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‘Dost thou dare tell the Master
of Isengard what shall be done in his
own keep, with his own wife?’ Baradil
replied. ‘Wouldst thou be master of
this tower?’ He raised his hand to
strike the Wizard, but Saruman lifted
his staff and Baradil recoiled.
‘A choice I give thee, fool!’ Saruman
snarled. ‘If the gates of Isengard hold
fast then thee and thy family shall
indeed govern here for many years to
come. But if thou doth open the gates
the day will come when I shall indeed
be master in Isengard!’
But Baradil thought of Andolien
and it hardened his heart. He dismissed
Saruman with angry words
and opened the gates to his wife,
embracing her as the departing
Wizard watched.
‘Thou shalt pay dearly for such
tender caresses!’ Saruman snapped.
He went into the East of Middleearth
and did not return again for
many years. As the Wizard feared,
the plague wind did accompany
Andolien into Angrenost, and many
who might have been saved perished
in their beds. Duinmenos was ravaged
and abandoned, as were many
of Gondor’s north-most settlements.
In Calenardhon, many villages lay
empty and abandoned, and the proud
Princes of Rhovanion who had settled
there in the days of Eldacar returned
to their homes in the North.
d r ag o n s a n d
o t h e r p e r i l s
The plague was not the end of
Angrenost’s woes, for soon after
came two invasions of Orcs, and
on the second occasion came the
worst menace that Isengard had
yet seen—the dragon Helgrádhr, a
winged black worm who descended
from the North and ventured further
south than any dragon had dared to
go. Both times, the faltering realm
of Gondor mustered its heroes and
Isengard weathered the attacks. But
the dragon ravaged the lands beyond
Isengard’s protection, and the plains
of Calenardhon grew empty.
Furthermore, north in Moria,
Angrenost‘s old Dwarf-allies fell
silent, victims of a nameless horror
that no steward would willingly look
upon. Likewise the Ents, who in earlier
years had been friendly to those
brave enough to venture into Fangorn,
withdrew into the depths of the forest
and rarely came forth.
Yet for many long years Isengard
held firm, and though Gondor dwindled
and menace after menace beset
it, still Angrenost remained a symbol
of strength. In 1810 the Wainriders
came out of the East and sent a
large force across the river to attack
Angrenost, but upon their first sight
of the impregnable Ring of Isengard
they retreated without giving battle.
In 2003 the Witch-King, having
conquered Minas Ithil, sent a huge
force of Orcs against Isengard in the
hope of seizing a second of Gondor’s
mighty fortresses. But neither Orc
nor Troll could withstand the wrath
of Prince Eärnur, who led the defence
that day; indeed, more Orcs perished
than in any battle since the fall
of Sauron. The victory gave comfort
to Gondor in what then seemed its
darkest hour.
Nonetheless, the dwindling of
Calenardhon continued. Plague was
so frequent that some called the
region Engwador; the Sickly Lands.
This was the design of the Enemy,
to weaken that which they could not
conquer, and corrupt what they could
not weaken. And it was by corruption
that the fortress eventually fell into
the hands of the Enemy.
r o h a n
In 2510 invaders from the East
again threatened Gondor. The lords
of Angrenost once again prepared for
a bitter siege, for few were now left to
defend Calenardhon. But unexpected
help came from the North when the
Éothéod, a tribe descended from the
13
The History and Life of Isengard
lords of Rhovanion, arrived to lend
aid. Eorl the Young rode to the field of
Celebrant and saved Gondor from the
Easterlings. Calenardhon was given
to them in thanks by Cirion, Steward
of Gondor, and became known as the
kingdom of Rohan. Unfortunately
there was confusion about Isengard.
One of the sons of Eorl came to the
doors of Angrenost and claimed it
for the Rohirrim, demanding that the
warden surrender the keys. Isengard,
however, was beyond the agreement
of Cirion and blood was spilled before
the gates of Isengard that day. Though
Eorl and Cirion soon set things right,
little love did the Rohirrim receive at
Isengard from that time onward.
In the years before the Long Winter
(2758), Dunland sensed the weakness
of the Angrenostim and launched frequent
attacks against the tower, so by
2750 it was under a continuous siege.
Gondor and Rohan were both too weak
to lift it; in 2758, the Dunlendings also
overthrew the Rohirrim, and Breca the
Half-dunlander sat in the seat of Eorl.
Gradually, the Angrenostim were killed
off one by one in a series of desperate
sorties against the Dunlendings, until
only a handful remained. But in the
end, Rohan defeated the Dunlendings
and drove them from Edoras, and the
forces of Beren, Steward of Gondor,
triumphed over his enemies from
Umbar and rode north to lift the siege.
But few survived to celebrate the victory,
and Beren feared neither Gondor
nor Rohan could hold Angrenost if the
Orcs or the Dunlandings attacked it
again in force.
Then an unlikely deliverer came
to Minas Tirith—Saruman the Wise,
who had not been seen for many
generations in Gondor. He spoke fair
words to the Steward, and yet forcefully
alluded to great perils threatening
the West.
‘It is the duty of Gondor, as the last
kingdom of Númenor, to shield the
West in its struggle against the Enemy.
Too long hast thou languished without
allies, while old men sat and watched.
Now the storm comes and we may
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