By This Sword, I Rule! - Page 4
© Michael Martinez
Like the Noldor in Beleriand, Aragorn's people were exiles who had returned to Middle-earth. They settled among their less sophisticated cousins but the Dunedain-in-Exile benefitted from a reversal in fortunes. Numenor had become the dominant power in Middle-earth, and civilization was conveyed to Men in Middle-earth by the Numenoreans. Hence, it was the Numenorean Adunaic tongue which spread far and wide and became the symbol of civilization.
Aragorn certainly spoke Westron well, but he also knew Sindarin and spoke it like a native. In their turn, the Sindar had become the outsiders to most peoples. Gondor alone among the nations of late Third Age Middle-earth retained widespread knowledge of Sindarin. As Quenya before it, Sindarin became little more than a language of lore for the Dunedain. They preserved it rather than enriched it. They elected not to expand it.
In Tolkien's world, words are accompanied by actions. In Howard's world, actions are accompanied by words. When the blodd-stained Kull breaks the stone tablets with the Valusia laws, he raises his axe above his head and cries out, "By this axe, I rule!" When Aragorn reveals his true heritage to Eomer and the Rohirrim, rattling off his list of names and titles, he whips out his sword and cries, "Here is the Sword that was Broken and is forged again!"
Like Kull and Conan, Aragorn comes barging into Gondorian society from outside, disrupting politics and displacing local leaders. Denethor is offended at the thought of giving up his Stewardship to "such a one, last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship and dignity". Even when he is presented with the opportunity to enter the city as a victorious captain of war, Aragorn elects instead to remain outside as "a Captain of the Rangers, who are unused to cities and houses of stone." And with that he orders his banner furled and he removes the Star of the North.
It remains for Aragorn to assume command of Gondor's armies before he can formally claim its crown. Although he wins over the people quickly, they need a warrior-king, not a gentle-spoken philosopher-king. Aragorn proves he knows languages and lore, but his words are overshadowed by his deeds. He is brave and strong, but he must also be decisive.
It is a part of the barbarian mystique that, whereas a civilized man will ponder the meanings of words and prophecies, a barbarian will stride forward and slice the knot which has perplexed the civilized world for centuries. It requires a Macedonian king to spread Greek civilization across half the known world. It takes a northern Dunadan king to lead Gondor to victory in its wars with the east. Whereas Denethor and his captains sit in their towers and try to figure out how long they can last against the assaults of Mordor, Aragorn charges through the Paths of the Dead, recruits a phantom army, and uses that to overwhelm the forces of Gondor's enemies.
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