The Dunlendings Ancestors of the Celtic Clans

7/24/2019 The Dunlendings Ancestors of the Celtic Clans

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The Dunlendings, ancestors of the Celtic clans

J.R.R. Tolkien regarded Arda and in particular Endor (Middle-earth) to be a mythical

prehistory to our own world and that the two worlds blended somwehere in the i!th Age" the

ourth Age marking a transition between the mythical and the historical. My own take on this"

in the house rules system" is that Arda and Earth e#isted as parallell worlds which e$entually

merged into one. %n this process" the mythical prehistorical e$ents in the Third and ourth

Ages spilled o$er into our world" gi$ing incenti$e to the de$elopment o! the early mannish

ci$ilisations and cultures" such as the &umerian" Egyptian" 'reek" Roman" eltic" 'ermanic"

etc. Thus" these historically $eri!ied cultures and ci$ilisations re!lected the ancient cultures

and races o! the Middle-earth" the latter ser$ing as spiritual ancestors to the earthly races.

%n this article % will address the unlending clans. %t seems that Tolkien ga$e some hints to

unlendings being drawn !rom eltic or 'allic inspiration when he en$isioned them" and that

the Rohirrim represented the &a#on in$asion o! their lands in *ritain" the +orthmen o!

Rho$anion o! course being hea$ily drawn on the 'ermanic &a#on and +orse tribes. %ron

rown Enterprises (%E) capitalised hea$ily on these hints and e#panded them into

de$eloping the unnish clans into !ull !ledged 'allic-style cultures" such as historians

en$ision them. This can be assertained by the %E campaign modue !rom its Middle-earth

Seriesentitled ,unland and the &outhern Misty Mountains (&tock /011) published 2345"

especially seen in its co$er painted by 6alter 7ele89
https://midgardakampanjer.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/the-dunlendings-ancestors-of-the-celtic-tribes/https://midgardakampanjer.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/the-dunlendings-ancestors-of-the-celtic-tribes/


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Thus" % ha$e attached a series o! paintings o! Angus Mc*ride which depicts 'allic warriors

!rom anti:uity. Thank!ully" he made a lot o! paintings on eltic or 'allic warriors o! di!!erent

shades. That was probably due to his own &cottish 'allic descent. % in particular !ancy Angus

Mc*rides paintings" which started to appear in the %ron rown Enterprises catalouge in 234;

and which would become the staple o! %Es Middle-earth products. Many o! the modules

produced in their Middle-earth Series line would become memorable because o! AngusMc*rides co$er art. *y then he was already a respected painter o! military historical


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reenactment. The only Mc*ride painting !or %E which actually bore a eltic design to the

unlendings where the co$er o! the Middle-earth Ad$enture module ,'host 6arriors (&tock

4120) !rom 2331 depicting the aen oentis o! the 6hite Mountains" the


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=! Angus Mc*rides 'allic painting % will only show a !ew" which may ser$e as inspirational

art. The initial painting at the head depicts some 'allic worriors (supposedly !orward scouts)

!rom the >nd or /rd entury * (all o! the paintings that !ollow depicts scenes taken !rom the

!irst !ew centuries be!ore the ommon Era)" probably scouting at Roman legionaries and

engaging them with shouts and slurs" which incidentally % depict as the enbodiment o! the

?nedain o! Arnor (i.e. the Roman spirit) o! the Third Age. &o" i! we allow oursel$es to betransported back to Middle-earth" looking at the same picture we see instead some

unlending warriors de!ending their unnish homeland @ unland @ with the Misty

Mountains in the background. ollowing this scene we look at a unlending chie!tain riding a

chariot with a unnish !orti!ied town in the background (notice its similarities with 6alter

7ele8 co$er painting abo$e)9

=n the ne#t page we see some unnish warriors looting and spreading mayhem in a+menBrean Temple" probably sometimes in the late &econd or early Third Age era" killing

some poor Temple ser$ants or de$otees in the process. Cou may easily spot the typical 'reek

!la$our o! achitecture and clothings o! the early +menBreans. There is something ominous

about this picture" as the unlendings are being punished by the 7alar !or their sacrilegious

acts" who sends thunderbolts striking at them and inciting !ear into their !aces9


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+e#t we see a !ormation o! charging unlendings carrying spears and bron8e helmets and

shields" trying to make a desperate attack mounted on chariots against the orderly !ormation

o! disciplined +menBrean soldiers. This battle is probably set on a Arnorian plain in the mid

or late &econd Age. The appro#imate age depicted may be ascertained as the unlending

warriors are seen being e:uipped with old style unnish weapons9


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+e#t we see some 6ildmen o! unland assaulting the enemy !rom a !orti!ied hill on the

plains o! unland. %n a typical heroic unnish berserker mode" which means using no amour

and only being armed with crude weapons" such as slings and small bucklers" they charge

down the slope taking ad$antage o! the higher ground. +otice the typical unnish style tatoos

on their bodies" ser$ing a magical purpose9


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+e#t" in this scene taken !rom the late &econd Age or early Third Age" we see a unlending

chie! with his elite $anguard !ending o!! an ambush staged by +menBreans set in a unnish

!orest" with the Misty Mountains clearly seen in the background. +otice the $arious styles o!

patterns and colours on the Dillmens clothing. Dere is also seen a head hunting custom" the

se$ered heads o! course being claimed by the proud unnish chie!tain himsel!9


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+e#t we see some proud and $ictorious unnish warriors returning back home to their $illage

in unland" a!ter a success!ul raid against the +menBrean enemy. 6e see them being greeted

by cheer!ul children and making a spontaneous $ictory parade mounted on a chariot. The

typical unnish custom o! wearing no armour and e#posing the naked tatooed breast is

clearly seen in this scene9

+e#t we see a attachement o! well armed and protected unlending warriors with their hie!

on a raid deep in Arnorian territory" preparing a surprise attack against a +menBrean city inthe &econd Age under the co$er o! the night. These elite unnish warriors are seen wearing a

$ariety o! hea$y armour9


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+e#t is a painting" again drawn by Angus Mc*ride" which depicts a unnish assault on the

battle!ield against a Arnorian ?nedain legion somewhere in the !irst hal! o! the Third Age"

who are seen throwing their a$elins back at the unlending warriors. %n this picture the tribal

plaid patterns and braided hair typcal o! the unlendings are clearly shown9

%n the !ollowing painting by Mc*ride we see a proud unlending chie!tain standing in his

plaided mantle and old style bron8e helmet and shield. This places the set somewhere in the

second hal! o! the &econd Age. %n the background we catch a glimpse o! a grand gate o! a!orti!ied unnish town. 6e also see the typical unnish chariot" a $ehicle that the

unlendings use with great tactical pro!iciency9


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Fastly we se a scene !rom the mid-Third Age" possibly appro#imating T.A. 20G1 (the general

game time o! MERH andICEs Middle-earth Series) depicting an assembly o! !our unnish

chie!s" all wearing hea$y armour" o$eseen by a ?nedain lord at the !ar right indicating that

the Dillmen represent clans which has been subdued by 'ondor and has pledged loyalty to the

Iing o! 'ondor. =ne o! the remaining opposing and un!aith!ul unlending chie!s is also seen

paying tribute to a unnish chie!tain" a!ter his de!eat to the !aith!ul unlendings" against thebackground o! a 'ondorian castle or !orti!ied city wall9

%n this article % ha$e shown the reader some !ew and good e#amples on how a creati$e

'amemaster may trans!orm plain historical paintings and illustrations into !antastic

occurances in a mythical Middle-earth setting during the &econd and Third Ages. %

recommend the 'amemaster o! a Middle-earth campaign to use the images and illustrations

painted by Angus Mc*ride as a primary source" pre!erring his designs o$er the more

today because o! Heter Jacksons mo$ies" who used Fee and Dowe as conceptual artists)" as

Mc*ride partly is responsible !or creating that special historical realistic !eeling o! ICEsMiddle-earth Series and because he is so intrinsically associated with the aestetics o! %Es

game products. There are lots o! more pictures in the same $ein and % reccomend the

'amemaster or player to do a through resarch on 'oogle on Angus Mc*rides artwork using

the search words

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The Dunlendings Ancestors of the Celtic Clans