In
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
's
high fantasy
High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...
''
The Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
'', Harad is the immense land south of
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
and
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to t ...
. Its main port is Umbar, the base of the Corsairs of Umbar whose ships serve as the Dark Lord
Sauron
Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middl ...
's fleet. Its
people
A person (plural, : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of pr ...
are the dark-skinned Haradrim or Southrons; their warriors wear scarlet and gold, and are armed with swords and round shields; some ride gigantic elephants called ''mûmakil''.
Tolkien based the Haradrim on ancient
Aethiopia
Ancient Aethiopia, ( gr, Αἰθιοπία, Aithiopía; also known as Ethiopia) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the upper Nile region of Sudan, as well as certain areas south of the Sahara desert. It ...
ns, people of
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
, following his
philological
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
research on the
Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
word ''
Sigelwara''. He deduced that this word referred to some kind of soot-black fire demon before it was applied to the Aethiopians. He based the Haradrim's use of
war elephants
A war elephant was an elephant that was trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephant's main use was to charge the enemy, break their ranks and instill terror and fear. Elephantry is a term for specific military units using elephant ...
, meanwhile, on that of
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he becam ...
in his war against
Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
. Critics have debated
whether Tolkien was racist in making the
protagonist
A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...
s white and the
antagonist
An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist.
Etymology
The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...
s black, but others have noted that Tolkien showed anti-
xenophobic
Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
sentiments in real life, opposing any attempt to demonise the enemy in both World Wars.
In
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's film ''
The Two Towers
''The Two Towers'' is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''.
Title and publication
''The Lord of the R ...
'', the Haradrim were based on 12th century
Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
; they have turbans and flowing robes, and they ride elephants. The Haradrim appear in a variety of games and merchandise inspired by ''The Lord of the Rings''.
Middle-earth narrative
Geography
Harad is a large land in the south of Middle-earth, bordered to the north by (from west to east) the lands of
Gondor
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
,
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to t ...
, Khand and Rhûn. Historically the border with Gondor was to be the river Harnen, but by the time of the
War of the Ring
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's boo ...
all the land further north to the river Poros is under the influence of the Haradrim. The border with Mordor runs along the southern
Mountains of Shadow
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher th ...
. Harad's west coast (the nearest to Gondor) is washed by the Great Sea, the western ocean of
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of much of the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy. The term is equivalent to the ''Miðgarðr'' of Norse mythology and ''Middangeard'' in Old English works, including ''Beowulf''. Middle-earth is t ...
. Harad's eastern shores looks out on the
Eastern Sea, Middle-earth's eastern ocean.
[ "]Akallabêth
''The Silmarillion'' () is a collection of myths and stories in varying styles by the English writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It was edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, assisted by the fantasy author Guy Gavriel ...
"
![Atlas Van der Hagen - Barbary Coast](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Atlas_Van_der_Hagen_-_Barbary_Coast.jpeg)
The
elves
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
named the land and its people ''Haradwaith'', "South-folk", from the
Sindarin
Sindarin is one of the fictional languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda, primarily in Middle-earth. Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves. The word is a Quenya word.
Called in Eng ...
''harad'', meaning "south", and ''gwaith'', meaning "people".
The
Quenya
Quenya ()Tolkien wrote in his "Outline of Phonology" (in ''Parma Eldalamberon'' 19, p. 74) dedicated to the phonology of Quenya: is "a sound as in English ''new''". In Quenya is a combination of consonants, ibidem., p. 81. is a constructed la ...
word ''Hyarmen'' similarly means "south" in addition to being the name of the country. The hobbits called the area the ''Sunlands'', and the people ''
Swertings''.
[, book 4 ch 3, "The Black Gate is Closed", "I've heard tales of the big folk down away in the Sunlands. Swertings we call 'em in our tales; and they ride on oliphaunts, 'tis said, when they fight."] Aragorn
Aragorn is a fictional character and a protagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. Aragorn was a Ranger of the North, first introduced with the name Strider and later revealed to be the heir of Isildur, an ancient King of Arno ...
briefly describes his journeys in the land as being in "Harad where the stars are strange".
[ "The Council of Elrond"] Tolkien confirmed that this meant that Aragorn had traveled "some distance into the
southern hemisphere" in Harad.
[ part 4 ch. III "The Istari" p. 402 note 10; ]
![Greek Galleys](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Greek_Galleys.jpg)
The great harbour city of Umbar lies on Harad's north-west coast; its natural harbour is the base of the Corsairs of Umbar, inspired by the
Barbary pirates
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. This area was known i ...
,
who provide the Dark Lord
Sauron
Sauron (pronounced ) is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middl ...
with a sizeable fleet. The ships are different types of
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
s, with both oars and sails; some are named as
dromunds, others as having a deep draught (requiring a deep channel), many oars, and black sails.
[, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields" "for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught ith deep hullswith many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze."]
Elsewhere in Harad there are "many towns";
[ ' Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age', p. 290; ] one of these is "the inland city", the home of Queen Berúthiel (mentioned by Tolkien in an interview).
The Harad Road is the main overland route between Gondor and Harad.
[, book 6 ch. 2 ]
Harad possesses jungles with apes,
[ book 3 ch. 7 "apes in the dark forests of the South"] grasslands,
[, Appendix A:II "the far fields of the South"] mountains and deserts. There are large elephants known as ''mûmakil'', influenced by the zoologist
Georges Cuvier
Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, Baron Cuvier (; 23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier, was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier ...
's 1796 discovery of bones and
palaeolithic
The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός ''palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...
drawings of
mammoth
A mammoth is any species of the extinct elephantid genus ''Mammuthus'', one of the many genera that make up the order of trunked mammals called proboscideans. The various species of mammoth were commonly equipped with long, curved tusks and, ...
s.
Gondor described Harad as consisting of Near Harad and Far Harad. Near Harad corresponds loosely with
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
or the
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
, while Far Harad, the vastly larger of the two regions, corresponds loosely with
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
. Tolkien's own annotated map of Middle-earth, used by the illustrator
Pauline Baynes
Pauline Diana Baynes (9 September 1922 – 1 August 2008) was an English illustrator, author and commercial artist. She contributed drawings and paintings to more than 200 books, mostly in the children's genre. She was the first illustrat ...
to construct her iconic map, suggests that "Elephants appear in the great battle outside
Minas Tirith
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
(as they did in Italy under
Pyrrhus) but they would be in place in the blank squares of Harad – also camels."
People
![Memnon Aithiopides Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1507 side A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/20/Memnon_Aithiopides_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_1507_side_A.jpg)
The
Men
A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chro ...
of Harad are called ''Haradrim'' ("South-multitude"), ''Haradwaith'', or ''Southrons'' by the people of Gondor. The Haradrim are of various ethnicities and cultures; some are organized into kingdoms.
[, book 4 ch 4, "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit" ][, Appendix A §I(iv)] Frodo
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly a ...
and
Sam meet
Faramir
Faramir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring (characters), Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor, the Stewards o ...
and his Rangers of Ithilien just before the latter ambush a company of Haradrim on the North Road. Frodo and Sam do not see much of the battle, since they are positioned elsewhere, but they hear the sounds of fighting, and a slain Haradrim warrior crashes at their feet. This warrior is described as having "brown" skin, with black plaits of hair braided with gold.
[ He wears a scarlet tunic, as do the other Haradrim, and a gold collar. He is armed with a sword and has a corslet of brazen scales. Their ]standards Standard may refer to:
Symbols
* Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs
* Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification
Norms, conventions or requirements
* Standard (metrology), an object th ...
are scarlet, and their great beasts, the ''mûmakil'', have scarlet and gold trappings. They carry round spiked shields, painted yellow and black. Their leaders have a serpent emblem.[ The people of Far Harad were black-skinned; a group of them is described as "black men like half-]troll
A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human bei ...
s with white eyes and red tongues" and "troll-men".[, book 5 ch 6, "Battle of the Pelennor Fields"]
History
The Haradrim are independent peoples, but in the Second Age
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the history of Arda, also called the history of Middle-earth, began when the Ainur entered Arda, following the creation events in the Ainulindalë and long ages of labour throughout Eä, the fictional univer ...
they are caught between the ambitions of Sauron (the Dark Lord) and the Númenóreans, who often kill Haradrim or sell them as slaves, and who become rulers of Harad. Over the centuries many Haradrim fall under Sauron's dominion, and to "them Sauron was both king and god, and they feared him exceedingly".[, " Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age"] They become mixed with Númenórean settlers, some of whom fall under the sway of Sauron as "Black Númenóreans".[, Appendix A §I(iv) footnote] Under King Hyarmendacil I "South-victor" of Gondor, Harad becomes a vassal of Gondor.[, Appendix A §I(iv) ] By the time of the War of the Ring, the Haradrim are again under the dominion of Sauron, and the Haradrim Corsairs provide the whole of his Black Fleet; many other Haradrim join his armies, some riding ''mûmakil''. In the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's novel ''The Lord of the Rings'', the Battle of the Pelennor Fields () was the defence of the city of Minas Tirith by the forces of Gondor and the cavalry of its ally Rohan, against the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron from M ...
, the leader of the Haradrim army is killed by King Théoden
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
of Rohan.[, book 5 ch. 6 and book 6 ch. 4 ][, book 6 ch. 5 ]
Tolkien did not work out any particular languages for the Haradrim, though ''mûmak'', "elephant", may be in the Harad language. Despite having a meaning in Quenya ("fate"), the name ''Umbar'' is adapted from the natives' language and not from Elvish or Adûnaic.
Concept and creation
"Sigelwara Land"
Tolkien arrived at the idea of Harad, a hot Southern land, through his philological
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
work. The Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
Biblical poem ''Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
'' in the tenth-century Codex Junius
The Junius manuscript is one of the four major codices of Old English literature. Written in the 10th century, it contains poetry dealing with Biblical subjects in Old English, the vernacular language of Anglo-Saxon England. Modern editors have ...
11 includes a passage that caught Tolkien's attention:
Tolkien was interested in particular in the Old English word used for "Aethiopia
Ancient Aethiopia, ( gr, Αἰθιοπία, Aithiopía; also known as Ethiopia) first appears as a geographical term in classical documents in reference to the upper Nile region of Sudan, as well as certain areas south of the Sahara desert. It ...
ns": it was ''Sigelwara'', or in Tolkien's emendation ''Sigelhearwan''. The critic Tom Shippey
Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
writes that Tolkien's philological
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as the ...
research, described in his essay "Sigelwara Land
"Sigelwara Land" is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien that appeared in two parts, in 1932 and 1934. J. R. R. Tolkien, "Sigelwara Land''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 1, No. 3. December 1932an''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 3, No. 2. June 1934./ref> It explores the ety ...
",J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philology, philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''.
From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was ...
, "Sigelwara Land
"Sigelwara Land" is an essay by J. R. R. Tolkien that appeared in two parts, in 1932 and 1934. J. R. R. Tolkien, "Sigelwara Land''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 1, No. 3. December 1932an''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 3, No. 2. June 1934./ref> It explores the ety ...
''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 1, No. 3. December 1932
an
''Medium Aevum'' Vol. 3, No. 2. June 1934.
/ref> began from the assumption that the word could not originally have meant Aethiopian, but must have been co-opted to that usage having once meant something comparable. Tolkien approached the question by analysing the two parts of the word. ''Sigel'' meant, according to Tolkien, "both ''sun'' and ''jewel''", the former as it was the Old English name of the Sun rune
Runes are the letter (alphabet), letters in a set of related alphabets known as runic alphabets native to the Germanic peoples. Runes were used to write various Germanic languages (with some exceptions) before they adopted the Latin alphabet, a ...
, Proto-Germanic
Proto-Germanic (abbreviated PGmc; also called Common Germanic) is the reconstructed proto-language of the Germanic branch of the Indo-European languages.
Proto-Germanic eventually developed from pre-Proto-Germanic into three Germanic branc ...
: '' *sowilō'' (ᛋ), the latter connotation from Latin ''sigillum'', a seal
Seal may refer to any of the following:
Common uses
* Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly:
** Earless seal, or "true seal"
** Fur seal
* Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...
.
Tolkien decided that ''Hearwa'' was related to the Old English
Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...
''heorð'', meaning "hearth
A hearth () is the place in a home where a fire is or was traditionally kept for home heating and for cooking, usually constituted by at least a horizontal hearthstone and often enclosed to varying degrees by any combination of reredos (a lo ...
", and ultimately to the Latin ''carbo'', meaning "soot". The resulting meaning for ''Sigelhearwan'', Tolkien decided tentatively, was "rather the sons of Muspell
In Norse cosmology, Muspelheim ( on, Múspellsheimr), also called Muspell ( on, Múspell), is a realm of fire.
The etymology of "Muspelheim" is uncertain, but may come from ''Mund-spilli'', "world-destroyers", "wreck of the world".
Narrative ...
than of Ham
Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...
", an ancient class of demons in Northern mythology "with red-hot eyes that emitted sparks and faces black as soot".[ This was exactly the sort of "stray pagan concept" hinting at England's lost mythology that Tolkien wanted.
In drafts of ''The Lord of the Rings'', Tolkien toyed with names such as ''Harwan'' and ''Sunharrowland'' for Harad, which were derived from ''Sigelwara''; ]Christopher Tolkien
Christopher John Reuel Tolkien (21 November 1924 – 16 January 2020) was an English academic editor, becoming a French citizen in later life. The son of author and academic J. R. R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien edited much of his father' ...
notes that these are connected to his father's ''Sigelwara Land''.[>, ch. XXV p. 435 & p. 439 note 4 ] The philologist Elizabeth Solopova
Elizabeth Solopova is a Russian-British philologist and medievalist undertaking research at New College, Oxford. She is known outside academic circles for her work on J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings.
Life
Elizabeth Solopova was born i ...
similarly notes that the hobbits' name for Harad, ''Sunland'', suggests a similar link.
Moral geography
The Germanic studies
Germanic philology is the philological study of the Germanic languages, particularly from a comparative or historical perspective.
The beginnings of research into the Germanic languages began in the 16th century, with the discovery of literary tex ...
scholar Sandra Ballif Straubhaar notes that it is not clear whether Tolkien meant the Haradrim to be grouped with his "Wild Men", though he named them as ancient enemies of Gondor. They are " ethnic others but not as ugly", they have a rich culture and well-trained elephants. The exception would be, she suggests, the men of Far outhernHarad whom the people of Gondor saw as "black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues". With his "Southrons" from Harad, Tolkien had – in the view of John Magoun, writing in ''The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia
The ''J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment'', edited by Michael D. C. Drout, was published by Routledge in 2006. A team of 127 Tolkien scholars on 720 pages cover topics of Tolkien's fiction, his academic works, his ...
'' – constructed a "fully expressed moral geography", from the hobbits' home in the Northwest, evil in the East, and "imperial sophistication and decadence" in the South. Magoun explains that Gondor is both virtuous, being West, and has problems, being South; Mordor in the Southeast is hellish, while Harad in the extreme South "regresses into hot savagery".
Solopova argues that the Haradrim's ''mûmakil'' war elephants put their country far to the East, since only India and lands to its east went on using war elephants after classical times. Lee and Solopova also mention that Tolkien could have used the Old English version by Ælfric Ælfric (Old English ', Middle English ''Elfric'') is an Anglo-Saxon given name.
Churchmen
*Ælfric of Eynsham (c. 955–c. 1010), late 10th century Anglo-Saxon abbot and writer
*Ælfric of Abingdon (died 1005), late 10th century Anglo-Saxon Archbi ...
of the '' Book of Maccabees'', which carefully introduces elephants to its Anglo-Saxon audience, using much the same phrase as Sam Gamgee, "''māre þonne sum hūs''", "bigger than a house", before describing their use in battle; the hero stabs the elephant, which is carrying a "''wīghūs''", a " battle-house", from below. Tolkien however mentioned Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he becam ...
's use of war elephants against Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
in 280–275 BC in his notes for the illustrator Pauline Baynes
Pauline Diana Baynes (9 September 1922 – 1 August 2008) was an English illustrator, author and commercial artist. She contributed drawings and paintings to more than 200 books, mostly in the children's genre. She was the first illustrat ...
.
The stereotypical "Other"
Commentators such as Anderson Rearick and Stephen Shapiro have identified the Haradrim as a recognisably foreign race as well as the enemy, and have accused Tolkien of racism. Conversely, scholars such as Straubhaar have come to Tolkien's defence on the matter, noting that during the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
Tolkien expressed an anti-racist position. Straubhaar writes that "a polycultured, polylingual world is absolutely central" to Middle-earth, and that readers and filmgoers will easily see that. From there, she notes that the "recurring accusations in the popular media" of a racist view of the story are "interesting". She quotes the Swedish cultural studies scholar David Tjeder who described Gollum
Gollum is a fictional Tolkien's monsters, character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was introduced in the 1937 Fantasy (genre), fantasy novel ''The Hobbit'', and became important in its sequel, ''The Lord of the Rings''. Gol ...
's account of the men of Harad ("Not nice; very cruel wicked Men they look. Almost as bad as Orc
An Orc (or Ork) is a fictional humanoid monster like a goblin. Orcs were brought into modern usage by the fantasy writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially '' The Lord of the Rings''. In Tolkien's works, Orcs are a brutish, aggressive, ugl ...
s, and much bigger."[, book 4, ch. 3 "The Black Gate is Closed"]) in ''Aftonbladet
''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries.
History and profile
The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...
'' as "stereotypical and reflective of colonial attitudes". She argues instead that Gollum's view, with its "arbitrary and stereotypical assumptions about the 'Other
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
'", is absurd, and that Gollum cannot be taken as an authority on Tolkien's opinion. Straubhaar contrasts this with Sam Gamgee
Sam, SAM or variants may refer to:
Places
* Sam, Benin
* Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso
* Sam, Iran
* Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place
People and fictional ...
's more humane response to the sight of a dead Harad warrior, which she finds "harder to find fault with": "He was glad that he could not see the dead face. He wondered what the man's name was and where he came from; and if he was really evil of heart, or what lies or threats had led him on the long march from his home."[, book 4, ch. 4 "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit"] Straubhaar quotes Shapiro, who wrote in ''The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' that "Put simply, Tolkien's good guys are white and the bad guys are black, slant-eyed, unattractive, inarticulate, and a psychologically undeveloped horde". Straubhaar concedes that Shapiro may have had a point with "slant-eyed", but comments that this was milder than that of many of his contemporary novelists such as John Buchan
John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir (; 26 August 1875 – 11 February 1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation.
After a brief legal career ...
, and notes that Tolkien had in fact made "appalled objection" when people had misapplied his story to current events. She similarly observes that Tjeder had failed to notice Tolkien's "concerted effort" to change the Western European "paradigm" that speakers of supposedly superior languages were "ethnically superior".
In other media
In Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...
's film ''The Two Towers
''The Two Towers'' is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''.
Title and publication
''The Lord of the R ...
'', the Haradrim appear Middle Eastern
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (European ...
, with turbans, flowing robes, and riding elephants. A companion book on the film's "Creatures" states that the Haradrim were based on 12th century Saracens
file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
. The battle scene in Ithilien
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, described as the greatest realm of Man (Middle-earth), Men in the west of Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age. The third volume of ''The Lord of the Rings'', ''The Return of the ...
between the rangers of Gondor and the men of Harad was shot at the Twelve Mile Delta near Queenstown, New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.
The Haradrim and the Corsairs of Umbar appear in much merchandise for the film trilogy, such as toys, ''The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'', and the computer game '' The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II''. "Haradrim Slayers" feature in the computer game '' The Lord of the Rings: War of the Ring'', while in the video game '' Middle-earth: Shadow of War'', Baranor, a playable character who is a captain in Gondor's guard, is originally from Harad.
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE) is a publishing company that has produced role playing, board, miniature, and collectible card games since 1980. Many of ICE's better-known products were related to J. R. R. Tolkien's world of Middle-earth, but the ''Ro ...
produced a series of books for their tabletop roleplaying game ''Middle-earth Role Playing
''Middle-earth Role Playing'' (MERP) is a 1984 role-playing game based on J. R. R. Tolkien ''The Lord of the Rings'' and ''The Hobbit'' under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises (I.C.E.) published the game until they lost the ...
'' containing information about Harad and content allowing games to be set there. Key publications included the setting books ''Umbar: Haven of the Corsairs'' (1982), ''Far Harad'' (1988), and ''Greater Harad'' (1990), as well as the adventure books ''Warlords of the Desert'' (1989), ''Forest of Tears'' (1989), and ''Hazards of the Harad Wood'' (1990). Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group (often abbreviated as GW) is a British manufacturer of miniature wargames, based in Nottingham, England. Its best-known products are ''Warhammer Age of Sigmar'' and ''Warhammer 40,000''.
Founded in 1975 by John Peake (gam ...
have produced miniatures and rules relating to Harad for use in the ''Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
''Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game'', previously marketed as ''The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Strategy Battle Game'', ''The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Strategy Battle Game'', ''The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies Strategy Battle Game ...
'', including for ''mumakil'' and Corsairs of Umbar.
See also
* Calormen
In C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia'' series of novels, Calormen is a large country to the southeast of Narnia. Lewis probably derived its name from the Latin ''calor'', meaning "heat". When using the name as an adjective or an ethnonym, Lewis ...
es, a race of men from a hot southern land from C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...
's ''Chronicles of Narnia
''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...
''
Notes
References
Primary
::''This list identifies each item's location in Tolkien's writings.''
Secondary
Sources
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{{Middle-earth
Middle-earth regions