Posted: May 10, 2000 at 15:15:53: by Jim Gregors
: : This is only a technicality, but there is no indication that
: : Khamul was actually an Easterling - at least not in a racial or
: : cultural sense (such as the Wain-riders). He is called the
: : 'Black Easterling', but the adjective 'black' could simply
: : describe his evil nature and 'easterling' could refer to his
: : origin somewhere in the East. It is even possible that
: : he was a Numenorean, since the ships of Numenor sailed even to
: : the Gates of Morning in the uttermost East, and during such
: : voyages, they may have established colonies along the eastern
: : coasts of Middle-earth.: "Easterling" does not denote race in Tolkien. He groups men into basically three categories: Edainic peoples, Easterlings, and Haradrim. The Edainic peoples were divided into many tribes and nations: the three houses of the Edain in Beleriand, the Numenoreans, the Faithful Dunedain of Arnor and Gondor, the Black Numenoreans, the Northmen, the Beornings, the Woodmen, the Men of Dale, the Rohirrim, etc. : Some of these sub-groupings are just "familial" names for further sub-groupings (as "Edain" is for the Three Houses and their descendants, and "Northmen" is for the many tribes who came out of the Vales of Anduin). : So Khamul most certainly was an Easterling, in the sense that he came from one of the non-Edainic peoples of the east. Tolkien would not have called him any sort of Easterling otherwise. We have no idea of the racial background of Khamul. Hailing from the East may make him an 'Easterling', but only in a geographical sense. It does not preclude him from being of Numenorean descent any more than being a 'Southron' would. If we take it for granted that at least three of the Nazgul were formally Numenorean lords, then I tend to wonder how Khamul could have risen to the position of 'Second Chief'. With the natural gifts possessed by the Numenoreans, I would assume the second-in-command would be one of them, not some eastern barbarian, especially considering that the position involved more than just the direction of the Nazgul. Khamul was responsible for nearly as much of Sauron's Empire as the Witch-King himself.
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