Dunlendings

The Dunlendings were people of the Dunlad plains in the Middle-earth. They were also called Wildmen of Dunland, thus known as a savage civilization of Men. It has been the Dunlending’s cause to avenge themselves against the kingdom of Rohan. The Men of Rohan cast them out of their lands unto the mountains, thus earning the Wild men’s anger. In the War of the Ring, the sorcerer Saruman triggered the men’s hatred towards the Rohirrim, therefore persuading them to attack the territories of Rohan.

In the Second Age, the Dunlendings populated the south and west of the Misty Mountains. Their settlements extended to the White Mountains and the bordering valleys. The Wildmen dreaded and despised the Numenoreans from the West. Hence at the beginning of the Third Age, these Westerners tormented and massacred the tribal people of Dunland decimating their population. During this period, the tribesmen moved along the White Mountain valleys and the lush fields of Dunland. Dunland was located amid Isengard and Moria. Most of the tribal men remained here and later referred to as Dunlendings. And some people moved north and settled there as the forefathers of the Men of Bree.

Long before, Rohan was initially called Calenardhon, an area given to Eorl and his kinfolk. The Tribal Men also occupied the territory. In TA 2510, Eorl and his people expelled the Wild Men from the land of Rohan. From then on the Dunlendings detest the people of Rohan for driving them off the area. The Men of Gondor from the White Mountains also displaced them. For five hundred years, the Wild Men constantly harassed the outskirts of Rohan in vengeance to their subduers. They also taunt the Men of Rohan as straw-heads because a lot of their men have blonde hair. In retaliation to the attacks, Rohan stationed guards and forts in the western area of the Fords of Isen, taking measures to limit the assaults. However, these stations eventually ceased under Wormtongue, steward of Rohan. Later on, the warriors of Saruman could even infiltrate almost anytime they choose.

With the number of enemies of the Wildmen, they ultimately found a sympathizer in Saruman. In the Third Age, during the last years of the thirtieth century, Saruman began dealing with the Dunlendings. He influenced them to fight against the people who have removed them from their previous territories. He took advantage of their existing enmity and anger towards their common enemies. Saruman gladly added a great battalion of the Dunlendings to his Orthanc. He also promised that they may retake the lands they have lost. At the beginning of TA 3019, a terrible army of Wildmen of Dunland and Orcs of the Uruk-hai emerged from Isengard and devastated Rohan’s west districts. The Orcs have already decimated most of the Men of Rohan at the Fords of Isen. Therefore, the Rohirrim had no defense forces during the ambush. Most of the army of Rohan perished during the attacks, yet the Wildmen party failed to cross the lands to reach Edoras. Within the region, they have the Éored riding warriors and plenty of their enemies to hinder them.

When Isengard lost during the Battle of Hornburg, the people of Rohan pardoned the remaining Wildmen and instead required them to rebuild the Hornburg’s fallen walls. Saruman previously warned the Dunlendings that the Men of Rohan will slay them all once they had the opportunity. Hence, the forgiveness of the Rohirrim towards the Dunlendings was surprising for these tribesmen. At the time when Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Sam Gamgee, Pippin Took and Merry Brandybuck passed through Dunland during their journey home to the Shire, the Wildmen unexpectedly concealed themselves from the group. When the War of the Ring ended, the Dunlendings sent emissaries to King Aragorn’s royal court. At last, unity and peace prevailed among Gondor, Rohan, and Dunlending.

The Wildmen of Dunland had long since lived in hills and rough circumstances. They wore distinctive leather garments and fur coverings. They have sturdy features with a bulky, muscular physique, although they were distinctly shorter than the Rohirrim. They have dark, lengthy, unkemptly hair and beard. The Dunlendings dwell in the hills and forests of Dunland and survived through foraging, hunting, and fishing. Farming is also a minor source of food. The weapons they use were not distinguished, but they always fight on horseback as they did in the Fords of Isen.

• Wildmen from Dunland.
  The Lord of the Rings movies - In The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy [1] by Peter Jackson, the Dunlendings appear as despicable tribesmen summoned by Saruman and servants of the Dark Lord Sauron. Combined with the Orcs of Isengard, they attacked the communities of Rohan. In The Two Towers’ extended edition, the chieftain of the Dunlendings appears with Saruman in a scene where a blood pact is occurring in the sorcerer’s tower of Orthanc.
• Battle for Middle-earth [2] Video Game Second Edition - The Wildmen of Dunland in this game were fighting groups retrievable using ten points of power from Isengard and the Goblin camp.
• The Lord of the Rings Online [3] - The Dunlendings here are allies or enemies. They designed their appearance after Celtic tribes and all the other Hill-men characters in this game.

1. ^The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
2. ^The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-earth II.
3. ^The Lord of the Rings Online™.