The Angle
The Angle is the land between the Mitheithel and Bruinen rivers, inhabited by the last remnants of the Dúnedain of Arnor.
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 Dúnedain emblem |
Summary
Main article: History of the Angle
The Angle is a wooded area between two rivers in the north-east of Eriador and south of the Great Road. This region was once part of the kingdoms of Arnor and Rhudaur, which built now-abandoned villages and fortresses in its north. The Stoor hobbits lived in the south for some centuries before eventually migrating to the Shire. Today it is inhabited only by the last of the Northern Dúnedain, who have created hidden farms and villages.
After the fall of Arthedain, Eriador was in a dire state. The war had caused enormous material and human losses and a large part of its remaining population emigrated to Gondor over the following years while the rest mostly had to build new communities. These remaining Men joined in scattered settlements in the North, concentrated in and around the Hills of Evendim, Bree and Tharbad, while the Hobbits survived in the Shire. While the army of Arthedain was completely shattered, the small order of Rangers remained enormously personally loyal to the former king.
At a solemn, secret meeting of the surviving – and willing to remain – Dúnedain lords on Amon Sûl, Aranarth took for himself the title of Chieftain of the Dúnedain and Captain of the Rangers of the North. He sent the heirlooms of his line to Elrond Half-elven for safe-keeping: the star of Elendil, the sceptre of Annúminas, the Ring of Barahir and the shards of Narsil. He gathered those Dúnedain still loyal to him and led them away from their ancestral lands to start a new life in isolated and self-sufficient communities, far from the remaining settled areas of Eriador.
From their Hidden Settlements the descendants of the Men of the West still watched over the remaining communities in Eriador, no longer as rulers but as wardens, advisors and brokers. The Rangers walked among the peoples of Eriador but no one recognised them, assuming them to be nomads or vagabonds, like many men were at that time. Through their efforts, Eriador started to slowly recover from the devastation of war, there was peace among the different communities and the roads between them were safe again. But soon evil things started to multiply again, wolves began to plague the lowlands and orcs built strongholds in the mountains: against these threats the Rangers remained ever watchful, protecting the communities of Eriador from these dangers.
Settlements
- Gwâr-Estel - 'Town of Hope', the main village of the Angle where the Line of Isildur is maintained
- Barangobel - 'Brown Enclosed Dwelling'
- Cerinbel - 'Fenced Hill-town'
Climate and ecology
The climate of the Angle is temperate, with fairly regular rainfall. Temperatures throughout the year average a daily high of 13°C and a low of 6°C.
Like much of the rest of Eriador, the forest that once would have covered the Angle was cleared in the distant past, although less intensively than in other regions as Rhudaur was always more sparsely populated. Its natural vegetation zones would be as follows:
- F96 - (Southeast-)Central European Luzula luzuloides- and Dryopteris dilatata-fir-beech forests (Fagus sylvatica, Abies alba), partly with Picea abies
- S11 - Central European colline-submontane wooded raised bogs with Pinus rotundata, Melampyrum pratense, Sphagnum magellanicum, partly with Pinus sylvestris, Ledum palustre
- T1 - Alder carrs (Alnus glutinosa), partly with Betula pubescens, Salix cinerea, Salix pentandra, Picea abies, often in combination with alder-ash forests
Architecture
Most Dúnedain houses are very rudimentary log cabins. They usually have foundations of cobblestone and roofs of thatch or turf. Some feature a veranda, hearkening back to their Romanesque Arnorian roots.
The Dúnedain keep few material possessions due to their seminomadic lifestyle, so the interiors of their houses are generally quite bare. Cooking is done on corner hearths, sometimes with a small chimney. The house of the town Reeve is usually larger and features a meeting room with a central hearth, a simplification of the Númenórean solma.
Government and military
Government
The Chieftain of the Dúnedain (currently Aragorn II), also known as the Chieftain of the North, is the hereditary title of the rulers of the Rangers of the North. The Chieftains are raised in Rivendell, where the heirlooms of the House of Isildur are also kept.
Just as the King was the ultimate leader of the Rangers of Arnor, after T.A. 1975 the Rangers of the North had their Captain in the Chieftain of the Dúnedain. He commands the vast territory of Eriador through four Wardens, each overseeing a quarter of the land. The Warden of the North is in charge of the borderlands north of the Hills of Evendim, the North Downs and the lands closer to the ruins of Angmar; the Warden of the West oversees the region of Lake Evendim, the Lhûn valley and the lands of the Shire; the Warden of the South protects the lands of old Cardolan and Breeland; and the Warden of the East looks after the lands of old Rhudaur. Wardens are not exclusively military figures but are also in charge of the Dúnedain families living in their territories: they are responsible for public order, security and upholding the law.
After the retreat into the Angle in the 28th century, the Warden of the East, in whose territory all the Dúnedain communities were located, became known as the Great Warden (currently Halbarad). The other three wardens were only responsible for the activity of Rangers away from the Hidden Settlements.
Settlements are headed by a Reeve, an elder elected by the villagers and confirmed and installed by the Great Warden: his main duties are the organisation of labour and the settling of disputes among the locals.
Military
The military force of the Dúnedain are the Rangers of the North, consisting of around three hundred men in total. Of the few hundred Rangers active at any one time, about one third are on duty in the Angle, guarding the borders and making sure spies, scouts or lost travellers do not enter them. The remaining two-thirds of the Rangers are dedicated to missions abroad, half of them active and the other half either preparing or recovering from them. This allows any of these Rangers to spend about half of his time abroad and the other half in the Angle.
All Rangers are equipped with swords, spears, bows and light armour. About a third are also given a horse for greater mobility. Their style of warfare is highly mobile, preferably applying ambush: they gather information and strike when the enemy is in a position of weakness. Training with the Elves of Rivendell gives the Rangers skills that would look supernatural to other Men, which include stealth, mimicry, animal languages and skills of healing. In times of desperation when their settlements are under direct threat, the Dúnedain may also raise a militia.
The earliest historical document about the Rangers is their official foundation in T.A. 250 under King Eldacar: the purpose of the King’s Rangers was to institutionalise royal hunts as an occasion for the key people of the realm to become close to the land and to each other. The first to join the King and his hunting companions were the sons of the Dúnadan families forming the nobility of Arnor. As Rangers, they would learn courage, strength of character, selflessness and a stalwart loyalty to each other; and in time they would form a brotherhood of Men defending the North Kingdom against its enemies.
The nature of their training made members of the King’s Rangers the ideal candidates for important missions which required secrecy and knowledge of the land. Rangers were selected as scouts, explorers, spies, envoys and messengers to hostile lands, and their successes strengthened their cohesion, perseverance and discipline.
In Arthedain the total number of members shrunk to half of what they had been in the past, but in this period these Rangers gradually developed into a more professionally organised structure. Now the former noble hunters informally accompanying the king in his hunts and travels became members of a more standardised military Order tasked with the protection of the borders, now beset by many dangers. They were also active outside the kingdom’s borders, travelling incognito in the old lands of Cardolan and Rhudaur, where they liaised with former members of the King’s Rangers, and carried out missions for the king of Arthedain.
Economy
Industry and professions
Even though all the Dúnedain are descendants of the aristocracy of Arnor, they are all equals and commoners within the Hidden Settlements. Here they need to carry out all the activities necessary for the survival of a community with virtually no economic links to the outside. The Dúnedain are farmers, shepherds, carpenters and blacksmiths.
Agriculture
Many non-Ranger inhabitants of the Angle live a semi-pastoral lifestyle, leading their herds of sheep or cattle during the summer and returning to their homes during the cooler months. They keep meadows around their villages and farmsteads in order to feed their cattle during winter; since they usually cut the grass in the late summer, there should be haystacks. Their animals' winter diet is also supplemented with leaves from coppices.
Wheat and barley are the main food crops in the Angle, and oats might be grown as well as feed for horses. Hemp is also grown, for making rope and textiles. These crop fields should be fairly small and irregularly-shaped, owing to the rough terrain. Milling is generally done on a small scale, with Dwarven-style handmills. Brewing is also a very small-scale industry, and grain is dried in barns or sometimes in bake ovens. In addition, many denizens of the Angle grow fruit trees (mostly apple, but occasionally cherry or pear as well) near their homes.
Culture and daily life
The society is relatively egalitarian: everyone among them is of pure Númenórean descent, and as such counts among his ancestors lords and knights of the North-kingdom. But in the simple and secluded life of a Hidden Settlement labour division is limited, personal wealth scarce and social ranks almost non-existent. This is not to say that everyone is equal: those who are selected as Rangers enjoy a special respect, which repays them of the considerable hardships and sacrifices they must face in their service. The longer the years of duty, the higher the status that Rangers enjoy, with Master Rangers being highly honoured and Wardens being only second to the Captain of all Rangers.
Among non-Rangers there is no hard distinction, save for the Reeve who is always a well respected figure. Land-ownership is not hereditary but rather assigned by the community. When they near adult age, young Dúnedain are faced with a choice to either continue their parents’ trade, learn a new profession (which is encouraged if a position has fallen vacant) or train to become a Ranger.
As these folk are directly descended from the Faithful Men of Númenor, they maintain the old ways and customs. They build no temples or shrines, though in permanent settlements there could be evidence of westward-facing structures in memory of their destroyed home.