Charting the Shire lines - Page 4
© Michael Martinez
The diminished Harfoot and Fallohide populations could therefore settle in Bree and nearby lands without severely crowding the Men already living there. If there were only a few thousand Harfoots and Fallohides left by this point, their arrival would not have caused much more than a local stir. The Stoors, on the other hand, may have actually become the largest population for a while, even though they were now far separated from the Harfoots and Fallohides.
The Stoors of the Angle must have held some sort of moot to decide what course of action to take, and they apparently didn't all agree. It seems odd that they would just start fleeing pell-mell without a plan. Those who fled back over the mountains must have felt that even Dunland was in danger of attack (and quite probably Tharbad came under siege in the next war). Those who fled to Dunland must have decided that the Vales of Anduin didn't offer much hope of safety, either.
In 1409 Angmar sent an army which overran Rhudaur and Cardolan. Tolkien doesn't explain why Rhudaur had to be destroyed but it may be there were enough people left there who resisted the Witch-king's influence that he decided to do away with them once or for all. The invasion poured into Cardolan and pushed the Dunedain westward. If any of the Hobbits had indeed settled in the South Downs they were either destroyed or driven west, too.
Bree must have come under attack, as Tyrn Gorthad and the Old Forest were attacked. It seems unlikely the Hobbits would go unmolested if the Men were being slain or driven off. So, once again, the Stoors in Dunland seem to have been spared the brunt of the invasion, but perhaps only because Tharbad does seem to have held out. It may be that Gondor was still powerful enough to maintain a garrison at Tharbad, and with Gondor's help Tharbad's people stopped the invasion. It could also be that Tharbad was deemed too far south to be of much strategic importance.
With help from the Eldar of Lindon and Imladris, and the Silvan Elves of Lothlorien, Araphor of Arthedain drove Angmar's forces back into the north and peace was restored to western Eriador. From this point forward until the year 1600 we hear nothing more about events in Arthedain. Valacar, King of Gondor, died in 1432 and was succeeded by his son Eldacar. Eldacar was deposed in 1437 by Castamir the Usurper and in 1447 Eldacar led a great army out of the north to take back his throne. Eldacar slew Castamir, but the usurper's sons and many supporters escaped to Pelargir and in 1448 they fled to Umbar, where they set up a rebel kingdom.
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