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Originally Posted by Raynor
Hm, where is it stated that at the time of Freca they dwindled or weakened?
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In an earlier post I noted:
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Originally Posted by me
I think all this could actually be put down to [b]their being a dispossessed folk who had been driven to live in the wilds]/b]. Effectively, they are refugees. I certainly can't see the Rohirrim allowing them decent land to live on. You seem to be blaming them for a situation that was forced on them by the incoming Rohirrim.
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& you responded:
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Originally Posted by Raynor
No, because they were apparently living like this, "content", ever since they were co-habitating with the folk of Haleth. It seems this is their 'natural' way of life.
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So it seems you are arguing that
a) the Dunlendings chose to live in the wilds, scratching an existence, were weak & unable to defend themselves or their land (& you note that this situation holds right back into the First Age),
& b) that at the time of Freca (ie post the occupation of Calenardhon by the Rohirrim) they had
not dwindled or become weak & presumably therefore posed a threat to the Rohirrim.
I'm merely pointing out that logically they can't have been a weak, helpless minority living in the wilds right back into the First Age, & also have been a powerful settled (Freca has a fortress) in the Third Age.
Hence, as I stated, they seem to be 'weak' & not much use when it is necessary for the Rohirrim to take over Calenardhon, but whenever their presence becomes a 'nuissance' they suddenly become a 'serious threat' which must be removed by all means possible.
Anyway, as this part of the discussion seems to be going around in circles, I'd like to widen it a bit.
Do we see different attitudes to 'the enemy' among different races?
Also, I was thinking about the attitude of Hobbits to the Big Folk. It seems that in the Shire Men are seen almost, but not quite, as enemies. They are at the very least seen as a potential threat. Even the term 'Big Folk' seems to be used perjoratively, & they are percieved as enough of a threat post the War of the Ring that they have to be banned from entering the Shire (further Hammond & Scull give a note from Tolkien about the possible fate of Hobbits - they dwindled & diminished & were possibly hunted almost to the point of extinction by Men), yet in Bree Hobbits & Men live happily together.
Of course the Shire Hobbits seem suspicious of any other race (& of anyone like Bilbo or Frodo who has anything to do with them), & one wonders how much it would take ffor them to declare Elves & Dwarves persona non grata. Elves & Dwarves perceive each other as enemies for most of their history, & I'm not sure either group would praise the courage of the other.
We seem to have a lot of alienation among all races - its not simply suspicion of the stranger in most cases, but almost as if they are actively looking for a justification to class another group as an 'enemy'. And if we add to this the fact that once a group is declared to be 'enemy' they are shown no respect at all by the majority of their opponents we can speculate that Fighting the Long Defeat is an attitude that may have become so entrenched in common thought that they are actually looking for a fight in many cases.
The history of Arda seems to be a history of suspicion, of classifying the 'other' as enemy, & attempting to wipe him out.....