Tharagrondost

Tharagrondost (S. "Fortress Across the Bight") was a Gondorian citadel located at the mouth of the River Engui in Andrast. Except for Bar Morthil, it was the only Dúnadan site on the Andrast. Because of the region's forbidding character, the Númenóreans never made any permanent havens west of the Lefnui. The later Dúnedain of Gondor likewise avoided the region, until need drove them to do otherwise. It was the formation of a rival sea-power in Umbar by the rebels of the Kin-strife that precipitated the building of Tharagrondost in T.A. 1652. The fortress weathered the turmoil of the later Third Age, and was still inhabited at the time of the War of the Ring. Tharagrondost became one of the first havens of Western Gondor's new royal fleet, which underwent construction following the loss of the realm's former naval might to Umbar. The inhospitable nature of the land, however, limited the size of the garrison which the fortress could maintain. In order to augment its capacity, Telumehtar (the future King of Gondor and first captain of the fortress) decreed that Tharagrondost should receive a regular grain supply, to be transported by ship from Lond Galen in Anfalas. This food supply was supplemented by foodstuffs produced by the local Dunir inhabitants of the region, in exchange for protection from Corsair raids. The fortification system of Tharagrondost was expanded in T.A. 1720 to include two secondary fortresses (one at Rast Rhaen and the other at the outflow of the Nevedui) and a chain of coastal beacons. This system remained intact until T.A. 2050, when the Steward Mardil Voronwë enfeoffed Tharagrondost's commanding officer as the first Lord of Andrast. The withdrawal of royal control over the region led to a military reorganization, whereby the captains of the secondary fortresses came to be lesser feudatories in their own right. This feudalization of Andrast also led to the formation of a few manorial estates (now a necessity, since the garrisons could no longer rely on an external food supply). Because its sole adversaries had always been seaborne, the garrisons of Tharagrondost and its feudatories were entirely oriented towards coastal defense. As a conse- quence of this fact, the Lord of Andrast rarely provided troops for any of the wars of the South-kingdom, and his brave exploits in the defense of Gondor's coastal flank remained for the most part unsung. Like much of western Gondor following the War of the Ring, Tharagrondost retained its feudal autonomy. With no remaining maritime threat in the wake of Umbar's subjection to Aragorn Elessar, there was no need to reassert royal control over the region. The Lord of Andrast was obligated to provide a haven for the ships of the new royal fleet, but was otherwise left to his own devices.