Angmar: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
mNo edit summary
Line 45: Line 45:
In 1974 Angmar amassed its forces and launched a final assault on Arthedain. Angmar took Arthedain's capital [[Fornost]], thereby destroying the last kingdom of the Dúnedain.
In 1974 Angmar amassed its forces and launched a final assault on Arthedain. Angmar took Arthedain's capital [[Fornost]], thereby destroying the last kingdom of the Dúnedain.


A year later, Prince [[Eärnur]] of [[Gondor]] arrived to aid Arthedain, but he was too late. His army utterly defeated the forces of Angmar in the [[Battle of Fornost]], but the Witch-king was not slain. He escaped and fled to [[Mordor]], but his kingdom of Angmar was no more.<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings]],'' [[Appendix A]]: Annals of the Kings and Rulers, I: The Númenórean Kings, (iii): "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"</ref>
A year later, Prince [[Eärnur]] of [[Gondor]] arrived to aid Arthedain, but he was too late. His army utterly defeated the forces of Angmar in the [[Battle of Fornost]], but the Witch-king was not slain. He escaped and fled to [[Mordor]], but his kingdom of Angmar was no more.<ref>{{App|Eriador}}</ref>


The territory of Angmar which extended east of the Misty Mountains was subsequently overrun by the [[Éothéod]], ancestors of the [[Rohirrim]].
The territory of Angmar which extended east of the Misty Mountains was subsequently overrun by the [[Éothéod]], ancestors of the [[Rohirrim]].


== Etymology ==
== Etymology ==
Angmar means "Iron Home" in [[Sindarin]] (from ''[[ang]]'' = "iron" and ''[[-mbar|mar]]'' = "home, dwelling")<ref>''[[The Complete Guide to Middle-earth]]''</ref>
Angmar means "Iron Home" in [[Sindarin]] (from ''[[ang]]'' = "iron" and ''[[-mbar|mar]]'' = "home, dwelling").{{Fact}}


==Portrayal in adaptations==
==Portrayal in adaptations==
Line 69: Line 69:


'''2014: ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'':'''
'''2014: ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'':'''
:In ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'',Gandalf in a coucil with [[Thranduil]] and [[Bard]] states that [[Sauron]]'s final goal was to restore '''Angmar''' in order to gain dominance over the North of [[Middle-earth]] by conquering the [[Lonely Mountain]] due to its strategic position in which lies.
:In ''[[The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies]]'', [[Gandalf]] tells [[Thranduil]] and [[Bard]] that [[Sauron]]'s final goal was to conquer the [[Lonely Mountain]] due to its strategic position. This would enable Sauron to restore Angmar and gain dominance over the north of [[Middle-earth]].


{{references}}
{{references}}

Revision as of 20:14, 7 February 2016

"...It is a long tale..." — Aragorn
This article or section needs expansion and/or modification. Please help the wiki by expanding it.
"Who told you, and who sent you?" — Gandalf
This article or section needs more/new/more-detailed sources to conform to a higher standard and to provide proof for claims made.
The name Angmar refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Angmar (disambiguation).
Angmar
Mark Fisher - Angmar.gif
General information
LocationNorth-east of Arnor, south of Forodwaith
CapitalCarn Dûm
People
PopulationOrcs, Trolls
LanguageMostly Black Speech
GovernanceWitch-king
History
FoundedT.A. 1300
DestroyedT.A. 1975
GalleryImages of Angmar

Angmar ('Iron Home', Sindarin) was a region and kingdom founded in Third Age 1300 in the far north of the Misty Mountains by the evil Lord of the Ringwraiths, who became known as the "Witch-king of Angmar". Since the Witch-king was a vassal of the Dark Lord Sauron, it is presumed that Angmar's wars against the successor kingdoms of Arnor were done at Sauron's bidding.

The capital of Angmar was Carn Dûm. Here it was said that an evil race of men, possibly related to the Easterlings of the First Age, lived.

History

Soon after Angmar was founded it waged war against the divided Dúnedain realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. The Witch-king conquered Rhudaur, the weakest of Arnor's successor kingdoms, and replaced its Dúnedain king with one of the native Hill-men, a wild tribe of men possibly descended from the "accursed" kin of Ulfang.

Now under the Witch-King's control, Rhudaur in 1356 invaded Arthedain and in the attack, Arthedain's King,Argeleb I, was slain. However, with the aid of the armies of Cardolan, Arthedain managed to maintain a line of defense along the Weather Hills.

In 1409 Angmar attacked Rivendell and Cardolan, besiegeing the former and destroying all of the latter's settlements except its capital in the Barrow-downs. Since Rhudaur had fallen under Angmar's control, this left Arthedain without any allies that could aid them to a great extent, which struggled on for another 500 years. The last people of Cardolan died in the Great Plague, allowing Angmar to send Barrow-wights to infest the Barrow-downs.

In 1974 Angmar amassed its forces and launched a final assault on Arthedain. Angmar took Arthedain's capital Fornost, thereby destroying the last kingdom of the Dúnedain.

A year later, Prince Eärnur of Gondor arrived to aid Arthedain, but he was too late. His army utterly defeated the forces of Angmar in the Battle of Fornost, but the Witch-king was not slain. He escaped and fled to Mordor, but his kingdom of Angmar was no more.[1]

The territory of Angmar which extended east of the Misty Mountains was subsequently overrun by the Éothéod, ancestors of the Rohirrim.

Etymology

Angmar means "Iron Home" in Sindarin (from ang = "iron" and mar = "home, dwelling").[source?]

Portrayal in adaptations

2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king:

Angmar is a playable faction in the game, featuring mostly noncanon heroes and units. Moreover, in the campaign section of the game Angmar is besieged in Carn Dum by Glorfindel and his Elves, however he wins the siege and destroys Arnor and Fornost.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Angmar was not completely destroyed after the Battle of Fornost. Rather, the Witch-King changed Eärnur into a wraith to watch over his kingdom until it could rise once more. By the time of the War of the Ring the kingdom of Angmar was once again strong enough to threaten Eriador. The Men of Angmar were of two distinct cultures. The ruling class of Carn Dûm consisted of the sorcerous Angmarim, who had Black Númenórean blood and were staunch followers of Sauron and his servants. The others were the tribes of Hill-men, native folk who continued their old traditions. One Hill-man clan, the Trév Gállorg, opposed the False King and was friendly to the Free peoples. Their rivals were the Angmarim-aligned Trév Duvárdain. Angmar is also home to many evil creatures such as wargs, drakes, spiders, Merrevail, and Gertheryg. Four tribes of orcs, the Blogmal, the Krahjarn, the Ongbǘrz, and the Tarkrîp, originate from Angmar.
The region was accessible from the North Downs by traveling through the Ram Dúath, a range of winding canyons in the south-west of Angmar. Within Ram Dúath were camps of the Angmarim and orcs marching to war, and also the peaceful Earth-kin village Lehmä-koti. North of the Ram Dúath were the grey hills of Fasach-Larran and Fasach-Falroid, where the Hill-men of Angmar dwelt. At the westernmost exit of the Ram Dúath was the Trév Gállorg village of Aughaire. The hostile Trév Duvárdain inhabited towns and camps in the north.
To the east of the hills was the great brimstone swamp of Malenhad. The dread Watching-stones of the Rammas Deluon formed a barrier of deadly fear down the middle of Malenhad, effectively separating the western half of Angmar from the eastern half. The shallow sulfur lake Duvuinen lay in the east of Malenhad. Hidden in a cavern to the south of the lake was the Dwarf-outpost Gabilshathûr. In the south-east of Angmar beyond the lake were the valleys of Gorothlad, home to orcs, trolls, and other evil creatures. Gorothlad contained several camps for Angmar's growing orc army as well as the arena of Maethad. North of Gorothlad was the rocky basin Nan Gurth, in the center of which stood Barad Gúlaran and its ring of eight lesser towers.
West of Nan Gurth was Imlad Balchorth, a valley full of tombs and poisoned water, haunted by many wights and fell-spirits. In the north-east of Nan Gurth was Gath Uior, a pass to the Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu in the far north-east of Angmar near to the northernmost of the Misty Mountains. Deep underground within the Rift the Balrog Thaurlach was kept imprisoned after his defeat by the Blue Wizards. Fire-orcs and Nameless creatures also dwelt there, though they were opposed by a mysterious race of fire giants known as the Eldgang.
North-west of Nan Gurth and north-east of Imlad Balchorth was Himbar, an ashen, spider-infested land among crags of black rock like obsidian. Up a path into the rock walls that bordered Himbar in the east was the secret Ranger refuge of Gath Forthnír. In the west of Himbar was the Angmarim town Rhunendin, and beyond that was a long gated pass to the capital city of Carn Dûm. In the south-west of the capital was a narrow, winding pass, guarded by Watching-stones, that connected to the hill-man towns in the north of Fasach-Falroid. The host of Angmar marched to the southern lands along a main road that led south from Rhunendin between Imlad Balchorth and Nan Gurth, then turned west to pass north of Malenhad. Beyond Malenhad the road turned south to enter the Ram Dǘath.

2014: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies:

In The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Gandalf tells Thranduil and Bard that Sauron's final goal was to conquer the Lonely Mountain due to its strategic position. This would enable Sauron to restore Angmar and gain dominance over the north of Middle-earth.

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur"