Púkel-land

# Púkel-land (The Drúedain)

## General Information about the Drúedain.

The **Drúedain** (sg. **Drúadan**) or **Drúath** (sg. **Drû**) was a race of wild Men. The Rohirrim called them **Woses** or **Wild Men of the Woods**.

They were a clearly good-hearted people who suffered at the persecution by the malice of evil people; or by ignorance, as their "unlovely" (according to the Elves) appearance led many to believe they were savage beasts. Although some of their numbers joined the Edain and some briefly remained on Númenor, they largely held themselves apart from the troubles and calamities of Middle-earth, and possessed their own mysterious ways and magic.

## History of the Drúedain in general.

### First age:

The Drúedain were part of the Edain who left Hildórien for the West. They had been harried and persecuted by other Men as long as they could remember. This treatment turned them to be secretive and suspicious of other kinds of Men and made them migrate to the west to find a land where they could live hidden and in peace. Historians in Gondor believed that the Drúedain came from lands south of Mordor, and turned north into Ithilien before they reached the coasts of Haradwaith and were the first Men to cross the Anduin (probably near Cair Andros). They then settled in the vales on both sides of the White Mountains and in the wooded lands at the northern feet of the White Mountains. The Drúedain carved statues of themselves of stone in Dunharrow, which were later called Púkel-men by the Rohirrim when the Rohirrim settled in Rohan in the Third Age. At the end of the First Age most of the Drúedain remained in the White Mountains despite attacks by Men from the East who had relapsed to the service of the Dark. A small branch of the Drúedain, which consisted of a few hundred people, migrated to the west and accompanied the Haladin to Beleriand and settled in the forest of Brethil. Few of the Drúedain ever left the Forest of Brethil, but a few of them lived in the household of Húrin of the folk of Hador who was related to the lord of the Haladin and had lived with the Haladin in his youth. When the Haladin fell into ruin and Morgoth had destroyed all the realms and strongholds of Elves and Men, the Drúedain of Brethil dwindled to a few families, mostly women and children, of which some found refuge at the Mouths of Sirion.

### Second age:

When the Dúnedain of Beleriand set forth for the island of Elenna, where they would establish the kingdom of Númenor, the Drúedain refugees who had dwelt at the Mouths of Sirion were permitted to join them, where their numbers increased again. However, they started leaving the island during the time of Tar-Aldarion, foreseeing the evil that would come. By the Downfall of Númenor, all Drúedain had left the island. The Drúedain were driven from the White Mountains by tall Men who were wicked at heart and had come from the East. Remnants of the Drúedain survived in Drúadan Forest in Anórien at the eastern end of the White Mountains and in Drúwaith Iaur in the mountains of the Cape of Andrast at the western end of the White Mountains. After the felling of trees in Enedwaith by the Númenóreans as a source of timber for the building of ships at ship-yards at Lond Daer and elsewhere in Middle-earth and in Númenor became devastating, the native Pre-Númenóreans who lived in the forests ambushed the Númenóreans and had to flee east to the foothills of the southern Misty Mountains to the region, which was later called Dunland. They did not cross the river Isen to Drúwaith Iaur in the promontory between the Isen and the Lefnui, because they were afraid of the Drúedain who lived there and whom they regarded as a "fell people".

### Third age:

After the Great Plague of the year 1636 and in the days of the Kings of Gondor a few tribes of Drúedain lived as fishers and fowlers in the marshlands of the mouths of the river Gwathló and the river Isen and on the coasts between the mouths of those rivers. In the Third Age a few Drúedain still lived in the Drúadan Forest in Anorien north of the White Mountains, and in Drúwaith Iaur in the mountains of the cape of Andrast in the west of Gondor between the rivers Isen and Lefnui. And there in Drúwaith Iaur, the Kingdom of the Drúedain(Púkel-land) would be established by King Dhân-Buri-Zhôn. The reasoning behind why the Druedain united under Dhân is because first of all, Dhân was the Chieftain of the biggest Tribe in Druwaith Iaur, and he threathened to sack the other tribes. And he used the Druedain extreme hatred towards orcs as his reasoning, he convinced to unite to withstand the growing evil powers. Orcs are becoming braver and come closer to their lands, which makes the Pùkelmen uneasy. He uses that fear to convince them to unite under 1 banner and one King.

## Language

The Drúedain of the Drúadan Forest spoke their own language, which was completely alien to Westron. The only known words in the lanuage of the Drúedain of Drúadan Forest are the name *Ghân*, the element *buri* ("son of") and the name *gorgûn* ("orcs", "orc-folk").

The Drúedain of the Forest of Brethil who lived there with the Folk of Haleth spoke the language of the Folk of Haleth after their own fashion, but retained a number of words of their own. It is possible that they retained their own language and that they only used the language of the Folk of Haleth when they talked with the Folk of Haleth, because even the Folk of Haleth called them *drûg*, which was their name in the "own language" of the Drúedain.

## Culture

The Drúedain were primitive, but marvellously skilled trackers with a better sense of smell than other Men, knew all about plants, were skilled in the carving of wood or stone and had mysterious powers of clairvoyance and magic related to the animation of statues made from stone in their likeness.

The Drúedain were merry in temperament and character like Hobbits, but could be sardonic and ruthless on the grimmer side of their nature, but were less grim than Dwarves. They were frugal and ate sparingly and drank only water, even during peaceful or plentiful times.

A hardy people, in the early First Age they used caves in the mountains as store-houses, which they used also as sleeping-places during severe weather. They maintained this custom in Beleriand (except the most hardy. These places were guarded and didn't allow even their Haladin friends to enter. Otherwise they were content to live in tents or makeshift shelters built round large trees.

For weapons, the Drúedain used poisoned darts and poisoned arrows.

## Characteristics

The appearance of the Drúedain was regarded as "unlovely" by Elves and Men. They were short with an average height of four feet,, very broad with heavy buttocks and thick short legs.. In build, stature, and endurance, they resembled the Dwarves.

They had wide faces with deep-set eyes with heavy brows and flat noses. Their wide mouths were the most expressive of their usually impassive features. They had small, sunken eyes that were so black the pupils could not be distinguished, though their eyes glowed red when they were angry or suspicious. Their hair was sparse and lank, never growing below the eyebrows with the exception of some men who grew black tufts on their chins.

The Drúedain spoke in deep, guttural voices, though their laughter was hearty and pleasantly contagious to other Men and even Elves.

## Etymology

*Drúedain* is a Sindarin name. It is the plural form of Drúadan and means "wild men" or "woses". The element *Drû* is an adaptation into Sindarin of *Drughu*, which is what the Drúedain call themselves in their own language. As the Elves came to know the Drû better, and to recognise their bitter enmity to the Orcs, they added the title *Edain* to their name.

The word *Wose* represents Tolkien's translation of the actual word *róg* in the language of the Rohirrim. It means "wild man of the of the woods". It is a modernization of the Anglo-Saxon word *wása*. The Old English element *wasa* originally meant a forlorn or abandoned person. It occurs in *wudewasa* meaning "wild, neglected". It is seen in the name *Wuduwasas*, which is the direct inspiration for the Woses and means "savage men" (of the woods).

Sources: https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Dr%C3%BAedain