Settlers in the Foothills of the ⛰️Misty Mountains

[baragund]

This is from "Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire" where Bilbo and company have been driven into the trees by the Wargs. There is a passage that describes how the wargs and goblins cooperate to do raids and cause other kinds of mayhem. JRRT describes how Men had begun encroaching into the slopes of the Misty Mountains and establishing settlements. The wargs and goblins had planned a raid on some new villages in order to plunder, capture slaves and all that kind of fun stuff.

Who are these settlers? Where did they come from? Are they Men of common ancestry with the Rohirrim? Do they have a lord and if so, who might it be?

 

[Grond]

Going on memory here. Those men would have been distant kin to the Rohirrim. After the defeat of the Orcs in the Battle of the Five Armies, I remember that Beorn became their leader. I'll look it up later and get you a quote.

grond

 

[Eledhwen]

Have you found that quote yet, Grond? I found this: Aragorn told Gimli, while they waited for the first approach of the Rohirrim, that "It was in forgotten years long ago that Eorl the Young brought them out of the North, and their kinship is rather with the Bardings of Dale, and with the Beornings of the Wood, among whom may still be seen many men tall and fair, as are the Riders of Rohan."

 

[baragund]

Good one, Eledhwen! That fits nicely with what I found to answer Fundin Snowarm's question "Who is Bard?"

It really is amazing how well all this stuff links together.