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Chapter 1: What strange practices do the Folk of Haleth retain?
Hello, this is Jack Wilson, the host of the History of Literature podcast.
For the past 10 years, I've been talking to novelists, biographers, and scholars about the greatest books in the history of the world and the men and women who wrote them, like our recent episodes on Dante and Love, a starter pack of 10 Indian classics, the pop culture that influenced Sylvia Plath, and a talk with scientist and novelist Alan Lightman about the wonders of nature.
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Tonight, I'd like to transport you to Night Falls, a mystical place where a luminescent waterfall glimmers in a starlit clearing amongst ancient pines. You can join me here every Sunday and Tuesday with a podcast of bedtime stories created to help you fall asleep easily. There's truly nothing more relaxing than a story told by firelight.
So search Night Falls Bedtime Stories on your favorite podcast player and gather around the fire for a soothing tale tonight.
Good evening, Little Masters, and welcome to episode 416 of the Prancing Pony podcast, where I have retained many practices that seem strange to the Eldar and the other Atani.
And I certainly don't want to know what those practices are. Pull up a bench in the common room and join us. I am Don Marshall, known as the obscure Lord of the Rings facts guy, and I am here with the man of the West who, to the eyes of the elves and other men, is unlovely in looks. Mr. Alan Sisto.
Wow, man. That was really brutal. All right.
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Chapter 2: How do the Drúedain excel as trackers?
I should have known that was coming. All right. Thank you, Don. Folks, join us as the Druidine's laughter proves wonderfully contagious, and we begin a two-episode look at the mysterious people that the Druidine are, and we read about them in the Unfinished Tales.
Good things come in short, ugly packages, apparently. The Druidine, too. Folks, no matter whether you came to Middle Earth through the books or the films, the TV show or something else, each of you is welcome here in our common room. The Prancing Pony podcast continues in our 10th season of reading and talking our way through Middle Earth with conversation, digression, and even some speculation.
I might just have to end the show right here, though, man. My entire... I'm just done, man. No, that's all good. Of course, we do have not only the conversations, digressions, and speculations. We have bad jokes and apparently really, really insulting jokes at that. But our purpose is not to make fun of each other.
Chapter 3: What unique traits define the Drúedain?
It is to dive deep into the lore. to discuss the story, our favorite characters, themes, talk about Tolkien's inspirations, and a whole lot more.
And if you probably couldn't already tell, while we take the work very seriously, the same cannot be said about ourselves. We are just a couple of friends chatting at a pub, and we are so glad you've joined us.
Indeed we are, and I'm sure you'll be glad you joined as well. But before we get to today's chapter discussion, it's time for Fan Favorite Philology Fair. I always love that. Today, we begin a closer look at the druidine. Now, they call themselves the druig, but we know them by some other names, including the wild men. In the Lord of the Rings, though, our introduction to them is a bit different.
And in fact, they're never called the druidine in that book. The closest we get is the men of Druidon Forest.
Yeah, instead we get them by another name. As Merry hears the drums, he wonders if it's the enemy. After Elfhelm trips over him, mistaking him for a tree root, the marshal explains, you hear the wozes, the wild men of the woods.
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Chapter 4: Why are the Drúedain considered unlovely by others?
So today we're going to be taking a look at the word woes. You might be surprised to learn that it isn't one of Tolkien's invented words.
That's right. In the nomenclature, Tolkien explains that this word, quote, represents modernized the Rohan word for old men of the woods. It is not a purely invented word. The supposed genuine Rohan word was wasa, plural wasan, which if it had survived into modern English would be wozes.
It would have been better to call the wild men woodwoses, for that actually occurs in Old English, woodawasa, glossing faunus, satyrus, savage men, evil creatures. And that's Tolkien's explanation in the nomenclature. He goes on to say that this word woodawasa became woodoses.
which he says, quote, was often corrupted to wood houses and survives in heraldry since the wood house equals a wild hairy man clad in leaves common as a supporter to arms. Now we know what your coat of arms needs to include. Oh, as a wild hairy man clad in leaves.
Yeah.
I mean, I fit that description to a T. Folks, you can't see him and it's probably a good thing, but he is currently clad in leaves. And incredibly hairy arms.
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Chapter 5: What role do the Drúedain play in the lore of Middle-earth?
So what Tolkien is talking about here, Alan, is the medieval image of the wild man, the mythical figure of a human being covered in hair who is believed to live in the forest, basically outside the boundaries of the civilized world. This is at least by medieval standards, so not exactly a Sasquatch. Not too far, but yeah, the idea is there, isn't it?
Yeah.
For sure, yeah. This image of the wild man was almost a common trope in heraldry, appearing in dozens of European coats of arms across Europe and often seen holding a shield or literally supporting the coat of arms of the family in question. That's fascinating.
Tolkien explains more in the nomenclature, and I love how he does this, right? This is just a guide that he wrote for translators, so they would know what words to translate and what words to leave in.
So he explains there the origin of this idea, that is the idea of the wild man as the wood woes, was no doubt the actual existence of wild folk, remnants of former peoples driven out by invaders or of outlaws living a debased and savage life in forests and mountains. which, as Tolkien says, explains the use of wasa, a word that Tolkien says, quote, meant originally a forlorn or abandoned person.
But it's very interesting that over time, woodawasa became corrupted into modern English as woodhouse.
I doubt it will come as a shock to discover that Tolkien knew the Middle English form of this word as well, woodwas, because it appeared in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, though in a bit of a surprise, does not reference to the Green Knight himself, even if he fits the sort of green man, wild man archetype to a degree. That's right.
Now, in Sir Gawain, Wodwos is apparently a plural.
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Chapter 6: How do the Drúedain's customs differ from other Edain?
The word appears actually in a list of various creatures and monsters that Gawain fights while he's on his journey. And I'm going to try to tackle a little Middle English here. Some while with Wodwos that wanted in the Canaris. which means apparently sometimes he fought with woodwoses that dwelt in the crags.
Now, the Ring of Words, which, by the way, everybody, if you're a Tolkien fan, you should have this book on your shelves, a tremendous resource. It reminds us that Tolkien's modernized form of the word, woodwose, appears elsewhere in the legendarium, specifically in the Children of Hurin.
Cyrus, the bully elf of Menegroth, taunts Turin at Thingol's table, calling him wood woes no less than three times in about less than three minutes. We read, Then Turin took up a drinking vessel and cast it in Cyrus' face, and he fell backward with great hurt. And Turin drew his sword and would have run at him, but Mablung restrained him.
Then Cyrus, rising, spat blood upon the board and spoke as best he could with a broken mouth. How long shall we harbor this wood woes? Who rules here tonight? The king's law is heavy upon those who hurt his lieges in the hall, and for those who draw blades there, outlawry is the least doom. Outside the hall I could answer you, wood woes.
Oh, heavy stuff.
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Chapter 7: What is the significance of the Drúedain's laughter?
And then just after that, we read, Then Mablung said to Cyrus, What ails you tonight? For the evil I hold you to blame. And maybe the king's law will judge a broken mouth, a just return for your taunting.
That's Mablung basically saying, mess around, find out, man. Mablung, I love that guy. Absolutely is.
Mablung of the heavy hand and no subtlety. Absolutely none. No. It goes on to say, quote, if the cub has a grievance, let him bring it to the king's judgment, answered Cyrus. But the drawing of swords here is not to be excused for any such cause. Outside the hall, if the wood woes draws on me, I shall kill him. Big words.
Yeah.
Yeah.
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Chapter 8: What insights about the Drúedain can we gather from their interactions with other races?
Big word, Cyrus. But you know what? You need to check the scoreboard because Woodwoes won, Bully Elf, zero. Yeah.
He's not winning that one, I don't think. No. But that's Woodwoes for you. Yeah. It is. Alan, would you like to get us started with our first portion of the chapter discussion?
I will. And it's a portion of the chapter about the Druidine in which the Druidine make no appearance. The folk of Haleth were strangers to the other Atani, speaking an alien language, and though united with them in alliance with the Eldar, they remained a people apart.
Among themselves, they adhered to their own language, and though of necessity they learned Sindarin for communication with the Eldar and the other Atani, many spoke it haltingly, and some of those who seldom went beyond the borders of their own woods did not use it at all.
They did not willingly adopt new things or customs, and retained many practices that seemed strange to the Eldar and the other Atani, with whom they had few dealings except in war. Nonetheless, they were esteemed as loyal allies and redoubtable warriors, though the companies that they sent to battle beyond their borders were small.
For they were, and remain to their end, a small people, chiefly concerned to protect their own woodlands. and they excelled in forest warfare. Indeed, for long, even those orcs specially trained for this dared not set foot near their borders. One of the strange practices spoken of was that many of their warriors were women, though few of these went abroad to fight in the great battles.
This custom was evidently ancient, for their chieftainess, Haleth, was a renowned Amazon with a picked bodyguard of women. The strangest of all the customs of the folk of Haleth was the presence among them of people of a wholly different kind, the like of which neither the Eldar in Beleriand nor the other Atani had ever seen before.
They were not many, a few hundreds maybe, living apart in families or small tribes, but in friendship as members of the same community.
All right. I know we said this was a two-episode look at the Druidine, and I promise we will get there. But to get there, we have to start with the Haladin, the folk of Haleth.
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