You really ought to do a video on men using magic. The Nazgul are obvious examples but it would be good to talk about ordinary mortals using magic. Dark or otherwise.
I think that would be a rather short video. Beren using (or really being enabled to use) magical disguise, the Mouth of Sauron's purported sorcery, perhaps Aragorn healing with Athelas, and what was covered in this video about the Drúedain. I can't recall anything else. EDIT: Two other specific examples of men using magic: The barrow-blades created by the Dúnedain of Arnor which were enchanted to stay sharp and untarnished for centuries and break the magic protection of the Nazgûl and the Beornings' ability to skin-change into bear form.
@@dlxmarksNumenor apparently had magicians & sorcerers, but it is unclear how they operated. Its possible that Manwe or Arda bestowed magical gifts upon the faithful, and as well that Sauron bestowed the "gifts" of Morgoth when he gained influence there.
*Helped saving middle earth. Middle earth was saved by the men of the west. Your conclusion is like saying that partisan resistance won the Germans in WWII, which obviously is false. They helped, yes, but they didn't won the war.
@@ohmygordd9426 ***Wrong again. If you go this route, middle earth was saved by fate. Frodo and Sam eventually didn't destroy the ring. Frodo succumb to it's power while Sam watched hopelessly.
@@southpakrules how can you fail a mission if their mission was also fated to ‘fail‘? were their failures not also fate, and was it not Frodo‘s earlier kindness to spare Gollum that brought Sauron to his end? Their kindness IS fate and so is their ‘failure‘ at Mt Doom. However, I think what @matky3217 is alluding to, and what I am also trying to grasp at, is a narrative point rather than a metaphysical discussion about what single action caused the triumph of good against evil (I think this is slightly misleading, because every event in the lore is necessary step to the conclusion of LOTR, but this is neither here nor there to what I was trying to say). From a narrative point of view, a story-telling point of view, I believe matky is correct. I think the message of Tolkien is that it is the ordinary, everyday good, exemplified by the hobbits, that is the true victor against evil and not the glorious might of the men of the west with sword and steel (though obviously a necessary part). I don‘t believe either of us are saying that the druedain or hobbits were the political and tactical stroke of genius that brought sauron to his knees.
It's cool how the Druedain on Numenor could actually see the corruption of the Numenoreans and foresee that bad things were coming, so they got off the island before Eru Illuvatar destroyed it and reshaped the world.
I think one of the important aspects of the Druedain in the story is how they reverse the tendency of "good looking = good". Tolkien had a fair hand in using descriptive terms to denote someone shifty or evil; sallow-faced, squint-eyed. And for those who were good, stuff like "fair". But the woses turn that on its head. They are not "pleasant', with their oddly-proportioned limbs and bellies. But they are uncontestably good.
I notice that you used an image of the Druedain from Lord of the Rings Online at 5:27. I remember well, playing through that section of the game which I thought was very well done and enjoyable. Who would have ever thought that THIS storyline would be covered in depth in a video game? LOTRO is very special and I always love watching your videos which confirm the deep love and caring that goes into every part of it.
Lotro is one of my favorite games... Then again only play 3 games. Have about 5 toons. Standing stone did and does an awesome job! Midsummer fest is on RN same with summer yule fest. Hail and well met!
When I was a kid and read the (first) Swedish translation I remember thinking Púkel was an older spelling of "Puckel" which means "hump" (as in humpback) in modern Swedish. It could be a coincidence, but one never knows with this guy. :)
Dude, your reading parts are so good, I often forget that it's just one person doing the reading. It becomes easy to believe that you have a supporting cast to read for each character. I used to read in bed to my girlfriend, sometimes, when there was a book I wanted her to read, but she wasn't too keen on doing it. I know how hard it can be on one's throat to keep doing various voices/ how hard it can be to come up with various voices for characters and to remember the voices of each one. You make it look easy!
If you pay close attention to the descriptions they are basically Neandertals. Helpful, simple lives, focused on living in tune with nature as many scientists at the time believed.
Greetings from the Tolkien Curmudgeon: Good topic, good video. However, in contrast to many of the illustrations seen in the video, Tolkien describes the Drûg people as having only sparse and lank hair on their heads and none on their lower faces, except for a few of the men who had a small tuft on their chin. The description and other information about them is found not only in "Unfinished Tales" but in the essay "Of Dwarves and Men" in "The Peoples of Middle-earth" p. 309-310 (original hardback pagination).
I really liked this video. Just the right length as well. I have always loved the Drúedain. In high school a ran a D100 Table Top RPG for Middle Earth. My Story was based around them. I love world that Tolkien was able to create in his life time. So rich with history and feels so alive.
It's funny how there were always jokes that there were carved bodies under the heads, but they've been there so long the soil has built up around them, and then it turned out to be true
Must be Celtic, Celtic are Druedain, Anglo Saxon are Rohan, Gondor are Roman Empire, Easterlings and Haradrim probably enemies of Roman Empire like Sasanid Persia.
I wonder why Ghan buri Ghan was left out of the adaptation of lord of the rings. That's a character I would have loved to see on screen. He seemed noble and kind and I like the sound of his name.
It's been a while since I've read the LOTR books, but I remember finding the "Wild Men" interesting. Beyond that and the Hobbit, I haven't read any other Tolkien books, so thanks for this deep- dive into the Druedain lore.
If you put some of your power into something you have made, you must also prepare to take part in its hurts. This is a massive clue into what happened to Sauron when the Ring was destroyed. Sauron put a greater part of himself into the Ring. Not just a little. And he definitely paid a price when it was destroyed.
Thank you so much for making this video. I just finished Unfinished Tales and after reading about so many legendary kingdoms and heroes I was totally surprised that there was a chapter dedicated to the humble druedain. They're so fascinating despite how little there is written about them. I appreciate you taking the time to dig up even more lore!
Thank you for this great video. It is just another example of Tolkien’s incredible world building. If Tolkien lived to 100 he wouldn’t be done with his world.
When I read LOTR ca. 1964 I was already familiar with my Uncle's Phantom comics (bought weekly rolled up with a rubber band IIRC :-). The Ghân-buri-Ghân character set off memories of a Phantom character "Guran" I knew. Guran appeared in the first Phantom comic in 1936, well before my time! It was just a resonance at the time. I doubt Toliein's lore extended to USA comics! I do think Tolkien's lore intended to include the pre-Celtic Europeans, Ireland's little people, the dark folk, etc. If you look around the world there are still "hill people" driven from recent culture, in such places as Taiwan, Malaysia, South India, Burma, China, probably Brazil, but IDK.
I wouldn't rule it out; the Phantom was one of the first international superstars in comic books, and to this day he's a lot more popular in Europe than he is in his native USA. It is possible, however unlikely, that Tolkien might have at least heard of Guran while he was writing _The Lord of the Rings_
Ghan and the barrow wights should've been in the extended versions. I'd like to see Tom bombadil but tbh most of the things Peter Jackson excluded did make sense for the movies. A non tolkien reader would have soooooo many questions if you just did the lord of the rings. They should've done 4 movies and added more since they would have time to give some silmarilian explanations lol
@@nathanphillips2395 yes I feel like Toms conversation with Gandalf before Gandalf leaves middle earth was a missed opportunity but you are right even us Tolkien fans have major questions about old fatherless Bombadil so the movie fans would be really confused. I think Ghan is important because without him Theoden would have never reached the Battle of Pelenor in time and the peace between Ghans kin and Theodens kin was never acknowledged. but I do get that P Jackson only had so much time and could only invest in so much characters
@@nathanphillips2395 I dream of the day we get a silmarillion movie imagine watching the first kin slaying or the battle of beleriand or even just answers like you said that would be amazing
The Druedain are one of my favorite characters of Men in the Unfinished Tales. Tolkien really fleshed them out as the ancestors of the Woses and Pukel Men of the Third Age. My favorite parts of their description were how they could remain perfectly still and be mistaken for one of their carved statues and when they were angry their eyes would literally turn red, and were merciless in battle. Grerat video, many thanks for making it.
Awesome vid bro. Druedain always intereseted me man, sought of like an ancient tribe in the Amazon or somewhere in Africa but ive always been interested in their ways in the story.
Thanks again for another amazing video: Ghân-buri-Ghân and the Drúedain! I've been curious about them ever since the one on the travels of Théoden. It would have been great to see them make an appearance, even briefly, in the LOTR: The Return of the King movie 🙌🙏
It's crazy to think that a Druedan knew in the first age, probably from the traditions and folk-wisdom of his people that were already ancient then, what Sauron in all his cunning failed to fully appreciate until the very end of the third. Humility, wisdom and generosity of spirit once again proved to be both root and fruit of goodness even in Tolkien's smallest, least-known stories.
For all his overconfidence, book-Sauron is a much better strategist than movie-Sauron. Stationing an army of pikemen behind ditches and stakes right on the road to Rohan, between an 'impassable' forest and an impassable marsh, was a brilliant move.
I agree, it feels almost sword and sorcery like. Then again, in our world there were Mammoths and hunter gatherers after the pyramids were built, so very different ways of life can exist in the same period.
In the midst of "Western Civilization" against Sauron, these people were representing "Tribal Man" compared to the "bright iron" that the civilized Rohirrim and Gondorians wielded.
Wow! I wish Amazon had shown the Druedain inhabitants of Numenor. It's hard to imagine a starker visual contrast as that between them and the Numenoreans, and it's refreshing to see a good race in Middle-Earth who aren't tall, fair, and possessed of majestic kingdoms. (I mean a race of Men. Hobbits, of course, are short and humble, and they're generally less fair in Tolkien's writings than they all seem to be in Peter Jackson's adaptations. It's just that the good Men of the West share too many qualities for my liking).
@@RazSofer-xh3qs Well, if I understand the history as explained in this video, the Druedain play a pretty noble role by protecting their forests from destruction by the Men of Numenor, whose declining moral compass is countenancing wrongful deforestation to the north. The great thing about the Druedain is that they provide a perfect opportunity for showing that the Men of the West aren't always the righteous heroes they often seem to be. The Druedain arguably come across as morally superior to the Men of Numenor in Tolkien's writing. There's no need for Amazon to "virtue signal" anything to arrive at such a portrayal.
Amazing! I never heard of this race of Men before! Thank you for this vid! Definitely inspiration from the Druids. They likely become one with the forest or stone whence the Fourth Age and beyond passed.
Tolkien knew a great deal about the migration history of Europe, I think these Drúedain are meant to a western hunter gather analog, not Polynesian or australoids like they’re represented as in this video, whereas the men of the west are meant to be Yamnaya/indo European analogues especially as they migrated in from the north eastern steppes.
many forget this tale of the wild man and their mysterious powers and the fact they got the riders of rohan to the battle of the pelannor fields ..its good to have some remembrance of this :P
Ya know I was worried about naming a hobgoblin 'Gib Gobson XXI' who is the son of 'Gob Gibson XIIIV' but after hearing that Tolkien named a character just "Ghân son of Ghân" I feel a bit better about my dumb joke character.
It may be farfetched but somehow the Drûedain remind me of the Neanderthals. It's years since i've read the story of the faithful stone and I remember wrong but I always thought that the Drûedain are the second house of the Edain. If I may suggest some topics? I really want to know your opinion about Bakshi's Lord of the Rings movie, the original Middle-Earth Role Playing game and what would have happened if Saruman stayed faithful and did not wanted the One Ring for himself (this is something that happens in a crossover/merging of LotR and Star Wars that's on my mind).
Great video. The pronunciation is a bit jarring for Ghan-Buri-Ghan, but I totally get that it's hard for a lot of English speakers to get the hang of. I think I only got the hang of it from listening to Corey Olsen pronounce it a bunch of times.
"‘I am great headman, Ghân-buri-Ghân. I count many things: stars in sky, leaves on trees, men in the dark. You have a score of scores counted ten times and five. They have more."
13:06 Well, the pointy ears did hunt at least one tribe of dwarves for sport, I do not see why the half men of Rohan would not hunt the Drúedain for similar reasons...
Merry never truly “met” ghan buri Ghan. He wasn’t supposed to even be involved in the ride of the rohirram. That scene of the meeting between THEODEN and GHAN-buri-GHAN is one of my favorites
Major Native American vibes. Tracking, totems, a kinship with nature. Wonder if Tolkien drew inspiration from? He certainly drew from everywhere else. Fantastic video 🫡
I see more of the Neanderthal in their described appearance, which in Tolkien’s day were sometimes assumed to have raised some of the monoliths we know now to be Neolithic
9:03 would there still be men who considered themselves Druedain living in Numenor? I thought by that point, all the houses would mixed and there would be hardly any distinction.
"Magic of their own"?? Dude, that's a poor way to recognise their "Stone Singing." It seems like you might have mentioned that they were responsible for fashioning the unbreakable rock of the tower at Orthank, which defeated every effort of the Ents; every attempt to overcome it.
7:20 is it just me ,or does this remind you of the stone giants in the hobbit? probably unrelated and there is much speculation upon the nature of the giants: were they troll-like humanoids or manifestations of the rocks itself? If we consider the latter, perhaps their magic is druedain magic like this stone totem, only to a much larger and grander scale? perhaps this is what the stones at dunharrow are too? I also can‘t help but also draw comparison to the watchers at minas morgul as well? i doubt they are the doing of the druedain, but perhaps perversions of their art by a watchful malevolence?
Question?? Why did Saron explode when he died and the balrog nothing? They are Mya right? Just an odd question I have. Would love to see that. Awesome video! I don't know how you do all of this.
The Balrog of Moria is a different creature, not bound to Sauron, it was a servant of Morgoth, just like Sauron but did it's own thing when Morgoth fell, Sauron had no power over it or the other Balrogs
In the book Sauron didn't "explode". His physical appearance (that we never see in the book, apart from his Eye) is destroyed and we see his spiritual part/shadow towering for a moment over Mordor, before being blown away (by the winds of Manwe into the Void, maybe?).
I wish the Legendarium had more unique folk tales and even equivalents to our urban legends akin to the living statue ones shown here. The lore makes us hunger for more! 7:42: Sounds like Sauron passing his self to the One Ring, and also Voldemort with his Horcruxes. 9:01: Wonder if some went West instead, with help from the Eldar? Figured they won't appear in the movies, but I am shocked how they didn't appear in the 1981 radio drama... that adaptation sure nailed lots of things from the book compared to the Peter Jackson films, which made me be surprised and disappointed that the Drúedain got skipped over during the ride of the Rohirrim to Gondor. Anywho, am more likely to admit that these peoples are better off adapted in animation. Live action may feel off for many reasons that may suddenly lead to racism accusations and simple laziness. Now, if only they can have real good voice actors who can nail their intonations and especially their hearty laughs... Addendum: And I really fear for the peoples in the Fourth Age onwards. There shall inevitably be a time where the Rohirrim and/or the Gondorians will forget their morals, fall from grace, become xenophobic, and then oppress and exile the Drúedain possibly to extinction.
You really ought to do a video on men using magic. The Nazgul are obvious examples but it would be good to talk about ordinary mortals using magic. Dark or otherwise.
Good topic for a video.😁👍
I think that would be a rather short video. Beren using (or really being enabled to use) magical disguise, the Mouth of Sauron's purported sorcery, perhaps Aragorn healing with Athelas, and what was covered in this video about the Drúedain. I can't recall anything else.
EDIT: Two other specific examples of men using magic: The barrow-blades created by the Dúnedain of Arnor which were enchanted to stay sharp and untarnished for centuries and break the magic protection of the Nazgûl and the Beornings' ability to skin-change into bear form.
@@dlxmarksNumenor apparently had magicians & sorcerers, but it is unclear how they operated. Its possible that Manwe or Arda bestowed magical gifts upon the faithful, and as well that Sauron bestowed the "gifts" of Morgoth when he gained influence there.
Yo I've been thinking the same thing. I've been wondering about that for a long time
@@dlxmarks
I guess we can't count Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam disappearing with help from the One Ring.😅
The timing of this video is crazy. I'm reading Return of the King for the first time and I just got to the part that these guys show up in
They come out of nowhere don't they?! Haha
yooo same dude, I read the battle of Pelenor Fields a couple day ago it was so rad, I put the music from the film on while reading
Lol i read that part just last week too!
Have a good time reading the Lord of the Rings. Welcome to the LOTR book fan community lol.
Gift that keeps on giving! The books and films complement each other so well
Once again, how noble, little, and brave people saved Middle Earth :)
Yes. All the peoples of the West were unified against a common enemy.
*Helped saving middle earth. Middle earth was saved by the men of the west. Your conclusion is like saying that partisan resistance won the Germans in WWII, which obviously is false. They helped, yes, but they didn't won the war.
**middle earth was saved by the small everyday kindnesses of hobbits like sam.
@@ohmygordd9426 ***Wrong again. If you go this route, middle earth was saved by fate. Frodo and Sam eventually didn't destroy the ring. Frodo succumb to it's power while Sam watched hopelessly.
@@southpakrules how can you fail a mission if their mission was also fated to ‘fail‘? were their failures not also fate, and was it not Frodo‘s earlier kindness to spare Gollum that brought Sauron to his end? Their kindness IS fate and so is their ‘failure‘ at Mt Doom. However, I think what @matky3217 is alluding to, and what I am also trying to grasp at, is a narrative point rather than a metaphysical discussion about what single action caused the triumph of good against evil (I think this is slightly misleading, because every event in the lore is necessary step to the conclusion of LOTR, but this is neither here nor there to what I was trying to say). From a narrative point of view, a story-telling point of view, I believe matky is correct. I think the message of Tolkien is that it is the ordinary, everyday good, exemplified by the hobbits, that is the true victor against evil and not the glorious might of the men of the west with sword and steel (though obviously a necessary part). I don‘t believe either of us are saying that the druedain or hobbits were the political and tactical stroke of genius that brought sauron to his knees.
It's cool how the Druedain on Numenor could actually see the corruption of the Numenoreans and foresee that bad things were coming, so they got off the island before Eru Illuvatar destroyed it and reshaped the world.
The Druedain, the unsung heroes of Middle Earth.
They aren't the only ones
They're kinda like neanderthals
@@TonySwindellsmore like aboriginals
Had no idea that so much info regarding the Woses existed, thanks Nerd of the Rings for fleshing things out so well as always
R.I.P Bernard Hill :(
o7
I think one of the important aspects of the Druedain in the story is how they reverse the tendency of "good looking = good".
Tolkien had a fair hand in using descriptive terms to denote someone shifty or evil; sallow-faced, squint-eyed. And for those who were good, stuff like "fair". But the woses turn that on its head. They are not "pleasant', with their oddly-proportioned limbs and bellies. But they are uncontestably good.
I notice that you used an image of the Druedain from Lord of the Rings Online at 5:27. I remember well, playing through that section of the game which I thought was very well done and enjoyable. Who would have ever thought that THIS storyline would be covered in depth in a video game? LOTRO is very special and I always love watching your videos which confirm the deep love and caring that goes into every part of it.
Lotro is one of my favorite games... Then again only play 3 games. Have about 5 toons. Standing stone did and does an awesome job! Midsummer fest is on RN same with summer yule fest. Hail and well met!
Everytime I think you must run out of content to summarise in one of these tolkien explained, you hit us with another great piece. Excellently done!
I'm so happy to finally see a video on the Druedain! Thank you so much!
Did not know that their heritage started in the early history of Middle Earth, much less Numenor. Excellent middle earth history!
When I was a kid and read the (first) Swedish translation I remember thinking Púkel was an older spelling of "Puckel" which means "hump" (as in humpback) in modern Swedish. It could be a coincidence, but one never knows with this guy. :)
In Finnish translation it is also Pukel but the English version sounds very similar to a Finnish word Puukko which is a traditional finnish knife.
Tolkien is inspired by germanic celtic and latin languages. So it can make sense
7:43 a beautiful quote which matches well with Tolkien's idea of creation and making things. Also it does sound he's talking about a Voodoo doll
I learned more from this video about anything Tolkinean than I have in a while. Thanks for covering this interesting topic in good detail.
Dude, your reading parts are so good, I often forget that it's just one person doing the reading. It becomes easy to believe that you have a supporting cast to read for each character.
I used to read in bed to my girlfriend, sometimes, when there was a book I wanted her to read, but she wasn't too keen on doing it. I know how hard it can be on one's throat to keep doing various voices/ how hard it can be to come up with various voices for characters and to remember the voices of each one. You make it look easy!
If you pay close attention to the descriptions they are basically Neandertals. Helpful, simple lives, focused on living in tune with nature as many scientists at the time believed.
Which does become sadder, since that means they'll become almost extinct come the, hmm, distant future that is the Sixth or Seventh Age.
Greetings from the Tolkien Curmudgeon: Good topic, good video. However, in contrast to many of the illustrations seen in the video, Tolkien describes the Drûg people as having only sparse and lank hair on their heads and none on their lower faces, except for a few of the men who had a small tuft on their chin. The description and other information about them is found not only in "Unfinished Tales" but in the essay "Of Dwarves and Men" in "The Peoples of Middle-earth" p. 309-310 (original hardback pagination).
Agreed. In the video they're made to look more aboriginal and especially in the video thumbnail. Hilarious.
I really liked this video. Just the right length as well. I have always loved the Drúedain. In high school a ran a D100 Table Top RPG for Middle Earth. My Story was based around them. I love world that Tolkien was able to create in his life time. So rich with history and feels so alive.
The statues make me think of Easter Island. Or if you prefer, statues from civilisations past like the Celts or Egyptians.
It's funny how there were always jokes that there were carved bodies under the heads, but they've been there so long the soil has built up around them, and then it turned out to be true
Must be Celtic, Celtic are Druedain, Anglo Saxon are Rohan, Gondor are Roman Empire, Easterlings and Haradrim probably enemies of Roman Empire like Sasanid Persia.
Finally!! Been waiting on this for a while
Omg… you are the first of your peers i have seen approach them. Thank you!
I wonder why Ghan buri Ghan was left out of the adaptation of lord of the rings. That's a character I would have loved to see on screen. He seemed noble and kind and I like the sound of his name.
It's been a while since I've read the LOTR books, but I remember finding the "Wild Men" interesting. Beyond that and the Hobbit, I haven't read any other Tolkien books, so thanks for this deep- dive into the Druedain lore.
If you put some of your power into something you have made, you must also prepare to take part in its hurts. This is a massive clue into what happened to Sauron when the Ring was destroyed. Sauron put a greater part of himself into the Ring. Not just a little. And he definitely paid a price when it was destroyed.
Nostalgic! I haven't read this in almost two decades.
Much obliged
Thank you so much for making this video. I just finished Unfinished Tales and after reading about so many legendary kingdoms and heroes I was totally surprised that there was a chapter dedicated to the humble druedain. They're so fascinating despite how little there is written about them. I appreciate you taking the time to dig up even more lore!
I am enchanted by all the species of bipeds that Tolkein created in describing many of the beings in the history of Middle Earth.
Fascinating as always, your gift for story telling is priceless. Thanks for all you do!
Thank you for this great video. It is just another example of Tolkien’s incredible world building. If Tolkien lived to 100 he wouldn’t be done with his world.
When I read LOTR ca. 1964 I was already familiar with my Uncle's Phantom comics (bought weekly rolled up with a rubber band IIRC :-). The Ghân-buri-Ghân character set off memories of a Phantom character "Guran" I knew. Guran appeared in the first Phantom comic in 1936, well before my time! It was just a resonance at the time. I doubt Toliein's lore extended to USA comics!
I do think Tolkien's lore intended to include the pre-Celtic Europeans, Ireland's little people, the dark folk, etc. If you look around the world there are still "hill people" driven from recent culture, in such places as Taiwan, Malaysia, South India, Burma, China, probably Brazil, but IDK.
I wouldn't rule it out; the Phantom was one of the first international superstars in comic books, and to this day he's a lot more popular in Europe than he is in his native USA. It is possible, however unlikely, that Tolkien might have at least heard of Guran while he was writing _The Lord of the Rings_
This was truly fascinating. Thank you.
Ghan Buri Ghan should have been in the movies
played by Warwick Davis
The movies left out so much to make them more palatable to regular movie goers
Ghan and the barrow wights should've been in the extended versions. I'd like to see Tom bombadil but tbh most of the things Peter Jackson excluded did make sense for the movies. A non tolkien reader would have soooooo many questions if you just did the lord of the rings.
They should've done 4 movies and added more since they would have time to give some silmarilian explanations lol
@@nathanphillips2395 yes I feel like Toms conversation with Gandalf before Gandalf leaves middle earth was a missed opportunity but you are right even us Tolkien fans have major questions about old fatherless Bombadil so the movie fans would be really confused. I think Ghan is important because without him Theoden would have never reached the Battle of Pelenor in time and the peace between Ghans kin and Theodens kin was never acknowledged. but I do get that P Jackson only had so much time and could only invest in so much characters
@@nathanphillips2395 I dream of the day we get a silmarillion movie imagine watching the first kin slaying or the battle of beleriand or even just answers like you said that would be amazing
Since the stories in Tolkien's legendarium are myths of our world in the distant past, I think it would fit if the Drúedain were Neanderthals.
I still remember a line from Ghan that goes something like "darkness covers the sky, but we know the sun is out, we still feel her shine."
The Druedain are one of my favorite characters of Men in the Unfinished Tales. Tolkien really fleshed them out as the ancestors of the Woses and Pukel Men of the Third Age. My favorite parts of their description were how they could remain perfectly still and be mistaken for one of their carved statues and when they were angry their eyes would literally turn red, and were merciless in battle. Grerat video, many thanks for making it.
The Drúedain have always been one of my favorite people in LotR.
For some reason this is one of my favorite videos !
i remember very vividly when they added this in lord of the rings online and how exciting it was
Awesome vid bro. Druedain always intereseted me man, sought of like an ancient tribe in the Amazon or somewhere in Africa but ive always been interested in their ways in the story.
Thanks again for another amazing video: Ghân-buri-Ghân and the Drúedain! I've been curious about them ever since the one on the travels of Théoden. It would have been great to see them make an appearance, even briefly, in the LOTR: The Return of the King movie 🙌🙏
i have been waitin for this topic, thank you Nerd of the Rings👊😎
It's crazy to think that a Druedan knew in the first age, probably from the traditions and folk-wisdom of his people that were already ancient then, what Sauron in all his cunning failed to fully appreciate until the very end of the third.
Humility, wisdom and generosity of spirit once again proved to be both root and fruit of goodness even in Tolkien's smallest, least-known stories.
I JUST READ THIS PART OF THE BOOK TODAY AND WAS WONDERING WHY I HADN'T SEEN A VIDEO. WHAT
Illuvatar gotchu
Been waiting on this one for ages. Woooo thanks 😊
These were my favorite and most mysterious people group when reading the books!
LOTRO did the Druedain pretty well, the story lines are beautiful! Especially meeting with theoden and the different camps of Rohan. Love this video!
For all his overconfidence, book-Sauron is a much better strategist than movie-Sauron. Stationing an army of pikemen behind ditches and stakes right on the road to Rohan, between an 'impassable' forest and an impassable marsh, was a brilliant move.
I love how tolkien ticks all the boxes. Every character has their motivations and clever ideas, and no bad guy seems cartoonish or inexplicable.
I always was on of the druadain when we roleplayed. Love this race!
Really enjoy this one I have always found these people interesting. But not much lore has been made bring it all together is great.
Great video! Such a unique and cool character who's often forgotten about.
The Druedain feel like an import from a completely different mythos into the Tolkien literature.
I agree, it feels almost sword and sorcery like. Then again, in our world there were Mammoths and hunter gatherers after the pyramids were built, so very different ways of life can exist in the same period.
@@andersschmich8600 Yeah, good point.
I could watch this channel all day if i was able to. Beatiful. *OBS: what is the song playing at end, while you are thanking the supporters?
Been waiting for this episode since subscribing three years ago!
In the midst of "Western Civilization" against Sauron, these people were representing "Tribal Man" compared to the "bright iron" that the civilized Rohirrim and Gondorians wielded.
Drug means friend in all Slavic languages,any connection to the "Drughu"?😁
Are these droogs into ultra-violence and spiked moloko?
I just finished reading the LOTR for the hundredth time and was wondering on more info about these. Thank you so much for this video!
Wow! I wish Amazon had shown the Druedain inhabitants of Numenor. It's hard to imagine a starker visual contrast as that between them and the Numenoreans, and it's refreshing to see a good race in Middle-Earth who aren't tall, fair, and possessed of majestic kingdoms. (I mean a race of Men. Hobbits, of course, are short and humble, and they're generally less fair in Tolkien's writings than they all seem to be in Peter Jackson's adaptations. It's just that the good Men of the West share too many qualities for my liking).
Yes! Agreed!!
Yeah exactly. Though, I guess RoP takes place too late anyway.
@@DerekLippold Very true, unfortunately.
Honestly they would probably ruin it too and virtue signal them as more better than men of middle earth
@@RazSofer-xh3qs Well, if I understand the history as explained in this video, the Druedain play a pretty noble role by protecting their forests from destruction by the Men of Numenor, whose declining moral compass is countenancing wrongful deforestation to the north. The great thing about the Druedain is that they provide a perfect opportunity for showing that the Men of the West aren't always the righteous heroes they often seem to be. The Druedain arguably come across as morally superior to the Men of Numenor in Tolkien's writing. There's no need for Amazon to "virtue signal" anything to arrive at such a portrayal.
Amazing! I never heard of this race of Men before! Thank you for this vid!
Definitely inspiration from the Druids. They likely become one with the forest or stone whence the Fourth Age and beyond passed.
Tolkien knew a great deal about the migration history of Europe, I think these Drúedain are meant to a western hunter gather analog, not Polynesian or australoids like they’re represented as in this video, whereas the men of the west are meant to be Yamnaya/indo European analogues especially as they migrated in from the north eastern steppes.
In LOTRO, there are many quests in the Druedain forest. Fun stuff!
I loved reading about these guys! Forgotten warriors of great skill. They fought smartly.❤ 🧝♂️🧝♀️🧙♂️🥔🥓🍻
many forget this tale of the wild man and their mysterious powers and the fact they got the riders of rohan to the battle of the pelannor fields ..its good to have some remembrance of this :P
Ya know I was worried about naming a hobgoblin 'Gib Gobson XXI' who is the son of 'Gob Gibson XIIIV' but after hearing that Tolkien named a character just "Ghân son of Ghân" I feel a bit better about my dumb joke character.
The trick is to couch it in a made-up language. :D
And the drums fell silent.
The quality of these drawings is amazing.
It may be farfetched but somehow the Drûedain remind me of the Neanderthals.
It's years since i've read the story of the faithful stone and I remember wrong but I always thought that the Drûedain are the second house of the Edain.
If I may suggest some topics? I really want to know your opinion about Bakshi's Lord of the Rings movie, the original Middle-Earth Role Playing game and what would have happened if Saruman stayed faithful and did not wanted the One Ring for himself (this is something that happens in a crossover/merging of LotR and Star Wars that's on my mind).
Great video. The pronunciation is a bit jarring for Ghan-Buri-Ghan, but I totally get that it's hard for a lot of English speakers to get the hang of. I think I only got the hang of it from listening to Corey Olsen pronounce it a bunch of times.
Great video!
Really great episode man
Nice, good to have a bit more depth to these characters
"‘I am great headman, Ghân-buri-Ghân. I count many things: stars in sky, leaves on trees, men in the dark. You have a score of scores counted ten times and five. They have more."
Good stuff as always. Hoping for more Valar spotlights. I don't think you've gone through all of them yet...
13:06 Well, the pointy ears did hunt at least one tribe of dwarves for sport, I do not see why the half men of Rohan would not hunt the Drúedain for similar reasons...
Where can I find this image of middle-earth’s map with the folds and the painted blue sea. It is a such a beautiful version of the map
Great job as usual
Loved this! thank you!
Yeah it's Ghân-buri-Ghân, the love is gone,
Yeah it's Ghân-buri-Ghân, the love is gone away
Neanderthal is what my world calls the Druedain.
These guys had a great representation on the lord of the rings online, didnt know they had such deep lore.
Merry never truly “met” ghan buri Ghan. He wasn’t supposed to even be involved in the ride of the rohirram. That scene of the meeting between THEODEN and GHAN-buri-GHAN is one of my favorites
I wonder if the first hobbits were decended from a group of druedain.
Ghan Buri Ghan has to be one of my fav character names. It's fun to say 😂
I really wish I had these videos when I was reading Unfinished Tales when it came out there was nothing like this
I always regarded the Woses (Druidain) as a relict population of Neanderthals.
Major Native American vibes. Tracking, totems, a kinship with nature. Wonder if Tolkien drew inspiration from? He certainly drew from everywhere else.
Fantastic video 🫡
I see more of the Neanderthal in their described appearance, which in Tolkien’s day were sometimes assumed to have raised some of the monoliths we know now to be Neolithic
i was thinking more Indigenous Australians
9:03 would there still be men who considered themselves Druedain living in Numenor? I thought by that point, all the houses would mixed and there would be hardly any distinction.
All the Drûedain left Numenor before the island sank. The King's Men and their policies must have made life unbearable for them all to have left.
Well Tolkien made notes about Drúedain still living in Númenor until Sauron's arrival, so yes, they remained a distinct people.
Nice work dude thanks
The druedain seems to be the nanderthals of middle earth.
Sounds like they were inspired by the Druids in Celtic mythology
Good work Boss can you do more videos every week your work is good bro❤
Please do a video about the Dúnedain.
"Magic of their own"?? Dude, that's a poor way to recognise their "Stone Singing."
It seems like you might have mentioned that they were responsible for fashioning the unbreakable rock of the tower at Orthank, which defeated every effort of the Ents; every attempt to overcome it.
7:20 is it just me ,or does this remind you of the stone giants in the hobbit? probably unrelated and there is much speculation upon the nature of the giants: were they troll-like humanoids or manifestations of the rocks itself? If we consider the latter, perhaps their magic is druedain magic like this stone totem, only to a much larger and grander scale? perhaps this is what the stones at dunharrow are too? I also can‘t help but also draw comparison to the watchers at minas morgul as well? i doubt they are the doing of the druedain, but perhaps perversions of their art by a watchful malevolence?
Question?? Why did Saron explode when he died and the balrog nothing? They are Mya right? Just an odd question I have. Would love to see that. Awesome video! I don't know how you do all of this.
The Balrog of Moria is a different creature, not bound to Sauron, it was a servant of Morgoth, just like Sauron but did it's own thing when Morgoth fell, Sauron had no power over it or the other Balrogs
As for Sauron exploding, i think that was more for the sake of visual effects
In the book Sauron didn't "explode". His physical appearance (that we never see in the book, apart from his Eye) is destroyed and we see his spiritual part/shadow towering for a moment over Mordor, before being blown away (by the winds of Manwe into the Void, maybe?).
Always liked Ghan and the lads!
Can you do a video on the war the dwarves were fighting during the war of the ring?
So Tolkien's Neanderthals! I like it!
I think they're more inspired by the Picts than Neanderthals.
No. Not even close. The very beginning says they were part of the humans. Jesus
Would love a video about estimations of bilbos fortune
I wish the Legendarium had more unique folk tales and even equivalents to our urban legends akin to the living statue ones shown here. The lore makes us hunger for more!
7:42: Sounds like Sauron passing his self to the One Ring, and also Voldemort with his Horcruxes.
9:01: Wonder if some went West instead, with help from the Eldar?
Figured they won't appear in the movies, but I am shocked how they didn't appear in the 1981 radio drama... that adaptation sure nailed lots of things from the book compared to the Peter Jackson films, which made me be surprised and disappointed that the Drúedain got skipped over during the ride of the Rohirrim to Gondor.
Anywho, am more likely to admit that these peoples are better off adapted in animation. Live action may feel off for many reasons that may suddenly lead to racism accusations and simple laziness. Now, if only they can have real good voice actors who can nail their intonations and especially their hearty laughs...
Addendum: And I really fear for the peoples in the Fourth Age onwards. There shall inevitably be a time where the Rohirrim and/or the Gondorians will forget their morals, fall from grace, become xenophobic, and then oppress and exile the Drúedain possibly to extinction.