XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: tkoenig@netcologne.de   
      
   Stan Brown  schrieb:   
   > On Sun, 11 Nov 2012 20:08:31 +0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig wrote:   
   >>   
   >> On 2012-11-11, Stan Brown  wrote:   
   >>   
   >> > In the Third Age I would not count   
   >> > Gondor, which was more like the Holy Roman Empire than a nation-   
   >> > state;   
   >>   
   >> Why is that?  I always had thought that Gondor more closely   
   >> resembled Byzantinum - centralized control, a capital city,   
   >> slow waning of power etc.   
      
   > I think that Minas Tirith resembled Byzantium, as you say; but Gondor   
   > as a whole was more akin to the Holy Roman Empire.  The various   
   > territories owed a nominal allegiance to he Emperor, but in practice   
   > they went their own way. Even Rohan might easily have decided to   
   > ignore Gondor's call for help; the messenger implied as much in his   
   > pleading with Théoden to honor the treaty.   
      
   Rohan is very much modelled on the Germanic foederati, such as the   
   Goths, in the Roman Empire.  In latter days, they lived under   
   their own laws and were bound by treaty (foedus, in Latin) to Rome.   
      
   Of course, the real foederati broke usually broke the treaties as   
   soon as they percieved a weakiness in the Roman state.  Sometimes,   
   they were as much part of internal Roman strife as an "external"   
   danger.  Rohan is much more faithful to Rome.   
      
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