[HairOfTheDog]

Oh medieval warfare, swords, arrows, jousting! - eek. Tremendous amount of gore... and all of it close up... And even minor injuries could be fatal with almost certain infection that would set in.

Not for the faint of heart. I think the weapons, the swords in particular, are very much a work of art and an heirloom to the bearer. I normally would not rave about movies that had a lot of that gore-type stuff in it for the sake of gore, but I am drawn to the artistic nature of the battles in LOTR, and the choreography of the battle as it plays out. The battles are fought with tremendous style by our heroes, and in Legolas, also grace.

[Monkey Face]

Whoa! A gal takes a litle time off to move and the entire website is like a new world! Way to go! (Sigh....the chances of me catching up any time soon are fairly nil...and next to nothing...) :)

[Sam Cree]

... and all of it close up... And even minor injuries could be fatal

I think a punctured abomen would have usually been fatal in those days (within a day or so), would be today without quick treatment. The close up fighing, I would think, could be many times more intense than shooting at a distance, though I believe that also is certainly much more than intense enough.

The battles are fought with tremendous style by our heroes, and in Legolas, also grace.

I agree with that and also they fought with terrific ferocity and deadliness.

I also consider modern personal weapons, such as rifles or shotguns to be companions and, often, works or art and heirlooms. Mr. Cooper likens the rifle to the lightning bolts of Zeus and gives personal weapons credit for bringing man "up out of the mud" and into civilization.