On 5 October 2 TA, the Battle of the Gladden Fields was fought in Middle Earth between Arnor under Isildur against the Orcs of the Misty Mountains during the Disaster of the Gladden Fields.
Why did it happen?
When Sauron was defeated in 3441 SA during the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur chose to keep the One Ring rather than destroy it, stating, “This I will have as weregild for my father’s death and my brother’s. Was it not I that dealt the Enemy his death-blow?” (Tolkien, 2013, p.354). In 1 TA, Isildur returned to Gondor, where he proclaimed his sovereign lordship over Gondor and Arnor before planting the White Tree in Minas Anor in memory of his brother, Anarion. After the main army of Arnor returned to Eriador via the North-South Road, Isildur decided to return to Imladris, where his wife and youngest son dwelt. On 5 September 2 TA, after leaving command of Gondor to his nephew, Meneldil, Isildur left Osgiliath with his three sons (Elendur, Aratan, and Ciryon) and travelled north past the plain of Dagorlad towards Greenwood (Mirkwood). On 25 September, heavy rain forced Isildur to travel away from the Anduin River and pass close to the Vales of Anduin near Amon Lanc (Dol Guldur), which they reached on 29 September. By the afternoon of 5 October, they had reached the northern borders of the Gladden Fields, where they subsequently made camp.
Who was involved?
The army of Arnor at the Gladden Fields numbered 180 infantry and 20 archers. Because Isildur assumed that all of Sauron’s forces had been defeated, he had not planned for a major battle during his journey north. When the battle was joined, Isildur’s forces adopted two military formations known as the thangail and the dirnaith. The thangail was essentially a shield wall, with the infantry also planting spikes and sharp stakes into the ground to halt a charging force. In contrast, the dirnaith was a wedge formation that could be “launched over a short distance against an enemy amassing but not yet arrayed, or against a defensive formation on open ground” (Tolkien, 2014, p.365). In other words, the thangail was used for defence while the dirnaith was used for attack. The Orcish army at the Gladden Fields numbered 2,000 Orcs sent into the Misty Mountains by Sauron before the War of the Last Alliance to watch the passes. They were equipped as infantry and archers and planned to overwhelm the Men of Arnor by softening their ranks with arrows before using their superior numbers to charge their shield wall and overwhelm them.
What happened?
At dusk, as the men of Arnor set up camp for the night, a large force of Orcs emerged from the forest down the slopes towards their camp. After ordering his soldiers to form a shield wall, Isildur gave the shards of Narsil to Ohtar and his esquire and told them to take the sword to Imladris. After halting, the Orcish archers fired their arrows before sending their warriors down the slope to try and break up Arnor’s shield wall, which stood firm against the Orcs, who were forced to withdraw into the forest. Isildur ordered his army to resume the march towards the lower, flatter slopes opposite the Anduin River. After marching less than a mile, the Orcs attacked again, this time using all their forces to surround the men of Arnor. After heavy fighting, in which both sides suffered significant casualties, Isildur realised the battle was lost and was told by his surviving son, Elendur, to flee the carnage. Isildur escaped by putting the Ring on his finger and disappeared from the sight of both Man and Orc. With his army destroyed, Isildur plunged into the Anduin River, only for the current to take him downriver to the Gladden Fields, where the Ring slipped off his finger. Upon reaching the banks of the river, Orc archers spotted him and shot arrows through his heart and throat, killing him instantly. The battle had been a disaster for the Kingdom of Arnor, with 197 of their best soldiers killed, although the Orcs also suffered 1,000 casualties.
What changed as a result?
The Battle of the Gladden Fields was a victory for the Orcs. In the aftermath of the battle, however, Woodmen from King Thranduil’s realm arrived and scattered the Orcs so thoroughly that “they attempted no such attack again for long years after” (Tolkien, 2014, p.357). In 3 TA, Ohtar arrived at Imladris with the shards of Narsil before giving them to Isildur’s surviving son, Valandil, who became the third King of Arnor in 10 TA. Isildur was the second and last king to rule over both Arnor and Gondor before the crowning of Aragorn II as High King of the Reunited Kingdom in 3019 TA. The One Ring would remain lost until 2463 TA when Smeagol discovered it along the banks of the Anduin River before withdrawing to the Misty Mountains with it in 2470 TA. The Ring stayed there until 2941 TA when a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins acquired the One Ring during the Quest of Erebor. The One Ring would ultimately be destroyed by Frodo Baggins inside Mount Doom on 25 March 3019 TA, thereby bringing about the dissolution of Sauron’s power and the end of the Third Age.
Bibliography
Day, David. The Battles of Tolkien. London, Cassell Illustrated, 2016.
Haerangil. “Gladden.” The New Notion Club Archives. Accessed April 6, 2023. www.notionclubarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Gladden_Fields?file=Gladden.jpg
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. London, Harper Collins Publishers, 2004.
Tolkien, J.R.R. & Tolkien, Christopher. The Silmarillion. London, Harper Collins Publishers, 2013.
Tolkien, J.R.R. & Tolkien, Christopher. Unfinished Tales. London, Harper Collins Publishers, 2014.
Wizards and Warriors. “Fall of Arnor and Rise of Rohan - Middle-Earth Lore DOCUMENTARY.” YouTube video, 27:31. December 23, 2021. www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCbbDreAx3o