The wrong kind of details: the components of wonder (aka lmp's rant)

[Kuruharan]

Of course, the analogy is not adequate since the Gondorians were a bit more civilized than the French of that era (sorry if you're French).

I do have some French ancestory back in my pedigree, but just a little.

There is an interesting parallel between Gondor and France at the time of the Norman Conquest. Their feudalistic political structure. Not that I think that's particularly "advanced." That system has many chronic problems, but so do most.

King William the Conqueror is actually a good example of one individual having an enormous impact on history, because it is unlikely that the Norman Conquest would have happened just through "force of history." I may have to dig up the "Historical Relevance" thread since this came up in that discussion.