March 17, TA 3019
16 March 2006 17:04:45Categories: Tolkien Calendar
Battle of Dale. King Brand and King Dáin Ironfoot fall. Many Dwarves and Men take refuge in Erebor and are besieged. Shagrat brings Frodo's cloak, mail-shirt, and sword to Barad-dur.
Today we take a look at the assault on the North, this time in Erebor. In his massive attacks on the cultures of Middle-earth, Sauron was not going to overlook a thing. Every stronghold of the free peoples was being targeted in the Dark Lord's attempt to leave no stone unturned in their annihilation. Today the North pays dearly for the price of their freedom from the Enemy.
In The New Tolkien Companion, Tyler wrote...
Quote:
"Battle of Dale: More properly, the second Battle of Dale (the first being known as the Battle of Five Armies), in which Men of Dale and Dwarves of Erebor were initially defeated by Easterlings of Sauron's rule. Kings Dain Ironfoot of Erebor and Brand of Dale were both slain; but their forces withstood the siege that followed - and their sons, Thorin (III) Stonehelm and Bard II, later drove the attackers away from Dale, which was subsequently rebuilt."
Meanwhile from Cirith Ungol, a very strange turn of events. The Orc Shagrat has wrestled free the precious treasure that he is determined to present to Sauron - the wonderful prizes of Frodo's cloak, mail-shirt, and sword without ever knowing that the true prize eludes him. It is safe for a time with Sam. What do you suppose Sauron, in all his evil wisdom, thought when receiving these tantalizing yet truly worthless tokens? The reader is left to wonder how the great Sauron was so completely duped by the diversion of Aragorn and the Host, that he paid so little heed to the meaning of the treasures brought by Shagrat from Cirith Ungol. Where was the Ring?
Images © "Red Eye of Sauron Atop Barad-dur" by Alan Lee.