Trolls Goblins Giants Elves Dwarves

doh! mentioning Huan reminded me of his original master - Orome. He ranged everywhere and is perforce a ranger :Being_a_s

 

were all Danes vikings?
yes, at some point in our history all Danes were vikings.
even if they never rape, pillaged, looted, or burned, anything in they're life.
being a viking was more than an occupation, it was a way of life, a people, maybe not exactly a race, but certainly more than a class.
another example are Gypsys, if a Gypsy never wanders, is he still a gypsy, yes.
you can live exactly as a Gypsy does, but you will never be one unless born or adopted into a clan.
Tolkiens Rangers are this way too.
in Gondor no one is called a Ranger except the displaced populace of Ithlien,
Rangers of Ithlien is the only term Tolkien ever uses concerning Gondor, i assume
this is because they were the only ones in Gondor who had both the blood and the lifestyle to match they're northern cousins.
then there's the Sons of Elrond, even though they hang with the Rangers and live the same life, Tolkien clearly does not consider them Rangers, he purposely makes it clear that they are not. he always differantiates them.

anyways, it's not really important, the beauty of fantasy is that we can shape it to fit our imagination in any way we like, and since we are all different the same story can mean different things to different people, as long as we enjoy it, it's all good! :rant:

 

you might be right about rangers but...

Viking was a "class"

The word “Viking†has been used to identify all the people who lived in Norway, Denmark and Sweden in early medieval times- about 700 to 1200 A.D. The origin of the word Viking is unclear. Anthropologists, people who study societies old and new, believe it was a name given to the Norse by the English using the old Norse word “vik†which meant “explorer†or “adventurerâ€. But it probably came from the Norse themselves. In their language the word vikingr meant “pirate“. To “go a vikingâ€, meant to go raiding and pillaging. The origin of the word "Viking" is highly disputed. Some experts say it means "pirate." Others believe it refers to people coming from the region of the Viken (the old name for Norway's Oslo Fjord).

However, not everyone was a Viking. The word was introduced to the English language with romantic connotations in the 18th century. Today, somewhat controversially, the word is also used as a generic adjective referring to Viking Age Scandinavians. "Viking is misused as an ethnic term," Jansson said. "The Vikings belonged to the upper class. They were the sea warriors. But most people were just Scandinavians. For them, the normal life was to stay home and be a farmer."

 

Aragorn never says anything about the term "Ranger" it's 'Strider' he bitches about,but he dosn't seem to mind when the Hobbits call him that,and when he's
crowned he makes it the name of his dynasty(albight in elvish).

you're probably right, i used the wrong example, but i think my point came across.

:wave:

 

Got your point, excuse my pedanticness about the vikings.

 

not a problem!
like they say, live and learn. :evil_laug

 

Ummmmm.... maybe I AM the crazy one....

:blahblah:
OK -- maybe it is just me.... but, uhhhhhhhh.... this is a GAME! Orcs are NOT Goblins. You know why? 'Cause there is NO Such Thing as a goblin or an orc. So really it doesn't matter if in the Hobbit and LOTR what these made up monstrosities were or weren't. It doesn't matter if 20 years ago Gygax ripped of some of the ideas of Tolkien or was inspired by him or whatever. It is possible that he took much of the inspriration from Tolkiens books but made consious desicions to change things for His game - such as assigning different charateristics to these two made up creatures. No one really knows if it was a mistake or a consicious decision -- no one except Gygax and whoever else was involved in the development.

Anyway... just my two cents. Hopfully no one got offended by my little reality check, ha ha ha. I was really surprised while reading this thread about how passionate some people are on this issue.

Regardless if it is a mistake or if it was a deliberate change -- I like the game (and I like this site).

OK -- go back to being crazy :Crazy_Lio

 

the thread came back the very next day! :chairshot

 

But, but it is real. Malcolm Glazer is obviously a leprichaun wearing high heels :transform

 

Just like 'orc' and 'goblin' mean the same thing, so do 'ranger' and 'strider'.

Aragorn doesn't have to say it, you can tell by his reaction(s) that he doesn't like the way some people use it as a derogatory term. It's the ignorant use of it rather than the use of the term by the unlearned that angers him...

------------------------------
"Maybe you know your own business...But if I was in your plight, I wouldn't take up with a Ranger" - Barliman Butterbur


"Who would you take up with? A fat innkeeper who only remembers his name because people shout it at him all day? Will you go with them and keep the black men off?"

Then again, later...

"Strider I am to one fat man who lives within a days march of foes that would freeze his heart, or lay his little town in ruin if it were not guarded ceaselessly."

- Aragorn
-------------------------------


Changing the name into the Quenyan form "Telcontar" elevates it so that only the learned can discern its true meaning. Of course, all of this is my opinion...based on my interpretation of what I've been reading for the past 30 years or so, which doesn't mean anything. Other opinions may vary, and I invite them in order to enhance this discussion. But don't forget that Professor Tolkien's passion was language, and he did all sorts of things with words and their origins throughout all of his writings, much to the delight of his many readers...of which I am but one.

 

it's like Butterbur saying "i woundn't take up with one of those people"
witch only goes towards proving my original point!

and yes in this context it is derogatory, but if i was to say:
don't ask him for help, he's an Aussie, or he's a Kiwi, or any other nationality.
that wouldn't make the terms dergotory. it would just show my ignorance and bigotry.






disclaimer; no Aussies or Kiwis were intentional harmed in the making of this post.