Interesting article about Variags

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin

I noticed in the Hobbit film that goblins ride Shai-halud sandworms from Arrakis.

Originally Posted by Morthoron

"Tell me of your home world, Estel."

Sandworms! Those were Were-worms, I'll have you know! Practically almost canonical-ish.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Sandworms! Those were Were-worms, I'll have you know! Practically almost canonical-ish.

I guess we should be just happy that Jackson didn't import a Fastitocalon to come out of the lake and be ridden triumphantly into battle by Bard and all the rest of the Laketowners.

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

I guess we should be just happy that Jackson didn't import a Fastitocalon to come out of the lake and be ridden triumphantly into battle by Bard and all the rest of the Laketowners.

And why, why not a Mewlip encounter? Such a missed opportunity!

[Rhun charioteer]

Wasn't Khand south of Rhun, east of Harad, and southwest of Mordor?

So I imagine the Variags were ethnically distinct from the easterlings and Haradrim.

Since I always imagined Khand to be dry scrub and grassland-I figure the Variags were axe wielding Mongol/Viking/Turkic people or something like that.

Maybe Magyars?

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Rhun charioteer

Wasn't Khand south of Rhun, east of Harad, and southwest of Mordor?

So I imagine the Variags were ethnically distinct from the easterlings and Haradrim.

Since I always imagined Khand to be dry scrub and grassland-I figure the Variags were axe wielding Mongol/Viking/Turkic people or something like that.

Maybe Magyars?

Not Magyars. Here is a nice bit of research here:

http://blog.tolkien-studies.com/2010...iags-of-khand/

It contains both conjecture on the word "Variag" as well as "Khand". I say conjecture because actual mention of the terms is scant in Tolkien's own writing.

[Rhun charioteer]

I read the post and I honestly disagree.

The Varangians were historically Vikings that traveled south and famously served as the palace guard of the Byzantine emperors.

The Variags are a horse people, living on the far edge of the map-east of Harad even.

The black numenorians and Umbar as I understand it settled largely on the coast south of Gondor.

While the linguistic similarity between Variag and Varangian is fairly obvious I think the post is reading a little too much into it.

We know the Variags were a horse people, a fierce people, and servants of Sauron who lived pretty darn far away from Gondor and far even from Near Harad.

I doubt the Black numenorians settled so far.

The best comparison between the Varangians and Variags is that they were fierce foreign combatants in the service of someone else.

I'd say they were natives to the region.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Rhun charioteer

The Variags are a horse people, living on the far edge of the map-east of Harad even.

I am unaware of any documentation saying they were "a horse people". The Wainriders, of course, had an affinity to horses, but the same isn't mentioned of the Variags that I can recall. All we really know is that the axe was their preferred weapon. Axes of the nature used in foot combat (battle axe, pole axe, halberd) are entirely different than the much smaller single-handed axes used while mounted. I am not sure Tolkien would have these warriors hefting just hatchets.