An exceedingly excellent and erudite post you have made! As I'm short on time I'm just going to paste my own words from a previous post and say that what we strive for is something not too far afield from the realities of our own historical past, with the convenience of having to adhere only to an interpretation of what "was" rather than worrying over factual minutiae. This both frees us to focus on actual skill sets and encourages experimentation, imagination, and expression while still remaining believable because of a bounding vision as crafted by Tolkien.Mirimaran wrote:We find that that kit we made, while serviceable, does not meet the mind's eye of what we expect we should be using, or wearing, so we begin again, until we finally mesh imagination with reality.
...I'm not a reenactor, or a LARPer, or much of a woodsman, to be honest. What I am is a bit of a dreamer, who is very happy to found others who want to share the dream of the Dunedain, that one day their Kingdom and people would be restored.
...Certainly I want my garb and kit to match what I see in my mind's eye, and I doubt I will ever truly match that, but half the fun of this hobby, or being a part of this culture, if you will, is trying to.
If you can dream it, you can build it. I see no reason why you cannot someday match the vision of your mind's eye.
kaelln wrote:Is it just me, or has this whole "historical accuracy" jag brought more rancor, discord and ill feeling to this forum in a shorter amount of time than anything I've ever seen before?
Personally I find it refreshing to have such a lively topical debate. If people are getting riled up or emotional over such a thing on a forum then they should probably take a stress pill. If a simple discussion such as this were to lay waste to any group then they have some serious issues that need addressing. As Tolstoy said, "what counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility."Eledhwen wrote:Thank goodness we have a stellar group here else a conversation like this one would become a death stroke.