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The Measure Of A Man by Virtuella	9 Review(s)
Linda Hoyland	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 12/9/2008
What a daunting task to be required to draw Eomer!I'm glad our young artist/scribe is beginning to enjoy his new life.I think I know where drawing is going to be sent!

Agape4Gondor	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 12/5/2008
Save a sheep! I'm rolling on the floor laughing! Oh! I love the visit of his uncle. To win approval - and help with the ink - what a blessing. Oh drat! I was so hoping he would show his uncle the drawing of the horse..... Poor Deoric - draw me! Simple enough request... NOT!!! Excellent chapter - seems Deoric will be very busy for a long time... Author Reply: Good to see that the joke amuses so many people. ;-)

Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 12/1/2008
Ah, but he shall prove capable of much more than he thinks, I believe. Lovely images here as he thinks on the horse and captures it, then does a creditable picture of Eomer! Wonderful! Author Reply: Thank you. Yes, he's turned a corner now, but he's not quite home and dry yet. ;-)

Dreamflower	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
Oh this chapter is a real delight! This part made me snort! LOL! “Someone needs to make sure that a young whippersnapper like you doesn’t spend his time doodling in the margins. I remember when I was an apprentice, my master used to say, save a sheep, don’t waste parchment.” Déoric snorted. “He really said that?” “Yes. He was a man with an odd sense of humour. Nevertheless, you will do well to keep in mind that writing surfaces don’t grow on trees. My dear, you have a wicked sense of humor! The part about the ink was inspired, as well--many of the early inks would either fade, or were acidic and would eat away at the parchment over time. And the drawing was a wonderful touch--I love his commission to illuminate this book he's copying! (Let me know if I can help you with anymore research.) I also think I know why Eomer needs all that ink...grin Author Reply: Oh, goody, I'm so glad the joke worked. I admit I found it rather funny myself. I think I'm okay for the reaearch, thanks to the links you gave me.

Celeritas	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
The bit where Deoric had to put his horse down conveyed the trauma very well. The uncle's visit was very welcome, and I'm glad he was able to correct the issue with the ink before Deoric put in any more work! And the drawing scene at the end--ah, I feel Plot creeping up around the corner! I hope Deoric gets enough time to practice and improve his art that the "inspired" drawings like the horses come easier and easier! Eomer writing letters? Really? Just whom did he meet on this campaign abroad? shippy grin Author Reply: Yeah, here comes plot. Thanks for your comments.

Sunny	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
This is really a review of the entire story so far, but I don't suppose you will mind that :-) I have been growing fond of this story. When it started, I was rather doubtful – a young rohir who had lost a leg, making him a cripple. And that disability making it likely that he would never sit a horse again. Certainly a fate worse than death for someone from a culture that is centered on horses and horsemanship! And at the cultural level of Rohan, I guess it is also likely that a cripple would be seen as somehow less than a man, since a cripple would hardly be able to feed a family! For me, the culture of Rohan has a decidedly “Old Norse” flavour (think Vikings) although the Vikings weren’t fanatical about horses like the Rohirrim. I suspect that the greatest reason for me is the description of Aragorn singing a part of a song about the coming of Eorl, and the description of the rich phrases. The description is very like the “feel” of the Edda poetry for me (which IMO NEEDS to be spoken aloud. You just can’t get the right effect by letting it sit there looking pretty on a page. When it is spoken, it lives.) It sounds as if the book that Éomer wants Déoric to copy may have something of the flavour of Snorre’s Heimskringla – which is a history of the earliest Norwegian kings. Perhaps,when he has finished copying that, he will turn his hand to recording the rohirric history-songs – which, perhaps might have something of the flavour of the Poetic Edda. (And I relate very strongly to that in part because I am Norwegian) It is a good thing Déoric took his father’s advice. And it is good that he has come to feel the pleasure of creating such a wonderful thing as a book. And now he is branching out into art. How appropriate that it was a memory of his own horse that started him in this direction. I think I am going to enjoy seeing him start to explore that side of himself, too. And perhaps he will start add fancy initials to his manuscript - he does, after all, have Éomer’s approval of his art, and, indeed, his _command_ to add a frontispiece, and a drawing for each of the kings! :-D (And writing surfaces do _so_ grow on trees, Himlebed! That is, if people in Middle Earth have discovered how to make paper…) Author Reply: Thanks for your comments. You're right with your assessment of what his injury means for Deoric in the cultural context, and that was exactly what I wanted to explore. I'm not very learned about Norse mythology, so I hope you won't be disappointed by what's going to follow. As for the paper - I just had to have my little joke there. ;-)

Soledad	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
save a sheep, don’t waste parchment falls to the floor in hysterics You know, I love this story a great deal, but this speech, this is just too hilarious to remain uncommented. Author Reply: It's always good to know that people get the joke. ;-) It wasn't easy to incorparate some humour into this story, but I couldn't let this opportunity pass!

Ainariel	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
I've been following this story since you first started posting it - it's wonderfully told. I knew from the moment those horses 'didnt look quite right' that an artist's eye was at work. (My parents dealt with a precocious youngster who refused coloring books because the animals were all 'wrong'. They started buying me sketchbooks instead!) Love the interaction with Eomer and Eowyn as well - especially that Eomer is so approachable. I like that you portray him as unconcerned over formality when he's with Deoric in the scribe's chamber. (I think that after living nearly half his life among the soldiers, he would remain very down-to-earth unless the situation dictated otherwise). My one (tiny) bit of criticism is when Deoric is remembering his stallion. It seemed very odd to me that one of the Rohirrim, especially a warrior who had relied on his horse as a comrade-in-arms on the battlefield, would refer to the animal as 'it'. Just didn't feel right when I read it. I'm a horse nut, so i may be off course here, but I don't think a people who "love their horses next to their kin" would speak of them that way. Great job - I am looking forward to more!!! Author Reply: Thank you, I'n glad you're enjoying the story. I'm not artistically gifted myself, so I've asked my mother-in-law for advice, and I hope I've got it right. And you're right about the pronoun, I'll fix that.

demeter d	Reviewed Chapter: 6 on 11/30/2008
"that's a soldier talking"...Now that there is a time of peace, he can learn uses for his talents. I thought you capture Eomer well. Well done! Author Reply: Thanks, I'm glad you like it and think that I got Eomer right.

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