I agree with most of what you said there. I, like Eledhwen, don't really care much about rank or status, though my natural inclination is to lead. As such, I do and would do so out of necessity at need, rather than due to a rank given me by some higher power.R.D.Metcalf wrote:But in the context of a trek the sword serves me as much as it served our ancestors or our LOTR heroes in that it is practical weapon for a possible *simulated* hostile close range encounter, a symbol of status, a cherished heirloom and constant companion.
By the same token, I carry a sword simply because it's what the Dunedain would have done. Tolkien says so, so I do so. I know that, here in this "seventh" age of the world, I am extremely unlikely to encounter any orcs. I am also extremely unlikely to encounter any sort of combat situation in the woods. Even if I were, I will most likely find myself having brought a rather large knife to a gunfight.
Even so, I carry one. It is dead weight, just as my off-hand long dagger is. The dagger is useful for very few things; I have used it as a drawknife, to shave wood, make fuzzy sticks for firestarting, etc., but it is useful for little else aside from fighting. But I carry it anyway, because I believe that a buckler is, for the most part, too bulky for a Ranger tromping through the woods without it being carried inaccessibly on one's back or in one's pack. However, I.33 can, with some minor variations, be adapted to an arming sword and buckler, and so I practice in this way so that I could do so were it asked of me.
So what does carrying a sword and dagger that borderline on never getting used do for me? It may not give me any status, but I certainly feel rather regal wearing them about my person, regardless of my ragged attire. I daresay that's how a Ranger in Arnor during the great years would have felt:
"I may not be Aragorn. I may not be the captain of my people, or the heir of the kings of Numenor. But I am of those people. I am a man of Numenor. So I shall bear my blade as such, and perform my duties as they come, so that these lands and the free folk who dwell here are safe."