The Army of the Dead. Also known as the oath breakers of Dunharrow,
who dwelled in the White Mountains between Rohan and Gondor. During the Second Age, they swore an oath,
promising that they would lend their aid to Isildur against Sauron. However, rather than taking up arms during
the Last Alliance, the men of Dunharrow broke their oath and hid in the mountains, hoping
to see out the war unharmed. And so Isildur cursed them, “to rest never
until your oath is fulfilled; for this war will last through years uncounted, and you
shall be summoned once again ere the end.” So, did you ever wonder, after witnessing
the Dead of Dunharrow easily defeating the armies of Mordor on the Pelennor Fields, why
Aragorn didn’t take them to Mordor to aid in the final battle against Sauron? Let’s explore the reasons why Aragorn chose
not to take them to Mordor. After watching the dead effortlessly save
Minas Tirith from impending doom in the movies, Gimli questioned Aragorn’s decision to dismiss
them, with the war not yet won. After all, they were very handy in a tight
spot. Unlike the confrontation Aragorn had with
the King of the Dead in the movies, the books played out quite differently. In the books, rather than summoning the Dead
in the Paths of the Dead, Aragorn summoned the dead upon the Stone of Erech - the very
place where the King swore his oath to Isildur. But after summoning the dead with the blowing
of a silver horn, Aragorn states: “Now I go to Pelargir upon Anduin, and ye
shall come after me. And when all this land is clean of the servants
of Sauron, I will hold your oaths fulfilled, and ye shall have peace and rest forever.” Notice how he makes no mention of cleansing
Mordor or even Middle Earth of Sauron's forces. Only that the lands around Pelargir must be
free from Sauron’s forces in order to fulfil their oath. Aside from Aragorn being an honourable man
of his word, there are also some other reasons that the movie didn’t expand upon. First we need to remember that the army portrayed
in the movies was not accurate to the army of the dead written by Tolkien in the books. In the movie it appeared as though the dead
arrived at the Pelennor Fields and cut through every orc in sight along with some mumakil
for good measure. Yet in the books, the army of the dead never
even made it to the battle. When Aragorn arrived at the battle, sailing
the captured ships of the Corsairs, he was joined by the grey company, comprised of the
Dunedain, and sons of Elrond, alongside men from Gondor’s southern regions, including
the slaves freed from the captured Corsair ships. Aragorn only used the army of the dead to
defeat the armies of Mordor that were gathered at Pelargir. After defeating the fleet of Corsairs of Umbar
and the gathered Haradrim, Aragorn took the remaining ships as his own, sailing North
with his company. It is also stated by Gimli that the main weapon
of the dead was fear, and that he doubted that their weapons would still be able to
bite the living. “Pale swords were drawn; but I know not
whether their blades would still bite, for the dead needed no longer any weapon but fear. None would withstand it.” “To every ship they came that was drawn
up, and then they passed over water to those that were anchored; and all the mariners were
filled with a madness of terror and leaped overboard, save the slaves chained to the
oars.” “‘Ere that dark day ended none of the
enemy were left to resist us; all were drowned, or were flying south in the hope to find their
own lands upon foot.” So fear it seems was the main weapon of the
dead, and that they had no way of inflicting real injuries upon the living. And before we question why Aragorn didn’t
take the army to Mordor, we must first ask why he didn’t take them to the Pelennor
to save the besieged Minas Tirith. Again, Gimli gave us an insight to the reasoning:
“But defenders and foes alike gave up the battle and fled when we came, crying that
the King of the dead was upon them.” It is important to recognise that the army
had a fear inducing effect on men of both sides. The soldiers of Rohan and Gondor would no
doubt have mistaken the dead soldiers as enemies, and servants of Sauron and also fled the battlefield,
causing panic and chaos amongst their ranks, increasing their chances of defeat. Taking a look at the Pellenor Fields, we know
that there were hundreds of thousands of orcs present, alongside men on both sides. It is not clear what affect the fear of the
dead would have had on the orcs. We only witnessed their effect on men in the
books. Given their familiarity with their wraith
commanders and the ever looming shadow of Sauron, the orcs were more familiar with the
presence of wraiths. And fear was also a common tool used by Sauron
against the orcs, so it is unlikely the fear of the dead would have caused as much chaos
amongst their ranks as their fear of Sauron would have been greater. And the Nazgul would almost certainly not
have been affected by their presence. So it may have been too great a risk to bring
the army to Minas Tirith, if it would have had a disruptive effect on the already fearful
defenders of the city. In addition to witnessing the effect the dead
had on men, Tolkien's writing also revealed their effect on horses. As in the books, we see the Grey Company take
their horses through the Paths of the Dead. “And indeed the love that the horses of
the Rangers bore for their riders was so great that they were willing to face the terror
of the Door, if their masters’ hearts were steady as they walked beside them. But Arod, the horse of Rohan, refused the
way, and stood sweating and trembling in fear that was grievous to see.” Arod was eventually persuaded to enter after
some persuasive words from Legolas. But, had Aragorn turned up at the Pelennor
Fields with the dead in tow, the horses and riders of the Rohirrim would have been badly
affected and probably almost all the riders would have been dismounted as the horses bolted
from the battlefield. So instead, Aragorn dismissed the Dead of
Dunharrow on the shore of the Anduin before he sailed north to Gondor’s aid, hoping
that the loss of Mordor’s fleet and the surprise attack from the river would be enough
to swing the tide of battle. Indeed, who would need such an army with a
handful of Dunedain by their side? Now let's come back to the initial question
as to why Aragorn did not take the dead to Mordor. Well, firstly it would probably have scared
off many of the men who travelled to the Black Gate. And they were already lacking the numbers
for this particular suicide mission. Also, Sauron would probably not be that concerned
by a bunch of ghosts who could only induce fear in his orcs, at best. As fear was already put upon them by the Nazgul
and Sauron himself, who they feared most. The forces guarding Mordor, including Orcs,
Trolls, and the Nazgûl, would not have been as easily swayed by fear. There is also the chance, that despite the
promise of eternal rest for fulfilling the oath, that the dead would betray Aragorn and
side with Sauron. Could the Necromancer have offered them something
even more enticing? The Men of Dunharrow had spent years worshipping
Sauron before Isildur cursed them, and in Mordor where his influence was greatest, who
is to say if he could have swayed them to the dark side. We must also wonder whether the dead would
stand and “fight” in the face of the Nazgul. Or could they have been compelled to obey
the Nazgul, just as Frodo was starting to be swayed when he was turning into a wraith
due to the wound caused by the Morgul blade. So Aragorn’s decision not to take the Dead
of Dunharrow to Minas Tirith, and then to Mordor was probably a wise decision, and it
all seemed to work out for the best in the end. So, let me know in the comment section below
if you would have taken the Army of the Dead to Mordor. Ah, Lyra, I loathe to agree with you, but
yes, Aragorn would have been a fool to take the Dead to Mordor. I would have laughed in the face of those
harmless apparitions. The likes of the Nazgul and Dead Marshes are
all in a days work for the valiant orc. And if you havn’t subscribed already, please
consider hitting that button down below. Until next time! Krug Out!
