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The Tenant from Staddle by Larner	10 Review(s)
Halrohir	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 4/3/2008
Ah, Larner, another wonderful work by your hand! I've enjoyed reading all the chapters of "The Tenant From Staddle" thus far, and I was holding off writing a review until I was done and make it one comphrehensive piece - but this chapter and the one before it prompted me to review sooner. This particular chapter struck me: where and how did you come up with the back story and all the raw information on the realm of Arnor!? Is this all your creation? I would sincerely wish to know, it's most impressive. I bow to your talent once again, HALROHIR Author Reply: The division of Arnor into three kingdoms--Arthedain, Rhudaur, and Cardolan, is detailed in the Appendices, as well as a vague description of the failure of Rhudaur and Cardolan. Rhudaur, to the southeast, ended up much corrupted as folk entered it from Dunland and other areas to the south and east, and eventually it reportedly became mostly a haven for evil men who opposed the rulers of the Dunedain. Cardolan, to the west, also failed. Once Rhudaur and Cardolan no longer existed as independent entities the King of Arthedain again claimed all the lands formerly under the administration of the northern kingdom, and naming his son with the "Ar-" prefix used to indicate the Kings of Numenor in its latter days, "Ar-" meaning "Lord." After the final battle between Arvedui's folk and the army led by the Witch-king of Angmar, Arvedui's son and heir refused to take the title of King, as there weren't enough of the Dunedain of the North left to constitute a proper kingdom any more, and they retreated to hidden enclaves within the Angle and apparently northwards toward the ruins of Annuminas and the royal fortress of Fornost. That's all information from the Appendices. Much of the rest of the information given here is based on what we know of the organization of laws and administration within Numenor and Gondor, augmented with what I know of how such things were handled in Europe and particularly England during the height of the medieval period. England had a very strong guild system, and the bestowal of available land for their maintenance on newly made lords or individuals who had earned the favor of the king is well documented. As Numenor was supposed to be extraordinarily enlightened and given to advanced technologies, many of them lost and forgotten by the time the events in LOTR took place, I imagine their laws would be similar to ours. The legal and administrative structure of the Shire is mostly guesswork based on what information Tolkien hints at here and there. We know there were family heads, and that the husband and wife often ruled the extended family jointly. Tolkien himself described how the Tooks were ruled in one of his letters in which he detailed the story of Lalia, the obese dowager mother of Thain Ferumbras Took who preceded his cousin Paladin Took in that office. In another letter he indicates that part of the reason Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins wished to have possession of Bag End was because they were certain that with it they would inherit the family headship for the Bagginses to go along with the headship for the Sackvilles he'd inherited from the distaff side of his heritage. I have written several stories in which Aragorn's kinsmen from Eriador feature, starting with "The King's Commission" and going on through "The Ties of Family" and so on and eventually working their way into this story. I am working on a general history of the two kingdoms against the particular histories of Gandalf and Saruman in "Stirring Rings," and in it you can see more detailed guesswork on how Arnor deteriorated and the Shire and Bree grew. This story is growing slowly, and "Stirring Rings" is even slower than this one to grow. How long it will take to finish the two of them I don't know. At the moment these are the only two longer stories I've posted that I've not finished.

Queen Galadriel	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 12/31/2006
Oh, I really do like Alvric; we have a lot in common! :) I see he's now being referred to as the nerd of Gondor, and that's oddly enough a nice change of pace. Of course I like the brave warriors as much as anyone, but I'm an extreme oddball almost everywhere I go (and proud of it!...usually, when it's not getting me into trouble or making it seem impossible to fit in), so I can identify. :) And I enjoyed the history lesson at the beginning of the chapter. I think almost everything I know about the history of Gondor and also of the Northern lands I've learned from reading your stories! I keep meaning to read all the info in Tolkien's other books, but so far I've been able to find a grand total of one (that wasn't impossible to read due to formatting errors), and even that I haven't devoted enough time to. Holby is sooo cute! :) He is just like one of my own little dogs, at least in personality (though, luckily for Alvric, he's not obsessive-compulsive like my dog--I'm not kidding, he really is). Ooo, I wonder if our Sandybankses are related! grins I like Denra already; she seems very sensible and kind. Hmmm, should I add to the votes for romance? looks innocent God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: So glad you do enjoy Alvric, and hope you enjoy how he and Bartolo interact. Sorry its taken so long to get caught up with responses--this one was a few chapters back and I had to find it. Also once again having difficulties with accessing the web. What else is new, right? Heh!

Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 11/5/2006
I love your vision of what the Northern Kingdom could once have been like. Author Reply: I'm so glad you do, Linda. It must have been impressive before Earendur tried dividing it between his three sons.

Kitty	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 11/3/2006
Alvric was lucky to have someone with him who was able to explain so much about Arnor and his laws. It must have been of much help for his job. And he himself appears to have coped with the long journey surprisingly well. Maybe he has a little adventurous streak without truly knowing it. For once, I have read the other reviews before reviewing myself, and I see I was not the only one who had some ideas about Alvric and Denra. No, I wil not repeat it, too grin Anyway, Denra and Carnation are nice women. I think Alvric has found a nice home for his stay in the North, and somehow I have the feeling there are soon some people more who know everything about the Travellers and the King and all ;) Author Reply: In many ways Berevrion is Alvric's traditional counterpart in Arnor, but one who has had to wear a number of different hats, as there are so many fewer folk to see to the administration of the remnants of the realm in the northlands. Yes, I very much suspect he's finding he's far more adventurous than he imagined. And one cannot end up doing things for the King and his Friend without learning far more about them than they'd imagined ahead of time. Thanks so much for the feedback.

Baggins Babe	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/31/2006
giggles I see poor Alvric is being referred to as 'the Nerd of Gondor'! I like him, and they can't all be tall, dark and handsome, can they? Do I spy a romance..............? crosses fingers Author Reply: No, there have to be a few short guys around, after all. And as one who was always seen as a nerd myself, I find myself identifying with him! So everyone wants a romance, do they? Hmmmmmmmm.

SurgicalSteel	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/30/2006
I enjoyed this - the fact that Butterbur's not as suspicious of the Ragners as he once was - and I liked Denra Gorse. It'll be interesting to see what transpires there, looks like the beginnings of a lovely friendship, at the very least. Author Reply: In "The Acceptable Sacrifice" Butterbur first began to appreciate that there's more to Rangers than an unkempt appearance and big, scary swords; and in "The King's Commission" he admitted they helped stop more than one fight that could have gotten very nasty. I like to think he's softening by the time this story takes place. And am so glad you like Denra. I like to put at least a bit of romance into my stories.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/30/2006
The second half of this chapter was a delight to read. It was wonderful to see Bree, to see the Rangers light up at the thought of sleeping in real beds, to see Alvric seeing the North for the first time. The part with Denra Gorse and Carnation was also wonderful. I can see these women in my mind's eye, basically friendly, confused, a little suspicious. . . and poor old Alvric, trying his best to charm them and succeeding when he isn't really trying. This is great stuff, and it's what you do very well. I wasn't so fond of the beginning of the chapter. I think it could have easily been condensed and lost nothing by it. You have a brilliant eye for detail, as always, but this is a section that could have done with significantly less detail and more narration. Author Reply: I agree about the first half of the chapter being dry. Am considering how it might be properly condensed, but may not get around to it for a time as I work on finishing the story. So glad you find the reactions of the Rangers and Alvric satisfying; and I enjoy developing relationships, as you know. So glad you liked the second half. Probably ought to have made it two chapters so folk could skip the stuff about comparative legal systems if they wanted.

harrowcat	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/30/2006
Well I am glad to see that he has taken to the ranging life. And this is a great summation of the laws of the lands. Hailing from Warwick - a great mediaeval market town - I learned a lot about guilds while in Primary School. Put like this heightens what the four managed to help the Shire to do when they returned. And it just goes to prove how right Gandalf was to ever be interested in them and teach others about them. I makes me wonder how people like Theoden had heard of hobbits. Was it Gandalf's doing that they got into history books at all and that folk-lore grew and spread about them! The law-abiding Shire and its ways must truly sound idyllic to one who works to clarify and arbitrate. This is a lovely summary of the work and duties of Thain, Master and Mayor. My repect for Tolkien's vision, and you, grows with every word. It sounds like Holby, as small as he is, is a good guard dog and knows his own worth! Perhaps he can teach Jet a thing or two. Jet is a good guard dog but very boistrous, easily bored and very lively! He stole my mobile phone the other night and chewed it into a million pieces! He doesn't eat the bits, just chews then up! Do I feel yet another possible romance a-brewing? I thinks I does! g And yet another great exchange of information. It sounds like a good set-up. And I am quite envious - I am not allowed pets in my little bed-sit. Mum is back to square one with her pressure sore breaking down again and another small spot near it too! So we are back to the nurses visiting three times a week and bed-rest as often as we can persaude her into it! And all because of one her 'carers' not replacing the dressing when it came off in the shower! Author Reply: I love visiting Warwick castle, and Tony was fascinated by it. He was claustrophobic, and he found the dungeon creepy in the extreme, particularly the oubliette, of course. And I loved visiting Richard's tower and learning more of his life there. (I did tell you my roses are white, didn't I?) Went to Bosworth to drop a flower in Richard's memory and to give Henry a well-earned Bronx cheer. The Tudors were so awfully bloody-minded folk, and Henry was so self-centered a bastard in every sense of the word I hate to think of him inflicting himself on England as long as he did. I thought the guild system a fascinating manner to improve and control distribution of goods and services; and have stood in the Merchant Adventurer's Guild Hall in York imagining how every ruler in British history must have come there, hat in hand, to beg money to support an army for this war or to outfit ships for exploration--and they could afford to invest in all from dealing wool and woolens! I've been around small dogs all my life, and what they will notice of passing traffic was often fascinating. They can tell when a car is slowing to turn down the driveway before we notice the lights bouncing along the way. Small dogs can be destructive, too, but usually limit themselves to things like phone cords and the like when bigger dogs are crunching up DVDs (one went through my Jeeves and Wooster collection and chewed up my original copies of the EEs for FOTR and TTT--I was so furious!) and things one can't imagine why they'd chew on them to begin with. But your Jet IS still a young dog--hopefully he'll outgrow it. Mine all think they are as big as my daughter's rottweiler or the dalmation, and what's funny is that the bigger dogs are convinced they are! Perhaps a romance (I suspect I'm getting a bit to predictable)--but it would be a satisfying one. Sorry to hear about the new outbreak of the pressure sore. Your mom must be getting used to these by now, but it's still so discouraging!

Bodkin	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/30/2006
Well - Denra Gorse! She seems just the sort of candidate one would look for to become the Bride of Alvric!! He seems very wise in not wanting to take up permanent residence in the Prancing Pony. It's hardly a home. And Alvric is learning a lot - about life outside the courtroom as well as about the history and customs of Arnor (and the Shire). Author Reply: I do appear to be becoming a bit predictable, don't I? Although one never knows. I think of trying to stay long-term in a hotel and it makes me shiver. But it is giving Alvric a chance indeed to broaden his horizons and to think about Life as well as law.

Armariel	Reviewed Chapter: 11 on 10/29/2006
Oh good gracious...do I smell romance a bloomin'? Or am I imagining too much too soon? heheh Author Reply: You never know--although bringing a couple decent people together and seeing them come to depend on one another has caused romances to bloom before, of course--and especially in my stories! Heh!

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