Dunharrow

Dunharrow, the Hold of the Mark, is a fortified refuge carved into the White Mountains of Rohan, a place of ancient stonework and grim legend. It lies at the head of Harrowdale, beneath the stark peaks of the Starkhorn and the Dwimorberg, the Haunted Mountain. This upland, the Firienfeld, is a green mountain-field of grass and heath, but its eastern edge is marked by a double line of unshaped standing stones that march towards the black Dimholt and the forbidden door under Dwimorberg. The road to Dunharrow is a marvel of ancient engineering, a winding, steep path that climbs the sheer rock face in looping turns, guarded by squat, cross-legged stone figures called Púkel-men, the weathered remnants of a forgotten people. The Hold itself is not a single fortress but a wide, defensible plateau, with tents and booths clustered away from the ominous stone rows, huddling towards the cliff's edge. It was here that the remaining strength of Rohan assembled after the fall of Edoras, a place of last refuge and final muster.

The Muster of Rohan

Dunharrow was the site of the great muster of the Rohirrim, called by King Théoden after his healing by Gandalf. The valley was filled with ordered rows of tents and booths, lines of picketed horses, and piled spears that bristled like thickets. The host was gathered in secret, under the shadow of the Dwimorberg, with no fires lit and only watchmen pacing in the gloom. It was here that the Red Arrow, the token of war from Gondor, was delivered to Théoden by the errand-rider Hirgon, and here that the king made his final decision to ride to the aid of Minas Tirith. The muster was a somber affair, for the great cloud of Mordor had already begun to creep across the sky, and the hearts of the Riders were heavy with the foreboding of doom. Yet, in the half-light, Théoden, unbent and unafraid, led his host forth from Dunharrow, a silent, grim procession that marked the beginning of the Ride of the Rohirrim.

The Threshold of the Dead

Dunharrow's most sinister feature is its proximity to the Paths of the Dead. The road from the Hold leads directly to the Dimholt, a dark glen under the Dwimorberg, where a single mighty stone stands like a finger of doom before the Dark Door. This door is the entrance to the Paths of the Dead, a forbidden way that no living man had dared to tread for centuries. It was here that Aragorn, following the counsel of Elrond, took the Paths of the Dead with the Grey Company, a desperate gamble to summon the Oathbreakers and win the battle at Pelargir. The Lady Éowyn watched them go, standing like a figure carven in stone, her heart filled with a desperate longing to follow. The presence of the Dead, a great host in strange array that had been seen passing into the hill in moonless nights, hung over Dunharrow, a constant reminder of the ancient curse and the terrible power that lay just beyond the edge of the living world.

The Lady of the Hold

During the war, Dunharrow was governed by the Lady Éowyn, who was left behind to lead the people of Rohan while the king rode to war. She was given a sword and a fair corslet by Théoden and charged with the rule of the Eorlingas in his absence. It was in Dunharrow that Éowyn, weary of her cage and desperate for glory, confronted Aragorn, begging him to let her ride with him. When he refused, she disguised herself as a Rider named Dernhelm and secretly joined the host, riding to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields where she would ultimately slay the Witch-king. Dunharrow thus became the place of her final, desperate choice, the point from which she turned away from a life of waiting and towards a doom of her own making.