Hornburg

The Hornburg stands at Helm's Gate, before the mouth of the Deep, a fortress of ancient stone built in the far-off days of the glory of Gondor. Men said that the sea-kings had built this fastness with the hands of giants. It was called the Hornburg, for a trumpet sounded upon the tower echoed in the Deep behind, as if armies long-forgotten were issuing to war from caves beneath the hills. A wall, too, the men of old had made from the Hornburg to the southern cliff, barring the entrance to the gorge. Beneath it by a wide culvert the Deeping-stream passed out. About the feet of the Hornrock it wound, and flowed then in a gully through the midst of a wide green gore, sloping gently down from Helm's Gate to Helm's Dike. Thence it fell into the Deeping-coomb and out into the Westfold Vale.

The Fortress and Its Setting

At Helm's Gate, before the mouth of the Deep, there was a heel of rock thrust outward by the northern cliff. There upon its spur stood high walls of ancient stone, and within them was a lofty tower. The fastness was named for the hero of old wars who had made his refuge there, and the land itself was called Helm's Deep after him. The gorge wound ever steeper and narrower inward from the north under the shadow of the Thrihyrne, till the crowhaunted cliffs rose like mighty towers on either side, shutting out the light. The Hornburg was the key to this defensive position, a place where a small force could hold against a vast host.

The Keeper of the Fortress

There in the Hornburg at Helm's Gate Erkenbrand, master of Westfold on the borders of the Mark, now dwelt. As the days darkened with threat of war, being wise, he had repaired the wall and made the fastness strong. The fortress was thus not merely an ancient relic but a living stronghold, maintained and prepared by its keeper against the coming conflict. Erkenbrand's wisdom in fortifying the Hornburg proved crucial, for the threat of war soon became a reality.

The Approach of War

The Riders were still in the low valley before the mouth of the Coomb, when cries and hornblasts were heard from their scouts that went in front. Out of the darkness arrows whistled. Swiftly a scout rode back and reported that wolf-riders were abroad in the valley, and that a host of Orcs and wild men were hurrying southward from the Fords of Isen and seemed to be making for Helm's Deep. The scout also reported that many of their folk lay slain as they fled thither, and that scattered companies were going this way and that, leaderless. What had become of Erkenbrand none seemed to know; it was likely that he would be overtaken ere he could reach Helm's Gate, if he had not already perished. The question was then asked whether aught had been seen of Gandalf, as the riders sought to understand the fate of their leaders and the disposition of their enemies.

The Fortress in the Wider War

The Hornburg was the anchor of Rohan's defense in the Westfold, the place where the Rohirrim could make a stand against the overwhelming forces of Saruman. Its ancient Gondorian construction, attributed to the sea-kings and the hands of giants, gave it a strength that mere mortal building could not match. The fortress's position at the mouth of the Deep, with its wall barring the entrance to the gorge, made it a formidable obstacle. The fate of Erkenbrand, its master, was uncertain as the enemy approached, and the defense of the Hornburg would determine whether Rohan could hold against the tide of war. The fortress thus stood as a symbol of the ancient glory of Gondor and the enduring strength of the free peoples against the shadow of Mordor.