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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Full Length Reaction!

🕑 Added 2022-11-06 19:18:29 +0000 UTC

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TJ Bigelow

So you asked about the Army of Dead in LotR: Return of the King. They summed up the plot of their story decently in the film, an army of men swore an oath to the king (Isildur), broke it, and were cursed to undeath until they fulfilled their vow, which Aragorn helped them complete; but here is more detail. The Men of the White Mountains (later called Oathbreakers) swore to Isildur an oath to fight by his side when summoned. This was during the building of Gondor. Shortly after that, what is called the dark years, the Men of the White Mountains were on the side of Sauron, mostly because their territory was a part of the region that Sauron controlled and ruled over. Isildur called them to service during the War of the Last Alliance (the fight at the beginning or Lord of the Rings were the ring was cut from Sauron's hand by Isildur). The Men of the White Mountains feared the wrath from both side if they choose the other to fight for, so they fled into the Mountains and Valleys to hide during the war, which where they are now referred to as Oathbreakers. Isildur cursed them with never resting until their oath to the king is fulfilled. As they dwindled over the centuries, a seer prophesied that one day an heir of the king will travel through the valleys, in great need, and summon them to fulfill their oath. You know the rest, because the film covered it. Now here is the cool part, the inspiration of the Army of the Dead comes from the various European tales/legends/myths of 'the restless dead' travelers feared as they traveled across lands that were sites of untold battles. Knights, horses, hounds, AND (get this) the Wild Hunt!!! Yes, THEE Wild Hunt, the same Wild Hunt that gave the inspiration to the Wild Hunt in the Witcher. Basically, when traveling alone or with a small party, long distances, across wild lands, hearing stories of long ago battles, during a time of great superstition, you get stories of the dead restless spirits roaming the lands, setting upon weary travelers. Or rather, very uneducated superstitious people, telling tall tales of noises in the dark and embellishing.