this post was submitted on 14 Jul 2024
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Most of the costumes in the show are very, very good tbf. It's something they generally did well. Same goes for the props.
I also wouldn't really compare heavy "in battle" armour against some more casual armour that he wore off-duty.
E: Here is Elendil's battle armour, which is probably a more apt comparison to Boromir's heavy armour.
Both look really cheap, and are badly designed, especially when compared to lotr.
For example look at the angles on the chest.
Boromir's armour is angled to deflect incoming strikes. So if someone tries to stab him in the chest, the strike will slide off. It makes sense, and is the basis of good, functional armour throughout history.
Now look at these other two. You can aim for the heart, miss and hit the ribs, and the tip will still slide and go under the pec. It directs all strikes towards your heart instead of away from it.
It matches breastplates from hoplites, though. It makes sense if we think LOTR = Middle Ages and ROP = Ancient Rome.
Except arda is a world that's deteriorating and not developing
You got a point. But in a way so was the Middle Ages. A lot of knowledge was lost and forgotten, especially in arts. Doesn’t mean some things won’t improve.
Would be nice to see the numenorians fighting in a shield wall formation, would justify not focusing on a full plate, which is better suited for solo/mounted combat like a knight does.
My thoughts: Rohan has the technology of the early middle ages, def a step down from imperial roman times. But even the late empire saw a loss in technology and centralised armories (more maille than Lorica Segmentata).
But the high middle ages had better metal working than the Roman empire. I would say Gondor is more equal to the high ma then the early ma like Rohan. But the cool thing is, their armour is not straight up copied from a specific culture (like Italian or German armour). Esp the helmets are very different from a stereotypical knights visor helmet. That makes Gondor feel unique and more fantastical than just "European medieval".
Now the hoplites. Hoplites are from the era if greek poleis, before imperial, republican or even monarchical Rome. Technologically, that's the bronze age and def less developed than imp Rome or the MA. But that's not a bad thing.
In the intro sequence of lotr fotr during the great war of the second age , the elves have a greek inspired armour. Corinthian style helmets with the iconic face shape cutout and the long horse tail. But they also are not a copy and feel like their own thing.
So.... I don't need the numenorians to have more rivets or better shoulder joints. Mostly what is disappearing in Arda is not knowledge, but magic. So choosing greek inspiration is cool. But they need to feel 1) not copied 2) more magical than Gondor.