In The Lord of the Rings there is a cursed king and his army, who broke an oath in the past. At the right moment, Aragorn sought them out and thus gained important allies. However, there is a difference between the books and movies.
Which king is it about? His true name is unknown; he is only known as the “King of the Dead”. As such, he led an army of undead, also known as the Shadow Army.
Originally, the king was a man from Dunharrow. When the kingdom of Gondor was founded, he was not yet undead but the leader of the mountain men. He was still called “King of the Mountain Lands” at that time.
He only gained great notoriety and dubious fame later on. His connection to the legendary man Isildur sealed not only the fate of the king but also that of his army and ultimately that of all Middle-earth.
“You shall be the last king”
What does Isildur have to do with it? Isildur is an important figure from Middle-earth. He was king of Gondor and became legendary mainly because he cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger during the Battle of the Last Alliance. He took it for himself, which led to his tragic death.
However, before that happened, there was a conflict with the later King of the Dead. He had previously sworn loyalty to Isildur. During the decisive battle against Mordor, however, the king broke his oath and did not help the men.
Isildur was furious about this and cast a curse upon the king and his entire people. It went as follows:
You shall be the last king. And if the West proves mightier than your Dark Master, then I lay this curse upon you and your people: never to find peace until your oath is fulfilled. For this war will last countless years, and you will be called once more before the end comes.
Thus, the king and his army became undead. They fled and hid for a long time in the mountains. They avoided contact with other men. They could only atone for their guilt towards their own people about 3000 years later.
How did that happen? Aragorn knew the story of his ancestor Isildur and was aware of the King of the Dead and his army. When the decisive battle against Sauron was looming in the War of the Ring, Aragorn sought out the undead. He went to the mountains, to the stone of Erech, where he made contact.
He told the king that the curse would be lifted if the undead went to battle against Sauron’s forces. So it was done. The army set out and went to Pelargir, a city in Gondor located directly on the River Anduin.
There, the army of the undead defeated the Corsairs of Umbar and freed the city. What happened next was portrayed differently in the films than in the book. In the literary original, Aragorn lifts the curse from the king right after the victory in Pelargir. In the films, his guilt is not resolved so quickly: the army moved on and also fought in the Battle of the Pelennor, the main scene of the final battle.
Only after this battle was won, Aragorn lifted the curse. The King of the Dead then destroyed his spear. Then he and his warriors disappeared in a mist. What is certain is that their help contributed to Middle-earth being able to finally live in peace again. Other men also accomplished great things in The Lord of the Rings: The 10 strongest men from Middle-earth in the ranking
