Angmar

From Tolkien Gateway
The name Angmar refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Angmar (disambiguation).
Angmar
Donato Giancola - Ranging in Angmar.jpg
"Ranging in Angmar" by Donato Giancola
General information
PronunciationAngmar.mp3
LocationNorth-east of Eriador, north-west of the Vales of Anduin
CapitalCarn Dûm
People
PopulationOrcs, Men
GovernanceWitch-king
History
Foundedc. T.A. 1300
DestroyedT.A. 1975
GalleryImages of Angmar

Angmar (Q/S. Iron Home) was a realm in the far north of the Misty Mountains,[1] which was founded by the Lord of the Nazgûl, who became known as the Witch-king of Angmar[2][3]. The capital of Angmar was Carn Dûm.[4]

History[edit | edit source]

Around T.A. 1300, Sauron's shadow became stronger and evil things multiplied, heralded by the reappearance of the Nazgûl.[5] The lord of the Nazgûl came north and established the evil realm of Angmar between the Ettenmoors and the Mountains of Angmar on both sides of the Misty Mountains, because he intended to destroy the Dúnedain of the North and to exploit the disunity of the splinter realms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. He gathered many evil men, Orcs and other fell creatures in Angmar and became known as the Witch-king of Angmar, but it was not known at that time that he was the lord of the Nazgûl.[6]

Rhudaur was the first kingdom to fall. There were few Dúnedain in Rhudaur and an evil lord of the Hillmen, who had a secret alliance with Angmar, seized the power. As a consequence, Argeleb I, the king of Arthedain fortified the line of the Weather Hills,[7] which formed the eastern border between the realm of Arthedain and the realm of Rhudaur[8]. Nevertheless, Argeleb I was killed in a battle with the realms of Rhudaur and Angmar. However, his son Arveleg I managed to push back the forces of his enemies from the Weather hills with help from Cardolan and Lindon.[7] After that Arthedain and Cardolan maintained a line of defence along the Weather Hills, the Great East Road and the lower Hoarwell for many years.[9]

In T.A. 1409 a large army from Angmar invaded Cardolan and besieged Weathertop. The forces of Angmar defeated the Dúnedain, killed King Arveleg I and burned and destroyed the Tower of Amon Sûl, which stood on Weathertop. However, the palantír that was located in the tower was evacuated during the retreat to Fornost Erain. Rhudaur was occupied by evil men, which were subject to the realm of Angmar and the Dúnedain that had remained in Rhudaur were killed or fled to the west. Cardolan was devastated, but a remnant of the Dúnedain of Cardolan defended the Barrow-downs or fled to the Old Forest.[10] The last prince of Cardolan was slain in that year and was said to have been buried in the barrow in the Barrow-downs in which Meriadoc Brandybuck and Frodo Baggins were trapped by a Barrow-wight almost 1700 years later.[11] King Araphor, the brave young son of Arveleg I, drove away the forces of the enemy from Fornost and the North Downs with the aid of Círdan and the Elves of Lindon. The Elves from Rivendell and Elves of Lórien also attacked the forces of Angmar and managed to subdue Angmar for a time. Because of the war with Angmar and of their fear of Angmar, the Stoors who lived in the Angle in Rhudaur fled to the west, to the south or returned east to Rhovanion to live next to the river Gladden.[12]

During the reign of King Argeleb II most people of Cardolan, especially in Minhiriath died in the Great Plague, which brought an end to the Dúnedain of Cardolan. As a consequence, evil spirits from Angmar and Rhudaur occupied the deserted mounds.[11]

King Araphant and his son King Arvedui continued to defend Arthedain against assaults of Angmar, but the strength of Arthedain was dwindling. In the autumn of T.A. 1973 the kingdom of Gondor received messages that Arthedain was in great danger, because the Witch-king of Angmar was preparing an attack against it. In response, King Eärnil II of Gondor sent his son Eärnur north with a fleet as fast as he was able.[13]

In T.A. 1974 Angmar had recovered and invaded Arthedain from the north before the end of the winter.[14] The Witch-king overran Arthedain and conquered Fornost before the end of the year[15] and drove away most of the remaining Dúnedain over the river Lhûn, including the sons of the king.[14] King Arvedui of Arthedain defended the North Downs as long as he could until he had to flee to the north with some of his guards on horses. Arvedui hid in tunnels of old dwarf-mines at the northern end of the Blue Mountains until his supplies ran out and then fled to a camp of the Lossoth at the southern shore of the Icebay of Forochel where he was forced to wait. The Elves of Lindon heard of the flight of Arvedui to the north and sent a ship to rescue Arvedui, but it sank shortly after picking up Arvedui in the bay of Forochel when the ship was driven back to the ice by a storm and was crushed by further ice that was piled up against it in March[14] T.A. 1975[16].

When Prince Eärnur of Gondor arrived with his fleet at the havens of Lindon in T.A. 1975[16] it was too late, because Arthedain had already been conquered and King Arvedui was already dead. Círdan gathered a force from Lindon and Arnor and the combined forces of Lindon, Arnor and Gondor, which included tall and fair riders, princes from Rhovanion and horses from the Vales of Anduin crossed the river Lhûn and marched north. The Witch-king came from Fornost with the forces of Angmar to meet them, but was defeated in a battle on the plain between Lake Evendim and the North Downs. The Witch-king fled northwards with a remnant of his forces in the direction of Angmar, but his forces were overtaken by the cavalry of Gondor and by forces led by the Elf-lord Glorfindel who came north from Rivendell before they could reach the shelter of Carn Dûm. The Witch-king was able to escape from the north on a black horse, but the realm of Angmar was utterly defeated so that no Men and Orcs of Angmar remained on the west side of the Misty Mountains.[17]

The Éothéod, the ancestors of the Rohirrim, lived in the vales of Anduin between the Carrock and the Gladden in those days. The middle vales of the Anduin were populated by many Men and the shadow of Dol Guldur grew at that time. When the Éothéod heard that the Witch-king of Angmar had been defeated, they wanted to obtain more territory in the north and drove away the remnants of the people of Angmar on the east side of the Misty Mountains.[18] It is possible that the Éothéod heard of the defeat of Angmar from riders from the Vales of Anduin who defeated Angmar as part of the cavalry of Eärnur. As a result the Éothéod moved north from their old land to the region near the sources of the Anduin between the northernmost ranges of the Misty Mountains and the norhernmost parts of Mirkwood.[18]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Angmar seems to be a corrupted Sindarin or Quenya name.[19] Paul Strack suggests that it means "Iron Home".[20] It is a compound of anga ("iron") and mbar ("habitation"). The name would be angbar in pure Sindarin and angamar in pure Quenya.[19]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

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 heroes and units not found within Tolkien's Legendarium. Moreover, during the game's campaign, Angmar is besieged in Carn Dûm by Glorfindel and his Elves, however he wins the siege and destroys Arnor and Fornost.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Map of Angmar from 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 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 tribe, the Trév Gállorg, opposed the False King and is friendly to the Free peoples. Their rivals, the Trév Duvárdain, broke away from them to ally with the Angmarim. Angmar is also home to many 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 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 things 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 lands of the hill-men 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.

2012: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey:

Angmar and the war with Arnor are mentioned by Galadriel in the White Council. Following the destruction of Angmar, the Men of the North took the body of the Witch-king and sealed him in High Fells of Rhudaur.

2014: 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.

2016: Third Age: Total War - Divide and Conquer:

Following Angmar's destruction, only a few of the Witch king's servants gathered in the lands that once stood as his domain, with the descendants of those few gathering in the old fortresses. They waited patiently and diligently for their master's return, but let the very hillmen that they once ruled over colonize the territories of Rhuduar, which they claimed as their own. As the ring once again called for its master, Sauron sent his Nazgul to Eriador, where the Witch-King took the remnants of his Kingdom and demanded his servants to go forth and wage war once again in the name of the Iron Crown.
A new overlord is selected by the Witch King to unite the land of Rhudaur, call forth the orcish denizens of Mount Gram, and muster a great host to destroy the Free Peoples and conquer their lands in the name of Sauron, knowing that Gondor will not go to the aid of the North as they are focusing their efforts on Mordor and their Easterling vassels. Only when Eriador has been dominated by the Iron Crown may the Kingdom of Angmar truly rise from the ashes and claim the glory that it was denied centuries beforehand.

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entry about King Eärnil II, p. 1051
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 1409, p. 1086
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", "the evil king of Carn Dûm", p. 146
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year c. 1300, p. 1086
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry about King Malvegil, p. 1040
  7. 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry for King Argeleb I, p. 1040
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain, p. 1040
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry about King Arveleg, p. 1040
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entries about King Arveleg and King Araphor, pp. 1040-41
  11. 11.0 11.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry about King Argeleb II, p. 1041
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry about King Araphor, p. 1040
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entry about King Eärnil II, p. 1050
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur", entry about King Arvedui, pp. 1041-43
  15. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 1974, p. 1086
  16. 16.0 16.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 1975, p. 1086
  17. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entry about King Ondoher, p. 1049 and entry about King Eärnil II, pp. 1049-51
  18. 18.0 18.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The House of Eorl", p. 1064
  19. 19.0 19.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 20 citing from J.R.R. Tolkien's manuscript for Nomenclature
  20. Paul Strack, "S. Angmar loc.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 2 May 2019)