Lord of the Rings: The Animated Musical | Characters: Númenórean Military
During the Last Alliance, Gil-galad and the Ñoldor were joined by Elendil and the Númenóreans in a desperate effort to defeat the dark forces of Sauron. Since I detailed the armor of Gil-galad and his fellow elves last week, I will reveal my designs for the Númenóreans this week, including their arms and armor, the symbol of the White Tree, and illustrations created by other artists.
Arms & Armor
My first source of inspiration was Ancient Roman armor of the 2nd century. Much of what modern historians know about Roman clothing comes from Trajan’s column in Rome, which I last reference when designing a travel kit for Bilbo. Cavalry officers wore mail shirts on top of knee-length blue wool tunics that acted like padding and carried shields decorated with elaborate patterns. They also wore leggings that look like modern capri pants and sandals, which did not lend much protection to their legs and feet.
I next looked to the Vikings, among the best-known warriors in European history. Carvings of 10th century Viking armor tend to be crude, with only some details evident, such as conical helmets, shields, swords, spears, and knives. Burial goods give archaeologists a better idea of what materials were used in war, along with our old friend the Bayeux Tapestry, which show Vikings wearing mail shirts just like the Romans did. It’s worth reminding the reader that Vikings did not wear winged helmets. That was a creative invention for costumes appearing in The Ring Cycle opera series by frequent blog guest Richard Wagner.
Perhaps the most influential source for me was early medieval armor from the years before knights became walking tin cans. The outfit I designed bears a strong resemblance to Byzantine cavalrymen from the 10th through 11th century, with some notable exceptions. This soldier wears solid boots with chaussess or mail pants tucked into them. He wears a hauberk or padding underneath his mail coat. On top is a cloak with a plain broach for added warmth and protection. I based the sword on a French-German 14th century illustration, but I imagine most viewers would not see a clear distinction between designs from different time periods.
The biggest difference between the Byzantine warriors and those from Númenor is their helmets. Both wear a peaked helmet with a nasal or nose protector, a similar design to what I created for Gil-galad and the Ñoldor. However, Númenóreans wear winged helmets, much like Hermes or Mercury, the messenger god of the Greco-Roman pantheon. I personally preferred the ancient design to the ones sculpted by Michael Daczynski and Shaun Bolton for Weta Workshop to appear in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings. While these designs provided jaw protection, they seemed difficult to remove from an incapacitated person, especially one with a spinal injury. The shape of the wings appearing on my version of the helmet was inspired by a very different winged helmet design: that of the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team.
The White Tree
The magic tree (D950) is a staple motif in folklore around the world. It may be guarded by a serpent, dragon (D950.0.1) or giant ogre (D950.0.1.1), supply food (D1472.1.3), or have healing properties (D1500.1.3). Magic trees don’t grow like other trees, as the leaves, flowers, and fruit may grow all at the same time (D1667.1).
The White Tree serves as an insignia for people of Númenor. Like many things in the legendarium, its backstory is long and convoluted, so I will try to give the simplest possible explanation. The White Tree appearing on the shields of Númenórean soldiers was based on a real tree named Nimloth that grew on the island of Númenor. Sauron insisted on destroying that tree because it looked like Telperion, the silver tree that once lit the night. Many years later, Aragorn would find a fourth generation descendant of Nimloth and plant it in Minas Tirith, a sign that both he and his empire were going to be okay.
Depictions of the White Trees vary, with some artists, like Ted Nasmith, choosing a coniferous tree while most, including Anke Eißmann and Alan Lee prefer a deciduous tree. Tolkien’s stylized depiction of the tree appears deciduous, and the insignia I created is heavily based on his illustration. Seven branches spring from the central trunk of the tree, and seven stars sit among the branches to reference the most popular constellation in Middle-earth, legendarily made from the dew of Telperion and set in the sky by Elbereth.
Portrayals of Númenórean Military
Depictions of Númenórean military members, especially Elendil and Isildur, vary widely due to the popularity of the characters. My main complaint is that the men tend to be bearded even though Númenóreans did not typically have beards. DeviantArt user Artigas drew my favorite version of Elendil with a costume based on Byzantine and Norman designs. Interestingly, the artist notes appearing below the illustration suggest that Artigas is not a fan of Aragorn, calling him a “distant and diminished descendant”. I also appreciated the beautiful costume and interior design used in a portrait of Elendil by Tom Romain, although Elendil’s head is slightly too big.
As for Isildur, my preferred portrayals were drawn by Anke Eißmann and shows him lying dead at the Gladden Fields after being shot with arrows. At that time, Eißmann had a stylistically distinct way of drawing eyes that makes the picture even more eerie. In a more current illustration, Isildur is in the midst of battle surrounded by other Númenórean warriors, while the arms and armor are similar to my own style. The most unique depiction was created by Cor Blok, a Dutch art historian who painted minimalist illustrations similar to primitive medieval art. In this version, Isildur wears simple medieval clothing more like a peasant than a king and cuts a finger with the ring from a massive black hand. Blok’s costume choice came directly from his interpretation of the text: “There seems to be no need to celebrate a ‘fruitless victory’ (according to Elrond) by a display of heroes in shining armour”.