Is Gondor a city or a nation?

[Carnage661]

Quick Question

I've got a score to settle with my father and the answer to this question would help greatly:

Is Gondor a city or a nation/country?

 

[Niniel]

Gondor is definitely a state/political unit, the capital of which is Minas Tirith.

 

[Carnage661]

more

Any more? I'm lookin for as may as I can get, here.

 

[lossenandunewen]

Gondor started as a nation, then broke apart to become a citywhen they lost the king, then from what i understand, Aragorn reunited it when he took the crown

but that's what i got from it

 

[Ghan-buri-ghan]

Nah.

Gondor is the southern part of the joint kingdom of Gondor and Arnor.

Gondor is not a City.

Gondor has a number of major cities, chief of which used to be Osgiliath, and now is Minas Tirith.
Other cities include Pelargir and. . .geez, Dol Amroth? That's where the prince came from. Others?

So NO Gondor is not a City. When Theoden cries,

"Ride now, Ride now, ride to Gondor!"

He is saying ride to the defense of our allies, Gondor.

 

[FoolOfATook]

Another major city of Gondor was Umbar. Osgiliath didn't become Minas Tirith though, Minas Anor became Minas Tirith. The five main cities of Gondor were:
Dol Amroth
Minas Ithil
Minas Anor
Pelargir
Osgiliath

I'm currently working on a lecture about the wars of Gondor in the Third Age for the Tolkienology Guild, so, Carnage661- if there are any other questions you have about Gondor, I can probably help you without having to do more than go through my notes.

 

[Carnage661]

Thanks to you all.

I showed your answers to him, but, for some crazy reason, he has the notion that he is always right. He still believes that Gondor is a city and that the "Land of Gondor" is the area around the city. AND he says that you guys need to read the books better.

Sometimes you can never win. Sorry to bother you over a trivial family dispute.

(He knows he's wrong)

 

[lossenandunewen]

a father is a father. My dad just bought digital cable, he doesn't even know how to get onto the internet. let alone have some odd 800 channels he'll never use

yea..

 

[elfgirl]

I think that Gondor is a nation, and your dad sounds a bit like both of my parents. They think that they're always right! My mom claims to have taught me how to use a cell phone, yet when she got hers, she was asking me what 'voicemail' was! Is it just me, or does that get REALLY annoying?

 

[33Peregrin]

I agree that Gondor is not a city. It has many cities. But I think you are lucky to be able to argue with someone about LOTR. No one i know has read the book. I am forced to argue wether it is "good" or not. You are lucky. My mom thinks LOTR is evil. Every time I do something slightly wrong, she thinks that it is an excuse to take all my LOTR books!!!! Yesterday she tried again. You would have been so proud of me. I yelled into her face for five minutes strait, not letting her say one word. In the end I one. She assured me she would next time though. Don't worry, I have excellent hiding places!!!! Anyways, you are lucky you can argue about that. My dad has only read the Hobbit ages ago....

 

[FoolOfATook]

Does your mom think that LOTR is evil from a religious point of view? If so, you might want to mention Tolkien's Christianity to her...

 

[33Peregrin]

No.... I was trying not to make it sound like that, but.... no. She saw the movie and hated it. I was having a bad day. We were all watching the movie. I got mad because she went to go blow her nose. She left right when Bilbo was explaining what Ring was doing to him, and that he needed a holiday. I turned it off and went upstairs, and she went to Blockbusters to get it. I'm not like that anymore, really.... but I still don't think she should have missed that part. She told me it was good, but there is a lot of evil. Now she's changed that to pure evil. She calls my soundtrack "suicide music" But you know... I realize while writing this, that you may be right. Perhaps you might be right, it would be a good idea to mention this to her. Perhaps she'll lessen her nasty comments.
I don't find LOTR evil at all. I read it over and over again, and still manage to enjoy going to church every Sunday.
For Christmas, I should buy her a copy of "Finding God in the Lord of the Rings".
Next time she says something like that, I'll be sure to mention it to her. Thanks!

 

[HLGStrider]

Mom's tend to get worried if you're obsessed with anything. My mom has nothing against Tolkien or the Lord of the Rings, but she does think it is odd that I talk about them so much... says it is not right to think about one thing so much...

Sometimes we fans just need to tone down for the sake of the less enthusiastic among us.

 

[Eriol]

This is one way in which the movies helped (I think) -- we can openly talk with other people about LotR and the people around you does not think you are automatically a lunatic. A lunatic, nowadays, is one who has not heard about LotR, and not the other way around...

And in response to the original question, you might point out to your father that Gon-dor means the Land of Stone, and that the root -dor means land (as in Mor-dor, Black Land). Or does he think that Mordor is a city too?