Dead Marshes
| Dead Marshes | |
|---|---|
| Wetlands | |
 | |
| "The Passage of the Marshes" by Alan Lee | |
| General Information | |
| Location | North-west of the Dagorlad and south-east of the Emyn Muil |
| Type | Wetlands |
| Description | Network of pools creating marshes, filled with dead faces |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Dead faces |
| Created | S.A. 3434, Battle of Dagorlad |
| Gallery | Images of the Dead Marshes |
- "They lie in all the pools, pale faces, deep deep under the dark water. I saw them: grim faces and evil, and noble faces and sad. Many faces proud and fair, and weeds in their silver hair. But all foul, all rotting, all dead. A fell light is in them."
- ― Frodo in The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes"
The Dead Marshes were reeking wetlands that lay north-west of the Dagorlad and south-east of the Emyn Muil. The marshes were an endless network of pools and soft mires filled with water-courses, and in the dark waters could be seen the dead from battles of long ago.[1]
History[edit]
In the year S.A. 3434 the host of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men fought the forces of Mordor in the Battle of Dagorlad.[2] During the battle on the plains more than half of the Elves of Lothlórien under the command of King Malgalad were driven into the Dead Marshes.[3] After the battle many of the slain were buried outside of the marshy area but over time (in the Third Age) the Marshes had grown and swallowed the graves.[1]
In T.A. 1944 King Ondoher of Gondor was caught by a surprise attack by the Wainriders upon the Dagorlad. When the King and his guard were destroyed many of the confused soldiers of Gondor were driven by the attackers into the Dead Marshes.[4] However, after Eärnil II won the Battle of the Camp, those of the Wainriders who were not slain in the fight were themselves driven into the Dead Marshes and there perished.[5]
In T.A. 3017 Aragorn found and captured Gollum along the skirts of the Dead Marshes[6] and brought him to Mirkwood.
After Frodo and Sam had met Gollum in the Emyn Muil (on 29 February 3019[7]), he revealed that he had found a hidden way across the Marshes.[8] The three took Gollum’s passage and on 1 March[7] started crossing the Marshes, where they saw candles and lights dancing about. Frodo was mesmerized by the lights and tried to reach out and touch the faces of the dead, at the bottom of the marshes. Gollum told them that the dead could not be touched, suggesting that he had once tried to eat them.[1] They completed the passage the next day and continued their way to the Morannon.[7]
Inspiration[edit]
In The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien speculated that the description of the Dead Marshes may have been based on his personal experience in World War I, specifically, the Battle of the Somme.[9] When it rained, blast craters in no-man's land would become a series of pools or lakes with bodies of dead soldiers, from both sides, floating in them.
Portrayal in adaptations[edit]
2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers:
- The Dead Marshes are depicted in this film.
2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- The Dead Marshes are depicted in this video game with player travelling there.
2022: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power:
- 23 September: Partings:
- The Harfoot community, followed by the Brandyfoot family, Poppy Proudfellow, and The Stranger, cross through the Grey Marshes during their migration east to the Grove. In the scene, the Harfoots and the Stranger attempt to push their carts out of a pool of water. On the map within the episode, the Grey Marshes are depicted at the location where the Dead Marshes would be.
See also[edit]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Passage of the Marshes"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Second Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix B: The Sindarin Princes of the Silvan Elves"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan", (i) The Northmen and the Wainriders
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Council of Elrond"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Great Years"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Taming of Sméagol"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien (eds.), The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 226, (dated 31 December 1960)
