Tower Hills

[Snaga]

Just started reading Lord of the Rings for the eleventy-oneth time and came across something that I'd never considered before... in the prologue!

There were 3 elven towers on the Tower Hills it says. Anyone know who built them, how they came to be deserted etc.?

[pgt]

'The three ancient Elf-towers held the Elendil Stone, the last of the palantíri of the North.'

- from glyphweb.com

From that I presume they were deserted as part of those structures deserted when the N. Kingdom fell and had indeed been used by them.

Just me rambling...
Possibility A) They were indeed built by the elves and sub-leased by the Numenoreans.
Possibility B) They were built by the Numenoreans and named the "Elf" towers in some honor or other...

[stratosphere]

walter is bang on

[pgt]

The THREE Elven towers and the THREE white towers on the SAME hills would certainly correlate.

But why were they called "Elven towers"? Also I'm curious as to your source on the naming of one as Elostirion of the 3 white towers? Not challenging, just curious. Was it from a passage about the Palantiri?

Thanks

[Snaga]

Thanks Walter. I thought Gil-Galad would come into this one, since its his neighbourhood!:)

[pgt]

Thanks for the followup Walter.

[ReadWryt]

*Dances in his chair, swinging his arms over his keyboard with each phrase of the chant* Go Walter, Go Walter, yer burnin, yer burnin!

I love when someone beats me to the punch, I actually sat here and did all the cross referencing before seeing Walter's excelent posts...*Kicks stuff* Demmit, *I* wanted to look smart :p

[Grond]

Grond, as usual, ***hanging head*** arrives late and must applaud excellent posts and replies by all members of the thread.

Go guys, go guys, go guys.

[Snaga]

They thinks its all over... but its not yet

But this gets interesting then because if you read what Galdor from the Grey Havens says at the Council of Elrond:

Only the waning might of Gondor stands now between him and a marching in power along the coasts and into the North; and if he comes assailing the White Towers and the Havens, hereafter the Elves may have no escape from the lengthening shadows of Middle Earth.

From this is suggests that the White Towers are still actively used by the elves, and so at some point after the fall of Arthedain I suppose, must have been taken back from the Dunedain? Can anyone back that up?

[Snaga]

Walter you really will have to do better than that my friend. Where's the citation that tells you that they wanted to 'watch over the countryside?' What I want is some that confirms that the elves are actually making use of the Towers. If you can show me where in the Appendices that will save me reading them... again!

By being this lax, you may indeed be buying drinks for Grond and/or Read-Wryt who I can't believe will let this opportunity slip!:D

[Cian]

"The only stone left in the North was the one in the Tower on Emyn Beraid that looks towards the Gulf of Lune. That was guarded by the Elves, and though we never knew it, it remained there, until Círdan put it aboard Elrond's ship when he left." RotK

"For the Elves of the High Kindred had not yet forsaken Middle-earth, and they still dwelt within reach of the Shire. Three Elf-towers of immemorial age were still to be seen beyond the western marches." FotR

[Cian]

LOL, forgot "commentary" ... oh well sometimes I talk too much anyway :)

[pgt]

Good find Cian!

I was looking into another matter altogether and stumbled across the following w/ regard to the fleet of Gondor that went North to help out.

"But when Earnur came to the Gray Havens there was joy and great wonder among both Elves and MEN". RotK appendices on Gondor.

Which suggests men (of Arnor?) lived as far west as that during the time of the troubles w/ the Witchking. It also is interesting that men apparently never bothered to inhabit lands between as those had been granted to the Perrianath prevoiusly. Yet men apparently occupied locales east and west of what became the shire. Now if this is all the case, why didn't men continue living so far west after the Witchking was routed.

This thread has crystalized a few things in my mind as I didn't realize the significance of those towers or that men lived so far west during those times. Very interesting!

[Cian]

Thanks!

Another "short-post" from me! but explaining it only makes it longer so why am I still writing ... love those Appendices. Oh there I go again ...

;)

[Snaga]

In the prologue of LotR it says of the Shire, when the Hobbits settled there:

The land was rich and kindly, and though it had been long deserted when they entered it, it had before been well-tilled, and there the king had once had many farms, cornfields, vineyards and woods.

So once the Shire had been inhabited by men, but with the decline of the North Kingdom it became uninhabited, until it was granted to Marcho and Blanco in 1601 TA.

[pgt]

Excellent quote reference. It's interesting that men lived not only East but perhaps West of the Shire at the time it was inhabited by the Hobbits.

I think they should reimburse Aragorn for that Palantir! Hey wait a minute, does this mean that Arwen can borrow her husband's Palantir and make long distance calls to dad? :D

[Eonwe]

hi guys!

Anybody remember a reference to the Palantir being put in the tower so that Elendil could look back west and perhaps see Tol-Eressa?

And the peak of Meneltarma was still above the sea:(

[Grond]

Originally posted by Eonwe
hi guys!

Anybody remember a reference to the Palantir being put in the tower so that Elendil could look back west and perhaps see Tol-Eressa?

And the peak of Meneltarma was still above the sea:( Welcome Eonwe. You speak truth and it is from the Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age, "...It is said that the towers of Emyn Beraid were not built indeed by the Exiles of Numenor, but were raised by Gil-galad for Elendil, his friend; and the Seeing Stone of Emyn Beraid was set in Elostirion, the tallest of the towers. Thither Elendil would repair, and thence he would gaze out over the sundering seas, when the yearning of exile was upon him; and it is believed that thus he would at whiles see far away even the Tower of Avallone upon Eressea, where the Master-stone still abode, and yet abides."

[Halasían]

Surely the 'sons of Arvedui' retreated to the Grey Havens, and being elf-friends there may have been some who lingered there with the elves as they did at Rivendell. Surely the womenfolk and the young did while the Rangers rode about.

Good answeres here!