Musing

Off on another scout here in a bit. Living in Rhovanion means frequent scouting; Mt. Gundabad isn't all that far off really. ;)

I am slowly replacing the black items in my kit and clothing with brown, green, or grey items, with splashes of color here and there where it seems desirable and appropriate. Black is not really a good color for the forest, except perhaps at night. It stands out too starkly from the background as can be seen well enough with my own recent pictures. A better choice is a neutral color, such as brown, or grey...or greens. Slate blues have their place and small splashes of color will not hurt; there are flowers and other things of color in a forest. You simply have to avoid overdoing it.

I have two grey wools to use; one is a softer, misty grey and the other is a dark, richer heather grey. My inclination at this point is to make a hood and blanket cloak from one or both of them. The cloak proper can be carted about as the blanket roll when not in use, the hood and mantle, being separate, can be worn or rolled away as best suits me. Lightening the load and making things do multiple duties is a goal of mine. One could make a lightweight cloak and wear that, leaving the blanket as just a blanket I suppose. Not sure how practical that is..and after a while, weight matters a lot.

To my mind, the need to travel light, and sometimes swiftly, is a high priority. Never mind fantasy aspects, real world needs could trigger the necessity to be able to do this.

In 'Born of Hope' we see Rangers, although not usually loaded out for overnight trips. We see Aragorn with his cloak rolled into a bundle at his back in 'The Lord of the Rings'. Aside from that, and mentions of backpacks with regards to Hobbits and Dwarves, we do not really know how long distance patrols were handled. If scouting in hostile lands one obviously cannot be taking along a wagon. A horse is possible of course, but not when infiltrating or getting into areas where the animal could give you away. Even so, horses have a maximum load and it isn't as much as one might think.

This makes me think that perhaps the way a colonial longhunter did it is not too far off what a Middle Earth Ranger would do. Certainly within the bounds of possibility. This is why my kit has begun to look as it does.

I am also finding that certain things work better than others in the tools department. I have a lovely Elven hunting knife I forged..but it is limited in its applications by its very shape, which is very Elven. Far more useful and better suited is my 15th century hunters knife. Heavy and long, it can at once clean and butcher game, or by the same token, gut a foe. It is finely balanced. Much as I hate to admit it, it is better for general use than my Elven hunting knife. Both have secondary edges which allow for the cutting of hide in a controlled fashion, both are very sharp and finely balanced...but the hunter's knife can also chop or cut, which the Elven blade does not do so well.

What it is coming down to is that I am finding the more practical items to be the more likely chosen by a Ranger in Middle Earth...just as they would have been in the middle ages and still are by most folk I know. There are exceptions; the ones who want blades that belong in some nightmare fantasy, but they tend to be the exception around here.

With my bows I am finding a great deal of freedom exists in the choosing. The descriptions of them are few and not generalized leaving a wide range of materials and shapes to play with. Rangers, being those who 'range' over wide swathes of territory and travelers extraordinaire, would have access to styles and types not their own...and some might find those better suited to their individual needs. In this case I think most sorts of bows could fit into canon without difficulty. In the end, that is an individual choice of course.

Many interpretations of the Easterlings lend them an oriental flavor...and that would bring with it certain things that are associated with that aspect; bamboo items, different swords and spears and usages, for example. A Ranger scouting East of East might find a bow made with bamboo, or a spear more like a yari, which the Gondorian spears are very similar to already. Remember that Tolkien did not model his cultures off of any one historical culture, but blended many of them from across time and space to create his peoples. It is an aspect easily forgotten or overlooked.

Our need to classify things tends to get us into the mindset that only certain things could be found in a given culture. In Tolkien's works this is not the case. Not to my mind at any rate.

Obviously I do not get caught up as much with the whole cultural purity and canon correctness that troubles other folk. Thank goodness!

In the end Middle Earth as we know it is a world built by Tolkien, populated by Tolkien....based on real world elements to be sure, but essentially a fantasy world. We want it to be the world we live in..so we try to define it along those lines...but we cannot, in either case. Not really. I would go there like a shot if I had the opportunity.

Nai i-Valar tiralyë.

Eledhwen
Peperharow
Rhovanion