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Strange as news from Bree... - Page 7

© Michael Martinez

In 1974 Angmar overran Arnor. The North Downs fell, Fornost Erain was taken, and the Dunedain who avoided being slaughtered mostly fled west to Lindon. Tolkien writes that "the Shire-folk survived, though war swept over them and most of them fled into hiding." Where would they hide? Probably in the hills and woodlands. Their towns, like Bywater and Hobbiton, were probably all destroyed. What fate did Bree suffer? We don't know, but it must have suffered from being deprived of support and communication with the rest of Arnor. The Bree-folk suddenly found themselves on their own, and may have been attacked or perhaps even driven off. But I find it unlikely that Bree was directly affected. The Witch-king seems to have been concerned primarily with destroying the power of the Dunedain. The Shire-folk may have suffered only because the war burst in on them. After Gondor, Lindon, and Rivendell destroyed Angmar the few remaining peoples of Eriador had to resume their lives. But Arnor was not re-established by Aranarth, son of Arvedui the last king of Arnor. Instead he assumed the title of Chieftain of the Dunedain of the North. One can well imagine the news received by the Bree-folk. Instead of seeing their king returned to his throne and Arnor grow strong again, they were basically left alone in the wide, desolate lands. The Shire remained, and there were still Dwarves to travel on the roads, but there was probably little other traffic in those days. Furthermore, Khazad-dum was destroyed only a few years later. With the demise of the great civilization of the Longbeards Eriador probably saw a brief influx of Dwarves and then a drop-off in traffic. Tharbad remained, but by now it must have been barely a shadow of its former self, without any soldiers to protect it. The Shire also remained, now governed by its own chieftains and Thain, but the Shire-folk were busy rebuilding their lives after the war, too, and they were not likely to indulge in great commerce. So Bree's long decline began in earnest after the final war with Angmar. The Dunedain probably settled in the lands east of Bree, for Tolkien says the Breelanders knew or believed the Rangers travelled mostly in the lands east and south of Bree. And we know that Rangers maintained a guard over the Shire, but their most visible guard was stationed at Sarn Ford, by Southfarthing. Is it possible that Aranarth's people, or his descendants, settled in the South Downs so as to be near Rivendell and situated between Tharbad, Bree, and the Shire?

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