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**lindil** · 01-15-2001, 09:56 AM

<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight
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the Rangers 'hidden fastness' and #'s

I recently came across a quote of David Salo ,[at the Dun.camp iI think ]
who says that a scra o' writing at Marquette [where all of JRRT's manuscripts [or alot re: LotR anyway] are kept , and it said that the rangers 'hidden fastness' was in the angle of the Mitheithel and the loudwater.

this fits the statementof JRRT [re: Bree] that no other settlements of men were to be found w/in 100 leauges of the Shire.

I had always wondered where they lived , now I get to wonder what the town or stockade or castle [rebuilt ruins of an old Rhudaurian or Elven settlement?] looked like and...

BTW I think the inbreeding point is no joke, i would bet , like the eldar they did not marry 1st cousins , so I would say Heren Istation's estimate waas very reasonable.
We know that to some degree the wandering companies of Elves, and the Dunedain had lines of communication , although they seem to have been at the speed of feet and hooves .

they were in fact spread over a vast area from fornost [mentioned in bree] to Rivendell to the shire and I would guess to tharbad in the south - to monitor [if not participate] the scant butincreasing traffic from isengard that is an area roughly 300 miles[n/s] by 500 miles[e/w] .
It would take alot of time to get people from one end of Eriador to another [Rivendell or their hidden fastness , being on th far eastern corner of Eriador], and we know the Rangers met up w/ Aragorn in Rohan pretty quickly. Halbarad also is essentially apologizing for not bringing more of their folk w/ him meaning their must have been more than a few who could have come.
the glimpses we are given of the Rangers via Bombadil's vision during the tales he told at the barrow [horseless], the description of Aragorn's typical [not to mention his nick- name] mode of travel through bree by bombadil [horseless], and there being no mention of Ranger's horses by Aragorn at Weathertop as he is examining foot and hoof prints and descring the firewood as prob. left by a ranger [standard practice whereby information can be discretely left also].
And as all that went south to Rohan had horses, this would suggest to me that only those close by Rivendell and their fastness [presumably where the horses where kept] made the journey south , leaving a skeleton crew to guard their community and bring the group that was watching the shire and bree and fornost and such , back to the hidden dwelling to guard it , and then leaving the shire and bree exposed.

so again I think H.I.'s numbers are a very good extrapolation of the few facts we have . The newly revealed location of the dwelling place only confirms that deduction.

'The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night, and awaken early before dawn- exchanging lore and wisdom such as they possessed , so that they should not fall back into the mean and low estate of those , who never knew or more sadly still, had indeed rebelled against the Light.' Lindil is often found on posting on the Silmarillion Canon Forum at the Barrowdowns discussion board. </p>

01-15-2001, 09:56 AM	#12
lindil Seeker of the Straight Path Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: a hidden fastness in Big Valley nor cal Posts: 1,680	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Wight Posts: 227</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> the Rangers 'hidden fastness' and #'s I recently came across a quote of David Salo ,[at the Dun.camp iI think ] who says that a scra o' writing at Marquette [where all of JRRT's manuscripts [or alot re: LotR anyway] are kept , and it said that the rangers 'hidden fastness' was in the angle of the Mitheithel and the loudwater. this fits the statementof JRRT [re: Bree] that no other settlements of men were to be found w/in 100 leauges of the Shire. I had always wondered where they lived , now I get to wonder what the town or stockade or castle [rebuilt ruins of an old Rhudaurian or Elven settlement?] looked like and... BTW I think the inbreeding point is no joke, i would bet , like the eldar they did not marry 1st cousins , so I would say Heren Istation's estimate waas very reasonable. We know that to some degree the wandering companies of Elves, and the Dunedain had lines of communication , although they seem to have been at the speed of feet and hooves . they were in fact spread over a vast area from fornost [mentioned in bree] to Rivendell to the shire and I would guess to tharbad in the south - to monitor [if not participate] the scant butincreasing traffic from isengard that is an area roughly 300 miles[n/s] by 500 miles[e/w] . It would take alot of time to get people from one end of Eriador to another [Rivendell or their hidden fastness , being on th far eastern corner of Eriador], and we know the Rangers met up w/ Aragorn in Rohan pretty quickly. Halbarad also is essentially apologizing for not bringing more of their folk w/ him meaning their must have been more than a few who could have come. the glimpses we are given of the Rangers via Bombadil's vision during the tales he told at the barrow [horseless], the description of Aragorn's typical [not to mention his nick- name] mode of travel through bree by bombadil [horseless], and there being no mention of Ranger's horses by Aragorn at Weathertop as he is examining foot and hoof prints and descring the firewood as prob. left by a ranger [standard practice whereby information can be discretely left also]. And as all that went south to Rohan had horses, this would suggest to me that only those close by Rivendell and their fastness [presumably where the horses where kept] made the journey south , leaving a skeleton crew to guard their community and bring the group that was watching the shire and bree and fornost and such , back to the hidden dwelling to guard it , and then leaving the shire and bree exposed. so again I think H.I.'s numbers are a very good extrapolation of the few facts we have . The newly revealed location of the dwelling place only confirms that deduction. 'The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night, and awaken early before dawn- exchanging lore and wisdom such as they possessed , so that they should not fall back into the mean and low estate of those , who never knew or more sadly still, had indeed rebelled against the Light.' Lindil is often found on posting on the Silmarillion Canon Forum at the Barrowdowns discussion board. </p> __________________ The dwindling Men of the West would often sit up late into the night exchanging lore & wisdom such as they still possessed that they should not fall back into the mean estate of those who never knew or indeed rebelled against the Light.