Minas Tirith
The image that Tolkien gives us of Minas Tirith during the war, and in the years just prior to it, is a city that has fallen largely into desolation. Abandoned houses, more than half the citizens gone, empty streets.
Once Pippin and Gandalf reach the Citadel, such descriptions are not carried over, from what I could see during a quick read through. The White Tree is dead of course, but the lawn about it is well tended. It can be assumed the White Tower is also kept in good repair, as it is highly used. The room of the house that Gandalf and Pippin stay in is described as mostly bare, besides a table, some chairs and the beds.
Looking over the map of Minas Tirith in the Atlas of Middle-earth, there is the White Tree, the White Tower and the King's House. In a diagram of the Citadel itself, there are many more buildings shown, including the house that Pippin and Gandalf stayed in as well as the great feast hall, but we are told that there are many more buildings than those depicted there. The text of LOTR even indicates streets with closely built buildings, much as the crowded but empty streets in the city below.
So my questions: What is the state of the King's House after nearly 1000 years of disuse? Would it have been kept up over all those years, especially the last ten years or so when things got really hot and heavy and there were so few people on hand to spare for the caring of it? Or was it used? Would the Ruling Stewards have stayed there, or did they have their own dwellings?
Also of interest, though not as pressing: Who else would be dwelling on the Citadel? The King's advisors and other politicals, as well as honored guests and visiting ambassadors, no doubt, and there would be, I assume, lodging for the Guards of the Tower. Who would live within the King's House, aside from his family, personal guests and hired hands? Has anyone ever visualized what the King's House would look like as far as a layout? If Aragorn would not have been able to move into the house directly, where would he have stayed? We know he did not live w/ the rest of the Fellowship, who lived in a house in the City, which I assume to mean somewhere on the six levels below the Citadel.
Once Pippin and Gandalf reach the Citadel, such descriptions are not carried over, from what I could see during a quick read through. The White Tree is dead of course, but the lawn about it is well tended. It can be assumed the White Tower is also kept in good repair, as it is highly used. The room of the house that Gandalf and Pippin stay in is described as mostly bare, besides a table, some chairs and the beds.
Looking over the map of Minas Tirith in the Atlas of Middle-earth, there is the White Tree, the White Tower and the King's House. In a diagram of the Citadel itself, there are many more buildings shown, including the house that Pippin and Gandalf stayed in as well as the great feast hall, but we are told that there are many more buildings than those depicted there. The text of LOTR even indicates streets with closely built buildings, much as the crowded but empty streets in the city below.
So my questions: What is the state of the King's House after nearly 1000 years of disuse? Would it have been kept up over all those years, especially the last ten years or so when things got really hot and heavy and there were so few people on hand to spare for the caring of it? Or was it used? Would the Ruling Stewards have stayed there, or did they have their own dwellings?
Also of interest, though not as pressing: Who else would be dwelling on the Citadel? The King's advisors and other politicals, as well as honored guests and visiting ambassadors, no doubt, and there would be, I assume, lodging for the Guards of the Tower. Who would live within the King's House, aside from his family, personal guests and hired hands? Has anyone ever visualized what the King's House would look like as far as a layout? If Aragorn would not have been able to move into the house directly, where would he have stayed? We know he did not live w/ the rest of the Fellowship, who lived in a house in the City, which I assume to mean somewhere on the six levels below the Citadel.
