mdd, you ask, on the Ran, why is that different than ordinary Kavod Hamess. This wouldn’t quiet stump the Ran. As I explained earlier, nobody bows to someone who is not in front of them.
There are things that Rishonim didn’t know. But how to think was not one of them.
You assumed at first that the Ran was saying they worship him as a regular god. I can’t blame you for that understanding. It did seem that way from Sam’s original words. However, now that you saw the Ran’s words you can see how he equates their reverence to him with the Christian reverence to their saints. They never claim their saints to be gods, and yet the Ran says the same thing about them. Chada Metaretz Chaverta.