The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - Bio-warfare In Middle-earth

Inziladun · 01-04-2016, 03:05 PM

I thought I would revive this old thread, because it still fascinates me.

Any thoughts as to the nature of these plagues? Illness caused by micro-organisms isn't exactly a known thing in Tolkien's Arda. How did Morgoth, and later Suaron, manage their bio-terror acts? Could the "plagues" have had a chemical origin, instead of one founded in biology? After all, we see the land around Angband and Mordor rendered sterile and void of vegetation. The Brown Lands were subjected to some sort of assault that made them utterly unusable for anything.

Gas warfare, perhaps?

01-04-2016, 03:05 PM	#17
Inziladun Gruesome Spectre Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Heaven's doorstep Posts: 8,058	I thought I would revive this old thread, because it still fascinates me. Any thoughts as to the nature of these plagues? Illness caused by micro-organisms isn't exactly a known thing in Tolkien's Arda. How did Morgoth, and later Suaron, manage their bio-terror acts? Could the "plagues" have had a chemical origin, instead of one founded in biology? After all, we see the land around Angband and Mordor rendered sterile and void of vegetation. The Brown Lands were subjected to some sort of assault that made them utterly unusable for anything. Gas warfare, perhaps? __________________ Music alone proves the existence of God.