Court of the Fountain

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The Court of the Fountain is a prominent location in Minas Tirith, a fictional city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings.

It is an expansive courtyard that is built atop of the prow of Minas Tirith. At one end is the Throne Room of Gondor. The Court is the growing-place of the White Tree of Gondor, a beloved national symbol.

Artist Ted Nasmith has created a remarkable painting entitled "At the Court of the Fountain,"[1] in which the Court is dominated by grand architecture, which is itself dominated by the massive snow-covered Mount Mindolluin. Several art critics have praised the detailed technique with which Nasmith paints mountainous landscapes.

In Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Denethor sets himself on fire, runs across the entire length of the Court, and leaps to his death. Also, Aragorn's coronation takes place in the Court of the Fountain; in the original book he is crowned outside the city.