Visit The *EVEN NEWER* Barrow-Downs Photo Page |
|
12-08-2012, 03:26 AM | #1 |
Haunting Spirit
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 58
|
A question about advancements of weaponry
I most likely will get lambasted for this dumb question but I can't help asking. Why are the people of Middle Earth using swords and not rifles?
I mean, it's more than 6000 years since Feanor forged the first sword (correct me if I'm wrong) so why? The first sword like weapons were from approx 3300BC and the first guns appeared around 1200's in China. Is there something I should know about the universe? Thx, again sorry for question. I had to know.
__________________
What did Aragorn say when Gandalf died in Moria? Damn Gulf |
12-08-2012, 04:37 AM | #2 |
Pilgrim Soul
Join Date: May 2004
Location: watching the wonga-wonga birds circle...
Posts: 9,916
|
I hope noone will lambast you ~ this should be a pllace to share information and ideas not to sneer at valid questions. No courteous poster should be lambasted. Since I suspect the responses may be theoretical and speculative rather than text based a passing mod may movd this to novices and newcomers but that is a "housekeeping" matter mot a criticism.
I will tackle the question when I get to a real computer later.
__________________
“But Finrod walks with Finarfin his father beneath the trees in Eldamar.”
Christopher Tolkien, Requiescat in pace |
12-08-2012, 06:46 AM | #3 | ||
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,058
|
A short answer seems to me to be that the use of substances such as gunpowder and explosives have, in Tolkien's Arda, a connotation with evil.
When the reader is first told of goblins in Bilbo's tale: Quote:
And in LOTR Aragorn has a singular word for Saruman's use of explosives: Quote:
"Devilry' I would equate with Morgoth or Sauron in that context. Basically, it appears that even the research of such warfare methods is frowned upon by the "good" in Middle-earth, and those who delve into those matters are either evil or heading that way.
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
||
12-08-2012, 10:10 AM | #4 |
Shade of Carn Dűm
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 257
|
Middle-earth is pre-Middle Ages for us, and "in its own time".
So it's both back in the past and its own timeline as it were.
__________________
Head of the Fifth Order of the Istari Tenure: Fourth Age(Year 1) - Present Currently operating in Melbourne, Australia |
12-08-2012, 01:24 PM | #5 |
Blossom of Dwimordene
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: The realm of forgotten words
Posts: 10,299
|
I completely agree with what has been said above. I also want to note that not only does ME technology seem to not develop overtime (in a positive way, not Sauron's/Saruman's things), but it also follows a general waning pattern. Start out with FA "magical" Elven swords, then lose that technique. Then you have a few bumps and spikes in the graph as you reach the height of Numenor, Arnor, Gondor, Dwarvish skills... but overall the trend goes downwards. The weapons (and artifacts in general) that are older are better and more valuable.
__________________
You passed from under darkened dome, you enter now the secret land. - Take me to Finrod's fabled home!... ~ Finrod: The Rock Opera |
12-08-2012, 02:35 PM | #6 |
Gruesome Spectre
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Heaven's doorstep
Posts: 8,058
|
Having given this more thought, I wonder if it wasn't Saruman's apparent non-magical "fire of Orthanc" that may have lit the fuse (pun definitely intended) for the ultimate development of such weapons, leading to their widespread use beyond the Fourth Age.
With the Istari gone, Elves dwindling and having over time less and less contact with the kingdoms of Men, it doesn't seem much of a stretch that over time the moral equation of impersonal technology designed to kill great numbers with "Morgothian" behavior would have fallen by the wayside. With that blockage gone, and always new enemies (of other Men), the motivation would have been there. Though at the end of LOTR the reader is left with hope that King Elessar would lay a sure enough foundation that Gondor at least would remain true in heart to its old allegiance to the West, Tolkien himself began a story set after Elessar's death in which Gondorian boys were playing at "orcs" and the people there, in keeping with the state in our own world, were becoming ill at ease with peace. All that is to say that if the reader had been given a glimpse into Middle-earth just a few hundred years later, I don't think it's impossible that cannonballs could have been flying in some battle or other.
__________________
Music alone proves the existence of God. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|