List of minor places in Middle-earth

The stories of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium contain references to numerous places. Some of these places are described below.

A

Aldburg

(O.E. 'old fortress') A hill fort and settlement in Rohan, in the region known as the Folde, some miles to the southeast of Edoras. Aldburg was initially the capital of the realm, where Eorl the Young, the first King of Rohan, founded his hall in T.A. 2510. Though his son, King Brego, moved to Edoras early in Rohan's history (T.A. 2569), Aldburg remained the residence of the descendants of Éofor, Brego's third son.^[1] At the time of the War of the Ring, it was the home of King Théoden's nephew Éomer, who was the Third Marshal of the Mark and heir to the kingship.

All-welcome Inn

An inn located at the junction of the Northway and the East Road on the Hobbiton side of Frogmorton. It was much used by travellers, especially Dwarves from the Ered Luin.^[2]

Amon Hen

A hill located on the western bank of the river Anduin, at the southern end of the long lake Nen Hithoel above the Falls of Rauros. It was one of the three peaks at the Falls of Rauros, the others being Amon Lhaw, the Hill of the Ear, and Tol Brandir, an island located between the two hills. The Seat of Seeing was built at the summit of Amon Hen, serving as a watchtower for the northern borders of Gondor. It was constructed in the early days of Gondor.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, the Fellowship travelled down the Anduin from Lothlórien to Parth Galen, the lake-side lawn at the feet of Amon Hen. But here the Fellowship was broken: Boromir attempted to take the One Ring by force from Frodo Baggins, who fled; Boromir was shortly afterward killed defending Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry) and Peregrin Took (Pippin) from orcs, who had been sent by Saruman to capture the Ring; and the Orcs absconded with Merry and Pippin. After Frodo escaped from Boromir, he sat upon the Seat of Seeing while still wearing the Ring, and was able to see events hundreds of miles distant. From Amon Hen, Frodo and Samwise Gamgee crossed the Anduin on their way east to Mordor, while Merry and Pippin were carried by Saruman's Orcs in the direction of his hold at Isengard, and the rest of the Fellowship set out in pursuit of the Orcs.

Amon Lhaw

(S. 'Hill of the Ear') One of the three peaks above the Falls of Rauros which drained the lake known as Nen Hithoel, it towered amongst the Emyn Muil on the eastern banks of the Anduin. Its twin, Amon Hen (The Hill of Sight), lay upon the western bank. Between them, at the centre of the stream above Rauros, was the island peak Tol Brandir upon which none had ever set foot.

Although at one time Amon Lhaw had been on the northern boundary of Gondor and a high seat was built there (probably called The Seat of Hearing), this was no longer the case at the time of the War of the Ring; by then, it had long since fallen under the influence of Mordor. Also called the Hill of Hearing and perhaps Hill of the Ear in Westron.

Andrath

(S. 'Long Climb') A narrow pass, through which the North-South Road (later called the Greenway) passed between the Barrow-downs on the west and the South Downs on the east. To the north of Andrath the road met the Great East Road, just west of the gates of Bree.

When the Nazgûl came north from Mordor to seek the Ring in the Shire at the end of the Third Age, their leader, the Witch-king of Angmar, camped in Andrath. It is mentioned in the appendices of The Return of the King that it is likely that the Witch-king aroused the Barrow-wights in the nearby Barrow-downs while camped at Andrath.

Argonath

A monument comprising two enormous pillars carved in the likenesses of Isildur and Anárion, standing upon either side of the River Anduin at the northern approach to Nen Hithoel.

The figures were originally constructed about T.A. 1240 at the order of King Rómendacil II^[3] to mark the northern border of Gondor, although the realm was greatly diminished in size by the time the Fellowship of the Ring passed the Argonath in T.A. 3019.

Each of the two figures was shown wearing a crown and a helm, with an axe in its right hand and its left hand raised in a gesture of defiance to the enemies of Gondor.^[4]

Also known as the Gate of Kings or the Pillars of the Kings.

Azanulbizar

See Dimrill Dale

B

Bamfurlong

The farmland of Farmer Maggot located in the Marish of the eastern part of the Shire. The boggy nature of the land makes for above-ground habitation rather than the traditional hobbit-hole. Tolkien himself suggested the name Bamfurlong comes from Old English meaning roughly bean-field.

Barazinbar

The Dwarvish name for Caradhras, one of the largest mountains in the Misty Mountains. It lies in close proximity to Redhorn Pass and the Dimrill Stair.

Barrow-downs

The Barrow-downs or Tyrn Gorthad were a series of hills east of the Shire, behind the Old Forest, and south-west of the village of Bree. Many of the hills were crowned with standing stones and barrows, hence their name.

The Barrow-downs were first inhabited by Men related to the Edain in the First Age, together with the Hills of Evendim to the north. They fled west as Easterlings invaded Eriador and passed on to Beleriand, but after these had left or been killed in the War of Wrath the Edain returned to their old homes.^[5]

During the Second Age the inhabitants were fairly numerous, and when they met with the Númenóreans the Barrow-downs were the first places where the Dúnedain émigrés from Númenor settled. When Elendil returned to Middle-earth, the Barrow-downs were incorporated in the kingdom of Arnor. The Downs were revered by the Númenóreans because they were rightly recognized as the first tombs of their ancestors, long before they had encountered the Elves of Beleriand.

After the partition of Arnor the Barrow-downs became the capital of Cardolan. After Rhudaur fell to Angmar, the Dúnedain of Cardolan entrenched themselves here, but in T.A. 1409 the realm fell and the Great Plague in 1636 killed any remaining Dúnedain hiding in the Barrow-downs. The Barrow-wights were now sent there by the Witch-king. In the 1850s King Araval of Arthedain tried to recolonize Cardolan, but this failed because of the Barrow-wights.^[6]

Travelling from the Old Forest to Bree, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin while travelling through the downs were ensnared by a barrow-wight, probably in the same cairn which held the grave of the last prince of Cardolan.^[5] They were rescued by Tom Bombadil, and from the burial treasure received enchanted daggers — designed to slay the evil servants of Angmar.

When the Nazgûl attacked Aragorn and the hobbits on Weathertop, Frodo slashed at one of them with his dagger but only damaged its cloak. Merry used his weapon to help destroy the Lord of the Nazgûl in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Sam left his beside Frodo in Cirith Ungol and later had it returned to him by Gandalf, while Pippin made use of his dagger in the Battle of the Black Gate to slay a Troll-chief.

Bridge Inn

An inn located on the west side the Brandywine Bridge in the Shire. It was likely used by travellers on the East Road. Its location would have put it near the point where the road north from Stock met the main East Road. When the Shire was occupied by Saruman's men during the War of the Ring, the Bridge Inn was demolished and replaced with a guard house, with gates erected on the Bridge.^[7]

Brown Lands

A region across the Anduin from Fangorn forest. In the First Age the Entwives settled there and began to make gardens, and they also taught the Men that already lived there to engage in agriculture. The Entwives' gardens, as the region was called at that time, lasted for a long time into the Second Age, until Sauron later blasted the entire area at some time before the Battle of Dagorlad, which was when it became known as the Brown Lands. Treebeard appeared convinced that the Entwives were not all destroyed but were "lost"; their ultimate fate remains a mystery.

It is described as withered, as if by fire, without any living green thing. In The Fellowship of the Ring,^[8] the fellowship pass by the region in elven boats as they sail down the River Anduin. Interestingly, Aragorn's notable knowledge of geography and family history lets him down as he "could not tell" what had "so blasted" the region.

Bundushathûr

See Fanuidhol

C

Calenardhon

The province of Gondor which was renamed Rohan when it was given to the folk of Eorl the Young.

Carrock

A large and tall mid-river monolith in the upper reaches of the Anduin, to the north of the Old Ford. In Chapter 7 of The Hobbit, Gandalf states that the steps from the base of the rock to the flat space at the top were made by Beorn and that "Carrock" is Beorn's name for it. This is somewhat of a linguistic joke on Tolkien's part, since car in Anglo-Saxon means "rock," the Irish for "rock" is "carraig", and the Welsh for rock is "Carreg." Specifically, "carrock" is Beorn's word for large rocks standing in the middle of rivers, and as this is the largest such rock in the river, he took to calling it "the" Carrock.

Celebdil

Also called Zirakzigil in Khuzdul and translated to English as Silvertine. A peak in the Misty Mountains, the western-most^[9] of three peaks (with Caradhras and Fanuidhol) that stood above the Dwarves' city of Khazad-dûm. Durin's Tower was located at the peak of Zirakzigil. This was where Gandalf fought the Balrog in the Battle of the Peak.

In a 1968 letter, Tolkien identifies the Swiss Silberhorn as it appeared to him when camping near Mürren in 1911 as "the Silvertine (Celebdil) of my dreams".^[10]

Cerin Amroth

The mound of Amroth, where elanor grows, that stood in the heart of Lothlórien where stood the house of Amroth before he was lost. It was here that Aragorn and Arwen plighted their troth centuries later, and it was here where Arwen, after Aragorn's death, went to die.

Cirith Gorgor

(S. 'Cleft of Terror'), called the Haunted Pass in Westron. The main passage into Mordor located at the point where the mountain ranges Ered Lithui and Ephel Dúath met. It was protected by the Black Gate of Mordor and guarded by the two Towers of the Teeth, Carchost and Narchost. The name is sometimes translated 'the Haunted Pass'.

Cirith Ungol (pronounced [ˈkiriθ ˈuŋɡɔl])

The pass through the western mountains of Mordor and one of two entrances to that land from the West, along with the Morgul Pass.^[11] The name is Sindarin for Spider's Cleft, or Pass of the Spider, presumably referring to the guardian of the pass, Shelob, the daughter of the ancient spider Ungoliant.

The Pass of Cirith Ungol was high above the Morgul Pass, on the northern side of the Morgul Vale. In Mordor, the road from Cirith Ungol came down to join the Morgul-road. These routes were guarded by the Tower of Cirith Ungol, built by the Men of Gondor after the War of the Last Alliance, but occupied by Orcs at the time of the War of the Ring.

During the Quest of the Ring Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee were led to this pass by Gollum to Torech Ungol, the lair of the giant spider-like creature Shelob who dwelt there, in order to get into Mordor.

The Tower of Cirith Ungol

A watchtower on the border of Mordor. The Tower of Cirith Ungol was located high in the Mountains of Shadow overlooking the pass that was called Cirith Ungol — the Pass of the Spider — because the Great Spider Shelob dwelled there. At the top of the pass was a cleft with two great horns of rock on either side. On the northern horn stood the Tower of Cirith Ungol, built up against the eastern face of the rock. The Tower of Cirith Ungol was made of black stone. It had three tiers, each set back from the next like steps. The sheer sides faced northeast and southeast and formed a bastion pointing eastward. At the top of the Tower was a round turret that could be seen above the pass.

A road ran down from the pass and skirted the Tower alongside a sheer precipice before turning southward to join the Morgul-road. The Tower of Cirith Ungol was surrounded by an outer wall that was 30 feet (9.1 m) high. The sides of the wall were smooth. At the top was overhanging stonework that prevented anyone from climbing over it.

The main gate was in the southeastern side of the wall. It was guarded by the Two Watchers — hideous statues seated on thrones. Each Watcher had three joined bodies facing inward, outward, and toward the other. The description in the Book is as follows:

"They were like great figures seated upon thrones. Each had three joined bodies, and three heads facing outward, and inward, and across the gateway. The heads had vulture-faces, and on their great knees were laid clawlike hands. They seemed to be carved out of huge blocks of stone, immovable, and yet they were aware: some dreadful spirit of evil vigilance abode in them. They knew an enemy. Visible or invisible none could pass unheeded. They would forbid his entry, or his escape."

They thus had a kind of "psychic barrier" that barred the gate. Sam Gamgee had to overcome this obstacle while searching for his master Frodo Baggins. Sam did so by using the phial of Galadriel, which overcame their will and allowed him to pass. As soon as he was through, however, they sounded an alarm. It is not known if the Watchers were built by men of Gondor, as was the Tower itself, or if it had been added later by Sauron. Certainly, the spirit that dwelt within them must have come later, as it was clearly identified as being evil.

Within the outer wall was a paved courtyard. There was a great door on the southeastern side of the Tower of Cirith Ungol. A passageway ran back through the Tower with rooms on either side. At the far end was the arched door of the Undergate — a back entrance to the Tower that opened onto a tunnel that joined with Shelob's Lair.

To the right of the Undergate was a winding stairway to the upper levels of the Tower. At the top of the stairs was a domed chamber with doors facing east and west leading out onto the roof of the third tier. The roof was about 20 yards (18 m) across and was surrounded by a parapet. On the western side of the roof stood the turret of the Tower.

The turret had slitted windows facing westward and eastward through which torchlight glowed like red eyes. A winding stairway led up to a passage running through the middle of the turret. A trapdoor in the ceiling of the passage opened onto a large round chamber at the very top of the Tower of Cirith Ungol.

The Tower of Cirith Ungol was built by the Men of Gondor after Sauron was defeated in the War of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age. The Tower was the easternmost outpost of the defences of Ithilien. Its original purpose was to keep watch on the land of Mordor to ensure that no evil things escaped and to guard against the possibility of the Dark Lord's return. But over time, as Gondor's power declined, the vigilance on Mordor became lax and the Tower was deserted.

After the Lord of the Nazgûl returned to Mordor in T.A. 1980, the Tower came under his control. From Cirith Ungol, he led an assault on Minas Ithil, which was captured in 2002 and became his stronghold known as Minas Morgul. Sauron returned to Mordor in 2942, and he used the Tower of Cirith Ungol to prevent any of his slaves or prisoners from escaping from Mordor. A garrison of Orcs were stationed in the Tower, and at the time of the War of the Ring their captain was Shagrat.

On 13 'March' 3019, Shagrat brought Frodo Baggins through the Undergate to the Tower of Cirith Ungol and imprisoned him in the topmost chamber of the turret. Frodo was stripped and questioned mercilessly. Gorbag — an orc from Minas Morgul — coveted Frodo's mithril shirt and he fought Shagrat for it. The orcs of their two companies fought and killed one another until nearly all of them were dead.

Sam Gamgee came to the Tower of Cirith Ungol to rescue Frodo. He got past the Two Watchers by raising the Phial of Galadriel, but once he was through the gate the Watchers gave a terrible cry and an alarm bell rang in the Tower. Sam entered the Tower and encountered Snaga, who mistook Sam for a Great Elf-warrior and fled back up the stairs. Sam followed him to the roof of the third tier. There Sam confronted Shagrat, who fled with the mithril shirt.

Sam entered the turret in search of Frodo, but he could not find a way to the uppermost chamber until he saw Snaga climb up through the trapdoor in the ceiling. He followed Snaga, and when he saw the orc whipping Frodo he charged at him, and Snaga fell through the trapdoor to his death.

Sam returned the Ring to Frodo and they escaped from the Tower disguised in Orc armour and livery. They used the Phial to pass the Watchers, and the archway collapsed behind them. As they fled, a Winged Nazgûl descended from the sky and perched on the wall of the Tower of Cirith Ungol, now in charge.

The Tower of Cirith Ungol has been illustrated by artists such as John Howe, the Brothers Hildebrandt, and Alan Lee. The image by Tim and Greg Hildebrandt features an eruption of Mount Doom in the background and one of the Hobbits looking at the tower from a rock spire in the foreground. The Two Watchers are not depicted although the castle-like structure of the tower shows a gate.

Cloudyhead

See Fanuidhol

Coldfells

The highlands west of the Misty Mountains and south of the Ettenmoors, separated from them by the northern branch of the river Bruinen.

D

Dagorlad

The great, treeless, open plain between the Emyn Muil and Cirith Gorgor. The name means the Battle Plain in Sindarin, and refers to the Battle of Dagorlad fought there between Sauron's forces and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at the end of the Second Age. The bodies of the dead decayed as normal, but over time part of the field became a wetland, the Dead Marshes, where the images of the fallen could be seen.

Later, in the Third Age, the Dagorlad was the site of many battles between Gondor and various Easterling armies, including the Battle of the Morannon. The countless battles of two ages left Dagorlad as a devastated wasteland, contaminated and unhealthy, with sumps of poisonous slick and mounds of scorched earth.

Dale

A city-state of Men on the Celduin (the River Running) near the Lonely Mountain which also had a close association with the Long Lake. It appears have been an independent monarchy, whose ruler was styled "Lord" (and later "King"). It was ruled by Girion Lord of Dale until its destruction in T.A. 2770 by the dragon Smaug. After the Dwarves restored their kingdom under the Lonely Mountain in T.A. 2941, Men began to settle once more in Dale. Bard the Bowman, a descendant of Girion, assumed the title King of Dale.

Dale was sacked for a second time during the War of the Ring by invaders from Mordor and the Easterlings. The people of Dale took refuge in Erebor with the Dwarves, and it was during the Battle of Dale that King Dáin II Ironfoot of Erebor and King Brand of Dale were slain. However, after the fall of Sauron, the siege was broken and Dale rebuilt once more.

Deeping-coomb

The deep, well-defended valley in the northern White Mountains. It was located in Westfold in the kingdom of Rohan. The gorge of Helm's Deep and the castle of the Hornburg were situated at the head of the Coomb, where the Deeping-stream issued from the gorge before it ran down through the valley. The Coomb was the site of an important battle, the Battle of the Hornburg, during the War of the Ring. The word coomb is a rare Brythonic survival word, meaning a small deep dry valley, easily defended. It gives its name to many places in the British Isles.

Tolkien occasionally used other spellings — Deeping Coomb,^[12] the Coombe^[13] — or perhaps he missed these in the proofs of The Lord of the Rings, but he confirmed Deeping-coomb as the correct spelling.^[14]

The road which ran up through the Deeping-coomb, from the Great West Road to the Hornburg, was known as the Deeping-road.

Dimholt

A forest of pine wood and fir situated at the base of the Dwimorberg mountain, past Dunharrow. The name means literally 'dark wood'. An ancient road was visibly forged there, which led to a glen where a standing stone lay in front of the Dark Door, the entrance to the Paths of the Dead. The pathways led under the Dwimorberg mountain and had been haunted by the spirits of the Dead Men of Dunharrow in the Third Age until they fulfilled their oath to Aragorn and departed.

Dimrill Dale

A name in the tongue of Men of the North for a great valley on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains. The valley, which was part of the ancient Dwarf-kingdom of Khazad-dûm, is also called Nanduhirion in Sindarin and Azanulbizar in Khuzdul.

Topographically the valley was embayed by three mountain-masses: Zirakzigil (containing the Mines of Moria) on the west, Barazinbar at the valley-head (Dimrill Stair) in the north, and Bundushathûr forming the east side of the valley. A feature of the vale was the Mirrormere, a crystal clear lake in which Durin first saw the stars. The river Silverlode ran through the vale to Lórien.

A bloody battle was fought in Dimrill Dale in T.A. 2799 between Dwarves and the Orcs of Moria, in which the latter were defeated and their leader Azog killed. In T.A. 2989 Balin and his followers fought the orcs here on the way to Moria. Thirty years later the Fellowship of the Ring paused in the valley, having escaped from Moria and the loss of Gandalf.

Dimrill Stair

The southeastern part of the Redhorn Pass. A waterfall flowed beside the Stair, which led down into the Dimrill Dale and past the mirror-like pool called Kheled-zâram.

Dol Baran

The southernmost foothill of the Misty Mountains. King Théoden of Rohan and some of the surviving members of the Fellowship of the Ring camped here after their parley with Saruman. Pippin stole away from this camp with the palantír.

Dorwinion

A land which lay on the northwestern shores of the Sea of Rhûn. Known for its wine, Dorwinion was drawn at Tolkien's advice on Pauline Baynes' map of Middle-earth as lying at the end of the Carnen and Celduin, at the northwest shore of the Sea of Rhûn, and in that position it has since appeared on other maps. It was possibly part of Gondor for several centuries in the early Third Age.

Drúwaith Iaur

A region to the west of Gondor. It was not a part of the realm of Gondor, and therefore also not of the Reunited Kingdom. It was the home to the remnants of the Drúedain, the original inhabitants of the Ered Nimrais, who were dispersed by the Númenóreans as they were hostile to them. The northern part of Drúwaith Iaur was also home to the Dunlendings, who feared the Drûgin because they used poisoned arrows.

Dunland

A place in north-west Middle-earth, the land of the Men called Dunlendings. These Men were tall, somewhat swarthy and dark-haired, and were descended from the same ancient stock as the House of Haleth, making them distantly related to the Dúnedain. They are the traditional enemies of the Rohirrim and are jealous of the wealth of Rohan, themselves living on marginal land. During the War of the Ring they were persuaded by Saruman to invade Rohan in conjunction with the forces of Isengard.

Durin's Stone

A pillar that stood on the banks of Mirrormere near the East-gate of Khazad-dûm. According to the Dwarves of Durin's Folk, it was built on the site where Durin the Deathless looked down in the lake and saw a crown above his head, and its purpose was to commemorate this. The stone was ornamented with runes, but by the later Third Age the stone was broken, cracked and heavily weathered.^[15]

Durin's Tower

The tower that stood on the peak of Celebdil above Khazad-dûm, where Gandalf defeated Durin's Bane. It could be reached only by a long stairwell, the Endless Stair, which began in the deep far below the mines.

Durthang

(S. 'dark oppression') An old castle in northern Mordor. It stood in the northern Ephel Dúath, on the slopes above the Isenmouthe. Possibly it was built by Gondorians after Sauron's downfall at the end of the Second Age, but later was captured by his forces and became an orc-hold.

Dwimorberg

A peak in the White Mountains; it was situated at the head of the valley of Harrowdale. Dunharrow stood above a cliff on the valley's eastern side, parallel to the Dwimorberg mountain itself. Beyond Dunharrow was a forest of pine wood and fir, known as the Dimholt.

The Dimholt itself contained a small glen, where there was a standing stone positioned in front of a doorway that led to the Paths of the Dead. The paths led under the Dwimorberg and were in the Third Age haunted by the spirits of the Men of the Mountains. After the events at the end of the Third Age when Aragorn released these spirits from their oath, and the Dwimorberg was haunted no longer.

E

East Bight

A vast indention in the south-eastern edge of Mirkwood Forest, created by the clearing of trees by the Northmen.

Eastfold

Part of the kingdom of Rohan that lay east of the Snowbourn River, and west of Anórien in Gondor. Located east of Edoras.

Edhellond

(S. 'elf-haven') An ancient harbour and settlement of Elvish origin in Gondor, located just south of the junction of the rivers Morthond and Ringló.

In one account by Tolkien, Edhellond was founded by the Sindarin refugees in three small ships fleeing the ruin of Beleriand following Morgoth's successful onslaught of the Elvish kingdoms. Another version tells that some refugees of Doriath, in the course of their wandering, founded the haven. In both versions, the original founders possessed the knowledge of shipbuilding, which in the First Age was known only to Círdan and the elven-folk of the Falas. Whatever its ultimate origins, in time Edhellond was swelled by Nandorin Elves seeking for the sea.^[16]

Amroth, Lord of Lothlórien, was lost at or near Edhellond in the year 1981 of the Third Age while looking for his beloved Nimrodel. Already then nearly all Elves had sailed into the West from Edhellond, seeking escape from the shadows of Middle-earth. By the time of the War of the Ring no Elves remained in Edhellond, and while it was uninhabited, the area passed into the dominion of Gondor.

Elostirion

(S. ????) The tallest of the three towers that stood on the Tower Hills. These towers were said to have been built by Gil-galad, High King of the Noldor in Middle-earth, in honour of Elendil who came to Middle-earth in the aftermath of the fall of Númenor.

Afterwards Elendil often came to the tower and set there one of the palantíri of the North, the only one that could look to Westernesse but could not be used to communicate with other palantíri unlike the other six. This palantír eventually became known as the Elendil Stone.
Elostirion endured for millennia after the death of Gil-galad and Elendil, under the care of Círdan and the Elves of Lindon; but the Elendil Stone palantír that it once held was taken to the Blessed Realm when Elrond and company sailed away at the end of the Third Age.

Emyn Beraid

See Tower Hills

Emyn Muil

(S. 'veiled hills'^[17]) A craggy, nearly impassable highland surrounding Nen Hithoel. The Anduin river cut through the Emyn Muil, entering the north at Sarn Gebir and passing the Argonath before flowing into Nen Hithoel.

The Emyn Muil marked the southern limits of Wilderland,^[18] and formed the eastern wall of Rohan.

In The Two Towers, Frodo and Sam struggle through these hills en route to the Black Gate of Mordor. Tolkien writes he padded Frodo and Sam's difficult crossing with enough days to synchronize their movements with those of Aragorn and Gandalf. Frodo and Sam eventually escape using a rope to descend a cliff to the Dead Marshes.

Emyn Uial

(S. 'hills of dusk') The highlands in northern Eriador, called also the Hills of Evendim. The hills began about a hundred Númenórean miles north of the Shire; at the southern end is the city of Annúminas, the first capital of Arnor, at Lake Evendim. The Baranduin or Brandywine River flows out of this lake. A tributary of the river Lhûn also rises in the hills.

In the Second Age, when the Men of Númenor first returned to Middle-earth, the Hills of Evendim were populated by Men related to the ancestors of the Edain. For this reason the Númenóreans later settled nearby, and the hills formed the core of the later kingdom of Arnor. After the establishment of the Kingdoms in Exile by Elendil and his sons, the Men of Evendim merged with the Dúnedain and men not of Edain stock, like the Men of Bree, to form the population of Arnor.

Enedwaith

Also spelt Enedhwaith, Enedwâith, originally referred to both a region of Middle-earth and the men that inhabited it, although the region Enedwaith retained that name even when the Enedwaith people were no more.

The boundaries of the Enedwaith, which is Sindarin for 'Middle-region' as well as 'Middle-folk', were defined in the north by the rivers Gwathló and Glanduin, to the east by the Hithaeglir, and to the west by Belegaer, 'The Great Sea'. The southern border was less clear, but was probably formed by the river Isen. During the First and early Second Age Enedwaith was deeply forested, but the arrival of the timber-hungry Númenóreans, from the seventh century of the Second Age onwards, devastated the landscape. The denuded forests of Enedwaith, and much of those to the north in Eriador, were finally destroyed by the War of the Elves and Sauron around S.A. 1700, during which much of what had survived the felling was burnt. Only remote corners like Eryn Vorn survived in Eriador, and the Old Forest still further north. Many surviving natives took refuge in the eastern highlands of Enedwaith, "the foothills of the Misty Mountains", which ultimately became Dunland.

After S.A. 3320, Enedwaith formed the most northern part of the new Kingdom of Gondor, at least officially. The south-east was still "in places well-wooded", but elsewhere Enedwaith was by this time "mostly grassland." Following the Great Plague in T.A. 1636 however, Gondor's authority permanently lapsed throughout the region.

Tharbad, originally one of two ancient cities on the Gwathló, and the only one to survive beyond the early Third Age, was finally abandoned following devastating floods in T.A. 2912, and thereafter, only two groups survived in Enedwaith: the Dunlendings in the far east, and a "fairly numerous but barbarous fisher-folk" wandering the coast.

Ered Lithui

(S. 'Mountains of Ash') The mountain range forming the northern border of Mordor. From the Morannon, where it met the Ephel Dúath, the Ered Lithui ran generally eastward for hundreds of miles. The name "Mountains of Ash" suggests that the range is downwind of Mount Doom and collects its ash fallout.

Ered Mithrin

Ered Mithrin or Grey Mountains was a large mountain range to the north of Rhovanion. The Grey Mountains were the last remnants of the wall of the Ered Engrin or Iron Mountains, which once stretched all over the north of Middle-earth, but were broken at the end of the First Age.

Ered Wethrin

Ered Wethrin (IPA: [ˈɛrɛd ˈ(ʔ)weθrin]; archaically IPA: [ˈœrœd ˈɣweθrin]) ("Mountains of Shadow") was a mountain range in the north of Middle-earth in the First Age. In the south, it was an east-west range that divided Dor-lómin and Mithrim to the north from Beleriand to the south, then in the east it curved around to the northwest, forming the boundary of Hithlum. A line of hills to the southwest formed the southern boundary of Nevrast, while the Mountains of Mithrim were a northwesterly spur that separated Dor-lómin from Mithrim.

Several rivers arose in the Ered Wethrin, including Narog, Teiglin, and Sirion. The easternmost point of the Ered Wethrin reached nearly to the Echoriath, forming a steep-sided valley through which the upper Sirion ran. The Ered Wethrin disappeared beneath the waves at the end of the First Age, when the Valar changed the shape of Middle-earth.

Eryn Vorn

'The Black Wood' was a densely forested peninsula in southern Eriador. Forming the western tip of what became known as Minhiriath, it was originally part of the vast ancient treescape that covered most of north-western Middle-earth, and was named by the early Númenórean explorers of the Second Age.

Throughout the following millennium, Minhiriath's landscape beyond the cape was systematically deforested by the Númenóreans in their greed for shipbuilding timber, and was then almost completely burnt down during the ensuing War of the Elves and Sauron. By the war's end in S.A. 1700, the surviving natives had retreated either north to Bree, or hidden themselves in Eryn Vorn, but the whole region was largely ignored by both Elf and Númenórean thereafter.

Eryn Vorn eventually fell under the jurisdiction of Arnor after Númenor's destruction at the end of the Second Age, and from 861 in the Third Age, the Black Woods became a nominal part of Cardolan, one of Arnor's three successor states.

The people of Cardolan were almost completely destroyed by the Great Plague a few centuries later, and although it is not known how this affected the Black Wood, it is probable that it remained populated throughout its history, for although no permanent settlements of men existed anywhere west of Bree by the late Third Age,^[19] "a few secretive hunter-folk lived in the woods" of Minhiriath by the time of the War of the Ring.^[20] The Black Wood was the only woodland in Minhiriath large enough to be mapped, so presumably these secretive folk were the descendants of those who hid in Eryn Vorn over four thousand years earlier.

Ettenmoors

These are highlands west of the Misty Mountains and north of the Coldfells. It was a location of warfare between the Free Peoples and Angmar in the Third Age when the Witch King fled after losing the battle of Fornost.^[21] It is also the place where the trolls live in The Hobbit (ettin is the old English for giant).

Everholt

Was the name the Rohirrim gave to a section of the Firienholt woods.^[22] It was notorious for its boar, after whom the forest was named;^[23] the first element is Old English eofor, "boar". The last boar was hunted and killed by Folca, 13th King of Rohan; in the encounter the king was gored by the boar, and also died in the woods.

F

Fanuidhol

Also called Bundushathûr in Khuzdul and translated into English as Cloudyhead. A peak in the Misty Mountains, the eastern-most^[9] of the three (with Caradhras and Celebdil) that stood above the Dwarven city of Khazad-dûm.

Field of Celebrant

A broad grassland in south-western Rhovanion. It lay west of the river Anduin between two tributaries: the Limlight in the south and the eponymous Celebrant in the north. The Field thus separated Calenardhon (later Rohan) from the woods of Lothlórien. The south-eastern corner of these grasslands was the site of the decisive Battle of the Field of Celebrant in T.A. 2510, where Eorl the Young rode to the aid of Gondor's northern army. In Gondor after this time, the Field of Celebrant generally meant the battle site, rather than the grasslands as a whole.^[24]

Firienholt

A forest through which a portion of the border between Rohan and Gondor lay, also called the 'Firien Wood'. The Mering Stream, marking the border between the two lands, flowed through. The White Mountains lay south of the forest; Elendil's original tomb was on a tall peak named Halifirien within the forest.^[25]

The Floating Log

A "good inn" located in the village of Frogmorton in the Shire. During the War of the Ring, the inn was closed, so that Frodo Baggins and his companions were taken to a Shirriff-house instead while travelling through Frogmorton.^[7]

Folde

An ancient and historic region of Rohan, close to the Kings of Rohan's courts in Edoras, which indeed originally held the King's seat at the town of Aldburg. Its name comes from Old English, with the approximate meaning 'bosom of the Earth', which shows its importance in Rohan's early history.^[26]

Forlond

(S. 'north haven') A harbour on the northern side of the Gulf of Lhûn in Lindon. It was built by Elves after the drowning of Beleriand.

The Forsaken Inn

An inn on the East Road east of Bree, presumably constructed by Men. It was mentioned by Aragorn discussing with Frodo Baggins the further course of their journey: "None have measured the road between Rivendell and the Forsaken Inn, a day's ride east of Bree."^[27]

The East Road was used years earlier by Bilbo Baggins; the Forsaken Inn is not specifically referred to in The Hobbit, but "an inn or two" at the edge of the Lone-lands are mentioned.^[28]

In the Interplay version of The Fellowship of the Ring for PC, the Forsaken Inn is located southeast of Bree's east gate. A secret cellar beneath the inn contains clues to obtaining Durin's Axe.

In Turbine's Lord of the Rings Online, the Forsaken Inn is located on the western edge of the Lone-lands, along the Great East Road. In the game, the inn is in a bad state.

G

Goblin-town

A goblin (or orc) settlement which lay under the High Pass in the Misty Mountains. It was ruled by the Great Goblin.

Goblin-town was a complex of caverns and tunnels. The Great Goblin held court in one great cavern at the heart of the settlement. Other delvings were dedicated to mines, torture-chambers, slave-pens, prison-cells, forges for weapons and tools, and places where "clever" devices were made.^[29] The tunnels led all the way through the mountains: the "front porch" opened onto the High Pass so that travellers on the Pass could be waylaid, while the "back door" was on the eastern side of the mountains, near the Eagles' eyrie in Wilderland.

A tunnel nearer the back door led deep into the mountain to a subterranean lake. Occasional goblins sought fish here for the Great Goblin.^[30] Gollum made his home on an island in this lake in about T.A. 2470.

During the quest to Erebor in T.A. 2941, Bilbo Baggins and the Dwarves of Thorin Oakenshield were sheltering in the front porch when they captured by soldiers of Goblin-town. The captives were brought before the Great Goblin, who accused them of spying, and was enraged to find out Thorin was carrying the sword Orcrist "Orc-cleaver". With the help of Gandalf, Bilbo and the Dwarves escaped and killed the Great Goblin, after which a frantic pursuit occurred.

The Golden Perch

An inn situated in the village of Stock in the Eastfarthing of the Shire. It was credited by Peregrin Took for having "the best beer in the Eastfarthing".^[31]

The name perch is neither the land measure, nor a bird perch. It refers to the fish. The inn was "probably one preferred by anglers."^[32]

Gorgoroth

An arid plateau in the north-west of Sauron's realm of Mordor, in the midst of which stood the volcanic Mount Doom. The plateau was covered in volcanic ash, and was effectively a desert with little to no plant growth.

The plateau was a large triangular area, mostly surrounded by high mountain ranges. The north was fenced by about 300 miles of the Ered Lithui, and the west by about 150 miles of the Morgai (the inner range of the Ephel Dúath), and most of the south-east side by mountain-range spurs that extended south-west from the Ered Lithui and east from the Ephel Dúath.

Thus Gorgoroth had superb natural defences, and it was the heart of the realm of Sauron. In the northeast, on a smaller spur of the Ered Lithui, Sauron constructed his chief fortress of Barad-dûr. Gorgoroth was the location for the mines and forges that produced Mordor's arms and armour. Agriculture in Gorgoroth was virtually impossible, but armies of Sauron's soldiers lived in camps of huts and tents on the western margins at the feet of the Morgai escarpment.^[33] Sauron built a network of highways across Gorgoroth for his soldiers and messengers; there were cisterns and wells at various points on these roads through the desert.^[34]

Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee crossed Gorgoroth in their quest to get to Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings.

A similar name had been given to a range of mountains in Beleriand, Ered Gorgoroth. A Norwegian Black Metal band took the name Gorgoroth in tribute to the plateau in Mordor.

Gram

See Mount Gram

The Green Dragon

An inn at Bywater, the last building on the side of the village nearest to Hobbiton.

At the beginning of the Quest of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield and his company of Dwarves went ahead to the Green Dragon Inn to make preparations and await Bilbo Baggins.^[28] Many years later, on the advent of the War of the Ring, the inn was the site of a conversation between Samwise Gamgee and Ted Sandyman about the strange things that had been happening, such as queer folk passing through the Shire and a "Tree-man" seen by Sam's cousin Halfast of Overhill.^[35] When Frodo Baggins and the others returned to Bywater from Gondor, they found the inn "lifeless and with broken windows", as it was not maintained under Saruman's men.^[7]

The Green Dragon as depicted in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings film trilogy

In The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, the inn is featured twice, in brief interludes near the beginning and end of the three movies. The Green Dragon is the employer of Rosie Cotton, who works there as a bar maid. This is where Samwise Gamgee approaches her following the Fellowship's return from Gondor. The inn was also not vandalized by Saruman's men in the films, because the Scouring of the Shire is only shown as an alternate future in Galadriel's mirror. The largest size of ale offered in the Green Dragon is half a pint.

Merry and Pippin sing a song about the Green Dragon in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:

Oh, you can search far and wide
You can drink the whole town dry
But you'll never find a beer so brown
As the one we drink in our hometown
You can keep your fancy ales
You can drink 'em by the flagon
But the only brew for the brave and true
Comes from the Green Dragon!^[36]

The song is mostly invented by the film's writers, though the phrase "a beer so brown" appears in "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", an actual Tolkien poem found in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Adventures of Tom Bombadil.^[37]

In The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II, the inn is not simply vandalized, but utterly destroyed by the goblins of Gorkil in the Evil Campaign. The Green Dragon Inn is also seen in the Shire map for skirmish mode, where it functions as a normal inn once captured.

The name of the inn where Bilbo met the Dwarves at the start of The Hobbit was a last-minute change made when the book was in page proofs. The sign of the Green Dragon displayed in front of a public house is a compliment to the Patron Saint of England, Saint George of dragon slaying fame. It was clearly selected with some care on Tolkien’s part, most likely as intentional foreshadowing of the events of the story yet to come. Who better to see Bilbo on his way as he sets out on his quest to kill the dragon than Patron Saint of England, the “dragon slayer.” ^[38]

Gulf of Lune

A sea-arm that broke through the range of the Ered Luin into Eriador. The Gulf of Lune, named after the river Lhûn or "Lune", was created during the War of Wrath when Beleriand was broken. In the midst of Ossiriand, Belegaer broke through the mountains, creating the Gulf of Lune.^[39] The remnant of Beleriand north of the gulf became known as Forlindon, and the part south of it as Harlindon (North and South Lindon).

At the beginning of the Second Age, Elves established the Grey Havens of Mithlond at the eastern end of the Gulf. These Elves were Noldor and Sindar under who remained in Middle-earth under King Gil-galad. But at various times during this the following Ages, the ships of the Eldar continued to sail from the Gulf and into the West.

During the Second Age the ships of the Númenóreans came to the Gulf of Lune to visit the Elves.

H

Harad

The lands south of Gondor and Mordor that included the coastal city of Umbar. The Men of Harad, called the Haradrim, were ancient enemies of the Gondorians whom they had been defeated by many times in the past, and allies of Sauron during the War of the Ring.

Harlond

(S. 'south haven') A harbour on the southern side of the Gulf of Lhûn in Lindon. Like Forlond, it was built after the drowning of Beleriand.

Harrowdale

The deep north-south valley cut out of the White Mountains by the Snowbourn River. At its southern end, beneath the mountain known as the Starkhorn, stood Dunharrow, a great refuge of the Rohirrim. At its northern end, where the Snowbourn issued onto the plains of Rohan, stood that kingdom's capital, Edoras.

Hills of Evendim

See Emyn Uial

Himring

A hill in the north-east of Beleriand during the First Age, it was the greatest hill for many leagues around. It was wide-shouldered and surrounded by many lesser hills, and after Beleriand sank beneath the sea the summit of the hill remained above the sea as an island which remained in the ages that came afterwards.

I

Irensaga

One of the major peaks of the White Mountains. It rose above Harrowdale. Its name is Old English Írensaga, "iron-saw", a reference to the jagged appearance of its peak.

Isenmouthe

The pass in the northwest of Mordor, also called by the Mannish name of the Isenmouthe or Carach Angren (both versions of the name mean 'iron jaws'). It was formed where spurs reaching out from the ranges of the Ephel Dúath and the Ered Lithui met, leaving only a narrow passage between the Plateau of Gorgoroth and the smaller valley of Udûn to the north. As the passage to the Black Gate of the Morannon, Carach Angren was heavily fortified, and both the rocky spurs that overlooked it carried fortresses and watchtowers. Across the passage itself, a wall of earth had been built, and a great ditch had been dug across the opening spanned by a single bridge.

The Ivy Bush

A "small inn on the Bywater road" near Hobbiton in the Shire. Here Gaffer Gamgee recounted to the other regulars his stories about Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, who were about to throw a magnificent joint birthday party.^[40]

The most likely real-world source for this inn is an Edgbaston pub called the Ivy Bush, near which Tolkien lived for a number of years.^[41][42]

A hotel in Carmarthen (Wales) is named the Ivy Bush Royal Hotel.

K

Khand

A land which lay to the south-east of Mordor and to the east of Near Harad. Tolkien says little about the land or its people. It was the home of the Variags of Khand, warriors who appear tangentially in the text with little description. The index of Volumes VIII and XII of The History of Middle-earth, presumably due to Christopher Tolkien, glosses Variag as "the people of Khand".

Khand was under the influence of Mordor and appears twice in Tolkien's account of the history of Gondor: first in the year 1944 of the Third Age when the Variags together with the Wainriders attacked Gondor, and later during the War of the Ring when they fought and died on the Pelennor Fields.

L

Lake Evendim

(S. Nenuial) Lake in Eriador. Lake Evendim was in the Hills of Evendim north of the Shire. The lake was the source of the river Baranduin (the Brandywine).^[43]

In the early part of the Second Age, Galadriel and Celeborn may have dwelled in the area around Lake Evendim with many Elves in their following before they moved to Eregion around the year S.A. 700.^[44] Men also lived around Lake Evendim in the early part of the Second Age.^[45] When the North-kingdom of Arnor was established in S.A. 3320, the High King Elendil had his seat at Annúminas on the shore of Lake Evendim near the outflow of the Baranduin. River.^[46] One of the palantíri was kept there.^[47]

After Arnor was divided into three kingdoms in 861 of the Third Age, the capital was moved to Fornost. Annúminas began to fall into ruin and was eventually abandoned.^[48] In the Fourth Age, Annúminas was re-established as the northern capital by Aragorn, King Elessar.^[49] In the year 15 of the Fourth Age, the King, and Queen Arwen, came north to dwell by the shores of Lake Evendim for a time.^[50]

Evendim means "evening twilight."^[51] The Sindarin name was Nenuial meaning "lake of twilight" from "nen" meaning "lake" and "uial" meaning "twilight."^[52]

Last Bridge

The crossing point of the river Mitheithel by the Great East Road. The stone bridge of three arches, the river's lowest crossing below its upper reaches in the Ettenmoors,^[53] served as an important landmark on the road from Bree to Rivendell, as it was just over halfway between these two points and at least a week's journey east of Bree.

Bilbo Baggins, the dwarves, and Gandalf crossed this bridge in The Hobbit, though it is not specifically mentioned, and their encounter with the trolls occurred in the Trollshaws nearby. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn finds a beryl on the bridge that was left by Glorfindel as a warning that the Nazgûl were searching the Great East Road for the One Ring. Glorfindel mentions waging battle with the Nazgûl upon the bridge, as to make it safe for the Hobbits and Aragorn to reach Rivendell.

Lithlad

(S. 'ash-plain') A region of Mordor to the south of Ered Lithui, upon the outskirts of which the Tower of Barad-dûr stood.

Lond Daer Enedh

This place under the original name Vinyalondë, or 'New Haven', was founded by Númenor's crown prince Aldarion on the estuary of the river Gwathló in the early Second Age. It was the first permanent settlement of the Númenóreans in Middle-earth. From here Aldarion's "Guild Of Venturers" began harvesting the local timber for the shipbuilding industry of Númenor.

Within a few centuries, the deforestation of the outlying regions Enedwaith and Minhiriath became cataclysmic, angering the local native population (ancestors of the Dunlendings), and they began to fight back with increasing ferocity, destroying the haven several times, and frequently burning the great wood-stores in hit-and-run attacks.

By the time of the War of the Elves and Sauron in the middle of the Second Age, this 'New Haven' had become very well established, and its name had shifted over the intervening one thousand years to 'Lond Daer', the Great Haven. As such, it was one of the two beachheads of the Númenórean forces in Eriador that were used to support the Elves around S.A. 1700.

Lond Daer's shipyards were starved of timber following the war, as the forces of Sauron had burnt almost all of what remained in Enedwaith and Minhiriath. Once its shipbuilding yards were no longer practicable, Lond Daer declined in importance, and the Númenórean hunger for ever more wealth shifted focus to the establishment of newer havens to the south, Pelargir and Umbar. Following this, Lond Daer was once again renamed, being now one of several major ports in Middle-earth, and was known as Lond Daer Enedh, or 'Great Middle Haven'. Despite this, Númenor still maintained traffic on the Gwathló as far as the city of Tharbad.

After the Downfall of Númenor, Elendil founded the realm of Arnor in the lands north of Lond Daer, but the haven was now redundant, and fell into ruin. Instead, control over the region was maintained from Tharbad. The ancient ruins of Lond Daer were still visible as late as the end of the Third Age, however, and still featured on maps from that time.

Long Lake

A lake situated at the confluence of the Forest River and the northern reaches of the Celduin south of the Lonely Mountain. The lake gets its name from being longer north-south than it was wide east-west (standing on the west shore where the Forest River emptied into the lake the east could barely be seen, but the north and south could not). The lake emptied out over waterfalls on the southern edge into the River Running that led all the way to the great Sea of Rhûn. The town of Esgaroth was built entirely upon the lake itself, which thus formed a natural moat. It was built very near to the Forest River outlet, but protected from the stream by a promontory of rock. The water in the Lake itself was calm.

M

Methedras

(S. 'end-horn') The southernmost peak of the Misty Mountains, that lay above Isengard in the valley of Nan Curunír.

Mindolluin

(S. 'towering blue head') The easternmost peak of the White Mountains, below and to the east of which stands the city of Minas Tirith. In The Return of the King, shortly after Aragorn's coronation as King Elessar Gandalf takes him by an ancient path into the foothills of Mindolluin far above the city. There he discovers, upon an otherwise barren slope, a sapling of Nimloth, the White Tree of Gondor, which he plants in the Court of the Fountain as a sign of rebirth.

Minhiriath

(Sindarin for 'Between Rivers' and thus an Elvish form of Mesopotamia) was located in Eriador, a name for all the lands between the Hithaeglir and the Ered Luin. Minhiriath had no clear border in the north, but to the south, and east and west it was bounded by river and sea : the Brandywine, the Greyflood and Belegaer,'The Great Sea'.

The original inhabitants of Minhiriath (Minhiriathrim) were descended from the same Atani as the ancestors of the Númenóreans, but because they spoke mutually unintelligible languages, the Númenóreans did not class the Minhiriathrim as Middle Men.

When the large-scale deforestation of their land began under the Númenórean 'Ship Kings' after the 7th century of the Second Age, the minhiriathrim became openly hostile, and were persecuted. Only those who "fled from Minhiriath into the dark woods of the great Cape of Eryn Vorn" survived. Most, if not all, of these forest-dwellers subsequently "welcomed Sauron and hoped for his victory over the Men of the Sea", but they were to be disappointed by Sauron's burning of much of the rest of the surviving forest, and final defeat, in S.A. 1701.

From S.A. 3320, Minhiriath became nominally part of the newly established Kingdom of Arnor, at which time it formed the upper part of

..a land that was far and wide on either bank a desert, treeless but untilled.

('Of Galadriel & Celeborn' from Unfinished Tales)

From T.A. 861, Minhiriath was inherited by one of Arnor's three successor states, Cardolan, but the "ravaging" of Cardolan by evil forces in T.A. 1409 no doubt caused extensive depopulation of the whole country. Even worse was the advent of the Great Plague in T.A. 1636, after which Minhiriath was "almost entirely deserted". After T.A. 1975, even though "a few secretive hunter-folk lived in the woods" the region was almost entirely desolate.

Although "still in places well-wooded" by the time of the War of the Ring, the once continuously forested Minhiriath bore the permanent scars of over 5000 years of felling, burning and war.

During the Fourth Age the region once more developed under the auspices of the restored Kingdom of Arnor: when talking of Eriador (and particularly the lands south and west of Bree) to an innkeeper at the end of the War of the Ring, for example, Gandalf confidently predicts that,

..the waste in time will be waste no longer, and there will be people and fields where once there was wilderness.

("The Journey Home", The Lord of the Rings)

Mirrormere

The tarn (mountain-lake) located in Dimrill Dale below the doors of Khazad-dûm (Moria). It was known as Kheled-zâram by the Dwarves. According to the Dwarves of Durin's folk, their ultimate forefather Durin the Deathless had awoken at Mount Gundabad in the north of the Hithaeglir (Misty Mountains), and then travelled south until he came upon the Mirrormere. He looked down in it, and in the reflection saw a crown of stars above his head. Then he founded Khazad-dûm nearby; Durin's Stone was erected on the spot where the patriarch had his vision.

During the prelude to the War of the Ring, the Fellowship of the Ring neared the lake shortly after escaping Moria. Despite the urgency of getting further away from Moria, Gimli would not pass by without looking in the lake. Frodo Baggins and Sam Gamgee joined him and saw Durin's crown.

Morannon

The Black Gate of Mordor (Sindarin mor "black" + annon "gate") was a great stone rampart built across Cirith Gorgor, the pass into Mordor between the ends of the Ephel Duath (Mountains of Shadow) and the Ered Lithui (Ash Mountains). The battlemented wall separated Dagorlad on the north from the vale of Udûn on the south, and had one iron gate with "three vast doors",^[54] The wall guarded Mordor from attack from the northwest and was flanked by Carchost and Narchost, the two "Towers of the Teeth". The Black Gate stood near the meeting of four roads: one led to the north, another east along the Ered Lithui, another west and south through Ithilien to Harad, and the last through the gate into Udûn. Udûn held underground armories for the defence of the Morannon, and secret passwords were needed to pass through the gate.^[55] The hills on either side contained tunnels and caves, where orcs lay in wait, ready to go to war.^[56]

The Morannon was built by Sauron^[56] sometime during the Second Age, certainly by 3434,^[57] when the Battle of Dagorlad in the War of the Last Alliance was "fought for days and months on the plain at the Black Gates".^[58][59]

During 3019 of the Third Age, Frodo, Sam and Gollum sought a way into Mordor but were unable to enter through the Morannon. On the 25th of March the Army of the West fought with the armies of Mordor before the Black Gate at the "Battle of the Morannon." The battle was intended to distract Sauron and give Frodo time to destroy the One Ring. When the One Ring was unmade, Sauron's army was defeated and the Black Gate destroyed.

Morgul Pass

The Morgul Pass is the main pass from the Morgul Vale into Mordor. The Morgul Pass was at the far eastern end of the Morgul Vale. The Mountains of Shadow were relatively low at that point. The Morgul-road ran through the valley past Minas Morgul and over the Morgul Pass. This road then ran down into Mordor and crossed Gorgoroth to Mount Doom and Barad-dûr. The Morgul Pass was so called because it was located in the Morgul Vale. The word morgul means "black magic." The element mor means "black, dark." The element gûl means "sorcery, magic" from the stem ngol or nólë meaning "long study, lore, knowledge." This pass was also called the Nameless Pass, presumably by those who did not wish to utter the evil name of Morgul.

Far up the northern wall of the Morgul Pass, far above the main roadway, was a steep secondary pass reached by a perilous stairway, and known as Cirith Ungol.

Mount Gram

A mountain in north Eriador; its exact location is unknown but it probably was located either in the Ettenmoors or the Mountains of Angmar, or somewhere else in the northern Misty Mountains. It was inhabited by Orcs whose army once attacked the Hobbits of the Shire.

Mount Gundabad

(S. 'stone^[60]-judgement^[61]': a translation of a Khuzdul name^[62]) A mountain in the northernmost section of the Misty Mountains, close to the western extremity of the Grey Mountains. It was a stronghold of Dwarves and later, Orcs.

According to the Dwarves, Durin the Deathless, oldest of the Fathers of the Dwarves, awoke at Mount Gundabad some time after the awakening of the Elves. Mount Gundabad remained a sacred place to the Dwarves ever after.^[62]

In the middle of the Second Age, Orcs (servants of Sauron) invaded Gundabad. The site would not be cleansed until very late in the Second Age, possibly around or after the fall of Sauron and the loss of the One Ring.

In the Third Age, the Orcs of Angmar yet again claimed it as their capital, which was one of the reasons for the Dwarves' special hatred of this people. After the fall of Angmar, Gundabad remained an Orc stronghold, even after it was sacked during the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. The army of goblins that fought in the Battle of the Five Armies was said to have mustered at the mountain in The Hobbit.

Mountains of Angmar

The northernmost range of the Misty Mountains;^[63] it ran north-west from Mount Gundabad to Carn Dûm. Carn Dûm was the capital of the evil kingdom of Angmar, which straddled the mountains and gave its name to the range. The mountains were probably inhabited at various times both by Dwarves and Orcs.

Mountains of Ash

See Ered Lithui

Mountains of Moria

The three massive peaks at the midpoint of the Misty Mountains: Caradhras, Celebdil and Fanuidhol. The great Mines of Moria were delved by the Dwarves beneath these three mountains; the main body of their realm lay under Celebdil. During the events of The Lord of the Rings, the Company of the Ring attempted to travel over Caradhras, but they were forced to enter the Mines due to a heavy snowfall.

N

Nanduhirion

See Dimrill Dale

Nen Hithoel

A large lake upon the Great River Anduin amid the Emyn Muil to the east of Rohan. The lake is approximately 20 miles (32 km) long from north to south, and 10 miles (16 km) wide. Upon the lake's northern approach from Anduin the Men of Gondor constructed the huge pillars of the Argonath in the reign of Rómendacil II to mark the northern boundary of their realm, although by the time of the War of the Ring that boundary has long since receded. At the southern end of the lake stand three hills. Amon Hen, the Seat of Seeing, stands upon the western shore and Amon Lhaw, the Seat of Hearing upon the east. The third hill forms an island in the lake itself, Tol Brandir. None has ever set foot upon the island due to the intense currents at the lake's south end, for the lake is drained by the falls of Rauros.

The Fellowship of the Ring entered Nen Hithoel in the late afternoon of 25 'February' T.A. 3019, and made camp at Parth Galen close to Amon Hen. The fall of Boromir and the breaking of the Fellowship occurred the following day. Frodo and Sam took a boat for the eastern shore, Merry and Pippin were captured by Uruk-Hai, and after sending Boromir's body over the falls in another boat, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, calling themselves the Three Hunters, set out to track the Uruk-Hai and find the captive Hobbits.

Nindalf

Also called Wetwang, this swamp lay to the south of the Emyn Muil and east of the Great River Anduin, fed by the great inland delta of the Entwash. The Dead Marshes lay further east and may have been an extension of the Nindalf.

O

Old Ford

The point where the Old Forest Road crossed the River Anduin, about forty miles (sixty-four kilometres) downriver from the Carrock. In older times, the river was crossed by a stone bridge here, but by the end of the Third Age, the bridge had long since disappeared, and the crossing was no more than a simple ford.

Old Púkel Land

See Drúwaith Iaur

Osgiliath

A city of Middle-earth, the old capital city of Gondor. Osgiliath is a Sindarin word that means Citadel of the Host of Stars. Founded by Elendil and his sons Isildur and Anárion at the end of the Second Age, Osgiliath was located on either side of the Great River Anduin. Osgiliath was burned during the Kin-strife and its palantír was lost in the Anduin. Later Osgiliath was badly affected by the Great Plague which wiped out a substantial part of the city's population. The capital was shifted to Minas Anor in T.A. 1640 and the city began to fall into ruin. The half-ruined city was completely abandoned in T.A. 2475 when Uruks from Mordor invaded Ithilien and destroyed the city's great bridge. They were driven back by Boromir, son of Denethor I.

Osgiliath was the scene of some of the earliest fighting in the War of the Ring, when in 3018, Sauron's forces attacked and captured East Osgiliath. The orcs were driven back from the western shore by Boromir and the last bridge was thrown down. During the assault on Gondor, the army of Sauron again attacked the western city and after overcoming the defence, surrounded Minas Tirith, beginning the siege of Gondor and leading directly into the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. In Peter Jackson's film of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Faramir takes Frodo, Sam and Gollum to Osgiliath, where they witness a battle. This does not occur in the book.

P

Parth Galen

(S: 'Green Sward') A green lawn above the Falls of Rauros at the feet of Amon Hen. It is on the western shore of Nen Hithoel near the southern end — a fair, green sward, watered by a small spring. Sward means a large open expanse of lawn: parth means "field, enclosed grassland", related to "path", meaning "level space, sward"; galen (or calen) means "green." It was here that the breaking of the Fellowship of the Ring took place.

The Prancing Pony

An inn at the centre of the village of Bree.

It was situated at the base of the Bree-hill, at the spot where the East Road made a bend and a side road ran towards the Greenway and Fornost. The building is described in The Lord of the Rings:

"Even from the outside the inn looked a pleasant house to familiar eyes. It had a front on the Road, and two wings running back on land partly cut out of the lower slopes of the hill, so that at the rear the second-floor windows were level with the ground. There was a wide arch leading to a courtyard between the two wings, and on the left under the arch there was a large doorway reaches by a few broad steps. ... Above the arch there was a lamp, and beneath it swung a large signboard: a fat white pony reared up on its hind legs. Over the door was painted in white letters: THE PRANCING PONY by BARLIMAN BUTTERBUR."^[64]

Inside there was a large common room, several private parlours, and a number of bedrooms, including a few rooms in the north wing designed for Hobbits, that were low to the ground and had round windows. The inn also had stables.

The Prancing Pony was a meeting place for both Bree-folk and travellers, and was frequented by Men, Hobbits and Dwarves. Some of the Bucklanders from the Shire are known to have travelled to the inn occasionally. The art of smoking pipe-weed was said to have begun in Bree and from The Prancing Pony it spread among the races of Middle-earth. The inn was also noted for its fine beer, enchanted at an occasion by Gandalf.^[65] At the time of the War of the Ring, the proprietor was Barliman Butterbur, whose family kept the inn "from time beyond record".^[66] Two Hobbits worked for Butterbur: Nob, a servant in the inn, and Bob, who worked in the stables.

Two important events leading up to the War of the Ring took place at The Prancing Pony. The first was "a chance-meeting" of Gandalf and Thorin Oakenshield, which eventually led to the destruction of Smaug and far lighter casualties during the war in the northern theatre.^[67] The second event occurred during the journey of Frodo Baggins to Rivendell, when he and his companions stayed at The Prancing Pony for a night. After singing "The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late", Frodo accidentally put the One Ring on and became invisible, which led to an attack on the inn by the Black Riders. Frodo also met Aragorn at that time, who saved him and led the party away.

Business at The Prancing Pony declined during the war because of an influx of rough Men from the South who terrorized Bree and the surrounding countryside. However, when Gandalf stopped with the Hobbits at the inn on their way home, he prophesied that "better days" were coming as the Kingdom was restored and "some fair folk" would be staying at The Prancing Pony.^[68]

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring movie the hobbits only briefly reside in the common room, without Frodo singing, after which Frodo is taken away by Aragorn.

The Inn also features in Lord of the Rings Online and features in the development of the game's storyline for individual adventurers.

R

Ravenhill

An outlying hill beneath the height of Erebor, the Lonely Mountain. It stood at the end of a ridge of high ground extending southwards from the mountain itself, overlooking the River Running and the valley of Dale. The Dwarves of Erebor built a guard-post on the hill.

Carc and his wife (a pair of a large, intelligent and long-lived breed of raven) had lived above the guard-post during the childhood of Balin, a Dwarf of Erebor who supposed that the hill was named after this pair.^[70] However it's probable that a raven rookery had existed on the hill for generations, so the name Ravenhill may have been much older than Balin was aware.

During the expedition of Thorin & Company to Erebor in T.A. 2941, they utilized the lookout at Ravenhill and the shelter of the guard-chamber.

S

Sarn Gebir

Rapids in the river Anduin where it entered the north of the Emyn Muil.^[71] An old portage-way existed on the western shore to enable light boat traffic to by-pass the rapids.

In the Fellowship of the Ring's voyage down the river, they came upon the rapids suddenly, just before midnight on 23 'February' 3019. Simultaneously they were ambushed by Orc-archers positioned on the east bank.

Sea of Núrnen

An inland sea in Mordor. It held bitter water not suitable for drinking, but the area around it, Núrn, watered by a river system coming from the Ephel Dúath, was fertile enough to feed the entire armies of Sauron in Mordor.

Sea of Rhûn

An inland sea in Rhûn. The Sea of Rhûn, according to Tolkien's maps, covered roughly 17,000 square miles^[72] (43,000 km²), or a little smaller than the area of the Aral Sea in Tolkien's lifetime. The Celduin (River Running) flowed from the northwest through Dorwinion into a northwestern arm of the sea, while several unnamed rivers flowed from the northeastern shore.

Silvertine

See Celebdil

Stair Falls

A waterfall outside the West-gate of Moria. They were formed by the stream Sirannon, which flowed from the valley in front of the West-gate and over a cliff about 30 feet (9.1 m) high and then continued southwestward to join the Glanduin. There was a flight of stone steps carved into the cliff on the northern side of the falls, but the main path wound up the cliffside a bit north of the stairs. The Stair Falls were once strong and full, but by the time of the War of the Ring the waterfall was cut off when the Sirannon was dammed, forming a pool where the Watcher in the Water lurked.^[73][74]

When the Fellowship arrived at the Stair Falls on 13 'January' T.A. 3019, they found a mere trickle. Gandalf, Gimli, and Frodo climbed the Stair, discovered that the pool blocked their path, returned and used the main path up the cliff and around the pool. It seems possible that after the War and reoccupation of Moria, the Sirannon may have been unblocked and the Stair Falls may have flowed once more, but this is nowhere stated.

Starkhorn

A snow-clad peak that rose in the inner regions of the White Mountains. From its feet sprang the Snowbourn River, whose widening valley ran northwards through the mountains to emerge onto the plains of Rohan. The Rohirrim called that valley Harrowdale, and built their courts of Edoras at its mouth, from where the lonely white peak of the Starkhorn could be seen along the straight length of the valley.

Swanfleet

(S. Nîn-in-Eilph) A marshy area in Eriador. Formed where the Glanduin (mistakenly labelled as "Swanfleet river" on some maps) joins the Gwathló (Greyflood), the Swanfleet is effectively an inland delta, with uncertain streams and a very uncertain difference between land and water.

It strongly resembles the Gladden Fields on the other side of the Hithaeglir, and as such many Stoors felt right at home here after their migration into Eriador. These Stoors remained here until the Great Plague nearly wiped them out, and the remainder then went to the South Farthing of the Shire. Near the Swanfleet was a ford over the Glanduin, from where led a road to the ruins of Ost-in-Edhil, the ruined city of Eregion.

T

Tharbad

A city on the southern edge of Eriador in Middle-earth. Tharbad, Sindarin for 'The Crossing Road',^[75] was originally the name given to a fort where the old North-South Road crossed the fenlands at the head of the Gwathló. The area around Tharbad was flat and marshy; the road approached the river from either side along miles of causeway. It was abandoned late in the Third Age.^[76]

Tol Brandir

An island crag set in the lake of Nen Hithoel which straddles the Falls of Rauros. The island was bordered by Amon Hen to the west and Amon Lhaw to the east. In days past, the hills near Tol Brandir had been important watchtowers for the Kingdom of Gondor. However, no man ever visited Tol Brandir, or so the legends state.

Tol Brandir means "tall island" and is the name used by the Elves. The men called the island "Tindrock", derived from the Old English word "tind" meaning sharp point (literally, therefore, 'pointed rock').

Tomb of Elendil

Was the tomb of the first King of Arnor and of Gondor. Its location was a secret kept for many centuries, but it was later discovered to be atop the mountain known as the Halifirien, on the borders of Gondor and Rohan.^[77]

Torech Ungol

Torech Ungol or Shelob's Lair was the home of the giant spider Shelob. It was located below Cirith Ungol, a pass into Mordor. The orcs were generally afraid of Shelob but had built extensive tunnels into the lair for their own purposes.^[78] When some of them were unruly or Shelob needed to be appeased, the orcs would throw some of their own kind into the lair without much concern for them.^[79]

In Peter Jackson's film adaptations to the books, the entire sequence in Shelob's Lair was moved to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Because The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers needed a new climax, a new sub-plot was created in which Faramir took Frodo to Osgiliath.^[80] This addition was criticized by some purists.^[81][82]

Jackson explained that he moved the scene from The Two Towers into The Return of the King for the sake of the timeline of events as given in the books. Although the episode with Shelob occurred in the Two Towers book, it was chronologically simultaneous with events in other parts of Middle-earth that took place during the Return of the King. For example, even in the books, Frodo's capture at Shelob's Lair happened as Gandalf and Pippin were engaged in battle at the besieged Minas Tirith, not at Helm's Deep or even Isengard.

Tower Hills

A series of steep hills at the west end of Eriador, called in Sindarin Emyn Beraid. They lay about 30 Númenórean miles east of the Grey Havens, and about 50 miles (80 km) west of the White Downs, of old the border of the Shire. High upon the Tower Hills stood three tall Elven towers, the highest of which was called Elostirion and held a palantír.

The Tower Hills formed the ancient border between the Elven realm of Lindon and the Kingdom of Arnor, and the Great East Road which led all the way to Rivendell ran through them. In the early Fourth Age, Elanor Gamgee and her husband Fastred Fairbairn moved to the Tower Hills, founding the town of Undertowers on the eastern slopes of the Hills, and becoming the Wardens of Westmarch, when the Tower Hills became the new western border of the Shire by the issue of King Elessar.

Towers of the Teeth

Also called the Teeth of Mordor. Two towers situated on either side of the Black Gate of Mordor. The towers — known individually as Carchost and Narchost — were originally constructed by the men of Gondor after Sauron's defeat in the Second Age to guard the entrance to Mordor, but were taken over by Sauron in the later Third Age, having been abandoned sometime after the defeat of King Ondoher in 1944 to the Wainriders, as the Towers are stated to have been manned before the Battle.

Tolkien's writings leave it unclear which tower was located on which side of the Morannon. However, Carchost appears to have stood to the eastern side and Narchost on the western side. Carchost is a Sindarin name that means "Tooth Fort", a compound of carch (meaning 'tooth or fang') and ost (meaning 'fortress'). Narchost is a Sindarin name that means "Fire Fort". The towers were destroyed in the War of the Ring with the defeat of Sauron following the destruction of the One Ring. Their collapse is shown in Peter Jackson's film interpretation of The Return of the King.

Trollshaws

The upland woods, consisting at least partly of beech trees, that lay to the west of Rivendell between the rivers Hoarwell and Loudwater. They were the haunt of trolls. Three of these trolls waylaid Bilbo Baggins and his companions during The Hobbit. Years later Frodo Baggins and his companions found them on their way to Rivendell, but they were inert stone.

There is a contradiction regarding the layout of the Trollshaws. In The Hobbit, the company passes over a "stone bridge" and very soon after that spots the trolls' fire, an hour or two away. In The Fellowship of the Ring, however, Aragorn explicitly leads the Hobbits over the Last Bridge and takes six days to reach the site of the troll camp. This discrepancy was not noticed by J. R. R. Tolkien, but was discussed by Christopher Tolkien in The Return of the Shadow.

U

Udûn

Udûn was pronounced “oo-doon.”^[83] In the Elvish language of Sindarin, Udûn translates as hell,^[84] and possibly as u+dûn = un-west (although this may be a pseudo-etymology, as it most likely is cognate to Quenya "Utumno").^[85]

Udûn was the name of a deep valley and region between the ends of the Ephel Duath (Mountains of Shadow) and the Ered Lithui (Ash Mountains) in north-western Mordor. The two ends of the valley were closed by the Black Gate (Morannon) and the Isenmouthe. The Isenmouthe (Carach Angren) was Udûn’s southern entrance, south of which lay Gorgoroth. The Isenmouthe was built across the southern pass between a spur from the Ephel Duath and a spur from the Ered Lithui. There were towers and forts upon the ends of both these spurs.^[86] Looking north, the valley opened out but then narrowed again where a spur from each mountain range again came close to the other. Each spur contained caves and there hordes of Orcs could be stationed when needed.^[87] The Black Gate was built across the northern pass or gap between the spurs of the two mountain ranges. This pass was called Cirith Gorgor = the Haunted Pass. Udûn contained underground armories and tunnels for the defence of the Morannon.

A road passed through Udûn connecting the Black Gate to the Isenmouthe. The old castle of Durthang (later an orc-hold) was positioned high up on the south-western spur of the Ephel Duath and there were many other orc-holds clustered about the valley.^[86] J. R. R. Tolkien developed his concept of north-west Mordor when he had the idea that the valley behind the Morannon was closed at the southern end by the spurs of the two mountain ranges.^[88] His original idea was that Gorgoroth would have extended right up to the mouth of the northern pass of Cirith Gorgor. Tolkien’s earlier name for the vale of Udûn was "The Narch" which was described as a “deep dark valley.”^[89]

The name Udûn recalled the name of Melkor's ancient fortress, Utumno in Quenya or Udûn in Sindarin, located to the north of Beleriand. It was Melkor's fortress that Gandalf referred to when he addressed the Balrog in Moria as "Flame of Udûn."

Upbourn

A hamlet in Rohan south of Edoras, located on the banks of the Snowbourn river in the valley of Harrowdale.

W

Withered Heath

A region at the eastern extreme of the Grey Mountains (Ered Mithrin). There, the Grey Mountains broke into two spurs, north and south. Between these spurs lay the Withered Heath. The burned, blackened valley was known as a breeding ground of the Great Worms. The Dragons nurtured around the Withered Heath terrorized the Dwarves of the Grey Mountains, forcing them to relocate to the Iron Hills.

Z

Zirakzigil

See Celebdil

References

Realms from Tolkien's legendarium during the First Age Noldorin Dorthonion Gondolin Hithlum Nargothrond Sindarin Doriath Avarin and Nandorin Lothlórien Ossiriand Nan Elmoth The Ents Fangorn Eriador The Dwarves Khazad-dûm The Enemy Angband Related Beleriand minor places Minor places in Middle-earth Minor places in Arda

Realms from Tolkien's legendarium during the Second Age Men Arnor Gondor Númenor Umbar The Elves Eregion Lindon Lórinand Greenwood the Great Rivendell The Dwarves Khazad-dûm The Ents Fangorn The Enemy Mordor Related Minor places in Middle-earth

Realms from Tolkien's legendarium during the Third Age Men Arnor Bree-land Dale Dol Amroth Éothéod Esgaroth Gondor Harad Rhovanion Rhûn Rohan Umbar The Elves Lindon Lothlórien Northern Mirkwood Rivendell The Dwarves Erebor Iron Hills Khazad-dûm The Hobbits Bree-land Gladden Fields The Shire The Ents Fangorn The Enemy Angmar Dol Guldur Isengard Mordor Minas Morgul Related Minor places in Middle-earth