ULFANG, THE BLACK EASTERLING

Just as the Elves first come to be with the Rekindling of the Stars, so Men arise when the first Sun appears in sky above the eastern lands of Middle-earth. Unlike Elves, Men are mortal and, even by the measure of Dwarves, short-lived. Men who remain in the east of Middle-earth live longest under the shadow of Morgoth the Enemy. These mostly tribal peoples are collectively known as “Easterlings” (a translation of the Quenya Romenildi, meaning “East-Men”) and are largely aligned with the forces of darkness.

The East in Tolkien’s writing is both a geographic reality in Middle-earth and an evocation of the real history of the Eurasian continent, and in particular the so-called Migration Period, which occurred approximately AD 300–700. Migrating tribes first settled western Europe; then, over the centuries, wave after wave of nomadic nations invaded, or were beaten back on its eastern frontiers. The same is true in the history of Tolkien’s world. Easterlings in Middle-earth are a constant threat to the kingdoms of the West.

Ulfang, the Black Easterling

Easterlings enter Beleriand in the fifth century of the First Age. These are initially known to the Elves as the “Swarthy Men”, as they are dark-haired and dark-skinned and short in stature, but strong-armed and thick-chested. Ulfang the Black is one of the great Easterling chieftains who leads his people into Beleriand in that time. He has something of an historical precedent in the great Germanic chieftain Armanius (Hermann), who swore allegiance to Rome and took up arms in its defence. Similarly, Ulfang and his sons Ulfast, Ulwath and Uldor swear allegiance to the Eldar and take up arms in defence of Beleriand. However, just as Armanius and his people were secretly in league with the East Germanic barbarian tribes, so Ulfang and his people are secretly in league with the Eastern barbarian tribes of Morgoth. Armanius’s betrayal of the Romans in the midst of the historic Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9 BC resulted in the near-annihilation of three Roman legions. This is comparable to Ulfang’s betrayal of the Elves in the midst of the Battle of Unnumbered Tears in FA 472, which results in the annihilation of the Elvish army.

Apart from the Elvish translation of Ulfang as “hideous beard”, his epithets “Ulfang the Black” or “Ulfang the Swart” may also offer clues to Ulfang’s future betrayal of the Elves. In Norse myth, the greatest of the fire giants is Surtr, whose name literally means “the Black” or “the Swarthy One”. Like Surtr the Swarthy One, who led his own swarthy “sons of Muspell” into a battle against the army of the gods of Midgard, so Ulfang the Swart leads his sons and his Easterling “Swarthy Men” into battle against the armies of the Elves of Middle-earth. And yet, Surtr and the “sons of Muspell” – like Ulfang and his Easterling sons – gain nothing with their victory, for they all meet their own end on the battlefield on that same day. In both his interpretation of Norse myth and in his own writing, Tolkien maintained the moral perspective that evil is nothing but the absence of good. That is, evil in itself is essentially nothing. So the victory of evil can ultimately result only in self-annihilation.

Easterling “Swarthy Men” of Beleriand