Battle of the Morannon

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In

Barad-dûr
, collapses, along with the Black Gate. The army of Gondor returns home victorious, the War of the Ring won.

Context

This was the final battle against

Sam Gamgee, who were dangerously carrying the One Ring into Mordor. It was hoped that Sauron would think Aragorn had the Ring and was now trying to use it to overthrow Mordor. As the journey progressed, Aragorn was credited openly as "the King Elessar" by their heralds to challenge Sauron.[T 1]

Aragorn had around 7,000 soldiers of Gondor and

Fellowship of the Ring (Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas, Gimli and Pippin).[T 1]

They were ambushed by

Haradrim some two weeks earlier, but the enemy was beaten back without much loss. Aragorn realized that this was an intentionally weak feint, meant to lure them into thinking that Sauron's army was exhausted. Later, some whose fear overcame them were sent to retake and hold the island of Cair Andros. Thus the Army of the West was less than 6,000 strong at the Black Gate.[T 2]

Battle

The battle took place on 25 March. Before the battle began, Sauron sent the

Elven cloak, and Frodo's mithril shirt. The Mouth threatened that Frodo would be tortured if the West did not agree to Sauron's terms of surrender. Gandalf took the items from the Mouth of Sauron, and dismissed him.[T 2]

The forces of Sauron advanced and surrounded the Army of the West. Sauron's army outnumbered that of the West by at least ten to one. The Army of the West divided itself into two rings upon hills of rubble opposite the gate: Aragorn, Gandalf, and the sons of

Misty Mountains, led by Gwaihir the Windlord, attacked the Ringwraiths.[T 2]

At that moment, when all hope seemed lost, Frodo put on the One Ring, revealing to Sauron that Frodo was inside

Barad-dûr, the Black Gate and the Towers of the Teeth collapsed as their foundations were built with the power of the Ring.[T 3] Sauron perished; his gigantic shadow formed in the sky and reached out in wrath, but was blown away and his spirit was left forever bodiless and impotent.[T 4]

The Orcs and other creatures of Sauron were left directionless with his demise, and were easily defeated by the Army of the West. Some killed themselves, while others fled. The proud Easterlings and Haradrim fought on bravely, though eventually many surrendered, to be sent home in peace by Aragorn as he established the renewed and united Kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor.[T 4]

Interpretations

Christianity

Further information: Christianity in Middle-earth

The Tolkien scholar

the Annunciation, and the last day of Creation.[1]

Courage

Further information: Northern courage in Middle-earth

The Tolkien critic Paul H. Kocher states that while commentators have noted the "self-sacrificial courage" of the hobbits Frodo and Sam crossing Mordor to destroy the One Ring, far fewer had spoken of the "equal if less solitary unselfish daring" of the 7,000 men who offered battle at the Morannon. Kocher notes that if Frodo and Sam had completed their mission an hour later, the whole army would have been lost, given the "desperate" odds; the hobbits saved the army, but just as much, the army "saved the hobbits and so the West".[2]

20th century parallels

Further information: The Great War and Middle-earth

Commentators have drawn parallels between the Mouth of Sauron and notable figures during

Nazi German occupation.[4]

Psychological quest

Further information: Psychological journeys of Middle-earth

Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson's The Hobbit and Philosophy notes that the hobbit Pippin, who starts out on the quest playful and childish, is radically altered by his experiences, as shown by his killing of a troll in the Battle of the Morannon.[5]

Adaptations

Barad-Dur
and Mount Doom can be seen through the open gate between the Towers of the Teeth.

In 1957, Morton Grady Zimmerman and colleagues proposed to Tolkien with a screenplay that they make a film of Lord of the Rings combining animation, miniatures and live action. The final drama of the Battle of the Black Gate was to feature Gandalf's turning each of the ringwraiths to stone in front of the watching armies. Tolkien was strongly opposed to their approach and nothing came of it.[7]

Peter Jackson's film adaptation of The Return of the King is interspersed with scenes of Frodo and Sam at Mount Doom, and focuses mainly on the characters of Gandalf, Aragorn, and the rest of the Fellowship. Aragorn fights a troll, a departure from the book;[8][9] Large numbers of extras were used for the battle, and some hundreds of soldiers from New Zealand's army to give an impression of the battle's enormous scale.[6] Jackson had at one stage intended Aragorn to fight the Dark Lord Sauron in person, but "wisely" reduced this to combat with a troll.[10]

The Mouth of Sauron appears in the extended edition of The Return of the King, where he is played by Bruce Spence, though his scenes are cut in the theatrical release. This version of the character has a diseased and disfigured appearance: a helmet covers Spence's entire face except the mouth, which is digitally increased to disproportionate size and disfigured by blackened, cracked lips and rotting teeth.[11] According to director's commentary bundled with the film's extended edition DVD release, the idea behind this visual interpretation is that the repetition of Sauron's messages has such an evil effect that it has warped the character's body.[12]

See also

References

  1. Witch-king

Primary

  1. ^ a b Tolkien 1955, "The Last Debate"
  2. ^ a b c d Tolkien 1955, "The Black Gate Opens"
  3. ^ a b Tolkien 1955, "Mount Doom"
  4. ^ a b Tolkien 1955, "The Field of Cormallen"

Secondary

  1. ISBN 978-0261102750
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-14-003877-4
    .
  3. ISBN 0-7864-2827-9
    .
  4. ISBN 978-0-395-33973-2
    .
  5. ISBN 978-0-470-40514-7
    .
  6. ^ a b Wilkinson, Matthew (21 January 2020). "Lord Of The Rings: 10 Hidden Details From Return Of The King". ScreenRant. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  7. ISBN 978-1-4766-1135-8
    .
  8. ^ Evans, Willy (3 March 2018). "15 Secrets You Didn't Know Behind The Making Of Lord Of The Rings". Screenrant. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. ISBN 978-0-8018-9187-8
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-7864-8473-7
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-618-51083-2
    .
  12. ^ Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens (2004). Director/Writers' Special Extended Edition commentary (DVD). New Line Cinema.

Sources

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