The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow were employed by Aragorn to help him defeat Sauron’s forces in The Lord of the Rings, but he let them go after they had finished fighting together. This was rolled out in both J.R.R. Tolkien’s landmark fantasy novel of 1955, The Lord of the Rings, and Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies. The explanation for Aragorn’s dismissal of this key ally was more evident in the book than in the trilogy. This prompted many viewers of the movies to ask why Aragorn had not kept the army in his service.

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novel, published in three parts between 1954 and 1955, revealed the deeper lore behind the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and their relationship with the realms of Middle-earth. This is enlightening when it comes to why Aragorn discharged the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ because Aragorn himself was a key player in the realms of Middle-earth. Aragorn was a Ranger in Lord of the Rings, despite being heir to the throne of Gondor. Thus, he was linked to the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow by history and politics.

The Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ’s Debt To Aragorn In The Lord Of The Rings Explained

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Of Dunharrow Were Held By An Oath

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow were held by an oath that goes a long way to explaining Aragorn’s choice. Aragorn dispensed with the services of the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, although they were one of Lord of the Rings’ strongest armies. While this may not make sense at first glance, it is related to the oath taken by the army. The Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ swore an oath that rendered them in debt to Aragorn. It is technically to Isildur that this army swore their oath, but Isildur is Aragorn’s ancestor.

The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow’s obligation pᴀssed from Isildur all the way down to Aragorn. In The Lord of the Rings’ Second Age, many years before the events of the novel and movie trilogy, Isildur was fighting a war against Sauron. Sauron rose to power throughout the Second Age, as adapted by Amazon Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – with varying degrees of faithfulness. The Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ had sworn to serve Isildur but betrayed him when Isildur enlisted them, for which he cursed them to restlessness until their oath was fulfilled.

Why Aragorn Frees The Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ After Battle Of The Pelennor Fields

Aragorn Understood The Way Oaths Worked In Lord Of The Rings

The Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ was subject to an incredibly powerful oath, and therefore an incredibly powerful curse, so for Aragorn to disrespect them would be risky. Although not outlined in excruciating detail in Lord of the Rings, oaths and curses did seem to have a contractually binding power, which resonated with the kind of medieval and ancient folk and fairy stories that Tolkien was inspired by. Middle-earth was presided over by the One Eru Ilúvatar, a God who implemented “laws of physics,” of which oaths and curses seemed to be a part.

While Eru’s axani were laws meant to be obeyed, Eru’s únati were the laws of the universe that could not be broken (Morgoth’s Ring). It is implied throughout the legendarium that oaths and curses are únati, which explains why Isildur’s curse worked. This left Aragorn able to employ the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, using the leverage that it would free them from their curse. In fulfilling their oath to Aragorn, the terms of the oath and curse had both been met and were no longer binding. Besides, freeing the Men of Dunharrow was the right, honorable thing for Aragorn to do.

It’s Not Clear If The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men Of Dunharrow Could Have Helped Against Sauron

The Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ May Have Been Useless In Other Circumstances

Aragorn may have let the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow go from his service, partially because they would no longer have been useful to him. It isn’t clear if the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ would have been useful to Aragorn or not following the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, as it depends on the exact nature of their biology and species. This wasn’t deeply dived into in the legendarium. Sauron was one of the most powerful characters in The Lord of the Rings, and it’s possible he could have reappropriated their power as a “necromancer.“

Disrespecting the core tenets of the army’s curse may have been either impossible or entailing of disastrous consequences for Aragorn, as per Eru’s únati. If, doing this, Aragorn kept the army enslaved to him, he would probably have been more at risk from Sauron in the coming weeks or months. Sauron may have been able to claim the army for his own at any time, having dabbled in the biological engineering of new species and control of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. The Lay of Leithian points to Sauron’s control of ghosts and spirits.

Aragorn’s Decision In The Lord Of The Rings Is The Right One For His Character

Dismissing The Army Of The ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Made Sense For Aragorn

Ultimately, it made sense for Aragorn to alleviate the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Men of Dunharrow from their duties after they had served him. Not only was this a logical choice based on the uncertainty of the army’s sustained loyalty following the completion of their binding oath, but it was a reflection of his moral character. Probably understanding the possibility of dire consequences for him in disobeying the conditions of a curse, setting the Army of the ᴅᴇᴀᴅ free reflected intelligence and understanding of lore and history – both required of the King of Gondor and Arnor.

Aragorn’s character hung around his honor, perhaps the key value of the sort of medieval epics Lord of the Rings used to inspire its heroes. Aragorn was the main knight in shining armor of the Third Age in both the book and the movies, although he was one of many in the book. He had to embody honor to inspire readers and viewers as he was meant to. Aragorn’s journey to kingship was defined by honor and contrasted with the attempted rise of characters like Borromir, who got tripped up by a thirst for power in The Lord of the Rings.