I'm with GB. Thranduil had warriors in The Hobbit, and warriors have to learn how to fight somehow. I don't get the impression that they were merely hunters turned militia-elves.

GB, You raise an interesting point. Perhaps some writer should write a reasonably traditional kind of fairy-story sometime where the main character wants to be a plumber, not a hero, and goes to the toilet regularly (a constipated character might not be good tempered enough to be your good guy, I guess?!?!)

I suppose you'd only see this kind of thing in parodies - but why not in a reasonably serious fairy-story? Of course, you wouldn't want to put it in just to try and be dfferent, you'd put it in to give your fairies a sense of realism. They might even know what sex is. Hells bells!

Eldorion, I'm still interested in what the training would entail. If not a militia or a military academy, what then? How do they get the training?


Odo

I think Eldorion means "militia" in the sense of "irregulars". That is to say non-professional soldiers, farmers, cobblers, carpenters, plumbers ( ) etc. who band together simply for local defense.

Clearly the kinds of skills Elvish warriors display would require extensive training.

GB

GB, I sometimes feel that your knowledge of things runs deeper than some of us know!

I can imagine elvish carpenters and cobblers - but it's more difficult for me to think of elvish plumbers, it can be such an unsavory job at times and might seem below them.

We still haven't explained yet how the elves get trained for battle. Maybe it just comes natural, that wouldn't surprise me in the least, but then there would be no actual training required at all.

Eldorion, do you think it all comes natural, or do you think there's some kind of training involved? If so, how does this training manifest itself?

Odo

The Spartans are an extreme example of a Warrior Culture where All male children began training at 7 years old, but most Societies modern, medieval and ancient had a Warrior Class. In the middle ages, Knights (members of the ruling classes) were often tutored individually before taking their place in the military, while foot soldiers (lower classes) were often "drafted" and trained in brutal camps.

I prefer to think that Elven Martial Training was more like the Warrior Monks of the Orient, such as in Shaolin and Tibetan monasteries, or the Samurai. As such their Martial Training was to benefit Mind, Body, and Spirit as well as for Defense. If you want to see how they did it, just watch a few Historical Kung Fu dramas .

GB

We really have no idea, do we. For all my reading of The Silmarillion, TH and LOTR, I've never really thought of the elves as a culture. They just are, sort of, 'earth angels" to me.

Odo

That actually strikes me as odd . I couldn't help but think of them as various Elven Cultures when I read the books, what with their divergent languages and life-styles.

GB

I suppose languages are a part of culture, you're right. I guess because I'm not someone good on languages (though I have a smattering of German), that part of their 'culture' has not sunk in with me. All I know of them is that they have a certain amount of "earthly" magic, sing a lot, and live forever, and are excellent at doing stuff like fighting. It's not much to go on. Mind you, some of the Mirkwood elves hunted and had butlers and dungeon keepers. So that's cultural I guess.

Odol

I feel that the beginning of the elves themselves is one thing that we will always know so little about. How and when were they born? how did they learn to be so skilled with the bow? There may be answers to these questions, but I'm not sure where...

I guess I can just accept them at face value, and if they remain somewhat 'other' (even mysterious), I guess that was T's intent.

Odo