Nan Curunír

Nan Curunír, the Wizard's Vale, is the sheltered valley that opens only to the South, lying beneath the long arm of the mountains and around the walls of Isengard. Once it had been fair and green, a pleasant, fertile land through which the Isen flowed, already deep and strong before it found the plains, fed by many springs and lesser streams among the rain-washed hills. The valley's very name marks it as the domain of a Wizard — Curunír being the Elvish name of Saruman — and its history is inseparable from his rise and ruin. By the time the riders of Rohan pass through it, the vale has become a wilderness of weeds and thorns, a sad country silent but for the stony noise of quick waters, and its transformation stands as the most direct physical evidence of Saruman's corruption.

The Desolation of the Vale

The contrast between what Nan Curunír was and what it has become is stark. Beneath the walls of Isengard there still were acres tilled by the slaves of Saruman, but most of the valley had become a wilderness of weeds and thorns. Brambles trailed upon the ground, or clambering over bush and bank, made shaggy caves where small beasts housed. No trees grew there; but among the rank grasses could still be seen the burned and axe-hewn stumps of ancient groves. Smokes and steams drifted in sullen clouds and lurked in the hollows. The riders did not speak as they passed through, many doubting in their hearts, wondering to what dismal end their journey led. The valley's fertility had been consumed by the industry of Isengard, its groves felled and burned, its soil given over to weeds — a landscape that mirrors the moral ruin of its master.

The Road to Isengard

After riding for some miles, the highway through the vale became a wide street, paved with great flat stones, squared and laid with skill; no blade of grass was seen in any joint. Deep gutters, filled with trickling water, ran down on either side. This engineered road, so different from the natural land around it, marks the encroachment of Saruman's works upon the valley. Suddenly a tall pillar loomed up before the riders. It was black; and set upon it was a great stone, carved and painted in the likeness of a long White Hand. Its finger pointed north. Not far now they knew that the gates of Isengard must stand, and their hearts were heavy; but their eyes could not pierce the mists ahead. The White Hand — Saruman's sign — replaces the natural landmarks of the vale, and the pillar's pointing finger guides travelers toward the fortress that has consumed the valley's life.

The Valley in the Wider War

The desolation of Nan Curunír is not merely a local tragedy but part of the larger pattern of the War of the Ring. The valley's fate is bound up with the fate of Isengard itself, and with the fall of Saruman. When Frodo later confronts a ruffian in the Shire, he declares that Isengard has been destroyed and that Saruman's master is a beggar in the wilderness — a phrase that carries the full weight of the Wizard's Vale's ruin. The valley that once sustained life now sustains nothing but the memory of what was lost, and its destruction prefigures the broader collapse of Saruman's power. The riders of Rohan, passing through on their way to Isengard, witness this desolation and understand that they are approaching the heart of a corrupted power. The vale, once a place of natural beauty, has become a monument to the destructive ambition of a Wizard who turned from his purpose.