The White Council

Re: Weapons and Armour in Middle-Earth

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: : Greetings i have been loitering for the past couple of weeks but have now decided to make a post :-). For me the way the military will be armed is an important part. From how tolkien describes the armour and weapons in middle-earth id guess they would be very close to those of the 12th or 11nth century on earth :-). Now this is at the time of the war of the ring. According to Moriarty there may be battle scenes from the 1st and 2nd ages (middle earth time). Therefore i would suggest armour from the late roman period. I hope PJ doesnt decide to put the forces of evil in dark black armour with spikes coming out everywhere like in popular tv series Xena and Hercules. I also hope that we dont see warriors of rohan and gondor in full plate armour. Another matter id like to address are the ships of Umbar.What did they look like? Ive always imagined them to look like roman war galleys or viking ships not like the designs of the 15th century.

: >> in my roleplaying campaign, I have assumed the Rohirrim to be armed like 11th- 12th century Norman (western European) knights. Gondorrian knigths to appear much like 12th-14th century counterparts. Gondirian heavy infantry to appear like 1st century Roman legionaires. : Orks to wear lammelar armour of an appearance much like two norse finds, or roman imperial plate armour (though dark). The Haradrim; like Sarascens or Turkomannes. : Elves and Dwarves; they basically have the skill to make whatever armour they like but of extreme strength. : Weapons: Rohan; Lance, broadsword, knife, shield (well shield is not a weapon but anyway). : Gondorian inf.; spear, gladius, knife, shield or light armour and longbows supplemented with a short sword or knife. : Militia; basically what they can get their hands on in both weapons and armour. : Gondorian knigths; much like rohir ones. : Dunlendings; think of Welsh/Scottish/Celtic-Gaulish warbands. : Orks; scimitars, spears, short bows, axes. : Haradrim; spears scimitar, dagger, shield. : Dwarves; Axes, warhammers, pickaxes, daneaxes, halberds, pike, flails, morning stars, etc. : Elves; as armour, it depends on the individual elf really. : If you want me to, I can send you a roleplaying campaign module that I am working on and which gives a more in-depth treatment of the subject (amongst others), you have to send me an e-mail then: >palle_r@get2net.dk> : ;-) Neithan

I've often thought that the Dunedain Rangers would have worn brigandines when body armour was appropriate. In the description of Halbarad's troop the Rangers are relatively heavily armed - spear, sword and bow - and also have helmets, this suggests that they would have had some form of body armour as well. The sons of Elrond are described in the same passage as having shining mail-coats, but I think something less showy would be appropriate for the Rangers.

The brigandine, consisting of palm-sized overlapping steel plates rivetted between two layers of heavy cloth, covering the torso and shoulders, would have had a number of advantages for the Rangers. The cloth could be made quite drab and the rivet-heads enamelled black to aid camouflage and would be less likely to make noise than ring-mail. Also the cloth could be waxed to render it waterproof allowing for protection from the elements and thus need little maintenance in the field.

That such armour provided relatively good protection is shown in the recorded preference of many late Mediaeval men-at-arms ("knights") for brigandines over plate cuirasses, because of the greater comfort and freedom of movement they afforded.