J.R.R. Tolkien Middle Earth

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1: Lothlorien

Early in the First Age some of the Eldar left the Great March and settled in the lands east of the Misty Mountains. These elves became known as the Nandor and later the Silvan Elves. By S.A. 1200 Galadriel had made contact with an existing Nandorin realm, Lindórinand, in the area that would later be known as Lothlórien, and planted there the golden mallorn trees which Gil-galad had received as a gift from Tar-Aldarion.

The culture and knowledge of the Silvan elves was considerably enriched by the arrival of Sindarin Elves from west of the mountains and even the Silvan language was gradually replaced by Sindarin. Amongst these arrivals was Amdír, who became their first lord, as well as Galadriel and Celeborn, who also crossed the mountains and the Anduin to join these southern Nandor after the destruction of Eregion during the War of the Elves and Sauron. Ultimately, Amdír led an army out of the forest as part of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, just as Oropher, another Sindarin lord, led the Silvan Elves of the north in the same victory overSauron, so it can be assumed that both northern and southern woodland realms had been founded by then.

With the gradual return of Sauron's malign influence to the forest east of Anduin, the northern Silvan Elves led by Thranduil son of Oropher (and father of Legolas), moved even further north to escape it, and those of the south returned west across the Anduin, although without their last Sindarin lord Amroth son of Amdír, who departed to Edhellond after his lover Nimrodel had fled there.

It was later revealed that Galadriel's Ring enriched the land by preserving its flora from death and decay, and in wielding it she created a powerful ward against all creatures of evil intent: in fact the only way that Galadriel's Lothlórien could have been conquered by Mordor is if Sauron himself, the master of all the Rings of Power, had come there.

Following the departure of Galadriel for Valinor at the beginning of the Fourth Age, the Elves of Lothlórien were ruled by Celeborn alone, who led them across the Anduin to found a new, larger realm, East Lórien

2: Moria

In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Moria (Sindarin for "Black Chasm") was the name given by the Eldar to an enormous underground complex in north-western Middle-earth, comprising a vast network of tunnels, chambers, mines and huge halls or 'mansions', that ran under and ultimately through the Misty Mountains. There, for many thousands of years, lived the Dwarf clan known as the Longbeards.

According to Tolkien's fiction, the city and one-time centre of dwarven industry was also called Hadhodrond by the Sindar, Casarrondo by the Noldor and Phurunargian in the Common Speech, all meaning the Dwarrowdelf. For over a thousand years of the Third Age it was widely known as Moria, "Black Chasm" or "Black Pit", fromSindarin mor="black" and iâ="void, abyss, pit.

3: The Shire - Hobbiton

4: Rivendell

Rivendell is located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the river Bruinen (one of the main approaches to Rivendell comes from a nearby ford of Bruinen), but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the Hithaeglir or the Misty Mountains.

The climate is cool-temperate and semi-continental with moderately warm summers, fairly snowy — but not frigid — winters and moderate precipitation. Seasons are more pronounced than in areas further west, such as the Shire, but less extreme than the places east of the Misty Mountains. Like Hobbiton it is located at about 52 degrees north latitude, a reference by Tolkien to his then hometown Oxford.

Rivendell was founded in Second Age 1697 when a force sent by Gil-galad from Lindon and led by Elrond rescued the refugees of Eregion from Sauron's army and was driven into the hills of Rhudaur. Sauron's forces subsequently laid siege to the refuge for three years until a relief army sent by Gil-galad attacked the besieging force in conjunction with the defenders and annihilated it. Rivendell was next attacked in the fourteenth century of the Third Age when the Armies of the Witch-king of Angmar attacked the refuge. After some years they were driven off when reinforcements were sent from Lothlórien. Rivendell is protected by the powers of its lord, Elrond Half-Elven, and his ring Vilya.

In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins stopped off at Rivendell with the dwarves on the way to the Lonely Mountain and also on the way back to the Shire with Gandalf.

In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo Baggins and his Hobbit companions journeyed to Rivendell, where they met with Bilbo, who had retired there after his 111th birthday, spending his time on his memoirs, There and Back Again. Several other Elves, Dwarves and Men also arrived at Rivendell on separate errands; at the Council of Elrond they learned that all of their errands were related to the fate of the One Ring, and they should decide what to do about it. In the end, it was the Hobbits who influenced the decision.

Elrond lived in Rivendell with his family — his wife Celebrían, their sons Elladan and Elrohir and their daughter Arwen. Elrond also fostered the young Aragorn, who dwelt with them in secret until adulthood. However, Celebrían was captured and tormented by Orcs, and received a poisoned wound. Her sons rescued her; but her experiences under the orcs left her so traumatized that eventually she left Middle-earth for Valinor. Arwen lived with her maternal grandparents Galadriel and Celeborn in their realm of Lórien for a time, but moved back to Rivendell; she eventually left Rivendell to become Aragorn's queen after he was crowned king of Gondor.

At the beginning of the Fourth Age Elrond left Rivendell and for a while it was lived in by Elladan and Elrohir, joined later by Celeborn. It is not known when Rivendell was finally abandoned.

5: Bree

Directly west of Bree were the Barrow-downs and the Old Forest. Bree was the chief village of Bree-land, a small wooded region near the intersection of the main north-south and east-west routes through Eriador. Bree-land was the only place in Middle-earth where men and hobbits dwelt side by side. The hobbit community was older than that of the Shire, which was originally colonized from Bree.

6: Edoras

The capital of Rohan is the hill fort of Edoras which is located on a hill in a valley of the White Mountains. Meduseld, the Golden Hall of the King of Rohan, is located there. "Edoras" is Old English for "enclosures", which Tolkien held to be a translation of an unknown Rohirric name of the same meaning. The city of Edoras was built by Rohan's second King, Brego son of Eorl the Young. Before Edoras was completed, Rohan's capital was at Aldburg in the Folde. Meduseld is described as having a golden thatch. Edoras is built at the end of the valley of Harrowdale, which lies under the great mountain Starkhorn. The river Snowbourn flows past the city on its way west towards the Entwash. The city is protected only by a high wall of timber, and a one-way road allows access to the city. Just before the gates, two rows of mounds line the road, which are the graves of the former Kings of Rohan. "Meduseld", a modernised form of the Old English Maeduselde, is similarly meant to be a translation of an unknown Rohirric name meaning "mead hall". Meduseld is a large hall with roof that appears golden from far off. The walls are richly decorated with tapestries depicting the history and legends of the Rohirrim, and it serves as a house for the King and his kin, a meeting hall for the King and his advisors, and a gathering hall.

Edoras is Rohan's only real city. It is at Meduseld that Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas, and Gandalf meet with King Théoden in the account of the early stages of the War of the Ring.

Another important settlement is Aldburg, capital of the Eastfold and original settlement of Eorl the Young. A third settlement is Snowbourne, named after the river of the same name which runs nearby. It is similar in appearance to the hill-fort of Edoras. Dunharrow is a refuge in the White Mountains. Helm's Deep is a valley in the White Mountains in which the Hornburg, a major fortress of Rohan, is located.

7: Isengard

Isengard was built in the Second Age around the tower of Orthanc by the Númenóreans in exile. Its location was at the north-western corner of Rohan, guarding theFords of Isen from enemy incursions into Calenardhon together with the fortress of Aglarond to its south.

The river Angren (or Isen) began at Methedras behind Isengard, which also formed its northern wall. The other three sides were guarded by a large wall, known as theRing of Isengard, which was only breached by the inflow of the river Angren at the north-east through a portcullis, and the gate of Isengard at the south, at both shores of the river.

Isengard was a green and pleasant place, with many large trees and grass fields, fed by the Angren. Orthanc stood in the exact centre.

During the early Third Age the land of Calenardhon became depopulated, and the last warden of Orthanc was recalled to Minas Tirith. Isengard remained guarded by a small company, led by a hereditary captain. Bit by bit though the messages from Minas Tirith decreased until they ceased altogether.

After Calenardhon was given to the Éothéod by Cirion, Steward of Gondor, and became Rohan, Isengard was the sole fortress retained by Gondor north of the Ered Nimrais (excluding Anórien), although Gondor almost forgot about it. The small guard intermarried much with the Dunlendings, until the fortress became Dunlending in all but name. Orthanc however remained closed, as the Steward of Gondor alone held the keys.

By 2710 the line of hereditary Captains died out and during the rule of Rohan's King Déor it was evident that Isengard had become openly hostile to the Rohirrim. Using Isengard as their base, the Dunlendings continued to raid Rohan during Déor's son Gram's rule, until during the rule of Gram's son Helm Hammerhand a Dunlending Lord, Freca and his son Wulf nearly managed to destroy the Rohirrim. The Rohirrim eventually destroyed the invaders and blockaded Isengard, eventually taking it.

A more permanent solution was now needed for Isengard, as Gondor did not wish to relinquish its claim to one of the Towers of the Realm, but at the same time lacked the strength or inclination to garrison it. A solution presented itself to the Steward of Gondor, Beren, as Saruman the White suddenly reappeared from the East, and he offered to guard Isengard. Beren gladly gave him the keys to Orthanc, and Saruman settled there. However at first he resided there as Warden of the Tower on behalf of Gondor. After him the valley became known as Nan Curunír, or "Valley of the Wizard". In 2953, taking advantage of Sauron's return and the resulting distraction of the Stewards, Saruman took Isengard for himself and became Lord of Isengard.

During the War of the Ring Isengard was Saruman's base of operations against the Rohirrim, and he defiled the valley, cutting down its trees (and, in Peter Jackson's film version, damming the Isen). Isengard's valley was destroyed by deep pits, used for breeding Uruk-hai and smithing weapons. Isengard became home to countless Orcs, whom Saruman used to try to conquer Rohan. Eventually an army of Ents and Huorns led by Treebeard of Fangorn attacked Isengard, taking the fortress, although they could not take Orthanc.

A shield displaying the White Hand of Isengard

The Hobbits Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took as the new "doorwardens" received Théoden King of Rohan, Aragorn and Gandalf at the gates. During the Fourth Age Isengard was restored, and the entire valley granted to the Ents. The Ents tore down the walls of the ring, and named The new forest the Treegarth of Orthanc. Orthanc became again a tower of the Reunited Kingdom of Aragorn King Elessar.

8: Minas Tirith

Early history

Originally known as Minas Anor, the "Tower of the Sun", Minas Tirith was built in S.A. 3320 by Anárion, younger brother of Isildur and second son of Elendil, High King of Arnor. Ostoher rebuilt the city in T.A. 420 as a summer residence, and it became the capital of Gondor in T.A. 1640, when King Tarondor moved the King's House from Osgiliath following the Great Plague, which devastated the population of the much larger and populous old capital.

In 2002 T.A., the White City's companion city, Minas Ithil, Tower of the Moon (Moontower), on the borders of Mordor, was captured by the Nazgûl and renamed Minas Morgul, Tower of Black Sorcery (Dead City, accursed tower). Minas Anor was renamed Minas Tirith, meaning "Tower of Guard", to indicate that since the fall of Minas Ithil, Minas Tirith assumed the role of guarding Gondor against Mordor's forces. For the next thousand years, the two cities were in a stalemate, with neither able to topple the other. With the rebuilding of the Dark Tower and the open return of Sauron, the forces of Mordor gathered their strength to topple Minas Tirith in the upcoming War of the Ring.

The War of the Ring

(T.A. 3018–3019), Minas Tirith is said to have had less than half of the population which could have dwelt there at ease. Many of the buildings had fallen into ruin and disrepair, a sad yet fitting picture of Gondor in those latter days.

Rammas Echor

In the latter part of the Third Age, Minas Tirith and its lands were surrounded by the Rammas Echor, a fortified wall encircling the Pelennor Fields and meeting up with Osgiliath, where the Causeway Forts were built on the west bank of the Anduin and garrisoned, though Osgiliath itself remained in ruins. This outwall was built by Ecthelion II but fell into disrepair after his death, only to be repaired in the year leading up to the War.

His successor Denethor II ordered Osgiliath and the Rammas to be defended, despite the advice of the council who wanted to retreat back to Minas Tirith and hold out from there. As told in The Return of the King, the Rammas proved an ineffective defence due to the overwhelming Orc legions of Mordor, who penetrated the wall and laid siege to the city before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.

Siege

Faramir and the garrison were unable to hold Osgiliath and the Causeway Forts against the overwhelming forces of Mordor and were driven back with heavy loss. Leading the rearguard against the onslaught, he was wounded and nearly slain but the cavalry charge of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth and Gandalf saved him and the counter-attack allowed the rest of Gondor's soldiers to reach the safety of the city.

Minas Tirith was besieged by troops of Mordor, the Easterlings and the Haradrim, and the land fell under the darkness generated by Mordor. Significant damage was done to the first circle of the city but the Enemy was unable to break through the wall — except in one place. The gate of the city was broken by a combination of the battering ram Grond and the Witch-king's sorcery. However, the Witch-king was halted at the entrance by Gandalf.

During the siege the House of the Stewards in Rath Dìnen was destroyed by a fire lit by the Steward Denethor in suicidal despair at the illness of his son Faramir.^[4]

The timely arrival of the Rohirrim led by King Théoden forced the armies of Mordor to face the newcomers instead of assaulting the city. The resulting Battle of the Pelennor Fields took place on March 15, 3019 in the fields surrounding the city. Despite heavy losses, Minas Tirith itself was not seriously threatened again and the battle was won by Gondor and its allies from Rohan and Gondor's fiefs.

Later

On May 1, 3019 King Elessar's coronation took place on the plain outside Minas Tirith, he then entered the city as King.

Minas Tirith is known to have stood firm well into the Fourth Age. Gimli the Dwarf and some of Durin's folk used mithril, a nigh-indestructible metal, to replace the gates that had been broken in the War of the Ring. The Dwarves also improved the layout of the city's streets. The elves planted trees in the city.

"In his time the City was made more fair than it had ever been, even in the days of its first glory; and it was filled with trees and with fountains, and its gates were wrought of mithril and steel, and its streets were paved with white marble; and the Folk of the Mountain laboured in it, and the Folk of the Wood rejoiced to come there; and all was healed and made good, and the houses were filled with men and women and the laughter of children, and no window was blind nor any courtyard empty; and after the ending of the Third Age of the world into the new age it preserved the memory and the glory of the years that were gone". Source: (The Return of the King: "The Steward and the King," p. 246)

It remained the chief city of Gondor, as it is not actually known whether Osgiliath was ever rebuilt. Minas Ithil, however, was destroyed by Elessar, King of Gondor, soon after the War of the Ring.

The eagle who brings the news of Sauron's defeat to Minas Tirith refers to the city as the Tower of Anor. The eagle might have been speaking poetically, but as Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age in The Silmarillion says, the city is referred to Minas Anor again after Sauron's overthrow.

9: Minas Morgul

After the destruction of Númenor, Isildur and Anárion, the sons of Elendil, landed in Gondor. Isildur built Minas Ithil at the south end of a pleasant valley in Ithilien near the mountainous border of Mordor, while Anárion built Minas Anor further west across the Anduin. The brothers had their thrones side by side at Osgiliath. Isildur planted a sapling of the White Tree Nimloth outside his home in Minas Ithil, and one of the seven palantíri was kept in the tower. The city's white marble walls, buildings, and tower were designed to catch and reflect the moonlight, and shone with a soft silver luminescence.

When Sauron returned after escaping Númenor's destruction, he attacked the exiles of Númenor, and his forces took Minas Ithil by force in S.A. 3429. Though the White Tree was burned, Isildur and his family managed to escape down the Anduin with a seedling, seeking his father Elendil. The city was later retaken and while Isildur, Anárion, and Elendil assaulted Mordor, Isildur's younger sons Aratan and Ciryon were sent to garrison Minas Ithil in order to intercept Sauron if he attempted to escape from Mordor to the west.

When the Last Alliance defeated Sauron in S.A. 3441, Minas Ithil was restored as a city/fortress and prospered for many years, though it was now under the rule ofAnárion's son Meneldil, as Isildur planned to take up rule of his father's kingdom of Arnor. Isildur planted the seedling of the White Tree at Minas Anor in memory of Anárion, who had been slain during the War.

10: Mount Doom

When Sauron began searching Middle-earth during the Second Age for a permanent dwelling place, his attention was immediately drawn to Mordor, and especially to Orodruin, whose power he believed he could use to his advantage. He subsequently established his kingdom based around Orodruin and "used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and his forging". The most famous of Sauron's creations forged at Mount Doom is the One Ring. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf explains that the materials of which the Ring is made are so durable and the enchantments with which it is imbued so powerful that it can only be destroyed in the Cracks of Doom where it was made.

Orodruin is more than just an ordinary volcano; it responds to Sauron's commands and his presence, lapsing into dormancy when he is away from Mordor and becoming active again when he returns. When Sauron is defeated at the end of the Third Age, the volcano erupts violently one final time and then ceases all activity permanently.

11: Barad-dûr

Barad-dûr (Sindarin "Dark Tower", sometimes given as The Barad-dûr, Lugbúrz in Black Speech) is the fortress of Sauron in the fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien'sThe Lord of the Rings. The Eye of Sauron kept watch over Middle-earth from its highest tower.

Barad-dûr was built by Sauron, the Dark Lord of Mordor, with the power of the One Ring, during the Second Age. The building took six hundred years to complete; it was the greatest fortress ever built since the Fall of Angband, and much of Sauron's personal power went into it.

Barad-dûr was besieged for seven years by the Last Alliance of Elves and Men and was levelled after Sauron's defeat at the end of the Second Age, but because it was created using the power of the One Ring, its foundations could not be destroyed completely unless the Ring itself was destroyed. Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron's hand but refused to destroy it, so the Tower was quickly re-built when Sauron returned to Mordor thousands of years later, in T.A. 2951.

A contradiction exists regarding the Dark Tower: Appendix B has Sauron beginning to build the Tower in c. S.A. 1000, completing it at the same time he forges the One Ring c. S.A. 1600, yet Elrond asserts that its foundations "were made with the power of the Ring." No explanation is offered in the text.

The Dark Tower was described as existing on a massive scale so large it was almost surreal, although Tolkien does not provide much detail beyond its size and immense strength. Since it had a "topmost tower" it presumably had multiple towers. It is otherwise described as dark and surrounded in shadow, so that it could not be clearly seen.

"..rising black, blacker and darker than the vast shades amid which it stood, the cruel pinnacles and iron crown of the topmost tower of Barad-dûr..."

In his vision at Amon Hen, Frodo Baggins perceived the immense tower as "wall upon wall, battlement upon battlement, black, immeasurably strong, mountain of iron, gate of steel, tower of adamant...Barad-dûr, Fortress of Sauron".

There was an "immeasurably high" look-out post, "the Window of the Eye in Sauron’s shadow-mantled fortress", said to face Mount Doom. In this window, Frodo and Sam had a terrible glimpse of the Eye of Sauron.

There is a drawing by Tolkien that he titled "Barad-dûr"; since he did not publish it during his lifetime, it is unclear how close the drawing is to his mature vision of the tower. The picture shows only the left edge of the lower part of a structure that seems to be constructed of immense masonry blocks of some greenish-gray stone. The few existing windows are small and either dark or lighted dark red; one is clearly barred. One high, thin vertical spire is visible in the background. The whole building seems to stand on top of a large monolithic rock with almost vertical edges and a relatively flat top. A narrow stone bridge leads across the chasm to the single visible door, through which flames can be seen inside the tower. An erupting volcano (presumably Mount Doom) can be seen in the background, a lava stream flowing from there past the side of the monolithic rock.