S.R. 1419

S.R. 1419 is the year in which the long-threatened War of the Ring reached its violent climax and its unexpected resolution, forever altering the history of Middle-earth. Within the Shire's own reckoning, this year corresponds to the final months of the Third Age, and it is the period during which the fate of the One Ring was decided, the great battles of the West were fought, and the foundations of a new age were laid. The year is marked by a series of catastrophic and redemptive events that unfold across the entire narrative, from the snows of Caradhras to the fires of Mount Doom.

The Climax of the War

The year 1419 opened with the Fellowship of the Ring in disarray. In late February, the Company was broken at Parth Galen: Boromir fell to the Orcs, Merry and Pippin were captured, and Frodo and Samwise crossed the River alone, beginning their journey into Mordor. The following weeks saw the great military campaigns of the war. The Battle of the Hornburg was fought in early March, where the Rohirrim, aided by the Ents' destruction of Isengard, defeated the forces of Saruman. Gandalf, returned as the White Rider, healed Théoden and set the stage for the Ride of the Rohirrim. By mid-March, the armies of Mordor had laid siege to Minas Tirith, and the Battle of the Pelennor Fields erupted on March 15. There, Théoden fell in glory, and Éowyn, aided by Merry, slew the Witch-king of Angmar, fulfilling the prophecy that no living man could hinder him. Aragorn, arriving with the Grey Company and the black fleet from Umbar, turned the tide of battle.

The Destruction of the Ring and the End of Sauron

On March 25, the most decisive event of the year occurred. Frodo and Samwise, guided by Gollum, reached the Sammath Naur within Mount Doom. At the very Cracks of Doom, Frodo claimed the Ring for himself, but Gollum seized it and fell into the fire, destroying the Ring and Sauron with it. The Dark Tower crumbled, the Nazgûl perished, and the power of Mordor was broken. The Host of the West, standing at the Black Gate, witnessed the victory. This date, March 25, became the first day of the New Year in the Reckoning of Gondor, marking the beginning of the Fourth Age.

The Scouring of the Shire and the End of the Year

After the great victories in the South, the hobbits returned to the Shire in the autumn of 1419 to find it under the brutal rule of Lotho Sackville-Baggins and his master, Saruman. The Battle of Bywater, fought on November 3, was the last battle of the War of the Ring, in which the hobbits rose up and defeated the ruffians. Saruman was killed by Wormtongue, and the Shire was restored. The year ended with the restoration of peace and the beginning of the healing process. The final event of S.R. 1419 was the departure of the Ring-bearers from the Grey Havens on September 29, 3021 (which in Shire Reckoning fell in the following year, 1421), but the year itself closed with the promise of a new spring, as Samwise planted the mallorn seed in the Party Field, and the great golden tree flowered on April 6, 1420, a sign of the renewal that had been won at such great cost.