Moredain

Revision as of 01:06, 6 October 2010

The Black Numenoreans, or Moredain, are people of Numenorean origin who returned to Middle-Earth in the Second Age to follow Sauron. Their descendants survived through the Third Age, during which they were often at war with Gondor.

In Tolkein history, Black Numenoreans settled in Middle-Earth 'during the years of Sauron's domination'. II 1800 is probably the earliest possible date for the Black Numenoreans to have appeared: in the Tale of Years, the entry for that date states, 'The shadow falls on Numenor'. Another possible dating of their appearance appears elsewhere (Appendix A I (iv) to The Lord of the Rings). We're told that the Black Numenoreans emerged from the party of the King's Men, which wouldn't appear for more than four centuries, from about II 2251. This was about the same time that the Nazgul appeared, and as three of those were Numenoreans, we can be sure that Sauron had already ensnared at least some of that race. It's hard to reconcile these statements, but not impossible. The most consistent reading seems to be that Sauron began the seduction of the Numenoreans in about II 1800, and had at least some Numenorean servants and followers soon after that date. However, the Black Numenoreans seem not to have emerged as a separate people until some centuries later. The Black Numenoreans were not destroyed in the War of the Last Alliance, but after their master's fall, they rapidly diminished and were absorbed into the native peoples of Middle-earth. Nonetheless, even at the end of the Third Age, three thousand years later, there were some who claimed descent from the Black Numenoreans. The emissary known as the Mouth of Sauron was one of these.

As a Belegarth unit, the Moredain were founded in Arnor in late 2005. The Moredain were formed as the third unit of the Iron Crown to provide well-armored heavy flankers to protect the rear and sides of the army and supply shock troops as needed.

• Website: The Moredain [1]