council's doings by Saruman or other
: : messengers. Gondor was mostly absorbed in its own troubles, at
: : any rate. But again, as Michael says:
: :
: : : That's all largely guesswork, of course.: You're probably right that Gondor might have relied on Saruman for information about the Council, but most of the councils appear to have been held in Lorien, rather than Imladris. Most of them? Where is this indicated? Just curious. : Gondor was aware of where Lorien lay. Imladris, being much farther north and in lands not visited by Gondorians for more than a thousand years (if ever), could be reasonably beyond Denethor's exact knowledge. Undoubtedly he and Boromir knew it lay somewhere in the Misty Mountains. All true. But Boromir's attitude toward Lorien seemed to indicate that Gondorians (even the mighty) did not regard Lorien as a place to visit under any circumstances, at least not for long years. Of course, it had been over 80 years since the last White Council by the time of LOTR. I suppose it can't be ruled out that the Stewards might have sent representatives in better days -- a spotty prospect, I suppose, considering how many times the Wold and the Westfold were subject to invasions during the days of the Ruling Stewards, but possible. Again, though, unless there's something I've missed, there's no *direct* evidence that any Men, especially Gondorians, were ever present at a Council. I think it's reasonable to speculate that Dunedain (North or South) might have been present at some councils -- at least on an informal basis -- but that's about as far as we can go.
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