Dunlendings, also known as the Wildmen of Dunland, were the people of the plains of Dunland. They were known as a fierce culture of Men, and sought vengeance on the people of Rohan who had driven them into the mountains. During the War of the Ring, the wizard Saruman used their anger to manipulate and convince them to pillage the land of Rohan
So there we are boys and girls a 3rd post in the series and a interesting project as well. the vagabonds know as Dunlendings or Wildmen pf Dunland if you prefer.
These were painted as a test for the new GW Contrast paints so not in my normal style (Which really does show). Still at least the first batch of these are off my bloody Pile of Shame.
When Eorl and his people were granted Calenardhon --- Rohan, as it would later be known --- in TA 2510, they drove the Wild Men from their new lands, earning their bitter hatred and enmity. The Wild Men were also driven from the White Mountains by the Men of Gondor. During the next five hundred years these shorter, dark-haired warriors made frequent attacks upon the outlying settlements of Rohan, exacting revenge upon the usurpers, whom they called "straw-heads" because of the high number of blond warriors among them.
As a consequence, Rohan maintained patrols and garrisons to the west of the Fords of Isen to try to limit the number of raids, although these patrols had virtually disappeared under Wormtongue's stewardship, to the point where Saruman's forces could make incursions almost at will.
Yet not everyone sided against the Wild Men. At some point near the end of the thirtieth century of the Third Age, Saruman made contact with them and swayed them to his side by playing on their resentment and hatred of those who had taken what was theirs.
Saruman welcomed to Orthanc a large warband of these Dunlendings. Saruman evidently convinced them that they could reclaim what had been taken, and during the early part of TA 3019, a fearsome raiding force comprising Dunlendings and Orcs (especially Uruk-hai) left Isengard and began ravaging the western settlements of Rohan. Previous attacks by Orcs had killed many Rohirrim at the Fords of Isen, so there were no warriors to defend against the surprise attack.
Many people of Rohan were killed in these attacks, but the raiders never made it across the country to Edoras; it is fair to assume that they encountered one or more Éoreds, companies of mounted warriors, who would have been patrolling the interior. After the defeat of Isengard at the Battle of the Hornburg, the Rohirrim spared the surviving Dunlendings and used them as workmen to repair the broken walls of the Hornburg.
The Rohirrim's mercy surprised the Dunlendings, as Saruman had convinced them the Rohirrim would slaughter them all if given the chance. When Gandalf, Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took were traveling through Dunland on their way back towards the Shire, the Dunlendings in that area hid from them. After the War of the Ring, the Dunlendings sent ambassadors to the court of King Aragorn, thus finally beginning peace and diplomacy between Gondor and Rohan and Dunlending realms
