Fornost

"Can you see anything?" "Nothing. There's nothing."
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Fornost Erain (Sindarin: 'North fortress of the Kings'), or just Fornost, known in Westron as Norbury of the Kings or just King's Norbury, was a city in Eriador of the Kingdom of Arnor. It was located at the south end of the North Downs, about 100 Númenórean miles north of Bree. It was eventually abandoned and fell into ruin, and became popularly known as Deadmen's Dike. At the time of the events of The Lord of the Rings (TA 3018 – 3019), Fornost Erain had been abandoned for about a thousand years, and "even the ruins of Kings' Norbury were covered with grass."^{[citation needed]}

FORNOST location map in middle earth — The location of Fornost Erain on Middle-earth map.

History[]

In TA 861, when High King Eärendur died, Arnor was divided into three kingdoms, Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur. Eärendur's eldest son, Amlaith became King of Arthedain and moved the royal capital from Annúminas to Fornost Erain.^[1]

Fornost Erain was located along the southernmost edge of the North Downs. As a military fortress, it served to guard the gap between the North Downs and the Weather Hills against incursions by the forces of Rhudaur or Angmar. The Stone of Annúminas may have eventually been relocated to Fornost Erain; the Stone of Amon Sûl was taken to Fornost Erain when the Tower of Amon Sûl fell to the Witch-king's forces in TA 1409. The city was besieged for a time in that year, but was successfully defended by King Araphor.

Early in TA 1974, Fornost Erain, along with the rest of Arthedain, fell to a full-scale invasion from Angmar, and most of its inhabitants were killed or driven over the Lune. King Arvedui, after resisting for a time on the nearby North Downs, fled into the northern wastes and was eventually lost in the Icebay of Forochel. The Witch-king then set up his residence in Fornost Erain, and populated the city with "evil folk". The next year, a fleet from Gondor, led by Eärnur, landed at Mithlond. Along with allies from Lindon, Rivendell and the former territories of Arnor, they defeated the Witch-king of Angmar on the plains west of Fornost Erain; though he escaped, Angmar's army was utterly destroyed.

Fornost gate - LOTRO — Front gate of Fornost Erain during the time of its ruin, as seen in *The Lord of the Rings Online*

At the end of the war, the northern Dúnedain, now led by Arvedui's son Aranarth, were too few in number to rebuild their kingdom or maintain cities. Fornost Erain was not resettled, and gradually fell into ruin. The Dúnedain, who became a secretive and wandering people known in Eriador as Rangers, visited Fornost Erain, but most other folk avoided the ruined city; the Men of Bree called it "Deadmen's Dike" and many believed it to be haunted.

After the War of the Ring, Fornost Erain was rebuilt by King Elessar.

In adaptations[]

Video games[]

Men Soldiers defending Fornost — As seen in *The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king*

Several video games have depicted Fornost Erain to date:

The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king features it as a site of battle during the Witch-king's campaign.
The Lord of the Rings Online depicts Fornost as overrun by Angmar's forces in TA 3018, players are encouraged to fight through the city and cleanse it of the servants of the enemy.
In The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Fornost Erain is where Sauron's lieutenant, Agandaûr, made a deal with the Witch-king of Angmar to help conquer Middle-earth with Orcs he gathered in the North, until a small band of free peoples (Elladan, Elrohir, Eradan, Andriel, Farin and Beleram) forces him to flee.

Etymology[]

Fornost literally translates in Sindarin as "Northern City", from "forn" meaning north, northern and "ost" meaning city, fortress or large dwelling. The same basic roots are present in Quenya; Formenos, the "Northern Fortress" Fëanor built in Valinor.

Translations[]

Foreign Language	Translated name
Arabic	فورنوست
Amharic	ፎርኖስት
Armenian	Ֆորնոստ
Belarusian Cyrillic	Форност
Bengali	ফর্নোস্ট
Bulgarian Cyrillic	Форност (Fornost) Форност Ераин (Fornost Erain)
Chinese	佛諾斯特
Georgian	ფორნოსტი
Greek	Φορνοστ
Gujarati	ફ઼ઓર્નોસ્ત
Hebrew	פורנוסט
Hindi	फ़ोर्नोस्त
Kannada	ಫ಼ೊರ್ನೊಸ್ತ್
Kazakh Cyrillic	Форност
Korean	포르노스트
Kyrgyz Cyrillic	Форност
Macedonian Cyrillic	Форност
Marathi	फ़ोर्नोस्त
Mongolian Cyrillic	Форност
Nepalese	फ़ोर्नोस्त
Persian	فورنوست
Russian	Форност (Fornost) Форност Эраин (Fornost-Erain)
Serbian	Форност/Fornost Форност-Ераин/Fornost-Erain
Sinhalese	ෆොර්නොස්ත්
Swedish	Fornost/Nordmark
Tajik Cyrillic	Форност
Tamil	பொர்னொச்ட்
Thai	ฟอร์นอส
Telugu	ఫోర్నోస్ట్
Ukrainian Cyrillic	Форност (Fornost) Фо́рност-Е́раїн (Fornost-Erain)
Urdu	فورنوسٹ
Uzbek	Форност (Cyrillic) Fornost (Latin)
Yiddish	פאָרנאָסט

Places of Middle-earth and Arda during the Second & Third Age

Middle-earth Locations:

Provinces/Regions:

Forests & Mountains:

City/Fortifications:

Miscellaneous:

The rest of Arda:

References[]

↑ The History of Middle-earth Vol. XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth

[1] The History of Middle-earth Vol. XII, The Peoples of Middle-earth

[1]