Riverfolk Stoors fishing on the banks of the Gladden
The Gladden Fields were a marshland located in the vale of the Gladden river, and on the banks of the river Anduin. It was there that the One Ring was lost by Isildur, and found again centuries later by Déagol the Stoor.
Geography[]
The fields started near the mouth of the river Gladden, and went on beyond where it joined the Great River, extending onto its eastern banks. It was a region of many dark pools and islets, with beds of reeds and rushes and many wildflowers - a particularly common flower being the Yellow Iris, which grew there in profusion.
In ancient times when the Silvan Elves were in the region, there was a pool or lake at the intersection of the two rivers; however, over time this receded, forming the marshes.
History[]
Isildur passed through the Gladden Fields when disaster struck
It was at the Gladden Fields that Isildur and his sons were travelling to Rivendell when they were assailed by Orcs in TA 2. Isildur, in an attempt to escape, jumped into the river, using the Ring to be hidden. However, the Ring slipped from his finger as he swam away, landing in the riverbed, and Isildur was slain by Orcs' arrows on the bank of a small islet.
The fields were later settled by Stoors around TA 1356. The Ring remained undiscovered.
Around two and a half millennia after the ambush, in TA 2463, the Hobbit Déagol found the ring when he was fishing with his cousin Sméagol: an especially large fish pulled him under the water and, spotting it amongst the weeds, he took it to the bank. Ensnared by the Ring's power, the two fought over it, and ultimately it went to Sméagol, who killed Déagol and was eventually twisted into the creature called Gollum.
Later, around TA 2851, Saruman began searching the wetlands for the Ring. He found the Elendilmir, the token of Royalty of the North-kingdom, which Isildur had been wearing at the time of the attack and the casket that had once held the ring. At the meeting of the White Council that year, Saruman overruled Gandalf's suggestion that they drive Sauron from his stronghold in Dol Guldur.
Sauron also sent his servants to search for the Ring. When Saruman learned of this, he agreed to an attack on Dol Guldur in TA 2941 to prevent Sauron from finding the Ring. At the meeting of the White Council in TA 2953, Saruman pretended that the Ring had been carried downriver to the Sea.
In TA 3018 the Nazgûl searched the area looking for 'Shire' and 'Baggins' but discovered only long abandoned ruins of Stoor dwellings.