Fornost Erain was the second capital of Arnor and later the capital of Arthedain. It was located at the south end of the North Downs, about 100 miles north of Bree, at the northern end of the North-South Road.
Maps
Early history
It is possible that Fornost was founded around or after the establishment of the realm of Arnor in S.A. 3320, because there is no record of the Númenóreans penetrating so far north before the Downfall of Númenor. After the fall of Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, around T.A. 1, the larger part of the Army of Arnor marched west on the North-South Road through the Fords of Isen and continued north to Fornost. The number of Dúnedain of Arnor had decreased because of the War of the Last Alliance and the Disaster of the Gladden Fields and the city of Annúminas turned into ruins. As a consequence the heirs of Valandil moved the capital of Arnor to Fornost.
In T.A. 861, when King Eärendur died, Arnor was divided into the kingdoms of Arthedain, Cardolan and Rhudaur, because of dissensions among his sons. As a consequence, Fornost became the capital of the new realm of Arthedain. In T.A. 1409, when the Witch-king of Angmar took the tower of Amon Sûl, the palantír that was located in the tower was saved and carried back to Fornost during the retreat. The new young King Araphor repelled the enemy from Fornost and the North Downs.
Fall
In T.A. 1974, the forces of the Witch-king of Angmar invaded Arthedain before the end of the winter and captured Fornost. King Arvedui first resisted on the North Downs until the last, then fled with some of his guard to Dwarven mines at the northern end of the Blue Mountains and drowned in the Icebay of Forochel with the two Palantíri he had saved from the forces of Angmar in March of the following year. Meanwhile, Fornost became the dwelling of the Witch-king and his evil folk, who ursurped the house of the old kings.
In T.A. 1975, a fleet of ships from Gondor, led by prince Eärnur of Gondor, landed at Mithlond. The Elves of Lindon led by Círdan, the remaining Dúnedain of the North, and some Hobbits from the Shire joined the Host of the West. Eärnur fought the Witch-king of Angmar in the plains west of Fornost and defeated the armies of Angmar, but the Witch-king himself escaped. After the death of King Arvedui and the defeat of the army of Angmar, the Kingdom of Arthedain ended, because few Dúnedain of the North were left and the population of all the other peoples of Eriador had decreased. The Dúnedain of the North turned into a secret and wandering people that passed into the shadows. As a consequence, it is possible that Fornost was abandoned after the defeat of the army of Angmar.
Legacy
After Fornost Erain was abandoned, Men referred to it as Deadmen's Dike and feared to go there. According to Barliman Butterbur, the innkeeper of The Prancing Pony, Fornost was said to be a haunted land. However, the Rangers went there, but it is not known what they did there and how long they stayed there.
It is possible that Fornost was rebuilt and resettled after King Elessar reunited Gondor and Arnor, as Gandalf had announced that King Elessar would go there again one day and fair folk would be riding through Bree and that many folk used to live at the end of the Greenway on the North Downs.