Carn Dûm: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
m (Deleted the claim that the Witch-king "resided" at Carn Dûm; deleted a reference to the entry Carn Dûm in the index of The Treason of Isengard and to the entry Carn Dûm in the index of The Return of the Shadow, because they do not say that.)
(Added that Carn Dûm was the seat of the king of Angmar and added the correct source for that statement; deleted information that is not about Carn Dûm, but about Angmar; added the dream of Merry about the men of Carn Dûm with a reference)
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'''Carn Dûm''' was the chief fortress of the realm of [[Angmar]].<ref>{{UT|Index}}, ''Carn Dûm''</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”, p. 144; Index, 'Carn Dûm''</ref> It was located at the western end of the [[Mountains of Angmar]], the north-western extension of the [[Misty Mountains]].<ref name=Map/><ref>{{HM|RC}}, “Prefaction”</ref>
'''Carn Dûm''' was the chief fortress of the realm of [[Angmar]]<ref>{{UT|Index}}, ''Carn Dûm''</ref><ref name=RC>{{HM|RC}}, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”, p. 144; Index, 'Carn Dûm''</ref> and the seat of its king.<ref>{{FR|Barrow}}, statement of Tom Bombdadil about the blades of the Men of Westernesse</ref> It was located at the western end of the [[Mountains of Angmar]], the north-western extension of the [[Misty Mountains]].<ref name=Map/><ref>{{HM|RC}}, “Prefaction”</ref>


==History==
==History==
Around {{TA|1300}} the chief of the [[Nazgûl]] came north to found the realm of [[Angmar]], seeing hope in the disunion of [[Arnor]] while the southern kingdom of [[Gondor]] remained powerful. The Witch-king, as he became known, established Carn Dûm as his capital and populated it with [[Men of Darkness]], [[Orcs]] and other fell creatures.<ref>{{PM|Ai}}</ref><ref name="TA">{{App|TA}}</ref> An evil and corrupted race of men was said to live in Carn Dûm.<ref>{{RS|3XIX8}}</ref><ref>{{TI|Lorien}}</ref> ([[Merry]] likely saw them in dream while he was trapped with [[Frodo]] in the [[Barrows|Barrow]] of the last Prince of [[Cardolan]]).<ref name="North">{{App|Eriador}}</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”, pp. 144-5</ref>
In {{TA|1409|n}} a great host from Angmar invaded and ravaged [[Cardolan]] and killed the last prince of Cardolan.<ref name=War1409>{{App|Eriador}}, The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain, entries about the war with Angmar in 1409</ref>


Allying with the [[Hill-men]] of [[Rhudaur]], the Witch-king in Carn Dûm sent forces that resisted the claim of [[Argeleb I]] of [[Arthedain]] of lordship over all of the former lands of [[Arnor]].<ref name="North">{{App|Eriador}}</ref> Clashes resulted and in {{TA|1356|n}} Argeleb was slain.<ref name="TA"/> [[Arveleg I]], the son of Argeleb, with strength from Cardolan and [[Lindon]], repelled Rhudaur and Angmar from the [[Weather Hills]] and established an uneasy, fortified frontier.
In {{TA|1974|n}}<ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 1974</ref>the combined armies of [[Gondor]], [[Lindon]] and [[Arnor]] crossed the river [[Lune]] and defeated the forces of Angmar in a great battle on the plain between [[Nenuial]] and the [[North Downs]]. The [[Witch-king]] and his surviving forces fled northwards toward Angmar, but they were overtaken by the cavalry of Gondor with prince [[Eärnur]] at their head and cut off by a force led by [[Glorfindel]] that came from the south out of [[Rivendell]] before before they were able to reach shelter in Carn Dûm. The Witch-king was able to flee, but the remaining forces of Angmar were utterly defeated and no man or orc of the realm of Angmar remained west of the [[Misty Mountains|Mountains]].<ref>{{App|Gondor}}, paragraphs about king Eärnil II</ref> As a consequence, it is possible that Carn Dûm was destroyed. It is also possible that Carn Dûm was repopulated after {{TA|2480|n}}, when Orcs began making secret strongholds in the Misty Mountains<ref>{{App|TA}}, entry for the year 2480</ref>, but the fate of Carn Dûm is not mentioned in the Annals of the Kings and Rulers or in the Tale of Years.  


In {{TA|1409|n}} a stronger host commanded from Carn Dûm invaded Cardolan and slew its last Prince, then surrounded [[Weathertop]] and killed Arveleg. Again a coalition of Arthedain (now ruled by [[Araphor]], son of Arveleg I) and Lindon contained the menace.
On September 28 of {{TA|3018|n}}<ref>{{App|Great}}, entry for September 28 3018 of the Third Age</ref> While [[Merry]] was trapped with [[Frodo]] in a [[Barrows|Barrow]], he had a dream that he and others were attacked and defeated by the men of Carn Dûm at night and that his heart had been pierced with a spear.<ref>{{FR|Barrow}}, statements of Merry after waking up from his sleep in the barrow</ref> Some say that this barrow was the grave of the last prince of [[Cardolan]].<ref name=War1409/> It is possible that he dreamt of what happened to the last prince of Cardolan and his men.<ref name=RC/>
 
The kingdom of [[Arthedain]] perished in the [[Fall of Fornost]] in {{TA|1974|n}},<ref name="North"/> and the Witch King moved its capital from Carn Dûm to [[Fornost]].<ref name="North">{{App|Eriador}}</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, Analysis of the Appendix A</ref> However, in {{TA|1975|n}}<ref name="TA"/> the Witch-king's forces were driven north-east after the [[Battle of Fornost]] by the cavalry of Gondor and destroyed. [[Glorfindel of Rivendell|Glorfindel]] drove off the Witch-king himself, preventing him from returning to his refuge of Carn Dûm.<ref name="North">{{App|Eriador}}</ref>
 
The host of Gondor left no Man or Orc alive west of the Mountains.<ref name="North"/> On the eastern side in {{TA|1977|n}} [[Frumgar]] led the [[Éothéod]] into the North<ref name="TA"/> and they drove the last remnants of Angmar away.<ref>{{App|Eorl}}</ref> At this time then Carn Dûm was wholly abandoned, although its fate is never specified. While it is possible that Carn Dûm was repopulated after {{TA|2480|n}}, when Orcs began making secret strongholds in the Misty Mountains,<ref name="TA"/> its name was never mentioned again in any histories.


==Etymology==
==Etymology==

Revision as of 13:43, 28 March 2021

Carn Dûm
Fortress
Matěj Čadil - Carn dum.jpg
"Carn Dûm" by Matěj Čadil
General Information
LocationWestern end of the Mountains of Angmar, north-west of Mount Gundabad, south of Forodwaith,[1] 700 miles south of the most northerly point of the northern coast of Middle-earth[2]
TypeFortress
InhabitantsMen of Darkness
GalleryImages of Carn Dûm

Carn Dûm was the chief fortress of the realm of Angmar[3][4] and the seat of its king.[5] It was located at the western end of the Mountains of Angmar, the north-western extension of the Misty Mountains.[1][6]

History

In 1409 a great host from Angmar invaded and ravaged Cardolan and killed the last prince of Cardolan.[7]

In 1974[8]the combined armies of Gondor, Lindon and Arnor crossed the river Lune and defeated the forces of Angmar in a great battle on the plain between Nenuial and the North Downs. The Witch-king and his surviving forces fled northwards toward Angmar, but they were overtaken by the cavalry of Gondor with prince Eärnur at their head and cut off by a force led by Glorfindel that came from the south out of Rivendell before before they were able to reach shelter in Carn Dûm. The Witch-king was able to flee, but the remaining forces of Angmar were utterly defeated and no man or orc of the realm of Angmar remained west of the Mountains.[9] As a consequence, it is possible that Carn Dûm was destroyed. It is also possible that Carn Dûm was repopulated after 2480, when Orcs began making secret strongholds in the Misty Mountains[10], but the fate of Carn Dûm is not mentioned in the Annals of the Kings and Rulers or in the Tale of Years.

On September 28 of 3018[11] While Merry was trapped with Frodo in a Barrow, he had a dream that he and others were attacked and defeated by the men of Carn Dûm at night and that his heart had been pierced with a spear.[12] Some say that this barrow was the grave of the last prince of Cardolan.[7] It is possible that he dreamt of what happened to the last prince of Cardolan and his men.[4]

Etymology

The etymology of Carn Dûm is uncertain and it could be any from the Elvish or Mannish languages.

Dûm is a Khuzdul word meaning "halls, mansions". The name Carn Dûm therefore could be Khuzdul (suggested by its proximity to nearby Gundabad) but Tolkien used K for this language instead of C.[13]

In The Return of the Shadow, Carndoom or “Caron-dûn” appear as early names of Dimrill Dale which, according to Tolkien, means "Red Valley".[14] This corresponds with Sindarin carn ("red") and tûm ("valley").

David Salo favours the Sindarin interpretation of "red valley", and provides the name as an example of the few Sindarin phrases where the adjective precedes the noun (others being Sarn Athrad and Sarn Gebir).[15] Otherwise, neither words carn and dûm have been attested (carn could be a short form of caran possibly also seen in Carcharoth, "red maw")

Another suggestion, is that the name roughly translates as "mountain fortress" in Gaelic;[16] although Tolkien uses Celtic elements for some translated Mannish names, this would have been the only instance where he uses Gaelic. It is unknown whether this is just coincidence or not.

Portrayal in adaptations

Carn Dum in The Lord of the Rings Online

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

Carn Dûm is the capital of Angmar. The campaign begins with its construction, and it is besieged once by Glorfindel. Carn Dûm is also playable in the skirmish section of the game.

2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Carn Dum is located in the game's region of Angmar and was both the main focus of storyline and the final end-game dungeon for the game's original release. It is ruled by Angmar's shadow that has returned to this city in the form of the False King Mordirith, Steward of Angmar.

2011: The Lord of the Rings: War in the North

Carn Dum is the final level in the game. It is ruled by Agandaûr, a descendant of the Black Númenóreans and a servant of Sauron.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Introduction", The Map of Middle-earth, footnote relating to the Cape of Forochel in the first paragraph
  3. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, Index, Carn Dûm
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, “Fog on the Barrow-downs”, p. 144; Index, 'Carn Dûm
  5. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", statement of Tom Bombdadil about the blades of the Men of Westernesse
  6. ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, “Prefaction”
  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", The North-kingdom and the Dúnedain, entries about the war with Angmar in 1409
  8. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 1974
  9. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", paragraphs about king Eärnil II
  10. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2480
  11. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years", entry for September 28 3018 of the Third Age
  12. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs", statements of Merry after waking up from his sleep in the barrow
  13. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix E, "Pronunciation of Words and Names"
  14. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Return of the Shadow, "The Story Continued: XXIV. The Ring Goes South, Notes", note 13, p. 433
  15. ↑ David Salo (2004), A Gateway to Sindarin, p. 102
  16. ↑ Carn Dûm at the Encyclopedia of Arda
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