Ania
Joined: 08 Sep 2003
Posts: 198
Location: Britain
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 Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 10:48 am Post subject: Help help help! |
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I am trying desperately (and have been for couple of months now), to create a fic, the first chapter of which focuses majorly on daily life in Gondor, the life of a servant, does anyone know any particular detail concerning general life in Gondor? How much interaction would there have been between servants and nobles? Would a romantic involvement have been frowned upon? Would nobles have used female servants for *coughs* enjoyment?
Have been struggling for a while now can anyone help? |
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NancyBrooke
Challenge Admin
Joined: 11 May 2003
Posts: 160
Location: In a motel 6 by the airport
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| Posted: Sun Sep 26, 2004 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: Help help help! |
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| Ania wrote: | | I am trying desperately (and have been for couple of months now), to create a fic, the first chapter of which focuses majorly on daily life in Gondor, the life of a servant <snip>Have been struggling for a while now can anyone help? |
Well, I'll try ...
| Ania wrote: | | does anyone know any particular detail concerning general life in Gondor? |
Short Answer = No.
Longer answer = a lot of what we know about Gondor we learn from the first chapters of ROTK, and there isn't much there. The most illuminating bits are when Pippin spends time with first Beregond and then his son Bergil. But Beregond orients Pippin to life as a Tower Guard and Soldier, while the boy Bergil and Pippin just mess about in town and don't show us much. And at this time there was no general life in Gondor since it was a city on the brink of war - most of the daily folk were fleeing to safer places out of harm's way. Those we meet in the story are soldiers and nobles.
So I think you're free to invent what you like, up to a certain point of adhering to probability, of course. There is, however, lots of good fic that might give you an example to build on. Let me know if you want some titles and I'll try to dig some up.
| Ania wrote: | | How much interaction would there have been between servants and nobles? |
I think this is an open field, here, and you can invent your own interpretation. There was probably a lot of "interaction" - the servants would have had to be everywhere - serving food, making beds, dressing people etc., taking messages etc. Some 'relationships' would have been more intimate than others - nurses, valets, ladies' maids and like that being closer to their employers than others. Again, I think you can invent your own social mores regarding fraternization.
| Ania wrote: | | Would a romantic involvement have been frowned upon? Would nobles have used female servants for *coughs* enjoyment? |
s'possible ... In general I think most cultures that have servants frown on romantic entanglements for social reasons - illigitimate children can result and screw-up rights of succession, noble bloodlines get muddied (for lack of a better world), and such interaction is essentially disrespectful and an abuse of power, no matter how benignly meant - like relationships between teachers and students or employers and employees. But for every taboo there's a violater, either for love, or money, or greed, or ill.
| Ania wrote: | | Have been struggling for a while now can anyone help? |
I hope I did. If not, sorry (hungover today -  ).
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