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Barbarian Tribe: Difference between revisions
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If the work of fiction wants to portray them positively, they will be composed of [[Proud Warrior Race Guy|Proud Warrior Race Guys]] or [[Noble Savage|Noble Savages]] who are [[Nature Hero|in touch with the environment]]. A [[Barbarian Hero]] will originate in one of these tribes.
This is [[Truth in Television]] to an extent, since one of the main thrusts of history in Eurasia (until the advent of gunpowder weapons) was the periodic invasions of urban areas in China and Europe by [[Born in
On the other hand, Claude Levi-Strauss said the only real barbarians are the ones who believe in barbarians. The Ancient Greeks, who invented the term, applied it pretty liberally to anyone they didn't like, including peoples who were quite civilized by any reasonable standard (like the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] and the Persians) and even other Greeks who didn't live up to Athenian ideals. A modern work that applies [[Character Development]] to its barbarians may quickly find them to be [[Not So Different]].
See [[The Horde]] for when they are portrayed as [[Always Chaotic Evil]]. See also [[Hordes From the East]] and [[Born in
The [[Sufficiently Advanced]] often compare those "below" them to this.
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* Native Americans in movies about the [[The Western|Old West]] in America will use this trope. Older movies use the more negative version, while newer movies will use the positive one.
* ''[[The
* The Celts who allied themselves to the Sheriff of Nottingham, in ''[[Robin Hood]]: Prince of Thieves''.
== Literature ==
* The Dunlendings (hill-people who were ejected from their ancestral homeland by the Rohirrim) were portrayed this way in ''[[
* In the Military SF series ''[[The General]]'' the "Barbarians" are descended from [[The Federation|Federation]] troops stationed in the boonies before the Fall. It is undoubtedly just coincidence that their native language is 'Namerique' and they have a variety of Northern European names.
* The Kadeshi in the [[Farsala Trilogy]] are a pretty straight example of this trope, whereas the Suud are more of a [[Subverted Trope|subversion]].
* [[Robert E. Howard]]'s [[Conan the Barbarian]] often leads this. However improbable it is that he is always taken in and rises to the top.
** In "[[Literature/The People Of The Black Citadel|The People Of The Black Citadel]]", he has to negiotiate over his captured men.
** In "[[
* Parodied in the [[Nightside]] novels with the Tribe of Gay Barbarians: urbanized variants with their own reasons for dressing in spikes and leather loincloths.
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* ''Hercules: Legendary Journeys'', ''Xena: Warrior Princess'', and ''Beastmaster'' all used this trope extensively. These TV shows were made in Australia or New Zealand, so they may draw upon the same group of writers who particularly like these types of antagonists.
** Beastmaster actually included an INVERSION of the trope during one season, when the "civilized" new military power overshadowed the previous [[Big Bad]] barbarian tribe, wiping them off the map with ease. They saw the Beastmaster and his allies as this too.
* An episode of ''[[
== Tabletop Games ==
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== Video Games ==
* In ''[[The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess]]'', Bulblins seem to operate in this fashion. They live in a crude encampment in the desert, but venture out into the world for raping and pillaging. They tame wild boars, and are ruled by the gargantuan Lord Bulblin (who, as the biggest of the Bulblins, is also [[Large and In Charge]])
* Centaurs in ''[[World of Warcraft]]'', are based on the Mongols. They call their leaders Khans, wear fur-lined conical helmets, travel in nomadic hordes, and live in tent villages.
* The ''[[Civilization]]'' games have barbarian hordes. In Civ 4, barbarian cities are named after real historical tribes and the second expansion set added an occasional event where numerous barbarian units appear next to a random civilisation. As one might expect, there are no diplomacy options with barbarians (aside from giving in to them when they say, "Give us X amount of gold or else we pillage you") and they will try to conquer or sack any cities they come across.
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** ''Medieval: Total War'' even has a cheat code allowing you to play as barbarians/rebels. The code? ''"[[Conan the Barbarian|conan]]"''.
** In the ''Empire Total War'' game, the minor native civilizations appear as this to your player.
* The [[
* ''[[The King of Dragon Pass]]'' is basically a fantasy barbarian tribe simulator. Subverted in that, while warlike and, well, barbaric by present-day standards, they have a lot of hidden depths and a culture that places a high emphasis on learning, literacy and commerce. And, ofcourse, they're the good guys (arguably even more so in ''[[Rune Quest]]'', where they are traditionally put against a civilized, evil [[The Empire|empire]]).
* Act 5 of [[Diablo II]] had you helping a friendly version. Barbarians were even a choosable class.
* In [[Fallout: New Vegas]] the Khans are a post-apocolyptic version of a barbarian tribe. Caesar's Legion is a collection of barbarian tribes assimilated into one massive [[The Horde|Horde]] by a highly-educated man with a love of Roman history. Honest Hearts includes the White Legs, a band of savage tribals {{spoiler|trained by [[Foil|Ulysses]]}} who possess military hardware after raiding a weapons cache.
* ''[[Europa Universalis]]: Rome'' includes barbarian incursions and uprisings as periodic occurrences. Unlike in other games, if they go unchecked for long enough, they'll actually establish a new faction from the victim's conquered territory.
* [[
* The space dragon from ''[[Master of Orion]]'' 2 can be seen as a science fiction equivalent.
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== Western Animation ==
* The Vikings in ''[[
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