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Sea · Eriador

Icebay of Forochel

The frozen northern bay where the last king of Arthedain sheltered and the palantíri were lost

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Appears in
Appendices
Region
Eriador
Icebay of Forochel on the map of Middle-earth

The Icebay of Forochel cuts deep into the far northwest of the map, above and to the west of the lands the Shire-folk knew. It is what remains of a far larger bay that once reached much further south, and the cape of Forochel curves around it to the west. North and east of it stretches Forodwaith, the cold waste left over from the ruin of the north in the Elder Days.

Its people are the Lossoth, called the Snowmen. They build houses of snow, travel on bone runners and on flat sleds, and keep clear of the affairs of kings. They are counted the remnant of the Forodwaith, men who lived in the north long before the Númenóreans came back to Middle-earth.

Forochel matters to the story of Arnor because of one winter. When Angmar overran Arthedain in TA 1974 and Fornost fell, King Arvedui fled north and the Lossoth gave him shelter in their snow houses, though they feared the Witch-king's reach. Círdan sent a ship from Lindon to fetch him. Arvedui gave the Lossoth the ring of Barahir as payment, and against their warning boarded in the spring ice. The ship was crushed and sank.

With Arvedui went the palantíri of Annúminas and Amon Sûl, and the north-kingdom's direct line of kings ended there. The bay is one of the emptiest places on the map, and also one of the most consequential.

Events at this place

  1. TA 1975 · Appendices

    Arvedui takes refuge with the Lossoth

    After the fall of Fornost the last king of Arthedain wintered among the Snowmen of Forochel, who fed and sheltered him.

  2. TA 1975 · Appendices

    Loss of Arvedui and two palantíri

    Círdan's ship was crushed by ice in the bay. Arvedui drowned and the seeing-stones of Annúminas and Amon Sûl were lost with him.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Icebay of Forochel?

In the far northwest of Middle-earth, north of the Blue Mountains and the old lands of Arnor, opening onto the northern reaches of the Great Sea.

Who lives at Forochel?

The Lossoth, called the Snowmen of Forochel, a hardy people who live on the ice and are descended from the ancient Forodwaith.

Which palantíri were lost at Forochel?

The stones of Annúminas and Amon Sûl, which went down with Arvedui's ship in TA 1975 and were never recovered.