That's because Tolkien quite possibly did not base Gondor on Arthurian myth and popular conceptions of the Middle Ages, unlike many of the conventional fantasy works that succeeded him. Instead, he may instead have based it upon Rome:
> Tolkien had far more imagination than most of those who followed him. A common criticism of the worlds described in fantasy novels is that they are “just like mediaeval Europe, only with magic”. They have knights on horseback, an aristocracy of nobles under a king, and so on, coexisting with magicians, fantastical creatures and items of cosmic power beyond belief.
> You won't find any of these feudal European elements in Gondor. The only identifiable vassal state of Gondor is Dol Amroth, otherwise the kingdom is unitary. The army of Gondor fights on foot, even the nobility like Aragorn and Boromir. Faramir rides a horse during his retreat from the Pelennor wall, but he doesn't participate in cavalry charges, despite what Peter Jackson may have shown you. The couched lances of Arthurian tradition are strictly a Rohirrim technique. In fact there are references to there being only one company of cavalry in the entire army of Gondor.
> I think Tolkien had a particular culture in mind. These features are much more reminiscent of imperial Rome than of feudal Europe. To be honest, the army is more reminiscent of early imperial Rome than of Byzantium, but I never expected this to come out perfect.
Tolkien actually wrote "Elf-Latin" in an early draft. It's kind of transparent. It got dropped when he dropped all references to the real world as a policy.
> That's because Tolkien quite possibly did not base Gondor on Arthurian myth and popular conceptions of the Middle Ages, unlike many of the conventional fantasy works that succeeded him. Instead, he may instead have based it upon Rome:
But then the video argues the opposite, specifically about vassal fiefdoms ?
>> Arthurian myth and popular conceptions of the Middle Ages
> But then the video argues the opposite, specifically about vassal fiefdoms ?
I think an assumption of the video is that the popular conceptions of the Middle Ages don't exactly show the vassalage system (and its relationships between vassals and lieges), instead showing kings as a rulers with absolute power.
> Tolkien had far more imagination than most of those who followed him. A common criticism of the worlds described in fantasy novels is that they are “just like mediaeval Europe, only with magic”. They have knights on horseback, an aristocracy of nobles under a king, and so on, coexisting with magicians, fantastical creatures and items of cosmic power beyond belief.
> You won't find any of these feudal European elements in Gondor. The only identifiable vassal state of Gondor is Dol Amroth, otherwise the kingdom is unitary. The army of Gondor fights on foot, even the nobility like Aragorn and Boromir. Faramir rides a horse during his retreat from the Pelennor wall, but he doesn't participate in cavalry charges, despite what Peter Jackson may have shown you. The couched lances of Arthurian tradition are strictly a Rohirrim technique. In fact there are references to there being only one company of cavalry in the entire army of Gondor.
> I think Tolkien had a particular culture in mind. These features are much more reminiscent of imperial Rome than of feudal Europe. To be honest, the army is more reminiscent of early imperial Rome than of Byzantium, but I never expected this to come out perfect.
https://www.oocities.org/davidbofinger/numenor.htm