Fords of Isen
Encyclopedia
In J. R. R. Tolkien
's fiction
al universe of Middle-earth
, the Fords of Isen were fords in the river Isen, guarded by the Rohirrim. As the only crossing of the Isen into Rohan
, they were of enormous strategic importance.
During the War of the Ring
there were two battles at the Fords of Isen. The first battle took place on February 23, 3019 of the Third Age
. The second was on March 2, T.A. 3019. The battles were between Saruman
's Uruk-hai
and the Rohirrim of Rohan
.
Théodred
and Éomer
had attempted to thwart the influence of Gríma
Wormtongue on King Théoden but it became increasingly futile, as Gríma often played the King's son and sister-son against each other.
, son of King Théoden of Rohan, was alerted by his scouts to the mustering taking place in Isengard
. He manned both sides of the ford and went forward leaving three companies of riders to guard the eastern side. Early in the morning, he crossed over to the western side with a force mainly consisting of archers
and cavalry
. He planned to take the forces of Uruk-hai by surprise.
However, Saruman had tricked the scouts; his army was already marching out to attack the ford. Twenty miles to the north of the ford, Théodred encountered the vanguard of the Uruk-hai and quickly cut through their lines. He then charged at the main force, who were prepared for the attack and were stationed behind trenches planted with pikes. Reinforcements came out of Isengard and outflanked the cavalry, nearly surrounding them. Hastily Théodred ordered a retreat, but the Uruk-hai could not be shaken off that easily. Grimbold
, who was in command of the Rohirrim rearguard, had to cut down their pursuers many times.
Saruman's eastern force was much smaller but more dangerous. It contained mounted Dunlendings, Warg
riders, and Uruk-hai
. The Rohirrim guard on the eastern side of the ford had been driven into retreat, and their attackers recrossed the ford to attack Théodred on both sides. Théodred and his men had dismounted on an islet to cover Grimbold's retreat. At the same time Grimbold's force was being attacked from the western side, and as Grimbold looked east, he saw Théodred's force being driven from the islet to a hill. Grimbold and a few men raced toward Théodred's position. Théodred was cutting his way through the Uruk-hai lines. But by the time Grimbold reached him, Théodred had fallen, cut down by a giant orc
. Grimbold slew the orc and then found himself defending Théodred's body from orcs. He himself would have been killed had it not been for Elfhelm
.
Elfhelm had been leading four companies towards Helm's Deep
, when it was reported to him that two Warg Riders had been spotted. He rode at full speed to the ford and, seeing the situation, ordered his men to charge. Before long his men held the western side of the ford. They then charged on the islet. From this surprise attack most of the Uruk-hai retreated toward Isengard. When they reached the islet they found Grimbold defending Théodred's body against two huge orcs. Elfhelm rushed to his aid and felled one orc while Grimbold slew the other.
When they lifted Théodred's body, they found he was still alive. He lived long enough to say, "Let me lie here - to keep the ford until Éomer
comes." The enemy attack ended by nightfall. The Rohirrim had held the ford but suffered heavy losses and were now leaderless.
of the Westfold. However, until he arrived from Helm's Deep, Grimbold held the position. Elfhelm did not want to hold the Fords, as he argued that it provided little defence, but Grimbold was not willing to wholly abandon it, partially due to the tradition of Westfold. The two commanders later reached a compromise.
Grimbold decided to place foot soldiers at the ford and put Elfhelm's men on the east side where he expected the attack to come from.
Saruman sent a small force, but which was still enough to outnumber the defenders. The attackers forced Grimbold to retreat across the ford with heavy losses. Grimbold held the eastern side of the ford and waited for Elfhelm to come to his aid. More than half of Saruman's force was attacking Grimbold's position.
Some warg riders and their followers pushed through the gap between the two Rohirrim forces and tried to surround Elfhelm. Although he knew Grimbold was in danger, Elfhelm retreated eastwards. Grimbold was still holding his position when he saw torches coming from the north and from Isengard - the vanguard of Saruman's reinforcements advancing towards him. Before he knew it, they had crossed the ford. He could not hold the ford so he retreated to his camp and made a shield wall around it.
Even though the Rohirrim were surrounded, the forces of Isengard could not break through. Grimbold knew he could not hold out forever. With no sign of Elfhelm and no help from Erkenbrand, he decided to try to break out. He mounted all the riders for whom he had horses and made a gap on the east side of the wall through which the riders passed. They formed into two groups and attacked the north and south sides simultaneously. In the ensuing confusion, the remaining Rohirrim retreated on foot as quickly as they could in the dark.
.
However, Saruman had overestimated his success in the battle, as the Rohirrim had suffered significant losses but not as many as had been rumoured. The surviving Rohirrim from the Fords were later rallied by Gandalf
, with Grimbold's men joining up with Erkenbrand
to organize the counter-attack at the Hornburg. Elfhelm's riders were sent to Meduseld to guard against any possible raid by Saruman's wolf-riders, though ending up no sortie was attempted.
in Kaitoke Regional Park
was used as a location for the Fords of Isen scenes.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's fiction
Fiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
al universe of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, the Fords of Isen were fords in the river Isen, guarded by the Rohirrim. As the only crossing of the Isen into Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
, they were of enormous strategic importance.
During the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
there were two battles at the Fords of Isen. The first battle took place on February 23, 3019 of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. The second was on March 2, T.A. 3019. The battles were between Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
's Uruk-hai
Uruk-hai
The Uruk-hai are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. They are introduced in The Lord of the Rings as an advanced breed or breeds of Orcs that serve Sauron and Saruman...
and the Rohirrim of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
.
Théodred
Théodred
Théodred is a fictional character in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only son and heir of King Théoden of Rohan.His mother, Elfhild, died in childbirth. Théodred grew up together with his cousin Éomer...
and Éomer
Éomer
Éomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
had attempted to thwart the influence of Gríma
Gríma
Gríma, called Wormtongue, is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He appears in the second and third volumes of the work, The Two Towers and The Return of the King, and his role is expanded upon in Unfinished Tales. He is introduced in The Two Towers as the chief...
Wormtongue on King Théoden but it became increasingly futile, as Gríma often played the King's son and sister-son against each other.
First Battle of the Fords of Isen
ThéodredThéodred
Théodred is a fictional character in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. He is the only son and heir of King Théoden of Rohan.His mother, Elfhild, died in childbirth. Théodred grew up together with his cousin Éomer...
, son of King Théoden of Rohan, was alerted by his scouts to the mustering taking place in Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
. He manned both sides of the ford and went forward leaving three companies of riders to guard the eastern side. Early in the morning, he crossed over to the western side with a force mainly consisting of archers
Archery
Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...
and cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. He planned to take the forces of Uruk-hai by surprise.
However, Saruman had tricked the scouts; his army was already marching out to attack the ford. Twenty miles to the north of the ford, Théodred encountered the vanguard of the Uruk-hai and quickly cut through their lines. He then charged at the main force, who were prepared for the attack and were stationed behind trenches planted with pikes. Reinforcements came out of Isengard and outflanked the cavalry, nearly surrounding them. Hastily Théodred ordered a retreat, but the Uruk-hai could not be shaken off that easily. Grimbold
Grimbold
Grimbold of Grimslade is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings as originally published...
, who was in command of the Rohirrim rearguard, had to cut down their pursuers many times.
Saruman's eastern force was much smaller but more dangerous. It contained mounted Dunlendings, Warg
Warg
In Norse mythology, a vargr is a wolf and in particular refers to the wolf Fenrir and his sons Sköll and Hati. Based on this, J. R. R. Tolkien in his fiction used the Old English form warg In Norse mythology, a vargr (often anglicised as warg or varg) is a wolf and in particular refers to the...
riders, and Uruk-hai
Uruk-hai
The Uruk-hai are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. They are introduced in The Lord of the Rings as an advanced breed or breeds of Orcs that serve Sauron and Saruman...
. The Rohirrim guard on the eastern side of the ford had been driven into retreat, and their attackers recrossed the ford to attack Théodred on both sides. Théodred and his men had dismounted on an islet to cover Grimbold's retreat. At the same time Grimbold's force was being attacked from the western side, and as Grimbold looked east, he saw Théodred's force being driven from the islet to a hill. Grimbold and a few men raced toward Théodred's position. Théodred was cutting his way through the Uruk-hai lines. But by the time Grimbold reached him, Théodred had fallen, cut down by a giant orc
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
. Grimbold slew the orc and then found himself defending Théodred's body from orcs. He himself would have been killed had it not been for Elfhelm
Elfhelm
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Elfhelm was a lord of Rohan and Marshal of the East-mark.He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of the fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings as originally published...
.
Elfhelm had been leading four companies towards Helm's Deep
Helm's Deep
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, Helm's Deep was a large valley in the north-western Ered Nimrais .The valley was described as being blocked over its entire width by the natural series of hills called Helm's Dike and behind that lay the fortress of Aglarond or the Hornburg, at the...
, when it was reported to him that two Warg Riders had been spotted. He rode at full speed to the ford and, seeing the situation, ordered his men to charge. Before long his men held the western side of the ford. They then charged on the islet. From this surprise attack most of the Uruk-hai retreated toward Isengard. When they reached the islet they found Grimbold defending Théodred's body against two huge orcs. Elfhelm rushed to his aid and felled one orc while Grimbold slew the other.
When they lifted Théodred's body, they found he was still alive. He lived long enough to say, "Let me lie here - to keep the ford until Éomer
Éomer
Éomer is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers and The Return of the King, the second and third volumes of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
comes." The enemy attack ended by nightfall. The Rohirrim had held the ford but suffered heavy losses and were now leaderless.
Second Battle of the Fords of Isen
The command of the ford was given to ErkenbrandErkenbrand
Erkenbrand is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers, the second volume of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
of the Westfold. However, until he arrived from Helm's Deep, Grimbold held the position. Elfhelm did not want to hold the Fords, as he argued that it provided little defence, but Grimbold was not willing to wholly abandon it, partially due to the tradition of Westfold. The two commanders later reached a compromise.
Grimbold decided to place foot soldiers at the ford and put Elfhelm's men on the east side where he expected the attack to come from.
Saruman sent a small force, but which was still enough to outnumber the defenders. The attackers forced Grimbold to retreat across the ford with heavy losses. Grimbold held the eastern side of the ford and waited for Elfhelm to come to his aid. More than half of Saruman's force was attacking Grimbold's position.
Some warg riders and their followers pushed through the gap between the two Rohirrim forces and tried to surround Elfhelm. Although he knew Grimbold was in danger, Elfhelm retreated eastwards. Grimbold was still holding his position when he saw torches coming from the north and from Isengard - the vanguard of Saruman's reinforcements advancing towards him. Before he knew it, they had crossed the ford. He could not hold the ford so he retreated to his camp and made a shield wall around it.
Even though the Rohirrim were surrounded, the forces of Isengard could not break through. Grimbold knew he could not hold out forever. With no sign of Elfhelm and no help from Erkenbrand, he decided to try to break out. He mounted all the riders for whom he had horses and made a gap on the east side of the wall through which the riders passed. They formed into two groups and attacked the north and south sides simultaneously. In the ensuing confusion, the remaining Rohirrim retreated on foot as quickly as they could in the dark.
Aftermath
Saruman's commander had finished his first task of creating a supply route into Rohan and he now moved on to his more important task - the HornburgBattle of the Hornburg
The Battle of the Hornburg is a fictional battle in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. The battle pitted the forces of the Wizard Saruman against the Rohirrim under King Théoden, who had taken refuge in the mountain fortress of the Hornburg at Helm's Deep...
.
However, Saruman had overestimated his success in the battle, as the Rohirrim had suffered significant losses but not as many as had been rumoured. The surviving Rohirrim from the Fords were later rallied by Gandalf
Gandalf
Gandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
, with Grimbold's men joining up with Erkenbrand
Erkenbrand
Erkenbrand is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Two Towers, the second volume of Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings....
to organize the counter-attack at the Hornburg. Elfhelm's riders were sent to Meduseld to guard against any possible raid by Saruman's wolf-riders, though ending up no sortie was attempted.
Re-creation
In the movie version of Lord of the Rings, the upper Hutt RiverHutt River, New Zealand
thumb|300px|The Hutt River looking downstream.The Hutt River flows through the southern North Island of New Zealand...
in Kaitoke Regional Park
Kaitoke Regional Park
Kaitoke Regional Park is a Wellington Regional park located in Kaitoke, New Zealand, past Upper Hutt. The park is adjacent to the Hutt water collection area and comprises mostly native bush...
was used as a location for the Fords of Isen scenes.