In Lord of the Rings the evil magician Saruman The White lives in a fortress called Isengaard. Our local manor house and the area around it is called Isgård.

Note that “aa” was how the Danish letter “å” was originally spelt. Why Isgård would previously been spelt Isgaard emphasising the resemblance to Tolkin’s Isengaard.

At Isgård you find traces of one of the most powerful chieftain families in Danish history, namely the famous Hvide-slægt (the White family).

In the 10th century the White family’s founder Skjalm Hvide fought under the Danish royal banners in the last great Viking naval battles and was one of the first Danish chiefs to convert to Christianity.

Accordingly, his descendants also received particularly favoured positions in the new Christian hierarchy, which ruled Denmark after conversion; including Skjalm Vognsen who became bishop of Aarhus.

Skjalm Vognsen brought enormous wealth back to the city and thereby financed the construction of Aarhus Cathedral. The White family bishop made Isgård his home, from where he could look out over Aarhus Bay and follow the construction of the Cathedral inside Aarhus.

The first part of the word Isgård – ise – is an ancient Anglo-Saxon and Old Jutlandic word for iron. Hence Isgård can be translated into the Iron Castle or the Iron Fortress.

In The Lord of the Rings Saruman the White produces iron at Isengaard for his mighty army of savages, half orcs and Uruk-hai.

Isgård looks out onto The Bay of Aarhus (Aarhus Bugt). The stretch of sea which separates Syddjurs from the islands of Samsø and Tunø in the East, and the East Jutland Coast to the West.

In Tolkien’s own mythology, Middle-earth is divided by the River Aros. The Viking name for Aarhus is Aros.

Aarhus is one of the oldest cities in Denmark and was a hub for sea-going trade due to its position on intersecting trade routes in the Danish straits and the fertile countryside.

J.R.R. Tolkien was a linguist at Oxford University and studied Jutland’s oldest history through his passion for cartography, the Scandinavian languages and Old Norse texts, which he also translated into English (including the epic Beowulf poem).

Through his studies Tolkien became well acquainted Aarhus, its significance in Danish history and the role that Aarhus Bay played in maintaining Aarhus as a stronghold.

The major battle in Lord of the Rings vol. II: The Two Towers takes place at the deep gorge Helm’s Deep.

Denmarks deepest stretch of water is called Hjelms Dyb. “Dyb” being the Danish word for deep.

Hjelms Dyb separates the island of Hjelm (Helmet) from the mainland with to iconic hill Jern Hatten (The Iron Hat). Since the Iron Age, Hjelms Dyb has played an important role for seafarers and was one of the Viking Age’s most famous sea routes. Not least due to the fortified Viking stronghold and trade hub Aros (Aarhus).

To get to Aros it was said that you had to pass the Gods’ headgear (The Iron Hat and Helmet) before sailing towards starboard into Aros Bay. Today know as Aarhus Bay.

Through his studies in Jutland’s oldest history, cartography and Old Norse texts J.R.R. Tolkien has no doubt become well acquainted with the name Hjelms Dyb.