The hardy and secretive Men who lived among the snow and ice that surrounded the Icebay of Forochel. They were said to have been descended from the ancient Forodwaith, and had habits that seemed strange and mysterious to those who lived in warmer climes. The igloos, skates and sleds they used were incomprehensible to the Hobbits, so that the authors of the Red Book's commentaries could only say of the Snowmen that they were known to '...house in the snow, and it is said that they can run on the ice with bones on their feet, and have carts without wheels.'3
Notes
1 |
We have almost no dating evidence for the Snowmen, other than the fact that they rescued Arvedui of Arthedain in III 1974. They evidently had an ancient heritage, but the details of their history are almost entirely unknown. It is notable, however, that the Appendices to The Lord of the Rings (representing texts produced after the War of the Ring) speak of the Snowmen in the present tense, which implies that they were still extant during the Fourth Age. |
2 |
Our understanding of the origins of the Lossoth and their relationship to the Forodwaith is limited. Indeed, all we're told is that the Snowmen were a remnant of the Forodwaith, implying that the former culture had at one time been more widespread or prominent, and had become diminished before the later Third Age. |
3 |
The Lord of the Rings Appendix A I (iii), Eriador, Arnor and the Heirs of Isildur |
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- Updated 8 January 2024
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