Who were the men refusing the call of Gondor?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

What Boromir says exactly is:

But still we fight on, holding all the west shores of Anduin; and those who
shelter behind us give us praise, if ever they hear our name: much praise but
little help. Only from Rohan now will any men ride to us when we call.

Which is really interesting, this would suggest someone Boromir really knows and someone who "shelters behind Gondor". Perhaps he might be referring to his recent journey, maybe he was speaking with some men from the wilderness around Tharbad - if they have any knowledge of Gondor - but there could be some remaining tales about the times when Tharbad was held by Gondorians (before 2912 TA)... But I'm not sure: these folks have problems of their own and I think they wouldn't give the Gondorians praise any more than the Breelanders. Or maybe there were some non-Gondorian Men similar to the Oathbreakers hiding on Andrast?

I think the sentence "Only from Rohan now will any men ride to us when we call" does not necessarily mean that Boromir remembers "testing" this call: he might just refer to his political, geographical, historical etc. knowledge. To anyone who looks at the map of M-E it is pretty obvious that at this time there is no realm except of Rohan from where anyone could come to Gondor's aid.

[Elmo]

Maybe Tolkien when he was writing it he envisaged more countries of men in the west of Middle Earth when he was writing that chapter then there actually turned out to be (it is quite early in the story) or is that sacrilege here to say that here

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

MMM... yes, that IS a sacrilege. Mandoos!

After all, I don't find it such an improbable idea... we know that Tolkien, for example, could not match the Shire-Rivendell journey with that in the Hobbit. (okay, now at least we get cast out to the Void both. After all, when I put my name in the Barrow-downs name generator, it came out that I am an "unwanted Vala" ) But if Tolkien knew what he was doing, there were two possibilities: either he referred to something we have no clue about (like "the kingdom of Monte Albo" in the White Mountains) or to some of those we know: the fishermen of Minhiriath, the tribes of Enedwaith, the Dúnedain of the North or some Northernmen (Beornings?!?) from the Anduin Valleys, even the Rhovanioners as I said before (Dorwinion; Lake-Town, Dale?)... maybe even Harondor (was it under Gondor at that time? I think not, but I don't know if it was enemy at that time - of course they served Sauron, but there possibly wasn't a status of war, or was it?). He could also mean the Elves... Remember that Denethor knew very well about Rivendell, although it was really far away.

[Animalmother]

Boromir may be speaking not just about whole regions and peoples once allied to Gondor, but also broadly about small parties of gentlemen adventurers who once came to Gondor's aid, who do so no longer. In the Catholic Medieval Europe Tolkien so loved, small parties of well-armed gentlemen-adventurers would travel great distances to help in the wars against the Moors and Saracens on the frontiers of Christendom. Aragorn himself was such a warrior adventurer in his younger days. Boromir may simply be complaining that none of this kind come any longer to Gondor as of III 3018, save from Rohan.

[FeRaL sHaDoW]

what about the men and troops from lamedon, anfalas, morthond vale, pinnath gelin, lossarnach, dol amroth, ringlo vale and pelargir and lebennin they all could come to aid minas tirith??

and for the who were the dead cursed guys well i think they were they men of dwimorberg in lamedon

"this stone brought by isildur out of the ruin of Numenor, has become the trysting place of shadowmen of the dwimorberg, whom he cursed as oathbreakers in ages past. this forgotten people and their king are doomed to await the day when a heir of isildur releases them from the curse. untill then, the lands about Erech are the home of those who are dead, and the living go there not."


Erech is north lamedon, south of helms deep.

[Thinlómien]

Originally Posted by FeRaL sHaDoW

what about the men and troops from lamedon, anfalas, morthond vale, pinnath gelin, lossarnach, dol amroth, ringlo vale and pelargir and lebennin they all could come to aid minas tirith??

If Boromir was speaking of coming to Minas Tirith's aid, then you're surely right. But I think he was speaking of coming to Gondor's aid, and to that your comment doesn't obviously apply to: those are regions and cities within Gondor itself.