Heighty is mighty?

[Farael]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

While reading LotR it caught my eye that the Men of Dol Amroth were described "tall as lords". The heighty-mighty -phenomenon again.

Is there any historical evidence (from real world), that lords would have been taller than the non-lords? Or is everything just made up by the historians?

I'm no historian, although my friend wants to be... I remember he once told me that it was true, people of the nobility tended to be taller and bigger than poor peasants... most importantly because they were much better nurtured (did I spell that correctly? as in they had better food and they were in a better situation when they were growing up). So it'd be somewhat of a viscious cycle I guess.

A person of the nobility has more opportunities to do great deeds as he does not need to worry about working on a farm or such minor things. That person is better fed and better learned, so when an opportunity to do something great appears, they can take advantage of it. The people look up at them for their actions, thus confirming their status as noblemen. Then we start again =P