Patriotism and the Lord of the Rings

[William Cloud Hicklin]

I'm not well versed in LOTR, but will ask a couple things and maybe something useful to add. What is the importance of maps in Middle-earth? Is it something to identify places, and within what are the people like? Why do people want to avoid Lorien and Fangorn?

Well, going back to the First Age at least, the feeling is definitely rather more tribal than geographical- we see, for example the Noldor and Sindar placing loyalty in their own kings, even when they were geographically mingled (as with the Sindar of Hithlum, who considered themselves Thingol's subjects). The exception was Gondolin, but then Gondolin was unique in its total isolation. And with Men, the Houses of Hador and Beor accepted 'vassalage' to Elf-kings on a quasi-feudal pattern, but the Haladin remained independent though residing in territory which was nominally Elvish; and the Green-Elves were never considered to have fallen under Thingol's rule simply because they crossed the mountains into Beleriand.


A lot of this was I think Tolkien's oft-expressed dislike of homogenization. It was important to him that the Rohirrim live under their own laws notwithstanding Gondor's semi-suzerainity; and Gimli's folk at Aglaraond were an independent people under the 'protection' of the Crown. Similary the Shire was *not* placed under direct Arnorian rule, except for the basic obligations to "speed the King's messengers" and keep the Bridge in repair.