Who are the 'wild men'?

[Axbolt]

So it wasn't exactly a lie, but Saruman definitely twisted the truth, thanks very much

[William Cloud Hicklin]

Well, we have to distinguish between a) the Dunlendings, one population of the widespread "indigenous" race of Eriador which also included the Dead Men of Dunharrow and the Men of Bree, and b) the people Tolkien calls wild men, the Wild Men of Druadan Forest, Ghan-buri-ghan and his folk, who were truly "wild men of the woods," stone age primitives. Their remote kinship was to the Drugs of the First Age (hence Dru-adan). These the Rohirrim apparently didn't recognize as human, and had at times hunted them for sport.

[Zigûr]

The ones that appear in the film are meant to be the Dunlendings, wouldn't you say?

Oddly enough when I think about it, they don't seem to appear outside of agreeing to serve Saruman apart from perhaps a couple of scenes of raiding in Rohan.

One thing I've always liked about the book depiction of Saruman's armies is the seemingly rather eclectic nature of his forces: Dunlendings, Uruk-hai, lesser Orcs, and wherever the "Half-orcs" existed in that scheme. "The Battles of the Fords of Isen" in Unfinished Tales gives a particularly good sense of that, I think.

[Faramir Jones]

Originally Posted by Axbolt

So it wasn't exactly a lie, but Saruman definitely twisted the truth, thanks very much

I think that the most convincing lies have an element of truth, worked on by the person making the lie, as Saruman did in this case.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

I think that the most convincing lies have an element of truth, worked on by the person making the lie, as Saruman did in this case.

I don't think it was a lie, per se. In practice, the Dunlendings did feel aggrieved by an age-old land squabble (and we certainly can put that sort of disagreement in a real and very modern historic sense). I think it was exactly what they wanted to hear, given impetus and gravity by Saruman's gift of gab.

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

I don't think it was a lie, per se. In practice, the Dunlendings did feel aggrieved by an age-old land squabble (and we certainly can put that sort of disagreement in a real and very modern historic sense). I think it was exactly what they wanted to hear, given impetus and gravity by Saruman's gift of gab.

Knowing a king of Rohan once insulted one of their kin and punched him to death probably helped as well.

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Inziladun

Knowing a king of Rohan once insulted one of their kin and punched him to death probably helped as well.

So much so that Dunlending mothers sent their children to bed with the stern admonition: "Better be good or Helm the Hammerhand will get ye if ye don't watch out!"

[Faramir Jones]

According to Appendix A of LotR, after the death of his last surviving son:

Helm grew fierce and gaunt for famine and grief, and the dread of him alone was worth many men in the defence of the Burg. He would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll into the camps of his enemies, and slay many men with his hands. It was believed that if he bore no weapon no weapon would bite on him. The Dunlendings said that if he could find no food he ate men. That tale lasted long in Dunland.

I agree with you, Morthoron, that Dunlending mothers would calm down their children with that admonition; but they would also make very clear that Helm ate naughty children.

[Zigûr]

Originally Posted by Faramir Jones

According to Appendix A of LotR, after the death of his last surviving son:

Helm grew fierce and gaunt for famine and grief, and the dread of him alone was worth many men in the defence of the Burg. He would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll into the camps of his enemies, and slay many men with his hands. It was believed that if he bore no weapon no weapon would bite on him. The Dunlendings said that if he could find no food he ate men. That tale lasted long in Dunland.

Lovely find, Faramir! It also connects nicely to the Dunlendings' reaction to Erkenbrand's speech in which he grants them mercy after the Battle of the Hornburg:

"The men of Dunland were amazed, for Saruman had told them that the men of Rohan were cruel and burned their captives alive."

Relating back to my first post, here's a useful statement from Unfinished Tales regarding Gondor's attitude to the Dunlendings:

"Above all, the eyes of Gondor had ever been eastward, whence all their perils came; the enmity of the "wild" Dunlendings seemed of small account to the Stewards."

So it seems that they didn't give them much thought either way, which would presumably contribute to why a situation arose in which the Dunlendings felt that Calenardhon had been "stolen" by the Eorlingas: Cirion probably didn't even think of them or factor them into his considerations.

They also seemingly profited little from the period in which Durin's Folk dwelt in Dunland in exile, as by the time of the Battle of the Fords of Isen they generally lacked armour; they couldn't wear Orc armour as it didn't fit. By contrast, the armour of the Men of Rohan was made for them by the Men of Gondor. Presumably when the Dwarves lived in exile in Dunland it was to avoid, in their pride, having to live in the lands of other "civilised" people. Instead they retreated to a lightly-populated area (Dunland does not seem to me to be a very densely populated place) and perhaps had little to no contact with the Men in the vicinity. Then again, I can imagine that they probably traded with the Dunlendings for food, but probably did not trade weapons or armour. Dunland was perhaps a place where they could live in some peace and quiet and trade for their survival without the "shame" and (perceived) indignity of living such a life of exile among more "civilised" people with more established homes.