White Mountains (Middle-earth)

White Mountains
J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium location
Other name(s) Ered Nimrais
Type mountain range
Notable locations Dunharrow, Helm's Deep, Minas Tirith, Mount Mindolluin, the Paths of the Dead
Location Boundary between north-west Gondor and southern Rohan; west of the Anduin

The White Mountains are a fictional mountain range in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, where they lie primarily in the Kingdom of Gondor, but partly also in the Kingdom of Rohan. The name White Mountains is a loose translation of Ered Nimrais, meaning "mountains of white horns" in Sindarin, one of the languages created by Tolkien. The mountains are named after the glaciers and snowcaps of their highest peaks.

The White Mountains first appeared in The Lord of the Rings. The Lord of the Rings film trilogy used the Southern Alps of New Zealand to portray parts of the White Mountains.

Middle-earth narrative

Geography

The range lies mostly East-West, but also has a northern section, which is separated from the main line of the Misty Mountains by the Gap of Rohan. Even at the temperate latitude of Gondor and Rohan, the White Mountains bear snow even in summer, suggesting they are extremely high. Tolkien equated the latitude of Minas Tirith, which lay at the eastern end of the mountains, with that of Florence[1] (43° 47' N). This suggests an approximate snowline of 3,000 metres.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, in the chapter "Lothlórien," Legolas tells the other members of the Fellowship that the elf-maiden Nimrodel "was lost far in the South, in the passes of the White Mountains" but we have no information about those passes. Tolkien at one point considered having Aragorn lead a force of the Rohirrim to the relief of Gondor over the "Scada Pass", and marked that pass on the map. But he rejected the idea in favour of the Paths of the Dead and erased the pass from the map.[2]

The watershed of the White Mountains forms much of the north-west boundary of Gondor and the southern boundary of Rohan.

Peaks

The notable peaks of the White Mountains include Irensaga "Iron Saw" and Starkhorn. Between these two lies the Dwimorberg, entrance to the Paths of the Dead. The massive triple-peaked Thrihyrne rises above Helm's Deep.

Mount Mindolluin towers at the eastern end of the range. At its feet, the city of Minas Tirith is carved into the mountain's shoulder. The Warning beacons of Gondor were placed on high foothills running back west from Minas Tirith on both sides of the range. The beacons seen in The Lord of the Rings were those on the north, namely Amon Dîn, Eilenach, Nardol, Erelas, Min-Rimmon, Calenhad and Halifirien.

Rivers and streams

Numerous rivers and streams rise in the White Mountains. The river Adorn and the Deeping-stream (tributaries of Isen) had their sources in the north-western part of the range. The other rivers arising on the north side of the mountains were tributaries of the Entwash (itself a tributary of Middle-earth's great river, Anduin): the Snowbourn, the Mering Stream, and many "swift streams" between Edoras and Helm's Deep.[3]

The watercourses on the south side of the White Mountains all eventually flowed into the Bay of Belfalas. From east to west these were: the Five Rivers of Lebennin (three of these were tributaries of Anduin); the Ringló, Ciril and Morthond (which all entered the Bay of Belfalas at Edhellond near Dol Amroth); and the Lefnui of the Anfalas region.

Peoples and history

The first people of the White Mountains were the Púkel-Men or Drúedain, but they were gradually marginalized as other peoples migrated to the region.

In the Second Age the White Mountains were dominated by the Men of the Mountains, a people related to the Dunlendings. Their rulers were styled King of the Mountains, and the centre of their civilization was their temple-complex at the place later called Dunharrow. The constructions there included the Stair of the Hold (which scaled a northern face of the White Mountains), and a subterranean complex later known as the Paths of the Dead, which extended right through the mountain-range to its south side.

The Men of the Mountains eventually fell under the dominion of Sauron. However in S.A. 3320, refugees from Númenor founded their own kingdom, Gondor, effectively claiming the whole of the White Mountains. They established one of their great cities, Minas Tirith, at the eastern end of the White Mountains; later it became Gondor's capital. Sauron retreated for a time, and the King of the Mountains swore allegiance to Isildur, the regent of Gondor, but the King of the Mountains and many of his people subsequently betrayed Isildur and were cursed.

In the Third Age, as Gondor's control increased, the Men of the Mountains dwindled. In the central White Mountains they became known as the Dead Men of Dunharrow. The last living representative of the ancient peoples of Dunharrow, an elderly man who had been "tall and kingly" in his prime,[4] died in the reign of Brego, second king of Rohan (from T.A. 2545 to 2570).

Rohan had been established in T.A. 2510, when Gondor ceded Calenardhon to its allies, the Rohirrim; Calenardhon included the north-west White Mountains. Most of the Rohirrim settled close to the White Mountains.

Elsewhere in the White Mountains, some of the original peoples survived by intermarriage with the Gondorians. Their descendants are described favourably as "a hardy folk"; they were typically "short and swarthy" in appearance.[5] When travelling about their mountainous home they typically used hiking poles. These were made from the wood of the lebethron tree, which appears to have been indigenous to the White Mountains.

The only known attempt to traverse the White Mountains aboveground ended in tragedy. Nimrodel, an Elf-maid of Lothlórien (a land far to the north of the White Mountains), fled her home when it was threatened by the Balrog, but perished in the White Mountains in T.A. 1981.

All peoples of the White Mountains assisted the Free Peoples in the War of the Ring. The Dead Men of Dunharrow allowed Aragorn to pass the Paths of the Dead, and then joined him in battle to defeat the invading fleet from Harad. Gondorians of the mountain vales marched to the defence of Minas Tirith, and some went on to the Battle of the Morannon. And the Púkel-Men (Woses) guided the Rohirrim through the foothills of the White Mountains so they could break the siege of Minas Tirith.

Inspiration

For parts of the White Mountains, Tolkien found inspiration in the Malvern landscape[6] which he had viewed from his childhood home in Birmingham and his brother Hilary's home near Evesham.[7] He was introduced to the area by C. S. Lewis, who had brought him here to meet George Sayer, the Head of English at Malvern College. Sayer had been a student of Lewis, and became his biographer, and together with them Tolkien would walk the Malvern Hills. Recordings of Tolkien reading excerpts from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were made in Malvern in 1952, at the home of George Sayer. The recordings were later issued on long-playing gramophone records.[8] In the liner notes for J.R.R. Tolkien Reads and Sings his The Hobbit & The Fellowship of the Ring, George Sayer wrote that Tolkien would relive the book as they walked and compared parts of the Malvern Hills to the White Mountains of Gondor.[7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ J. R. R. Tolkien (1981), The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, George Allen & Unwin, no. 292 (12 December 1966), p. 376; ISBN 0-04-826005-3
  2. ↑ The War of the Ring (The History of Middle-Earth, vol VIII.), ed. Christopher Tolkien, (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co. 1990), pp. 243-44, 251-53
  3. ↑ J. R. R. Tolkien (1954), The Two Towers, 2nd edition (1966), George Allen & Unwin, book 3 ch. 7 p. 131; ISBN 0 04 823046 4
  4. ↑ J. R. R. Tolkien (1955), The Return of the King, 2nd edition (1966), George Allen & Unwin, book 5 ch. 3 p. 71; ISBN 0 04 823047 2
  5. ↑ J. R. R. Tolkien (1955), The Return of the King, 2nd edition (1966), George Allen & Unwin, book 5 ch. 1 p. 22; ISBN 0 04 823047 2
  6. ↑ Duriez, Colin (July 1992). The J.R.R. Tolkien handbook: a comprehensive guide to his life, writings, and world of Middle-earth. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. p. 253. ISBN 0801030145.
  7. 1 2 Sayer, G: J.R.R. Tolkien Reads and Sings his the Hobbit and the Fellowship of the Ring Caedmon 1979 (based on an August, 1952 recording by George Sayer)
  8. ↑ Humphrey,C. 1977 Tolkien: A Biography New York: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-04-928037-6
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