The Dead Marshes is a fictional place from J. R. R. Tolkien's universe, Middle-earth.

Literature

Once the ancient battlefield of Dagorlad, the Dead Marshes lie north-west of the Morannon, the principle entrance to Mordor. Several battles were fought here, most notably the Battle of Dagorlad at the end of the Second Age when the Last Alliance met the forces of Mordor with many casualties amongst Elves, Men and Orcs on both sides. Through the years, the battlefield became a marshland, which grew and swallowed up the dead.

The Marshes are also known as 'The Mere of Dead Faces'; they are described in The Passage of the Marshes in The Two Towers as "dreary and wearisome. Cold, clammy winter still held sway in this forsaken country. The only green was the scum of livid weed on the dark greasy surfaces of the sullen waters. Dead grasses and rotting reeds loomed up in the mists like ragged shadows of long forgotten summers." ^[1]

On their way to Mordor to destroy the One Ring in 3002 T.A., Frodo Baggins, Sam Gamgee are led through the marshes by Gollum. Gollum informs the hobbits that the dead bodies seen resting in the pools of the Marshes are incorporeal, merely the images of those who have fallen - as Gollum says, "Only shapes to see, perhaps, not to touch."^[1] Frodo is mesmerized by the candle-like lights that appear to float over the Marshes (called by Gollum "candles of corpses"^[1]); those who are hypnotised by these lights, and who therefore try to touch the bodies, are likely to drown in the waters and join the dead. In the book, Gollum reveals the dangers to Sam, who calls to the stiff and lifeless Frodo and breaks his trance before he can touch the waters.

In The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Tolkien speculated that the description of the Dead Marshes may have been based on his personal experience in World War I, specifically, the Battle of the Somme^[2].

Adaptations

In Peter Jackson's film version, Frodo attempts to reach out and touch the face of one of the corpses; he falls into the water and the spirit of a dead Elf-king tries to drag him down. In this case, it is Gollum who pulls him out of the water

Barbara Strachey, in her fictionalised atlas Journeys of Frodo, depicts the Dead Marshes as an eastward extension of the swamps of Nindalf (Wetwang), although on the Lord of the Rings map they appear separate.

References

fr:Marais des Morts pl:Martwe Bagna