Subject: Oddly enough....
Author:
Posted on: 2021-04-01 16:03:13 UTC

... SunAndMoon made the same point when I first posted it. I observed that Constance Doesn't Dance, so there was clearly a lot of coercion/pestering involved in this evening. It may or may not be Valentine's Day, though why Dafydd would care I have no idea.

Gondor: I think the biggest difference with non-racist Gondor would be them not driving the Dunlendings out of not-yet-Rohan. Given that they'd just defeated Sauron, they'd probably still have been in charge of the region, but they'd have a much higher population. By not constantly invading Harad (sorry, 'South Gondor', pfftyeahright), they'd have a secure southern border along Anduin - the Haradrim have no reason to dislike them, at least once it's clear the era of slavery is a few hundred years dead with Numenor - which would let them focus their attention East.

It's tricky to say what would have gone on with the Easterlings - were the earliest invasions from Rhun (ca. T.A. 490) unprovoked, or a reaction to Gondor's expansion? Ultimately, the East was firmly under Sauron's control for most of the age, so it's hard to see how the likes of the Wainriders wouldn't have showed up anyway. Not expanding north-east would give Gondor a better defensive line (along the Emyn Muil/Dead Marshes/Morannon), but less defensive depth.

The big change is probably the death of Ondoher in T.A. 1944, which led to the appointment of the barely-eligable last two Kings of Gondor. Ondoher's armies were attacked by both the Wainriders and the Haradrim... without the racism, he might have been able to focus on the Wainriders alone, and the Line of Kings might not have been broken. Which puts rather a spanner in Aragorn's whole deal.

Fairness: totally agreed that the text lends itself to assumptions (though Saruman the White, the black walls of Minas Tirith, and the spooky white Minas Morgul all stand against them), and the movies really leant into them. I'm positive Amazon will be more diverse, but it's hard to know whether it'll be even slightly Tolkienesque.

I am always interested in seeing notes. ^_^ I am also available by email if you're a fan of drawn-out conversations where you need to poke me occasionally to get a reply.

hS

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