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Old 10-22-2003, 10:22 AM   #63
The Squatter of Amon Rûdh
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Eonwe and Elrond come to mind as fairly high up the command chain
I've edited the sentence that seems to have caused this confusion. What I meant to say was that I've never heard of a herald inheriting the dominions of his master, even taking on the role of a second-in-command. Certainly Eonwë makes an effective general, but he is by no means the heir to his overall commander's position. In any case I think it unhelpful to look to the Valar for examples, since they clearly have a distinct and possibly unique social structure.

As for Elrond, he was not a herald but Gil-Galad's standard bearer; a greater honour by far since it called for great courage and fighting ability. Aside from anything else, a king's herald is a non-combatant, which is why the Mouth of Sauron is inviolate on the field. This considered, I don't think that he would have wanted to challenge the Witch-King in person either. His boasts to Aragorn and his generals seem to me just that. Whether based on misinformation or personal vanity I sincerely doubt that a mere spokesman would be allowed a command as detached as Isengard.

On a more general note: as Rumil points out we cannot think in terms of a modern military structure when dealing with The Lord of the Rings. The concepts of lieutenant and captain have absolutely nothing to do with the present-day military ranks: a captain is any leader of a large body of men, and a lieutenant is a steward or second-in-command. In a society like those of Middle-earth, military and social rank are indeed closely related, position within the chain of command being based on one's social status. There is nothing nebulous about the system: the king is the commander-in-chief (as is still the case in Britain); his senior generals are the highest-ranking noblemen. The captains or regimental commanders are also aristocrats, who lead troops raised on their estates; the size of the forces under their command being determined by their wealth and prestige. We can see this structure at work as the forces gather at Minas Tirith, each commander entering the city at the head of the men that he has raised. Those commanders form the general staff under the overall leadership of the Steward and later the King. Each man also has personal command over any forces raised on his lands, so it should come as no surprise that aristocratic titles have military connotations, no matter from which language they have been taken.

Although Mordor's armies seem more modern than this in the brief glimpses that we are afforded of them, the principle is still much the same. Sauron is at the top, his word law. Below him are an uncertain number of senior commanders, probably hand-picked for loyalty and ability and beyond that we just don't know, although we do know that the Orcs were also stratified into ranks. Again, since this is a militant society, military rank and social position are virtually interchangeable.
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