That sword sorta worries me. It is so LONG... and no arm is going to be able to sheath that in a side scabbard. It's taller than Aragorn! (an it's scaring the horse!)
Sorry... my Hero. am being facetious again. GROVELS.....
Yep, you can really tell Andúril aka Narsil was made for a man who was nearly 8' tall! In the books Aragorn is 6'6", so I was impressed the filmmakers made Andúril a little too long for Viggo just as it would have been too long for Aragorn (*if* they reforged it the original size, which leads me to wonder if they reforged the Shards of Narsil to their original length, or were there some bits missing that made it a little shorter? Seems to me if they had all the pieces, they wouldn't leave anything out, since it was a very storied sword--I mean, what if they decided to leave a section out and that happened to be the section that sliced through Sauron's finger! But then again, a reforged sword that's TOO long would be dangerously unwieldy. Gosh, the geeky questions that come to my mind....!)
If Anduril/Narsil was a "standard" broadsword you're looking at about 4 feet (105 cm). A Claymore style, a 2-handed greatsword, which from the look and feel of Anduril it is my guess it would have been, runs about 140 cm or 55 inches long.
Considering average male height back then, that was a freaking big sword!
If Anduril/Narsil was a "standard" broadsword you're looking at about 4 feet
Is that today's standard or the standard adjusted for the greater height of Numenoreans (and Elendil the Tall, who was 8'0")? *asks she who knows nothing about the details of broadsword*
No that's medieval standard. Today's standard is about 33" if I remember right.
But remember, a soldier would use "standard" set lengths. A Lord would have his blade custom made. So even if they had all the shards (which would be doubtful but who knows) the sword would have been reforged, not just patched together. It would probably have been customized a bit; or perhaps Tolkien truly meant that 6'6" Aragorn would wield that monster for his larger and taller ancestor.
Scary thought that. LOL
Edited for 33 Inches not 33 feet for gosh sakes! @.@
This is what I LOVE about all this Lotr and Tolkien stuff... we can THINK about it. with depth and ask questions that need to be answered or at least discussed. So many fandoms and films leave you... glazed around the eyes but without a single reverberation in the head or heart.
PJ and his fantastic enthusiasm and love for this story has not only enhanced Tolkien cos I loved that as a book and made my own heroes (strangely enough Strider WAS VIggo!!) but PJ as added that enormous picture to it all. Between them... somehow the whole damn thing really DID happen... in a parallel universe or somewhere. We can go on digging and looking and wondering ... what if... how they... aaah why can't they.... oh dear... and so on for ever with these films.
No. Viggo will have to learn to wave that thing about, even if it strains his back muscles a bit. And think of the 'reach'... eight feet away an orc gets stuck in the eye!!!! teehee. Bless you...
am back online now.. problems yesterday with hacks or something
I'm one of those that came to the books via the films... the films blew me away the first time I saw them on DVD. I read the books as soon as I could get my hands on them, then went looking for Aragorn fanfiction and... the rest is pretty much history. I love this fandom for the very things you point out--it's filled with intelligent folk, and we're fortunate to have both the excellent films and the outstanding books to keep us busy chatting forever. :)
I remember being so impressed by this scene when I first saw it. I mean, Viggo isn't the most experienced horseman yet he sits the rear beautifully inspite of the horse turning at the same time, only having one hand on the reins AND he's holding a blooming long piece of weaponry aloft with the other!
I often wonder if Viggo must have been too modest about his horsemanship skills. He really does ride far better than someone who just rode a little as a kid, as he lets on. Either that or he's just one of these rare instinctive horsemen that are at home from the first moment astride a horse's back!
Can I ask inzilbeth_liz if she's seen Hidalgo? Cos that man can RIDE... and I've done a lot of riding in my time.. many geegees, but watching Viggo take that horse absolutely FLAT OUT with NO SADDLE... is my idea of a most brilliant born horseman. I've done that with a saddle but with just a horses back....gaaaaaah that is my most delirious watching moment. It takes some incredible rider to do that. Actually he has horses on his ranch in Idaho too.
Watch the Film Insilbeth Lis... you'll love it. LOTS of Vigs in tight pants too! and the horse/s aaaah and the other actors and the whole story actually... superb film,.
I adore Hidalgo! Such an under-appreciated movie... and yes, lots and lots of Viggo riding, sometimes bareback and sometimes with a tiny little saddle that makes it look bareback, but that you can see in one shot. Oops!
Further evidence to make me think Vigs was and probably still is simply far too modest about his riding prowess.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2013-03-06 03:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 06:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 03:56 pm (UTC)*looks around* I don't see Elladan or Elrohir. Are they hiding AGAIN??????
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Date: 2013-03-06 06:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 06:47 pm (UTC)(an it's scaring the horse!)
Sorry... my Hero. am being facetious again. GROVELS.....
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Date: 2013-03-06 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 08:34 pm (UTC)Considering average male height back then, that was a freaking big sword!
no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 09:56 pm (UTC)Is that today's standard or the standard adjusted for the greater height of Numenoreans (and Elendil the Tall, who was 8'0")? *asks she who knows nothing about the details of broadsword*
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Date: 2013-03-06 10:15 pm (UTC)But remember, a soldier would use "standard" set lengths. A Lord would have his blade custom made. So even if they had all the shards (which would be doubtful but who knows) the sword would have been reforged, not just patched together. It would probably have been customized a bit; or perhaps Tolkien truly meant that 6'6" Aragorn would wield that monster for his larger and taller ancestor.
Scary thought that. LOL
Edited for 33 Inches not 33 feet for gosh sakes! @.@
no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 10:26 pm (UTC)That typo gave me a good giggle. *g*
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Date: 2013-03-07 10:39 am (UTC)PJ and his fantastic enthusiasm and love for this story has not only enhanced Tolkien cos I loved that as a book and made my own heroes (strangely enough Strider WAS VIggo!!) but PJ as added that enormous picture to it all. Between them... somehow the whole damn thing really DID happen... in a parallel universe or somewhere. We can go on digging and looking and wondering ... what if... how they... aaah why can't they.... oh dear... and so on for ever with these films.
No. Viggo will have to learn to wave that thing about, even if it strains his back muscles a bit. And think of the 'reach'... eight feet away an orc gets stuck in the eye!!!! teehee. Bless you...
am back online now.. problems yesterday with hacks or something
no subject
Date: 2013-03-07 01:07 pm (UTC)I'm sorry you had computer probs!
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Date: 2013-03-06 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-06 09:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-07 10:44 am (UTC)Watch the Film Insilbeth Lis... you'll love it. LOTS of Vigs in tight pants too! and the horse/s aaaah and the other actors and the whole story actually... superb film,.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-07 01:10 pm (UTC)Further evidence to make me think Vigs was and probably still is simply far too modest about his riding prowess.