[NancyBrooke]

[Vilwarin]

Hm, I one made a research, and though it will not help here, I want topost it anyway *lol*

...But what is their task? Well, in the chapter “The council of Elrond” Aragorn gives us a good idea of what they do. Eriador seems to be a very dangerous place. A thoughtless wanderer might encounter “foes that would freeze his heart”, Orcs, ghosts, wolves and whatnots. So they wander about Eriador, being “… hunters ever of the servants of the Enemy”, safeguarding the remaining population of their ancient kingdom.
The Encyclopaedia Americana tells us this: Originally, ‘ranger’ was the English title for the keeper of a royal forest, responsible for the protection of its game and timber.
Beginning in the 18th century, the term also was used to designate a member of a certain military unit.
In the course of the British colonization of North America it became evident that special military units, recruited among experienced frontiersmen, were needed in the constant irregular warfare against Indian, French, and Spanish raiders. These habitually were termed “rangers”.
Ranger missions were normally long-range penetrations into enemy held territory (often in winter) to collect information or destroy enemy bases. During major campaigns, rangers scouted ahead of the main army and screened its flanks and rear. Because of the constant hardship and danger involved, they drew higher pay than other troops and usually were distinctively uniformed.
The Rangers of the North may have been a mixture of both types.
Tolkien states that the Dúnedain lived in the Angle between the rivers Bruinen and Mitheithel, which would have been in Rhudaur. So the Rangers might have been a body of the Dúnedain warriors charged with patrolling Eriador, specifically with policing the highways. Though they could not maintain their own court and prison system, they could support the local authorities. Furthermore, by maintaining the Rangers, the Dúnedain could still claim lordship to all of Eriador.
So what does such a Ranger do all day? Tolkien does not tell us, but he implies that they do a lot of wandering. Aragorn tells us the following in “the council of Elrond”: “I have had a hard life and a long; and the leagues that lie between [Rivendell] and Gondor (which would have been almost a thousand miles) are a small part of my journeys.” Since rangers are not very numerous as we learn in “At the sign of the Prancing Pony”, it would have been necessary to move a lot if one wants to cover the amount of space Eriador provides. Furthermore, Aragorn implies that they do not normally work in groups “Lonely men are we, Rangers of the North.” ...

~Vil

[Rhapsody]

Basically: what are the actual resources from this coming from Tolkien's works Vilwarin. I know Ghettoelleth wants primary sources and not secondary sources.

[ghettoelleth]

[ghettoelleth]

[Rhapsody]

I am scouring through my books for army notes (the geeky things). I think to understand how the Arnor and the Gondor army worked, you have to look also how the Numenoreans organised their armies. I think what also might be interesting to look at is how militiamen are defined and how the Gondor lords (at least) made use of them.

[ghettoelleth]