Hairy Men

The Hairy Men^[1] or hairy men^[2] were an ancient people in Essos. Their actual name is lost to history.^[2]

History

There are tales of Hairy Men, a race of savage and shaggy warriors who rode to battle on unicorns, established on the central grasslands of Essos stretching between the Forest of Qohor to the Bone Mountains. These people were larger in size than the Ibbenese, who may descend from them. Huzhor Amai, the mythic hero king and ancestor of the Sarnori, wore about his shoulders a great cloak made from the pelt of a king of the Hairy Men.^[1]

According to legend, the original inhabitants of what would become Norvos were driven away by an onslaught of hairy men from the east.^[3]

Hairy men are remembered in some Pentoshi histories as having been settled in western Essos, in what would become Andalos, until they were driven out by the Andals.^[2] The Pentoshi and most maesters of the Citadel believe the Ibbenese are akin to the hairy men, though it is unknown if the hairy men settled Ib from Essos or if the hairy men originated on the island and then spread to the mainland.^[2]

Hairy men akin to the Ibbenese, small and dark, also settled on Lorath but shunned the mazes of the mazemakers. They, in turn, were displaced by Andals, who invaded the Lorathi islands and slaughtered them in the name of the Seven, taking their women and children as slaves.^[4]

References