Tham Mornarcham

Tham Mornarcham is the great hall of rule within Gwathrenost, the dread citadel that rises above Carn Dûm in the realm of Angmar. Within this chamber the lord of Angmar held court and commanded his armies during the long wars against the kingdoms of Arnor.

The hall was raised during the dominion of the Witch-king of Angmar, who established Gwathrenost as a fortress overlooking Carn Dûm and the surrounding lands of northern Middle-earth. From Tham Mornarcham he ruled his dark realm, directing the campaigns that brought ruin to the northern Dúnedain and ultimately destroyed the successor kingdoms of Arnor. The chamber served as the seat of authority within the citadel, where captains, sorcerers, and servants of Angmar gathered beneath the banners of the Iron Crown.

When the power of Angmar was finally broken in the war that culminated in the Battle of Fornost, the Witch-king fled northward but was driven from the field by the host of Eärnur and Glorfindel. In the years that followed, the citadel of Gwathrenost and the hall of Tham Mornarcham fell silent as Angmar collapsed and its strongholds were abandoned.

Many centuries later the fortress was reoccupied when Mordirith, styling himself the False King and Steward of Angmar, sought to restore the dominion of the Witch-king. Under his rule Tham Mornarcham again became a place of dark council and command, serving as the high hall of the Iron Crown and the centre of the renewed power gathering in Carn Dûm.

During this later struggle, the hall witnessed a notable confrontation when the Ranger Golodir entered Gwathrenost and faced Mordirith in battle. In the clash that followed, Golodir wounded the False King with the blade Dúnachar, forcing him to retreat from the chamber. Though Mordirith survived the encounter, the event marked a rare challenge to the authority that had long ruled from Tham Mornarcham.

As the chief hall of Gwathrenost, Tham Mornarcham stands as one of the most symbolic places of power in Angmar, representing both the ancient rule of the Witch-king and the later attempts of his followers to restore the fallen kingdom.