New Book: High Towers and Strong Places by Tim Furnish

Furnish looks at Middle-Earth from the wars of Beleriand to the War of the Ring in the Third Age in terms of “Races and Realms” all demonstrating three basic “Types of Rule” from which flows politics, policies and to some instances, strategy, manifesting in “The Physical, Cultural-Political and Economic Aspects of Middle-Earth Warfare”. To some degree, the early part of the text is a review of the major components of Tolkien’s legendarium, enjoyably familiar to the rabid Tolkien fan but absolutely useful to the more casual reader, who has read The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings but not The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, the more recent The Children of Hurin,  or the twelve volume The History of Middle-Earth by Christopher Tolkien. Having laid the groundwork, Furnish then begins to examine Middle-Earth with the disciplinary lens of political science and IR.

Heavily footnoted and charmingly illustrated by Anke Eissmann, where High Towers and Strong Places really shines is in Furnish’s detailed analysis of the realms of men and the critical role of the Edain and their descendants – the fierce Numenoreans and the Dunedain of Gondor and Arnor – play in Tolkien’s universe. It is conventional to interpret the history of Middle-Earth through an Elvish perspective given the events of The Silmarillion and the individual power of the greatest of the Eldar – Feanor, Luthien, Fingolfin, Finrod Felagund, Thingol, Galadriel, Celebrimbor, Elrond – which overshadow all but a heroic few men in Tolkien’s legendarium. Timothy Furnish is the first scholar to put the true scope and scale of the rise of Numenor and it’s armed might into perspective; Numenor was a true global empire and the mightiest military power of not only the Second Age, but perhaps of any age. The Numenoreans eclipsed the power of the Noldorin Elf-kingdoms of Beleriand, ruled the Seas and vast swaths of Middle-Earth and easily humbled Sauron at the pinnacle of his strength. It is an open question if Numenor at its height would have rivaled the power of Angband, but under Ar-Pharazon the Numenoreans invaded Valinor, a feat even Morgoth never dared to do. As Furnish writes:

Numenor was clearly modeled on the Atlantis myth, the importance and the centrality of which to Tolkien’s own view of his legendarium’s history having already been noted. For some 3300 years, these “Kings of men” dominated the political and military dimensions of Middle-Earth, because of their being “more like to the Firstborn [Elves] than any other of the kindred of men”. Elven aspects of these men included not only extremely long lifespans….but also great bodily stature, usually reaching 6 1/2 to 7 feet. In addition, the Numenoreans….became the most technologically advanced people in Middle-Earth – particularly in ship-building and as mariners and, eventually, in terms of military technology and weaponry

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