Reply To: The Taproom
MMP › Mithril in Middle-Earth › The Prancing Pony › The Taproom › Reply To: The Taproom
I doubt that elves during the Last Alliance, went to war in such a fashion… and the only “war gear” elves we have are in plate armor…. (which is open to debate), and mostly they are personnalities.
When it comes to the “host of valinor” which is outside Tolkien Enterprise Licence, no matter if it is plate or chain type or armor, but I am most certain it is a “heavy gear” covering all the body including arms, hands, and head.
Celebrimbor and Anatar in the last vignette have a good armor for this purpose, though there is indeed some pieces of plates at shoulders and knees.
nice thing to discuss.
being part of the re-enactment- scene (those freaks doing fighting with swords as part of medieval events) I know, that speed is mostly the key of success. Most close combats are no longe than some minutes as one blow is the final one, which kills or hurts so heavy, that your enemy cannot strike back (sorry, war is a bloody affair). I always thought, that elves must be quickly with their strikes, so that their armour is lighter not to hinder their “speedy” figthing abilities. Wearing mail armour is heavy enough, so that you cannot fight with it much longer than a very few 2 hours- mail seems much lighter to any fighter than plate, which makes you almost immovable. Plate was historically only common for cavalry units and in the latest Middle Ages as the gunpowder weapons became so popular, that mail wa almost useless (and the Royals and the nobility did not want to be killed or hurt heavily ).
As the 3rd Age of Middle Earth is one of secret warfare, where especially the Elves fight with bows and spears striking surprisingly from hidden places, heavy armour would be a “heavy weakness” instead of a protection.
In my mind the evil side is generally better equipped in the 3rd Age than the Free peoples as reflected in Sarumans troops.
Hope to have thrown in some new aspects.
NAMARIE
estel
