A term of uncertain meaning, but apparently a reference to the long years during which the Dead Men dwelt beneath the Dwimorberg. Cursed by Isildur for their faithlessness at the end of the Second Age, they remained accursed throughout the Third Age until they were released by Aragorn, and hence from the perspective of the Dead, the Accursed Years were practically synonymous with the Third Age.
Some sources suggest the alternative possibility that the Accursed Years equate to the Dark Years, the time in the Second Age when Sauron ruled in Middle-earth. That's a perfectly possible explanation (at one point the Dead are even referred to as 'Dead Men out of the Dark Years').1 However the natural connection between the name 'Accursed' and the curse of Isildur seems to favour the former explanation.
Notes
1 |
Specifically, they are so called by Théoden in The Return of the King V 3, The Muster of Rohan. |
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- Updated 15 December 2012
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