Anyone with a smattering of knowledge about J.R.R. Tolkien's linguistic preferences should know that he was not very fond of the French language. It is a challenge for most readers to find significant examples of English nouns in Tolkien's post-1937 stories which are derived from French words. The Mayor of Michel Delving bears a title of French derivation (Major Domo -- the mayor of the palace). The fiefs of Gondor are referred by this familiar word of French origin as well, but Tolkien wrote that these regions were still called "shires". He offers a Westron word, "suza-t", which bears a distinctly different meaning from "fief":

fief: An estate held of a superior on condition of military service; a fee; a feud. (Source: http://www.dictionary.com/)

suza-t: A sphere of occupation (as of the land claimed by a family or clan), of office, or business. (Source: The Peoples of Middle-earth, p. 45)

The word "shire" comes from the Old English language, and it referred to a division of the land as in a province or county. (Source: http://www.dictionary.com/)

Now, while it's true that some of the material in The Peoples of Middle-earth is superseded by compressed materail which appears in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien's discussion of the meaning of "suza-t" was simply excluded from the final published work. His definition for "suza-t" is thus thrown into doubt with respect to canonical status, but it nonetheless describes the original purpose of the Hobbits' Shire: they occupied the land as family groups. We know this because the published Lord of the Rings speaks of the remnants of the original folk-lands, such as Tookland. The Hobbits collectively occupied the Shire.

The Shire-folk held their lands in a feudal-relationship which did not entail specific military obligations. So, it would have been appropriate for Tolkien to describe the original Shire as a feud of Arnor, although he never did so. A "feud" is defined in law as "a stipendiary estate in land, held of superiod, by service;...." (Source: http://www.dictionary.com/). Historically, European feuds were held in exchange for military service, but when Argeleb II bestowed the Shire upon the Hobbits, he only required that they "should keep the Great Bridge in repair, and all other bridges and roads, speed the king's messengers, and acknowledge his lordship." The situation in Eriador at the end of the Third Age was distinctly different from the situation in Gondor, where the authority of the old kings had been maintained openly by the Ruling Stewards.

The original Shire, therefore, served as both a feud and a province or county. However, the Hobbits obtained some non-feudal rights. For example, they owned the land outright. How do we know that? Because they bought and sold property within the Shire. Frodo sold Bag End to the Sackville-Baggins family, and he purchased a small farm at Crickhollow (which actually lay in the Buckland, a region outside the original Shire grant which was colonized by post-Arnorian Hobbits). Enfeofed property may not be bought and sold. The rights (and obligations) of enfeoffment may be transferred, but only with the approval of the vassal's overlord (and possibly his other vassals, but European feudalism was too complex in practice for a thorough discussion here).

Through his use of property ownership, Tolkien established that the Shire was not a medieval European-style feudal estate. So it becomes reasonable to ask if Tolkien had something else in mind for Gondor's "fiefs of the south". Did the people of Gondor own the lands they worked? We cannot answer the question, but it seems that Tolkien's association of the word "suza-t" with the larger provinces (of which there were originally five: Belfalas, Anorien, Ithilien, Calenardhon, and Lebennin) is intended to imply a special distinction from traditional European-style fiefs.

The confusing history of Prince Imrahil's family offers a clue to how Gondor (and perhaps Arnor) was originally devised. In Unfinished Tales, Note 39 from "Cirion and Eorl" tells us that Elendil had bestowed the title of "prince" upon the ancestors of the Lords of Dol Amroth, who had apparently settled in Belfalas before the Downfall of Numenor. While the Princes of Belfalas were more autonomous than Gondor's other great lords, they nonetheless show us that the power of the monarchs was not absolute. Nor does the note say that Elendil bestowed lands upon the princes, so the lands were apparently owned by the princes (and perhaps by their followers as well).

Outright ownership of land provides for an economic existence which is more sophisticated than a frontier or feudal society can support. That is because the ownership of the land can be transferred at will. Which is not to say that the Princes of Belfalas should ever have been expected to sell off their properties. They undoubtedly possessed rights and authority which existed outside of their ownership of the land. That is, anyone who purchased a tract of land from the Prince of Belfalas did not by default become another, lesser prince. That person would simply be a land owner.

But the ownership of land confers a freedom to own other property, such as livestock. And livestock is believed to serve as the basis for monetary systems. The words "feof", "fief", "feud", "fee" (and many others) are ultimately derived from the ancient Indo-European word "peku-", translated as "wealth, movable property". "Peku-" evolved into German and Latin words for "cattle", which were indeed "movable property" and represented the basis of wealth. Cattle remain the basis for wealth today in many countries around the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In fact, medieval feudal contracts often stipulate that tenants must render certain amounts of livestock (cattle, chicken, goats, etc.) to their landlords.

The transfer of property in the form of animals is thus an ancient custom which must have originated with the earliest tribes and clans practicing animal husbandry. The concept of wealth itself therefore predates civilization, Tolkien would have understood as much. So, his shires -- in both Arnor and Gondor -- appear to have been organized for the purpose of managing transfers of wealth between families. But the establishment of the kingdoms-in-exile (Arnor and Gondor) required an obligation of acknowledgement of royal authority. The assumption of royalty by Elendil and his sons implied that they claimed some authority to regulate business within the bounds of their declared realms. Such regulation inevitably implies taxation, and taxation implies a transaction-based economy.

Elendil would have to offer some value to the numerous families holding property throughout Arnor and Gondor. After all, he and his nine shiploads of exiles from Numenor were not only a very small minority -- they probably owned no land in Middle-earth. For the people of Numenorean descent, particularly those families whose ancestors had been members of the Faithful who fled Numenor before the Downfall, Elendil brought to Middle-earth a cherished cultural legacy. But he also provided a focal point for people to resolve their differences, and there would have to have been disputes over property, water use, and other matters too mundane to include in heroic tales and legends.

Of course, Elendil did possess a few unique assets. He and his followers came in nine ships, and in those early days travel by ship was easier and faster than travel by road. The exiles also brought the seven Palantiri with them, and a sapling of the White Tree. There was also some sort of formal organization among the exiles, at least to the extent that each ship had its own captain, and these captains acknowledged Elendil as their leader. But it seems unlikely anyone would have up and said, "Hey! Let's make Elendil the king and pay him TAXES!"

Rather, the need for taxation was justified by services. The king had to provide for the defense of his people, the upkeep of their cities and roads, and the enforcement of their laws. All of which, by the way, are historically derived from...the exchange of goods and services. That is, Elendil and his sons built cities. Cities represent markets. Roads lead from the farms to the cities. Elendil's people had to eat, and they had no land of their own. Hence, they made some arrangements whereby they built cities and the local populations began trading in those cities.

Perhaps for a fee -- a tax.

Elendil could have been the great market-builder. More importantly, he offered an opportunity for many clans and families to appeal to a higher authority in their disputes. The imposition of royal law would mean fewer feuds. Fewer feuds would allow increased prosperity. Nearly everyone would benefit from the establishment of royal authority. Furthermore, a king would be responsible for policing the roads. Brigands and outlaws appear in Middle-earth's legends often enough that they should have been a real concern in every age.

Now, Eriador should not be viewed as a completely lawless region prior to Elendil's arrival. In fact, Gil-galad was the acknowledged ruler of the land. His authority extended all the way to the Vales of Anduin. So it's doubtful that Eriador was plagued by outlaws and bandits. But Elendil's arrival in Middle-earth required that some changes be made. Gil-galad was probably more like a high king overseeing many small lordships. In the early part of the Second Age, Gil-galad's authority did not extend past the Baranduin river. Later, his kingdom's boundaries were withdrawn to the Lhun. But even the Men of Eriador looked to Gil-galad for guidance during the War of the Elves and Sauron. Elves and Men had different priorities. It would have made sense for a man -- even a long-lived Numenorean man -- to be king over all the free Men of Eriador.

In the lands which became Gondor, there was already one city which had been established by Numenor: Pelargir. Its name implies that Pelargir was originally a naval base for the Kings of Numenor. After the Downfall of Numenor, the royal prerogatives would have fallen into dispute. The arrival of Isildur and Anarion, straight from Numenor, should have prevented chaos from ensuing. Reasonable men throughout the land would recognize the benefit of raising a neutral party -- someone who didn't already own land -- to the kingship. Those early days must have been filled with delegations from chieftains and landowners seeking to assess and curry the favor of Elendil in Eriador and his sons in Pelargir.

Isildur's relationship with the King of the Mountains implies that he and Anarion had to negotiate with many local communities to obtain their rights and authority. They each took a region of land (Anorien and Ithilien) as their own province, and they built three cities to anchor those lands: Minas Anor, Osgiliath, and Minas Ithil. Both Minas Anor and Minas Ithil served as fortified outposts guarding the frontiers of the new kingdom, as well as the personal residences of the kings when they were not living in Osgiliath.

Minas Anor would have been in a position to benefit from trade with Pelargir and Belfalas. But Minas Ithil stood upon the border of Mordor, which had been filled with Orcs, Trolls, and who knows what else. Its hard to imagine many farmers wanting to settle in Ithilien. Isildur's people may have been mostly of Numenorean stock, hardy and valiant. But it may be that Osgiliath served as a central market which ensured both Minas Anor and Minas Ithil were adequately supplied. The city stood atop a huge bridge which spanned the Anduin. Sea-worthy ships could sail right up the river to Osgiliath. The city must have served as a conduit to the inner lands, including Calenardhon, where military outposts guarded the frontiers against attack and established the power of the new kings.

Brigandage must have been more common in the south than in the north, both because Gil-galad's kingdom would have discouraged brigandage in Eriador and because there were simply many more groups of people living in the south. Numenorean colonies sat beside ancient tribes of fisher-folk and mountain clans, and their peoples slowly mingled with the natives, forming new populations, building new towns. The potential for conflict would have been considerable, especially in the years when Sauron was still present in Middle-earth, contesting the influence of the Numenoreans.

The autonomous lords such as the princes of Belfalas may have been very much like the great cattle barons of 19th century America, men who carved personal empires out of the wilderness at the expense of the weaker native peoples. Even if there was still a garrison in Pelargir that immediately hailed Isildur and Anarion as the rightful successors to the Kings of Numenor, the sons of Elendil could not possibly have overthrown the rights and prerogatives of local kings and lords. Instead, Elendil and his sons appear to have negotiated partial assumption of rights among the landowners and kings.

But to build a lasting foundation for their royal prerogatives, Isildur and Anarion opened up new lands. They must have found many willing colonists in the crowded lands along the coasts. The threat of Mordor would have been diminished during the years Sauron was imprisoned in Numenor, but his memory would have lingered in the hearts and minds of many peoples. The Men of Dunharrow never forgot their ancient allegiance to Sauron, and ultimately they betrayed Isildur because of that allegiance. Other peoples must have refused to acknowledge the new kings, however. Hence, Isildur and Anarion had to establish fortresses at Minas Anor, Minas Ithil, Orthanc, and Aglarond to ensure their new frontiers were not overrun.

The fact that three of the Numenorean fortresses bordered lands inhabited by Gwathuirim -- coupled with the fact that both Arnor and Gondor maintained garrisons at Tharbad -- implies that the Gwathuirim were the most serious threat to the new kingdoms. They must have been numerous and warlike people. But more importantly, they were strong enough to ensure that ship-board travel between Arnor and Gondor was more feasible than overland travel. Thus, from the very beginning of Arnor and Gondor, ships and sea-knowledge remained vital assets to the Numenoreans.

It thus seems inevitable that someone would begin preying upon the sea-lanes. Although Arnor is not said to have maintained a navy, Gondor's so-called Ship-kings (Tarannon Falastur, 830-913; Earnil I, 913-36; Cirynadil, 936-1015; and Ciryaher, 1015-1149) built many fleets of ships. Tarannon conquered the coastlands and his successors devoted more than 100 years to fighting, conquering, and defending Umbar before the Men of Harad were defeated. Tarannon's change in Gondorian policy, which from the year 490 had been concerned with incursions by the Easterlings, implies that the Easterlings were no longer a threat -- or else were less of a threat than whatever lay to the west and south of Gondor.

The narrative in the LoTR appendix says Tarannon "built navies and extended the sway of Gondor along the coasts west and south of the Mouths of Anduin." We can infer, therefore, that someone apparently unfriendly to Gondor was living to the west of Belfalas in the regions called the Anfalas and Pinnath Gelin. Now, Tarannon could have just been a really ambitious king who wanted to go bonk heads, but Tolkien doesn't say he was. Hence, we can only infer that Tarannon had a reason for going to war with his neighbors in the west. That reason may have had something to do with piracy or the taxation of trade routes. Or it may have been related to land-based disputes. We have no way of knowing.

What we do know, however, is that Tarannon married a Black Numenorean princess named Beruthiel. His marriage was such a dismal failure that Tarannon eventually banished Beruthiel from the kingdom, and she was last seen sailing south past Umbar. Although we don't know what year this occurred in, we know that Earnil I engaged in a direct war with Umbar. Some people have speculated that Beruthiel came from Umbar, since Umbar was a Black Numenorean haven. An Umbarian connection would explain the war with Gondor, if the Black Numenoreans were offended by Beruthiel's treatment by Tarannon.

One possible scenario leading to these events would be that Umbar had begun harrassing Gondor's shipping. Tarannon negotiated an end to hostilities by marrying Beruthiel, but when he banished her, Umbar's rulers repudiated their treaty with Gondor. The ensuing conflicts may have been small during Tarannon's reign by Earnil I drove the Black Numenorean lords out of Umbar in 933. Warfare between Gondor and its dispossessed enemies lasted until 1050. But we don't know for sure that the war erupted because of either Beruthiel or any sort of piracy.

In fact, Tolkien only referred to piracy later in the Third Age, after Umbar had been seized by rebels from Gondor. The followers of Castamir the Usurper fled from Pelargir to Umbar in 1448. The Corsairs of Umbar, led by Castamir's family, slew King Aldamir in 1540. The Corsairs became strong enough to attack Pelargir in 1634, killing King Minardil in the raid. It would not be until 1810 before King Telumehtar captured Umbar again, defeating the Corsairs and slaying the last descendants of Castamir. According to material in The Peoples of Middle-earth, Umbar was simply destroyed at this time, although Gondor laid claim to the land.

Tolkien does not mention the Corsairs again until the Stewardship of Cirion (2489-2567), although he tells us that Umbar was seized by Men of Harad sometime during the years when the Wainriders attacked Gondor (possibly between 1940 and 1944, when Wainriders passed south of Mordor and formed an alliance with the Haradrim). The Corsairs continued to attack Gondor (and later Rohan) from that time forward, until the War of the Ring, when their fleets were taken by Aragorn and the army of the ghosts of the Men of Dunharrow.

It should be noted that Tolkien's use of the word "corsair" is significant, because this is another of those rare French words which he incorporated into his legendarium. The word made its way to English by way of Provencal (the language of southern France) from Medieval Latin. It is used to describe fast pirate ships, especially the kind "often operating with official sanction" (source: http://www.dictionary.com/). "Official sanction" became privateering in northern Europe, but when the Barbary States practiced "official sanction" in the later 19th century, we called them pirates.

The Barbary Corsairs became so infamous that they co-opted the word "corsair" for their place in history. They originated in the 16th century, serving the Ottoman empire. They at first struck at unarmed fishing and merchant vessels, but eventually became so powerful they started raiding cities. The Barbary pirates used Mediterranean galleys for several centuries before switching to the faster, less sea-worthy Xebecs (which were designed to carry cannon). Unlike classical galleys of the Greco-Roman world, Mediterranean galleys were oared by slaves.

Tolkien's Corsairs use slave-driven galleys, at least as their larger ships. Virtually all of the ships Tolkien described in print or depicted in his Middle-earth paintings and drawings are oared vessels. The Swan-ships of Valinor, depicted on the cover of J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator (in the painting, "Halls of Manwe (Taniquetil)"), are clearly influenced by northern European Viking-style vessels. The long-boats used by the Men of the Long Lake are similarly influenced by Viking-style oared ship designs. The great ships of Numenor, such as Alcarondas, are said to be massive sailing vessels. But their capacities to hold large numbers of people are only vaguely described.

Tolkien's ship-styles imply a growth in sophistication from the First Age through the Third Age which approximately mirrors non-cannon bearing styles used throughout Europe and the Mediterranean from late Classical to early modern times. We can infer that Gondor, at least, never fully abandoned the use of ships, although its naval power declined in the late Third Age. But there is one aspect to Gondor's ship traditions which seems different from the traditions of Numenor and Beleriand: no one in Gondor is said to own a ship privately.

Private ownership of ships is attested in stories concerning Earendil (his ship was Vingilot) and Aldarion (his grand-father Veantur gave him the ship Numerramar). But by Elendil's time all ships seem to be owned by the King of Numenor or the great lords of the land. Which is not to say that other captains could not own their ships. Rather, the stories concern the descendants of Elros, and one must infer that either only nobles could own ships, or else non-royal ship-owners did not earn mention in the legends.

However, royal prerogatives would have prevailed in the founding years for both Arnor and Gondor. Elendil and his sons controlled a fleet of nine ships. Pelargir was (originally) a royal haven. Smaller sailing vessels must have been owned by the fishermen and merchants who operated them, for local artisans could have made such vessels. But the huge ships of war that are mentioned in the stories represent state-sanctioned technology. They are naval vessels. Even the Corsairs' ships seem to be divided between the great warships and many smaller vessels. The great warships were the slave-driven galleys. These are almost certainly "state-owned" ships, the core of the Corsair fleets.

Throughout the Third Age, as Gondor's resources dwindle, its ability to construct and maintain fleets of large warships also diminishes. By the year 2980, the Steward Ecthelion doesn't seem to have a fleet sufficient for conducting raids against Umbar. Aragorn, in his guise of Thorongil, must ask permission to "gather a small fleet" to use against the Corsairs. Aragorn's raid is successful, and many of the enemy ships are destroyed. But the Corsairs build up their fleet again over the next 38 years, so Aragorn's victory provides only a short-lived respite for Gondor. Denethor doesn't even contemplate facing the Corsairs at sea. He allows them to land on Gondor's coasts, where the Dunedain attempt to defend their homes.

The relationship between Gondor and the Corsairs of Umbar -- at least at the end of the Third Age -- is thus very much like that between northern Mediterranean ports and the Barbary Corsairs for many years. In fact, the Barbary Corsairs were sanctioned and protected by the powerful Ottoman state, just as Umbar's Corsairs were sanctioned and protected by Sauron. Tolkien's use of the word "corsair" thus evokes strong imagery reflecting the actual history of the Mediterranean Corsairs. There is no other comparable word in the English language, much less one which is etymologically derived from Old English roots.

To Tolkien, a word had to provide its users with a past as well as a present meaning. The Corsairs of Umbar weren't simply pirates -- they were state-sanctioned pirates who preyed upon weak, vulnerable fishing and merchant vessels. They were capable of opposing a professional navy, and they operated largely in coastal waters. They took prisoners and kept slaves. But, perhaps just as importantly, they originated as renegade Gondorians who went over to the other side. Historically, many of the Corsairs were Christian Europeans who were captured, converted to Islam, and subsequently rose through the ranks. Some even became rulers of Algiers or other Muslim cities, just as Castamir's descendants ruled Umbar for a while.

Tolkien's Corsairs thus provide us with yet another example of how he used words to project a historical footnote into the Middle-earth legendarium. He could have used other words, such as "pirate" or "buccaneer", but these words are also derived from French (or Latin) sources, rather than Old English. The Anglo-Saxons, long described as pirates by historians, did not bequeath us (their linguistic heirs) any words which adequately describe the act of piracy. But even if English does have an obscure word which comes down from Old English, it would still not have served Tolkien's purpose. Because of all the words we use to describe pirates, none have acquired the storied history that "corsair" possesses. It is an etymologically worthy source of inspiration for Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth (ISBN -7388-3408-4 ), Understanding Middle-earth (ISBN 1-58776-145-9), and Parma Endorion (available for free from http//www.free-ebooks.net/fan_fiction.html).