Angbor the Lord of Lamedon was a Gondorian nobleman who lived at the end of the Third Age, noted as a fearless warrior. He oversaw a wide part of the lands of Gondor running down from the southern slopes of the White Mountains to the shores of the Bay of Belfalas. When the summons came from Minas Tirith for aid in the War of the Ring, the threat of raiders from the sea meant that Angbor was able to send only a few of his hillmen to the defence of Minas Tirith.

Angbor's caution in keeping back defenders proved to be well-founded. On 11 March III 3019, ships carrying Corsairs and Haradrim entered the mouth of the river Gilrain and attacked the town of Linhir on Lamedon's southern coasts. Angbor led his people to challenge the invaders, and a skirmish was fought for possession of the town's fords. That battle was cut short by the sudden appearance of the Aragorn and the Shadow Host, travelling from the Paths of the Dead. Most of the fighters at the fords fled in terror at the approach of the Dead, but fearless Angbor was able to stand his ground.

With the threat to his coasts driven away, Angbor was free to follow Aragorn to Pelargir, and he arrived at that harbour city to find that the Dead had driven off the Corsairs who had docked there. Aragorn took the abandoned enemy fleet to sail to the Battle of the Pelennor, while Angbor gathered all that he could - some four thousand soldiers in total - and began an overland march along the northward road to Minas Tirith.

While Angbor travelled toward the City, the enemy attacking it was defeated, and its leaders decided to make their own distracting assault against the land of Mordor itself. Aragorn had planned that Angbor and his followers would reach Minas Tirith as its forces set out on their march to the confrontation at the Black Gate, but Angbor himself is not mentioned after this point, and so his ultimate fate remains unknown.³

Notes

1	We must assume that Angbor held a town within Lamedon, and the only realistic option seems to be Calembel on the river Ciril, though this is nowhere stated explicitly. During the War of the Ring, Angbor fought to defend the fords of Linhir. This might be taken to suggest that Linhir was Angbor's home, but in fact it lay far from the valleys of Lamedon, and it seems that Angbor travelled there - some considerable distance from his own lands - to defend Gondor against invading Corsairs and Haradrim.
2	Angbor's name seems to be composed from the Elvish elements ang 'iron' and paur 'fist', though given his fearless character, there may also be a connection to the root bor 'steadfast'. This is the meaning most likely intended, but in fact the name Angbor occurs elsewhere in Tolkien's work with a quite different meaning. In The Wanderings of Húrin (in volume XI of The History of Middle-earth), there's mention of a standing stone from which the lords of the Men of Brethil pronounced their judgements, and that stone was also known as Angbor, there said to mean 'doom-rock'. This interpretation comes from the language of the Haladin, and the name's resemblance to that of Angbor of Lamedon is probably no more than a remarkable coincidence.
3	Aragorn's plans for Angbor and his followers are frustratingly vague. Taking account of Angbor's contingent, Aragorn judged '...that we could lead out seven thousands of horse and foot, and yet leave the City in better defence than it was when the assault began.' (The Return of the King V 9, The Last Debate). It is not clear from this whether Angbor was to join the seven thousand marching on Mordor, or to remain behind to assist the defenders of Minas Tirith. Given Aragorn's evident high opinion of Angbor and his fearless nature, on balance it would seem more likely that Angbor would have ridden beside the Captains of the West as they marched to the Black Gate.

Angbor

Sturdy Lord of Lamedon

Notes

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