Battle of Fornost

The Battle of Fornost, fought in the year 1975 of the Third Age, was the climactic confrontation that shattered the power of Angmar and drove its lord, the Witch-king, from the North forever. It marked the final collapse of the North-kingdom of Arnor, which had been under relentless assault for centuries, and it sent the chief of the Nazgûl into hiding in Mordor, where he would later re-emerge as the Captain of Despair in the War of the Ring.

Background and the Fall of Arthedain

For more than six hundred years, the Witch-king's realm of Angmar had waged war against the successor kingdoms of Arnor. By the winter of 1974, his forces had overrun Arthedain, the last surviving northern kingdom, and captured its capital, Fornost. King Arvedui fled north to the icy shores of Forochel, where he perished in a shipwreck the following spring. With the royal line broken and the North-kingdom ended, the Witch-king established himself in Fornost, filling it with evil folk and usurping the house and rule of the kings. In his pride, he believed he had crushed the Dúnedain of the North for good.

The Host of the West

News of Arthedain's fall reached Gondor, and King Eärnil II, who had earlier rejected Arvedui's claim to the southern crown but had promised aid, dispatched a great fleet under his son Eärnur. The ships arrived at the Grey Havens, bringing an army of such power that the Elves and Men of Lindon marvelled. Círdan the Shipwright summoned all who would come from Lindon and the remnants of Arnor, and the combined host crossed the River Lune and marched north to challenge the Witch-king. The force included not only the heavy cavalry and infantry of Gondor, but also Elven-lords from Rivendell, among them Glorfindel.

The Battle and the Rout of Angmar

The Witch-king, confident in his strength, did not await the onset of his enemies within his stronghold but rode out to meet them on the plain between Lake Evendim and the North Downs. The Host of the West fell upon him, and the forces of Angmar were driven back. As they retreated towards Fornost, the main body of Gondor's horsemen, which had circled around the hills, struck from the north, scattering the enemy in a great rout. The Witch-king fled northwards with all that he could gather, seeking the shelter of his own land of Angmar. But before he could reach Carn Dûm, the cavalry of Gondor, led by Eärnur, overtook him, and at the same time Glorfindel's Elven force came up out of Rivendell. The realm of Angmar was utterly defeated; not a man nor an orc of that land remained west of the Misty Mountains.

The Witch-king's Escape and the Prophecy

At the moment of total defeat, the Witch-king himself appeared, black-robed and masked upon a black horse, and a terrible fear fell upon all who beheld him. He singled out Eärnur, the Captain of Gondor, and rode straight upon him. Eärnur's horse could not endure that onset and bore him away. The Witch-king laughed, a cry of horror that none who heard it ever forgot. But Glorfindel rode up on his white horse, and in the midst of his laughter the Witch-king turned and fled into the shadows, vanishing as night fell. Glorfindel forbade pursuit, declaring: "Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall." These words were long remembered, and they would echo centuries later on the Pelennor Fields.

Consequences and Aftermath

The victory at Fornost ended the evil realm of Angmar and drove the Witch-king from the North, but it did not destroy him. He escaped to Mordor, where he gathered the other Ringwraiths and prepared for his master's return. The North-kingdom was never restored; the Dúnedain of Arnor passed into shadow, becoming a secret and wandering people, the Rangers. The Shire-folk, who had sent archers to the battle and had suffered under the war, survived and thereafter ruled themselves, choosing a Thain to take the place of the King. The memory of the battle faded into legend, but the Ring-verse, composed long before, already spoke of the Nine Rings given to Mortal Men, and the Witch-king, the chief of those Nine, had now been driven from the North to await a darker hour.