The Drúedain, also known as Woses, Wild Men of the Woods, or Púkel-men, were a strange breed of Men that lived in the Drúadan Forest and Drúwaith Iaur by the late Third Age. They were counted among the Edain.
History[]
In the First Age, the Drúedain developed a close relationship with the Folk of Haleth, the Edain that inhabited the forest of Brethil. The Drúedain lived there among the Second House of Men, the Haladin. In the Second Age, there were also a number of the Drúedain present in Númenor, though they had left or died out before the Akallabêth, as had the Púkel-men of Dunharrow. At the end of the Third Age, the Drûg still lived in the Drúadan Forest of the White Mountains, and on the long cape of Andrast west of Gondor. The region north of Andrast was still known as Drúwaith Iaur, or "Old Drûg land".[1]
The Woses of Ghân-buri-Ghân warded off an army of Orcs roaming in Anórien with poisoned arrows, and were vital in aiding the Rohirrim before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, helping them bypass a force blocking the way into Gondor. After the War of the Ring, King Elessar officially granted to them the Drúadan Forest "forever", promising that no man should enter that forest without their leave.
Physical characteristics[]
Ghan-Buri-Ghan
They were an alien folk to the other Men: resembling Dwarves in stature and endurance, stumpy, clumsy-limbed (with short, thick legs, and fat, "gnarled" arms). According to the Elves and other Men, they had "unlovely faces": wide, flat, and expressionless with deep-set black eyes that glowed red when angered. They had "horny" brows, flat noses, wide mouths, and sparse, lanky hair. They had no hair lower than the eyebrows, except for a few men who had a tail of black hair on the chin. They were short-lived and had a deep dislike of Orcs.
Etymology[]
Other names[]
- Drûg/Drughu: (singular and plural) is the name the Drúedain give to themselves in their own language and the name used for a race known to the Elves as the Drúedain, and to Men.
- Drúath: (plural) was an earlier Sindarin name for them in ancient times.
- Róg/Rógin: (singular and plural) is the name that the Rohirrim have for them in their own language.
- Rú/Rúatani: (singular and plural) is their name in Quenya.
- Wose/Woses: (singular and plural) was a word Tolkien took from an Old English word, which was meant to be a translation of the Rohhirric 'Róg'.
- Oghor-hai: (singular and plural) is the name the Orcs gave to them.[2]
In adaptations[]
A Wose in The Lord of the Rings Online
In The Lord of the Rings Online, other than the settlement in the Drúadan Forest, another group of Drúedain is found in Mordor where their ancestors stayed before migrating westward. At the end of the First Age, a cataclysm caused the mountains to rise and cut off the Nêbh Rûdh, the Red Sky Clan, from the valley which they shared with Easterlings. Separated from the plateau of Gorgoroth to the west by an unreachable mountain pass, they were trapped within a small forest where they lived in peace and isolation away for thousands of years, away from the Great Eye's reach. When the One Ring is destroyed, the eruption of Mount Doom causes a rockslide that makes the pass traversable again, exposing the Red Sky Clan to whatever evil still remains lurking in Mordor.
Origin[]
Tolkien got this term from the legendary Woodwoses of European myths.
Translations[]
| Foreign Language | Translated name |
| Japanese | ドルーアダン |
| Russian | Друэдайн |
|
The People of Middle-earth
Men:
Edain | Dúnedain | Númenóreans | Haradrim | Easterlings | Variags | Northmen | Dunlendings | Drúedain | Forodwaith (Lossoth) Vanyar | Ñoldor | Teleri | Sindar | Nandor | Avari Durin's Folk | Firebeards | Broadbeams | Ironfists | Blacklocks | Stonefoots | Stiffbeards |
References[]
- ↑ The Atlas of Middle-earth, Regional Maps, "The White Mountains"
- ↑ The Complete Guide to Middle-earth