Warning beacons of Gondor

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In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the warning beacons of Gondor were an alarm system for the realm of Gondor.

The beacons were great fire-places permanently manned by men of Gondor, and were placed on top of seven peaks in the range of the White Mountains. From east to west these were the hills of Amon Dîn, Eilenach, Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad and Halifirien (or Amon Anwar). A "line of hills that from Nardol to Dîn ran east and west" is described in The Return of the King, Book V, Chapter 5, presumably containing the three easternmost beacons.

Built in the late Third Age by the Stewards, the beacons mainly served to warn south Gondor of a danger for the northern province of Calenardhon, or vice versa, but after the Steward of Gondor Cirion granted Calenardhon to the Éothéod they were used mainly to warn the people in Anórien of danger, but also in extreme crises to alert Rohan to come to Gondor's aid, supplemented by a delivery of the Red Arrow by messenger.

During the War of the Ring the beacons were lit when Minas Tirith came under siege, and as the Rohirrim rode to Gondor's aid they passed by all seven beacons on their way east.

The tomb of Elendil was hidden on the summit of Halifirien, westernmost of the beacon mountains.

[edit] In adaptations

Some of the major changes made to the story by Peter Jackson's film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King concerns the beacons.

In the movie, the beacons are used to call for Rohan's aid instead of the Red Arrow, which is not mentioned in the film. Furthermore, when Gandalf and Pippin ride to Minas Tirith the beacons are not lit, since the despairing Denethor has decided not to send for help. There is a beacon just above the city, and to summon the Rohirrim, Gandalf asks Pippin to evade the guards and light it. Once he has done so, the film depicts the other beacons being lit one by one until the last is sighted by Aragorn who is in Edoras, and it is this which finally helps him to persuade Théoden to muster the Rohirrim to Gondor's aid (since the Oath of Eorl was apparently cut along with the Red Arrow).

Another change is that there are about ten beacons as opposed to the seven described in the book. Also, the beacons are shown on the summits of mountains in the Ered Nimrais, instead of hills to their north; some are even shown above cloud level. This is mentioned in the DVD commentary, where the cast humourously theorise about guards living in the high mountains tending to the woodpiles for generations until needed.