Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
I'm hardly an expert, but I don't think commoners were often armed in medieval times. Swords were pretty much the mark of a knight or mercenary.
|
Yes that was what I was trying to hint at, that there is a difference between the "stereotypical" representation and how things actually were back then...
My area of history is mostly Early Modern, so I am not clear on all the finer details in medieval times either. However I am fairly certain that it was at this time it became an exclusive privilege for the nobility (In Denmark) to bear arms openly... it was a symbol of status. Also in Danish society it was the whole justification for the privileges of the nobility was that they were also the armed forces, the defenders of the realm... so there was a whole lot of symbolism mixed in as well.
It might have been allowed for common folk to have swords in the early medieval period, but I doubt it would have been a general tendency, as swords cost silly money... A regular person probably wouldn't have been able to afford more than an axe.
Anyways...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Inziladun
There was no war in Valinor though, and no obvious enemy from which Fëanor should have felt the need to arm himself against. The lies of Melkor induced Fëanor to see enemies even when they weren't there.
|
Maybe not, but the point is still valid. Since before the first age, elves were fighting a bitter war, A war that even had a spin-off, with Sauron cast as the main villain. Granted sometimes there was peace, or at least not open conflict, but it still lasted thousands of years. So yeah, in a world that doesn't seem to have an exclusive warrior class, that would probably result in armed people being a relatively common sight.