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Posted on 11/20/2002 9:55:27 PM PST by JameRetief
How could Sauron have returned to life and established himself on Dol Guldur without someone noticing? Even if his resurrection occurred in secret, Greenwood the Great could not have become Mirkwood overnight. So, what happened?
Something wicked this way comes
The sudden migration of the Halfling clans living in the upper Vales of Anduin across the Misty Mountains, starting in the year T.A. 1050, signaled the arising of the great shadow in southern Greenwood the Great. The Wise could not be sure of whom or what had settled in the forest, but they understood that something which had not previously dwelt there before had become active.
In all his published writings, J.R.R. Tolkien made only one curious remark about the trigger event. In the essay "Dwarves and Men", published in The Peoples of Middle-earth, Tolkien noted: "Plainly, the Hobbits had sensed, even before the Wizards and the Eldar had become fully aware of it, the awakening of Sauron and his occupation of Dol Guldur." Hobbits were not exactly known for having an ear to the ways of the world. What could they have sensed which the recently arrived Istari and the lords of the Eldar had missed?
For that matter, why did Sauron decide to settle upon Amon Lanc? Gondor had occupied Mordor with the intention of preventing his return to his old realm. But Sauron could have settled in the distant east or south. He chose to dwell in southern Greenwood the Great, close to his enemies. Why?
Although it may seem obvious that he was drawn to the One Ring, which at that time (the 11th century of the Third Age) still lay undiscovered in some pool along the Anduin near the Gladden Fields, Sauron is said to have believed at first that the One Ring had been destroyed. His resurrection in the vicinity of the One Ring may have been a natural consequence of the affinity Sauron retained with the Ring, but he was unaware of it. So, what compelled him to remain close to the Ring?
If we accept that Sauron's spirit took physical shape somewhere near the Ring itself, then he must first have appeared along the banks of the Anduin, perhaps in the river itself. Or, if the power of Ulmo was too great for him, repelling Sauron's malice and preventing him from recognizing that the Ring still existed, then Sauron may have assumed his new bodily shape in the lowlands by the river. It is not necessary that anyone should have seen Sauron. Rather, his resurrection had to occur in secret, beyond the eyes of Elves, Western Men, and all who were friendly with them.
But there were other men already dwelling in the region. Although the first thousand years of the Third Age had proven to be relatively stable for western Middle-earth, by the year 1050 Arnor had been divided into three warring kingdoms and Gondor was locked in mortal conflict with its southern neighbors. 1050 was, indeed, the year in which Hyarmendacil I defeated the kings of Harad (and conquered Umbar). All the eyes of the world were turned upon Gondor, which achieved its greatest extent at this time, and came closest of all nations to rivalling the long lost and almost forgotten power of Numenor.
Numenor had sunk into the sea almost 1200 years before Hyarmendacil won his final victory. It had been nearly 1230 years since Ar-Pharazon humbled Sauron near Umbar, bringing what had been to that time the mightiest post-Beleriandic army to Middle-earth. The memory of Numenor must have been overshadowed, among other nations, by the (somewhat) more recent memory of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, which had assembled the greatest post-Beleriandic army ever and destroyed Sauron's military power utterly. Sauron himself was slain, and his empire so totally overthrown that it effectively never rose again.
In the wake of Sauron's overthrow, three vast spheres of influence emerged in northwestern Middle-earth. Gil-galad's ancient Elven realm of Lindon still existed but it was rendered so weak that many of its people either sailed over Sea or migrated east to live near Elrond in Imladris. The High Kings of Arnor became the dominant powers in the northern world. But east of the Misty Mountains there remained at least two Elven realms and the vast realm of the Longbeard Dwarves. And Gondor annexed but never colonized Mordor itself, eventually expanding outward.
Arnor's power dwindled. Gondor's power grew. But what about the power of the Longbeard Dwarves? Their capitol of Khazad-dum was their chief city, but they claimed all of the Misty Mountains and the Grey Mountains as far east as the Iron Hills. They seem to have had more than one city or colony. They maintained the ancient Men-i-Naugrim, the great eastern road which ran down from the High Pass to the Anduin, crossing the river by a stone bridge, traveling east through Greenwood and then turning northeast to run to the Iron Hills. That road had to serve some useful purpose. It wasn't simply that the Longbeards wanted to engage in trade. They needed to maintain the peace and stability which nourished trade.
Lothlorien, the small Elven kingdom which lay between Khazad-dum and Anduin, was home to Noldor, Sindar, and Silvan Elves. But though it maintained close ties with Khazad-dum and Imladris, Lothlorien seems to have been too weak to dominate the region. There were Men of Edainic descent living nearby, on both sides of the Anduin. The woodmen of Greenwood had, according to "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", joined or at least been friendly to the Last Alliance. They, like their northern kindred near Erebor, seem to have flourished in the peaceful centuries which followed Sauron's downfall.
But sourthern Greenwood was not entirely safe. During the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron had occupied one or more regions of the forest. The two thousand or so Orcs who waylaid Isildur's column in TA 2 were a remnant of those occupying forces. And though the Woodmen are said to have scattered the Orcs who survived the battle with Isildur, some of the Orcs survived the counter-assault by the Woodmen.
In one of his essays, Tolkien noted that most of the Orcs would have been barely capable of fending for themselves in the wake of Sauron's downfall. The attack on Isildur was compelled, he suggested in "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", by the Orcs' proximity to the One Ring, which at that time was still actively seeking to return to Sauron (oblivious to his inability to join with it physically). Hence, after the attack on Isildur, those few Orcs capable of surviving on their own must have withdrawn to the deeper forest. There they would have dwelt alone, slowly developing their own sense of independence and community.
Sometime in the centuries following Sauron's death, the Hobbits made their way to the Vales of Anduin. They settled in small groups near the homes and villages of Edainic Men, gradually entering into a Bree-like coexistence with those Men (according to "Dwarves and Men"). The arrival of the Hobbits must have been prior to the first invasion of Gondor by the Easterlings in TA 490. At that time, Gondor would have extended along the Anduin as far as the Undeeps (near the field of Celebrant). The lands between Greenwood and Mordor were not a part of the kingdom.
These earliest Easterlings (in Gondor's Third Age experience) seem to have dwelt in the lands between Mordor and the forest. Turambar, the son of Romendacil I, conquered those lands sometime after his father's death in TA 541. The entire region must have been extremely hostile and impassable for the Hobbits at that time. And though they could have passed through Greenwood itself in order to reach the Vales of Anduin, the ancestors of the Stoors and Harfoots may have passed around the forest's southern edge. The Fallohides, being the northernmost group, are the likeliest to have passed through Greenwood.
A Hobbit migration might, in fact, have encouraged the Woodmen of Greenwood to colonize the open grasslands along the Anduin, and to cross the river itself. The Dwarves would have provided the Men with opportunities for trade and skilled labor in building roads and fortifications. The friendship between the Woodmen and Thranduil's people (then living in the Emyn Duir, the mountains in the middle of the forest) ensured a stable eastern frontier for the expanding mortal population. Men became an important part of the upper Anduin community.
And as the Woodmen expanded toward the mountains, they must also have made contact with Gondor. There were many tribes of Northmen (of whom the Woodmen were one group) spreading south, east, and west in those centuries. They moved out from Greenwood in both directions. After Gondor's attention was directed eastward, the Dunedain made contact with the Northmen. Friendship arose between Gondor and the Northmen, and though Tolkien does not say much concerning their relationship, he implies that Men flourished throughout the western lands where Arnor and Gondor held sway.
Nonetheless, just as some Orcs survived into the Third Age in southern Greenwood, by the middle of the 6th century there were Easterlings -- whose ancestors had served or been friendly to Sauron -- also living in or near the southern forest. And far to the south dwelt Shelob, who had settled in the Ephel Duath before Sauron had built the Barad-dur. From her lair her offspring spread northward through the mountains. Undoubtedly the Last Alliance of Elves and Men had fought with the giant spiders, who would have been natural guardians for Sauron's marches. But though Gondor watched the marches for a thousand years, some spiders managed to reach Greenwood by the time Sauron settled in Dol Guldur. Perhaps he even arranged for them to be brought north.
Orcs, Easterlings, and spiders must have served as the foundation of Sauron's new realm. He would have gone into the forest and revealed himself to the descendants of his former slaves. Incapable of resisting his will, the Orcs and Easterlings (some faster than others) would have returned to his service. And they would have built the fortress of Dol Guldur in secret, far from the prying eyes of Elves, Dwarves, Men, Hobbits, or Wizards.
The Wizards, the Istari sent from Valinor, would have been very new to Middle-earth. They knew why they were there. They were keeping a wary eye out for signs of the return of the shadow. But they did not know where Sauron would arise and manifest himself, or if some other ancient evil power would rise in his place. They knew evil was coming, but not where or when. The great wars in the south, perhaps, may have led everyone to think that Gondor's ascendancy meant Sauron could not yet return. There might still be time to prepare.
The rise of Dol Guldur could not have occurred overnight. A small castle or fortress, consisting of little more than a tower and outer wall, can be built in the space of a few months, given enough materials and workers. But Dol Guldur was most likely a huge fortress, a small city, from the outset. Sauron would have needed a secure base from which to launch his various campaigns. But he also pursued a different strategy than he had in the Second Age. Instead of conquering a huge empire, and building up his military strength for direct confrontation with the Eldar and Dunedain, Sauron attacked his enemies through proxies.
That is, he established his base on Dol Guldur and made it secure enough to discourage casual visitors and light assaults. But he also refrained from using Dol Guldur to actively participate in events unfolding in the lands around southern Greenwood. Instead, he built up the Easterling populations. "Dwarves and Men" tells us that the Hobbits began fleeing the Vales of Anduin after the "steady increase of invaders from the East...harassing the older 'Atanic' inhabitants, and even in places occupying the Forest and coming through it into the Anduin valley.'"
Of course, there had to be other evil things involved. Trolls may have survived for thousands of years in the Ettenmoors north of Imladris, but it seems more probable that they had been driven east from Mordor at the end of the Second Age. As Sauron recruited Easterlings to his cause, he would have brought Trolls back to the west. And because he was known as the Necromancer, Sauron must have consorted with disembodied spirits. He may have bred Wargs and summoned ancient were-wolves and vampires to serve him again.
Men would have renamed the Forest Mirkwood for very good reason. It had to quickly become a place of dread and menace, a land where only the hardiest tribes would dare live and fight with creatures once relegated to fairy-tales and folklore. Monsters had to walk the land again, sickening the trees and darkening the woods with a depressing shadow that had nothing to do with sunlight.
But what could the Hobbits, with their lack of magical curiosity (except "the everyday sort"), have sensed that even the Istari failed to notice? Did the animals of southern Greenwood migrate en masse, seeking new homes far from the evil? Did the arrival of more Easterlings lead to constant feuds and raids between peoples? Did phantoms and were-wolves haunt the hills and riversides where the Hobbits lived quietly by themselves?
The Prologue to The Lord of the Rings tells us that the Harfoots "had much to do with Dwarves in ancient times, and long lived in the foothills of the mountains". They must have heard rumors of changes in the Forest from both the Dwarves and the Stoors. The Stoors had remained close to the Anduin and probably lived mostly near the Gladden Fields. The Gladden Fields had originally been a lake which stretched to the highlands where Isildur's column was attacked. Through time, the lake became marshland and gradually the marshland dried out and receded toward the Anduin's natural course.
The Stoors would have noticed strange things happening in the woods beyond those highlands. The Men living in the woods would have changed, as the Woodmen were driven away by the Easterlings. Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, and other evil creatures would gradually step out of the old wives' tales and into the farms. In the space of one or two generations, Gaffers and Gammers who remembered better times would complain about failing crops, poor fishing, and the onslought of unfriendly Men. It would have been a gradual transition from the good old days to the bad new times. Each year, life would have become a little more anxious. Clans would circulate new stories of frightening encounters every season.
The repetoire of rumors and uncertainties would accumulate gradually as Sauron's influence encroached upon the peaceful lands of Hobbits and Men. The Elves and Dwarves, concentrating on their own concerns, would pay little heed to what transpired. Maybe one year they would learn that a friendly town or village had been abandoned or occupied by unfriendly forces. But Men were always fighting among themselves. The political map would not change so much as the social map. Clans of Men and Hobbits must at first have simply tried to move a few miles away. It would be little different from the ages' old tradition of towns sending out colonists to build new towns. Clans would have to occasionally split up and seek new lands.
But one day, someone important enough to be listened to noticed that Something was Wrong. Folk no longer lived where they used to. People now looked across the River with dread. Maybe one raid too many had come out of the darkening woods. Maybe the peril of Orcs and Wargs had become all too real, and tribes along the Anduin had become more warlike and vigilant than their grandfathers needed to be in their youth. There had to be some sort of council, a communal decision-making process ensued.
Perhaps it merely started with one clan getting too spooked to stay in the Vales of Anduin any longer. They would have heard stories about the rich lands over the mountains. A lone clan leader may have stood up one day and said, "Everyone, we are leaving. Pack what you want, and leave the rest." And when his neighbors saw what he was doing, they said, "We've had enough, too. We're coming with you."
Families, towns, lone individuals, adventurous young couples fleeing their parents' anger would have crossed the mountains. It might have started as a trickle of wanderers, drawing a few curious stares from the local people in Eriador. "Who are these strange little people?" Men may have wondered. "They look like children. Where are their parents?"
And when the Hobbits entered Rhudaur and Cardolan, seeking new homelands, Men would have asked them why they left their old homelands. "There is something dark and evil there," they would reply. "It is like a great shadow has descended upon the forest. Lands where our forefathers felt safe are no longer free to us. Evil men from the east trouble our friends. Foul creatures threaten our families. It is like some great menace has arisen."
Rumor would pass from inn to inn, town to town. Soldiers, merchants, and wanderers alike would hear tales of the transformation of Greenwood the Great into Mirkwood. Eventually, princes, kings, and wizards would hear about the changes in the east, too. In fact, it would be about fifty years from the time the first Hobbits arrived in Eriador until the Wise ascertained that Dol Guldur had become a stronghold of evil.
Imagine the council which might have been held. Istari, lords of the Eldar, and perhaps kings from the Dunedain would have come together. A full reporting of events would be given. Scouts would returned from Mirkwood to confirm the tales. And there would have been grim faces, stern looks exchanged between the Wise and their friends. For, despite all the vigilance they had kept through the years, they did not know something was afoot until it was too late. Only the Hobbits had sensed something wrong. And, ironically, only the Hobbits would eventually provide the final solution to the problem.
Author: Michael Martinez
Published on: November 19 & 26, 1999
Michael Martinez is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth
Your Daily Tolkien Ping! Coming from many sources, these articles cover many aspects of Tolkien and his literary works. If anyone would like for me to ping them directly when I post articles such as this let me know. Enjoy!
1) Who was Tom Bombodil? by Gene Hargrove
2) Celeborn Unplugged by Michael Martinez
3) Speaking of Legolas... by Michael Martinez
4) A Bit of Light: Visions and Transformations of the Ring Quest by Cara J. Loup
5) Them Dwarves, Them Dwarves! - Part One and Two by Michael Martinez
6) Something wicked this way comes by Michael Martinez
 Ring Ping!! |
Actually, I believe both the Numenorean army that conquered Sauron and (especially) the one that attacked Aman were larger and more powerful than the Last Alliance.
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