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Victariongreyjoy
Lorien
Feb 2 2015, 11:49pm
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Question about the Balcoth
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Does Tolkien describes how they look like? Did they wear the same armour as the easterlings we've seen in the movie?
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PhantomS
Rohan
Feb 6 2015, 10:52pm
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if anything, the movies switched the characteristics of the Haradrim and the Easterlings (of whom the Balcoth are part of) , at least in terms of armor. The Easterlings in the movie wear golden armor with spears over a red coat and have a serpent banner, all of which are characteristics of the Haradrim army Theoden rides against.
Tolkien never describes the Balcoth in great detail, only that they were deadly enough to threaten Gondor on their own.
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Felagund
Rohan
Feb 25 2015, 6:43pm
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a brief description of the Balchoth and other Easterling peoples
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There's a quote from Unfinished Tales ("Cirion & Eorl") about the Balchoth that you might find helpful:
"...hosts of men were mustering all along the southern eaves of Mirkwood. They were only rudely armed, and had no great number of horses for riding, using horses mainly for draught, since they had many large wains, as had the Wainriders (to whom they were no doubt akin) that had assailed Gondor in the last days of the Kings. But what they lacked in gear of war they made up in numbers, so far as could be guessed."
In the LotR (Appendix A), they are simply described as "a great host of wild men".
The Balchoth therefore appear to have arrayed themselves a bit differently from their Wainrider forebears. Approximately 650 years prior to the Balchoth invasion of Calenardhon, the Wainriders fielded war-chariots and a substantial amount of cavalry - at the First Battle of the Morannon (III.1856). However, these units were but a small component of the main army, which was presumably infantry. This is also described in the "Cirion & Eorl" chapter cited above.
Also worth noting that the Easterlings who fought at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, some 500 years after the Balchoth are described as "fierce bearded men with axes" (LotR / RotK).
So, in summary, the Easterlings were a heterogeneous lot. Both the Balchoth and the Easterlings who fought at the Pelennor Fields were primarily infantry. The Wainriders though seem to have greater access to horses, and used them in warfare - both as cavalry and with chariots. In other words, the golden-armoured Easterlings depicted in PJ's films look nothing like any of the Easterlings described by Tolkien, who were either 'rudely armed', axe-wielders or on horseback or on chariots!
Incidentally, my understanding of what 'Balchoth' means in Sindarin is 'Cruel-horde'. Sums them up well, I suspect!
Welcome to the Mordorfone network, where we put the 'hai' back into Uruk
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