The Study

[Lhunithiliel]

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First topic to be covered :

THE ELFSTONE OF ARAGORN

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[gate7ole]

Here follows what I found at the HOME books. They are all trivial, but I present them for the sake of completion.
It was clearly at this point that 'the Elfstone' first emerged, as a green gem set in a brooch worn by Galadriel and given as a parting gift to Gimli; and it seems equally plain that my father immediately adopted it (or more accurately, re-adopted it) as the true name of Trotter. [HOME 7]

Trotter had been for a while Elfstone - a name chosen for linguistic reasons; that had been rejected and replaced by Ingold; but now it turned out that Elfstone was after all the right name. The Elfstone was the Lady's gift to him, not to Gimli; and in giving it to him she made a play on his name. [HOME 7]

that he shall have, but I see on his breast a green stone, and from that his true name shall come and his chief renown: for he shall be a healer and a renewer.' [HOME 12]

[Finduilas]

Well, here is something I found:

Malachite gets its name from "moloche," the Greek word for the plant mallow, this because of its bright, LEAF-GREEN COLOUR.The stone is born of the process of water and air acting on the metal, copper. Calcium carbonate and other carbonates are put down by ancient seas as layers of sediment that become limestone. Water percolates through this stone picking up the carbonates and, when it encounters ore veins, reacts with copper sulfides. These elements unite and dissolve the copper salts. Finally malachite, an insoluble basic copper carbonate, settles out to become the beautiful stone. Malachite is a welcome sight to prospectors because it is often found at the edge of ore deposits and portends good mining. Malachite can form crystals, but it is much more often found as nodules, or grape or kidney-shaped clusters. It is often found in association with deep blue azurite, and stones that combine both together are quite beautiful.

[Finduilas]

It is said that The Goddess Isis wore a large green emerald on her headband, and all that looked on this emerald would be able to conceive. (Isis was the earth mother goddess of the Egyptians).
In India the color green is the 4th energy Chakra (the heart). So, in our heart lays the 2nd kingdom of nature.
Relatively soft, dark green stone with swirls and stripes of lighter green, malachite's color comes from copper. Reputed to confer the ability to understand animal languages, it is also valued as a protective stone, revitalizing to the body and mind. It repels evil spirits, inspires tolerance and flexibility, opens communication, and stabilizes energy. It is an excellent stone for creating through magical manifestation, strengthening the intuition and the power of transformation. Malachite acts as a psychic mirror, amplifying the energy one projects into it and drawing one into other worlds in meditation.

"AMULET" is a name given to a class of objects and ornaments, and articles of dress and wearing apparel, made of various substances which were employed by the Egyptians, and later by other nations, to protect the human body, either living or dead, from baleful influences, and from the attacks of visible and invisible foes. The word "amulet" is derived from an Arabic root meaning "to bear, to carry," hence "amulet" is "something which is carried or worn," and the name is applied broadly to any kind of talisman or ornament to which supernatural powers are ascribed. It is not clear whether the amulet was intended first of all to protect the living or the dead body, but it seems that it was originally worn to guard its owner from savage animals and from serpents. As time went on the development of religious ideas and beliefs progressed, and as a result new amulets representing new views were invented; and the objects which were able to protect the living were made, by an easy transition

p. 26

in the minds of those who wore them, to protect the dead. Moreover, as the preservation of the corruptible body, with the number of its members complete and intact, was of the most vital importance for the life of the spiritual and incorruptible body which was believed to spring therefrom, under the influence of the new beliefs the dead body became a veritable storehouse of amulets. Each member was placed under the specific protection of some amulet, and a number of objects which were believed to protect the body generally from serpents, worms, mildew, decay and putrefaction were laid with a lavish hand in, and upon, and about it, and between the bandages with which it was swathed. When men in Egypt began to lay amulets on their dead cannot be said, and it is equally impossible to say when the belief in the efficacy of such and such an amulet sprang into being; it seems clear, however, that certain amulets represent beliefs and superstitions so old that even the Egyptians were, at times, doubtful about their origin and meaning.

Amulets are of two kinds: (1) those which are inscribed with magical formulæ, and (2) those which are not. In the earliest times formulæ or prayers were recited over the amulets that were worn by the living or placed on the dead by priests or men set apart to perform religious services by the community; but it was not in the power of every man to employ them, and at a comparatively early date words of magical

p. 27

power and prayers were cut upon the amulets, which thus became possessed of a twofold power, that is to say, the power which was thought to be inherent in the substance of which the amulet was made, and that which lay in the words inscribed upon it. The earliest name for the formulæ found upon amulets is hekau, and it was so necessary for the deceased to be provided with these hekau, or "words of power," that in the XVIth Century B.C., and probably more than a thousand years earlier, a special section 1 was inserted in the Book of the Dead with the object of causing them to come to him from whatever place they were in, "swifter than greyhounds and quicker than light." The earliest Egyptian amulets known are pieces of green schist, of various shapes, animal. and otherwise, which were laid upon the breast of the deceased; these are found in large numbers in the pre-historic or predynastic graves at several places in Egypt. It is most unlikely that they were made by the aboriginal inhabitants of Egypt, for, notwithstanding the various conjectures which have been made as to their object and use, it is pretty certain that, as M. J. de Morgan said, 2 they "belong to the cult." According to this writer their use was exceedingly widespread until the end of the neolithic period, but with the advent of the



p. 28

people whom we call Egyptians they become very rare. In the subsequent period the animal forms disappear, and their place is taken by plaques of schist, rectangular in shape, upon which are inscribed, in rough outline, figures of animals, etc. The theory that these objects were intended as whetstones, or as slabs upon which to rub down paint, will not hold, for the reasons which M. J. de Morgan has given. Moreover, in the green stone scarab which was laid upon the breast of the deceased in dynastic times, we probably have a survival of the green schist amulet of predynastic times in Egypt, both as regards the object with which it was made and the material. But the custom of writing hekau, or words of power, upon papyrus is almost as old as that of writing them upon stone, and we see from the inscription on the walls of the corridors and chambers of the pyramid of Unas, king of Egypt about B.C. 3300, that a "book with words of magical power" was buried with him. 1 Elsewhere 2 we are told that the book which Teta, king of Egypt about B.C. 3266, had with him "hath effect upon the heart of the gods"; and there is no doubt that the object of every religious text ever written on tomb, stele, amulet, coffin, papyrus, etc., was to bring the gods under the power of the deceased, so that he might be able to compel them to do his will.

[Lhunithiliel]

Thank you Findi,
and Thanks all who has provided information.

*******
My new suggestion:

THE STAR OF ELENDIL

[gate7ole]

After a quick glance, I found these: (not very well organized)

ROTK:
But before all went Aragorn with the Flame of the West, Andúril like a new fire kindled, Narsil re-forged as deadly as of old: and upon his brow was the Star of Elendil.

LOTR Appentices:

After Arvedui the North-kingdom ended, for the Dúnedain were now few and all the peoples of Eriador diminished. Yet the line of the kings was continued by the Chieftains of the Dúnedain, of whom Aranarth son of Arvedui was the first. Arahael his son was fostered in Rivendell, and so were all the sons of the chieftains after him; and there also were kept the heirlooms of their house: the ring of Barahir, the shards of Narsil, the star of Elendil, and the sceptre of Annúminas.
and that was also so in Arnor, whose kings wore no crown, but bore a single white gem, the Elendilmir, Star of Elendil, bound on their bows with a silver fillet.



UT:

But the Elendilmir of the West could not be quenched, and suddenly it blazed forth red and wrathful as a burning star.

Next to it lay a treasure without price, long mourned as lost for ever: the Elendilmir itself, the white star of Elvish crystal upon a fillet of mithril 31 that had descended from Silmarien to Elendil, and had been taken by him as the token of royalty in the North Kingdom.
Elessar took it up with reverence, and when he returned to the North and took up again the full kingship of Arnor Arwen bound it upon his brow, and men were silent in amaze to see its splendour. But Elessar did not again imperil it, and wore it only on high days in the North Kingdom. Otherwise, when in kingly raiment he bore the Elendilmir which had descended to him. "And this also is thing of reverence," he said, "and above my worth; forty heads have worn it before.
When men considered this secret hoard more closely, they were dismayed. For it seemed to them that these things, and certainly the Elendilmir, could not have been found, unless they had been upon Isildur's body when he sank; but if that had been in deep water of strong flow they would in time have been swept far away. Therefore Isildur must have fallen not into the deep stream but into shallow water, no more than shoulder-high, Why then, though an Age had passed, were there no traces of his bones? Had Saruman found them, and scorned them – burned them with dishonour in one of his furnaces? If that were so, it was a shameful deed; but not his worst.
It is told in "Aldarion and Erendis" (p.193) that Erendis caused the diamond which Aldarion brought to her from Middle-earth "to be set as a star in a silver fillet; and at her asking he bound it on her forehead." For this reason she was known as Tar-Elestirnë, the Lady of the Star-brow; "and thus came, it is said, the manner of the Kings and Queens afterward to wear as a star a white jewel upon the brow, and they had no crown" (p. 225, note 18). This tradition cannot be unconnected with that of the Elendilmir, a star-like gem borne on the brow as a token of royalty in Arnor; but the original Elendilmir itself, since it belonged to Silmarien, was in existence in Númenor (whatever its origin may have been) before Aldarion brought Erendis' jewel from Middle-earth, and they cannot be the same.

The actual number was thirty-eight, since the second Elendilmir was made for Valandil (cf. note 26 above). – In the Tale of Years in Appendix B to The Lord of the Rings the entry for the year 16 of the Fourth Age (given under Shire Reckoning 1436) states that when King Elessar came to the Brandywine Bridge to greet his friends he gave the Star of the Dúnedain to Master Samwise, while his daughter Elanor was made a maid of honour to Queen Arwen. On the basis of this record Mr. Robert Foster says in The Complete Guide to Middle-earth that "the Star [of Elendil] was worn on the brow of the Kings of the North-kingdom until Elessar gave it to Sam Gamgee in Fourth Age 16." The clear implication of the present passage is that King Elessar retained indefinitely the Elendilmir that was made for Valandil; and it seems to me in any case out of the question that he would have made a gift of it to the Mayor of the Shire, however greatly he esteemed him. The Elendilmir is called by several names: the Star of Elendil, the Star of the North, the Star of the Northkingdom; and the Star of the Dúnedain (occurring only in this entry in the Tale of Years) is assumed to be yet another both in Robert Foster's Guide and in J. E. A. Tyier's Tolkien Companion. I have found no other reference to it; but it seems to me to be almost certain that it was not, and that Master Samwise received some different (and more suitable) distinction.

[Anamatar IV]

Telchar was most likely a friend of Thingol because we know that in Thingol's arsenal were many weapons of TelcharNow Thingol had in Menegroth in deep armouries filled with great welath of weapons: metal wrought like fishes mail and shining like water in the moon; swords and axes, shields and helms wrought by Telchar himself.~The Silmarillion

[gate7ole]

So, Angrist, Narsil, Dragon-helm, Thingol's weaponry.
Astonishing work!
Do you think he is the greatest craftsman of all, probably only after Feanor?

[Beleg]

Romendacil 2 had Numeneron blood in him and was a direct Desendant of Anàrion. And The Numeneorean craft in Middle Earth basically means the craft of the Dunèdain. The Numeneorean way of Arcitecture was surely very strong if it could ward off the attacks of the Ents and after all these years could still be prominent in the City of Minas Tirith.

[Ecthelion]

Alrighty here's my research so far, if I should do more just tell me, or I can do another building:

On the Argonath:
Two mighty statues, carved in the likenesses of Isildur and Anárion, that guarded the passage of the Great River Anduin. They marked the ancient northern border of Gondor.

Appendix A (IV) to The Lord of the Rings, which states of Rómendacil II: 'He it was that built the pillars of the Argonath at the entrance to Nen Hithoel.' Rómendacil was King of Gondor between the years III 1304 and III 1366, but before taking the throne he had served as Regent since III 1240, and the context of this quote strongly suggests that Pillars were raised during his Regency period, in about the year III 1250.

On Amon Sûl:
A tower built by Elendil in the founding years of Arnor, to hold one of the North-kingdom's three palantíri. It stood on the hill known as Amon Sûl or Weathertop, which at that time lay in the central parts of Elendil's northern domains. The later breakup of Arnor, though, left the Tower in exposed borderlands, and it was eventually destroyed by the invading armies of Angmar.

[Anamatar IV]

As for Orthanc:

It was made with Unbreakable stone. It had a dual name: 'Mount Fang' and 'Cunning Mind'. We can assume when it was built the Numenoreans had the intent of using the Elvish name since Saruman had yet to dwell there, the Faithful used the Sindarin tongue, and since the Rohirrim were still dwelling far in the north (the cunning mind is a Rohirric name). I am taking a guess that the Rohirrim had no need for renaming Orthanc unto their own language because they thought they name fit well.

The White Tower of Ecthelion:

the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost walls, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals

From RotK. This baby was obviously one of the Numenorean's most beautiful building in Middle-earth (though built by a Steward rather than one of the line of kings.)

We see in this quote from UT a connection between the stone used in Minas Tirith and Orthanc:
.History would indeed make it clear that neither Orthanc nor the White Tower in Minas Tirith had ever been captured or sacked by enemies

Though I can't find much connecting the unbreakable stone used in both of these I think we can safely assume that the material used of Orthanc was used in Minas Tirith.

[Lhunithiliel]

Here is what I have found on some of the construction achievements of Numenor so far.
Meneltarma:
Near to the centre of the Mittalmar stood the tall mountain called the Meneltarma, Pillar of the Heavens, sacred to the worship of Eru Ilúvatar.

....a winding spiral road was made upon it, beginning at its foot upon the south, and ending below the lip of the summit upon the north. For the summit was somewhat flattened and depressed, and could contain a great multitude; but it remained untouched by hands throughout the history of Númenor.

No building, no raised altar, not even a pile of un-dressed stones, ever stood there; and no other likeness of a temple did the Númenóreans possess in all the days of their grace, until the coming of Sauron.

There no tool or weapon had ever been borne; and there none might speak any word, save the King only. Thrice only in each year the King spoke, offering prayer for the coming year at the Erukyermë in the first days of spring, praise of Eru Ilúvatar at the Erulaitalë in midsummeer, and thanksgiving to him at the Eruhantalë at the end of autumn.

At these times the King ascended the mountain on foot followed by a great concourse of the people, clad in white and garlanded, but silent. At other times the people were free to climb to the summit alone or in company, but it is said that the silence was so great that even a stranger ignorant of Númenor and all its history, if he were transported thither, would not have dared to speak aloud.

No bird ever came there, save [b]only eagles. If anyone approached the summit, at once three eagles would appear and alight upon three rocks near to the western edge; but at the times of the Three Prayers they did not descend, remaining in the sky and hovering above the people They were called the Witnesses of Manwë, and they were believed to be sent by him from Aman to keep watch upon the Holy Mountain and upon all the land.

The base of the Meneltarma sloped gently into the surrounding plain, but it extended, after the fashion of roots, five 1ong low ridges outwards in the direction of the five promontories of the land; and these were called Tarmasundar, the Roots of the Pillar. Along the crest of the south-western ridge the climbing road approached the mountain; and between this ridge and that on the south-east the land went down into a shallow valley. That was named Noirinan, the Valley of the Tombs; for at its head chambers were cut in the rock at the base of the mountain, in which were the tombs of the Kings and Queens of Númenor.

[Eöl]

Alright here is what I have found about the towers the palantiri were kept in, and also some important facts about the palantiri themselves.

The palantiri were made by Feanor in Aman. There were seven palantiri. Two were lost in the shipwreck of Arvedui Last-king, and others were lost as well.

The Elendil-stone was located on Emyn Beraid, in the West of Eriador. It was placed in the tower of Elostirion, said to be the highest of the White Towers. There is reference to a "Master Stone" which the Elendil-stone looked to in the Tower Of Avallone on Tol Eressea.

The Orthanc stone was kept in the Tower of Orthanc, made of unbreakable rock. Orthanc was built by the Numenoreans. It was later used by Saruman, who was given possesion of it by Beren, the ruling Steward in Gondor at the time. It was one of the Towers of Gondor (Minas Ithil, Minas Anor and Orthanc.)A peak and isle of rock it was, black and gleaming hard: four mighty piers of stone were welded into one, but near the summit they opened into gaping horns, their pinnacles sharp as the points of spears, keen edged as knives.

The Ithil Stone was kept in Minas Ithil, the 'Tower Of The Moon.' It was taken by Sauron when he took the tower. Minas Ithil later became Minas Morgul. Home to Isildur, it was taken by Sauron in the year 3429 of the Second Age.

The Anor Stone was that used by Denethor. It was kept in a high chamber in Minas Tirith....The Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacles glittered as if it were wrought of crystals. Neither UT, The Sil, or LotR gave exact information as to where the palantir was placed, but it is said that often Denethor would retire to a high chamber.

The Annuminas Stone was kept in Annuminas, also called the Tower Of The West. The first capitol of Arnor, it was next to Lake Nenuial. It was the ancient seat of the kings of Arnor. Aragorn later restored it to its former glory. The Annuminas Stone was lost with the shipwreck of Arvedui Last-king.

The Master Stone was kept in Osgiliath, this was the most powerful of the stones in Middle Earth. The chief city of this Southern Realm was Osgiliath, through which the midst of which the Great River flowed; and the Numenoreans built there a great bridge, upon which there were towers and houses of stone wonderful to behold. The palantir was kept under the "Dome Of Stars." Note that this Master Stone is different from the one located on Tol Eressea.

The Stone of Amon Sul was kept at the great Watchtower of Amon Sul. It was the chief palantir of the north. It was lost when Arvedui Last-king was killed in a shipwreck.

If you would like me to add something else, I would be glad to do some more research on the palantiri!

[Beleg]

Argonath:

Argonath, the pillars of the King. Argonath literary means the pillars of (two) noble stones. Contrary to popular belief Argonath itself weren’t build at the time of Building of Osgilath and the Twin Cities. Argonath are build at the gate of Emyn Muil, the Northern Most rangers of the Original Gondor governed by Anórian.
Actually There was no need to build Argonath at the start of the realm of Gondor for at that time Gondor’s northernmost territories extended mostly till Ithilien in the East and vast plains of Caledhorn (Rohan) in the West. The first invasion of Easterlings began at about 490 T.A and it was not until 1248 (The war of Minalcar, the Regent of Gondor) that Minalcar felt the need of Fortifying the north-eastern boundaries of Gondor.
So Minalcar build the Pillar’s of The King, the symbols of The rule of Gondor, its majesity and its territory. Nevertheless, what made Minclair feel the need of building them?
Minalcar (regent 1240 - 1304) soon after his war against the Easterlings in 1248. Tolkien writes
That Minalcar "fortified the west shore of Anduin as far as the inflow of the Limlight, and
forbade any stranger to pass down the River beyond the Emyn Muil." This seems a bit harsh, but
the "strangers" seem not to have been men of Edainic blood. Rather, we learn in THE PEOPLES
OF MIDDLE-EARTH that other men had long settled in the vales of Anduin:


The vague tradition preserved by the Hobbits of the Shire Shire was that they had dwelt once in lands
by a Great River, but long ago had left them, and found their way through or round high
mountains, when they no longer felt at ease in their homes because of the multiplication of the
Big Folk and of a shadow of fear that had fallen on the Forest. This evidently reflects the troubles
of Gondor in the earlier part of the Third Age. The increase in Men was not the normal increase
of those with whom they had lived in friendship, but the steady increase of invaders from the
East, further south held in check by Gondor, but in the North beyond the bounds of the Kingdom
harassing the older 'Atanic' inhabitants, and even in places occupying the Forest and coming
through it into the Anduin valley....

The structure of Argonath clearly indicates that they were meant to be a warning and a halting point for the strangers. They could not physically hold back travellers but they imprinted on their mind the glory, majesty and might of Gondor and the thought of its Grim revenge possibly refrained the travellers from doing any damage to the area of Gondor. Just like one of the check post of the Modern Day border, not quiet real but symbolically indicating to the Strangers that they were now entering a new and foreign territory and the laws and customs of the territory were now applicable to them. The enemies of Gondor would also be amazed, not a little scared of such big monuments, the thought of great might of Gondor would creep into their mind, and they would not dare to attack its territory. Here is the reaction of Frodo when he saw them. The following citation also gives the clearest description we have about these Pillars.

As Frodo was borne towards them the great pillars rose like towers to meet him. Giants they seemed to him, vast grey figures silent but threatening. Then he saw that they were indeed shaped and fashioned: the craft and power of old had wrought upon them, and still they preserved through the suns and rains of forgotten years the mighty likenesses in which they had been hewn Upon great pedestals founded in the deep waters stood two great kings of stone: still with blurred eyes and crannied brows they frowned upon the North. The left hand of each was raised palm Outwards in a gesture of warning; in each right hand there was an axe; upon each head there was a
Crumbling helm and crown. Great power and majesty they still wore, the silent wardens of a longvanished Kingdom. Awe and fear fell upon Frodo, and he cowered down, shutting his eyes and not daring to look up as the boat drew near. Even Boromir bowed his head as the boats whirled by, frail and fleeing as little leaves, under the enduring shadow of the sentinels of Numenore. So they passed into the dark chasm of the Gates

The fortifications of the west bank of Anduin thus make sense, although
Tolkien had originally envisioned some troubles with the Northmen themselves still living in the
Vales of Anduin.
But positioned south of the Anduin forts as they were, the Argonath could not have been
Intended to hold back travellers. Rather, they symbolized the great power any strangers from the
North would be rousing to anger should they pass so far southward without an invitation or
Permission. While the west-bank forts were manned the opportunity to procure such permission
Was easily available.



************************************************** *


The Twin Fortresses of Aglarond and Angrenost


They were two other works of the Numeneoreans. Tolkien writes about them in * "Of The
Rings of Power And The Third Age*

...The chief city of [Gondor] was was Osgiliath, through the midst of which the Great River flowed;
and the Numenoreans built there a great bridge, upon which there were towers and houses of
stone wonderful to behold, and tall ships came up out of the sea to the quays of the city. Other
strong places they built also upon either hand: Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon,
eastward upon a shoulder of the Mountains of Shadow as a threat to Mordor; and to the westward
Minas Anor, the Tower of the Setting Sun, at the feet of Mount Mindolluin, as a shield against the
wild men of the dales. In Minas Ithil was the house of Isildur, and in Minas Anor the house of
Anarion, but they shared the realm between them and their thrones were set side by side in the
Great Hall of Osgilliath. These were the chief dwellings of the Numenoreans in Gondor, but other
works marvellous and strong they built in the land in the days of their power, at the Argonath, and
at Aglarond, and at Erech; and in the circle of Angrenost, which Men called Isengard, they made
the Pinnacle of Orthanc of unbreakable stone

Synopsis

The circle of Angrenost commonly known as Isengrard contained the tower Orthanc, made of unbreakable stone.
The tower was situated to the north of the Gap of Rohan, the only natural pass between Eriador and Gondor. Now Dunelandings lived in Dunland and people of their blood occupied large lands in westFold and on the sides of River Isen and Adorn. They were in strife with the Dunedain and the circle of Angrenost was probably made to keep a watch at these people and observe their activities.
The Tower of Orthanc was made of such stone and wizardry that even the stone crushing power of ents could not hinder it. This was a typical example of the Works of Men of Westrenesse. Presumably, they knew of some material that preserved the plaster holding the stones together for extended amount of time and stopped it from Crumbling. Perhaps Few of The Druedain that had been taken to Numenor at the breaking of Middle-Earth taught the other Dunedain some special method of preserving stone structures. It can also be said that while mining in Numenor they came across a certain metal or a certain rock, which was useful in the art of Building. Their building abilities in the real world can be compared to that of Ancient Egyptians, who created the earliest pyramids

[Beleg]

Osgilliath

Osgilliath was the Original Capital of Gondor.

When Isildur and Anárian established the Kingdom of Gondor
they built three cities: Minas Anór, Minas Ithil, and Osgilliath. Osgilliath was the chief city of the
realm. Osgilliath was build on the Both sides of River Anduin and on the River itself, since the river at that place was quiet broad so a great stone bridge was made and there were houses and towers on them as cited by Tolkien.

After Orthanc, probably the Greatest work of Numenoreans was the Stone Bridge of Osgilliath.
Osgillath was finally ruined in 2475 T.A and the great bridge was broken. Osgillath suffered many setback, the Kin-strife lessened its population, it was greatly effected by the great plague of 1636 T.A. As the aftermath of the Plague Minas Anór was made the Capitol and Osgillath became deserted.
Since our main aim here is to discuss the Art of Building of Numeneorens In Middle Earth, we are going to discuss the bridge of Osgilath. Lets take a general look at the facts provided about it.





and the Numenoreans built there a great bridge , upon which there were towers and
houses of stone wonderful to behold, and tall ships came up out of the sea to the quays of the
city."
(published Sil)

These "towers and houses of stone" are not described by Tolkien, and he seldom names them.
But a few references can be found in the texts. In UNFINISHED TALES Meneldil says farewell
to Isildur and his sons at the East gate of the Bridge. One almost gets the impression that at this
time the entire city of Osgiliath must be contained on the bridge, but perhaps not. Isildur and
Anarion had their thrones "set side by side in the Great Hall of Osgiliath." The placement and
structure of the hall are not given, but it may be a part of the House of the Kings , and
perhaps one of the chief structures of the Bridge. (Parma Endoras)

There can be no doubt that Osgiliath experienced a period of growth at least in the early
centuries of Gondor's existence, and the city even if confined to the Bridge originally must have
flowed out onto both shores of Anduin. The river was quite wide, perhaps a mile wide, at the
city's location, and the Bridge would have contained many houses and towers. Its population
should have numbered in the thousands, and perhaps fleets of ships sailed under it as far north as
Cair Andros.

[Beleg]

Palarran : Palarran *far Wanderer* was the Name of Aldarion’s ship. The origin of the name is given below.



Pallando, despite the spelling, perhaps contains palan "afar", as in palantir and in Pallaran "Far Wanderer," the name of Aldarion's ship*

The ship was supposedly the greatest ship, (great probably in the meaning of big/huge) ever made.

He spoke no more to his father of such matters, but passed his days upon the ship Eämbar in the company of the Venturers, and in the building of a vessel greater than any made before: that ship he named Palarran, the Far-Wanderer*

The first voyage of Palarran covered four years from 816-820 S.A. However, it is said that even then Aldarion shortened his journey for a love of Erendis was stirred in his heart and it yearned for him to return to land.

Palarran also has an importance in regard of Aldarion’s relationship with Erendis. For when Erendis brought The Green Bough of Return to be places at Palarran’s prow was the time when Aldarion first looked at Erendis with love.

Guild of Venturers With regard to the Ship-Building of the Numenoreans.

Aldarion formed a Guild of Venturers, a guild of Mariners who liked to travel far and wide in the sea and often went to long journeys in the Captaincy of Aldarion. They for their adobe build a huge ship Eämbar where they lived instead of Land. The Guild of Venturers was founded in 750 S.A; 10 years after Aldarion’s father became the King.



Therefore he formed the Guild of Venturers, that afterwards was renowned; to that brotherhood were joined all the hardiest and most eager mariners, and young men sought admission to it even from the inland regions of Númenor, and Aldarion they called the Great Captain. At that time he, having no mind to live upon land in Armenelos, had a ship built that should serve as his dwelling-place; he named it therefore Eämbar, and at times he would sail in it from haven to haven of Númenor, but for the most part it lay at anchor off Tol Uinen: and that was a little isle in the bay of Rómenna that was set there by Uinen the Lady of the Seas. 7 Upon Eämbar was the Guildhouse of the Venturers, and there were kept the records of their great voyages; 8 for Tar-Meneldur looked coldly on the enterprises of his son, and cared not to hear the tale of his journeys, believing that he sowed the seeds of restlessness and the desire of other lands to hold

The Guild of Venturers grew in status and Repsect as more and more people joined their ranks to satisfy the fire of Adventure that was kindled in them.

Meneldor, Aldarion’s father was against his son frequent voyages and he often asked his son to quit them. But upon the refusal of Aldarion he caused the Guild of Venturers to be shut for about 15 years.

It is stated that the Guildhouse of the Venturers"was confiscated by the Kings, and removed to the western haven of Andúnië; all its records perished" (i.e. in the Downfall), including all the accurate charts of Númenor. But it is not said when this confiscation of Eämbar took place Footnotes of Tale of Erendis and Aldarion


Eämbar :Was the name of the Ship built as the guildhouse for the Guild of Venturers and was the place where pioneers of Guild Dwelt.

Armenelos: Armenelos, the city of the King was placed in Arandor; Kingsland, the most populous region of Numenor.

The quote below gives a detailed description of Armenelos’s geography.

The land of Númenor resembled in outline a five-pointed star,or pentangle, with a central portion some two hundred and fifty miles across, north and south, and east and west, from which extended five large peninsular promontories. These promontories were regarded as separate regions, and they were named Forostar (Northlands), Andustar (Westlands), Hyarnustar (Southwestlands), Hyarrostar (Southeastlands), and Orrostar (Eastlands). The central portion was called Mittalmar (Inlands), and it had no coast, except the land about Rómenna and the head of its firth. A small part of the Mittalmar was however, separated from the rest, and called Arandor, the Kingsland. In Arandor were the haven of Rómenna, the Meneltarma, and Armenelos, the City of the Kings; and it was at all times the most populous region of Númenor.

In Armenelos was found the great House of King. Armenelos was fofounded in about 528-30 F.A and was 90 years old when Elros asseded the throne. This means that the Kings house was oldest building on the Island and was build with the glace of Vala and the hardwork of Maiar.

*The Realm of Númenor is held to have begun in the thirty-second second year of the Second Age, when Elros son of Eärendil ascended the throne in the City of Armenelos, being then ninety years of age.*

Armenelos was the place of feasting and ceremonies and the greatest feast was held there at the marriage of Aldarion and Erendis. The great road passed through Armenelos to the peak of Meneltarma

. (I have added Guild of Venturers because I feel that they were an important element concerning Aldarion’s ship-building activities.)


I have also researched on the shipbuilding activities of Numenor and just have to re-arrange my notes.:) :cool:

[Beleg]

Here are the swords..

1. Andúril

2. Anglachel Averdui

3. Anguirel

4. Aranrúth

5. Glamdring

6. Gurthang Lhun

7. Gúthwinë

8. Herugrim

11. Narsil - Eol

9. Orcrist

10. Ringil

Edit: I'll do that Lhun :) And that "*" sign was just because I copy and pasted from Word, where i had highlighted them.

[Eöl]

Narsil

Narsil was originally forged for Elendil, by Telchar the Dwarf. It was born by Elendil in the Last Alliance and broken under him as he fell, slain by Sauron. Isildur recoverd the shards of the sword after the battle. The shards were taken to Rivendell and not disturbed for some time after the disaster of the Gladden Fields. Apparently...

Death shall come to any man that draws Elendil's sword save Elendil's heir.- Aragorn

A Brief Chronology:
Year 3441 Second Age: Sauron is overthrown and Isildur becomes king, the shards of Narsil are carried home with him.
Year 2 Third Age: Disaster of the Gladden Fields, Isildur and his three eldest sons are slain. Shards of Narsil taken by Ohtar, Isildur's esquire.
Year 3 Third Age: Ohtar brings the Shards to Rivendell. They rest there for a long period of time.
Year 2931 Third Age: Aragorn is born.
Year 2933 Third Age: Aragorn taken to Rivendell. Named "Estel" and his heritage is concealed.
Year 2951 Third Age: "Estel" is told his heritage, and given the Shards Of Narsil.
Year 3018 Third Age-October 25th-December 25th: Narsil is reforged and renamed Anduril, "Flame Of The West."
Year 3019 Third Age-January 13th: Attack by Wargs in Hollin, Aragorn wields Anduril for the first time in battle.
Year 3019 Third Age-February 26th: Battle at Amon Hen.
Year 3019 Third Age-March 3-4: Battle at Helm's Deep.
Year 3019 Third Age-March 12-13: Aragorn captures the Corsair fleet.
Year 3019 Third Age-March 15th: Battle Of The Pelennor Fields.
Year 3019 Third Age-March 25th: Battle on the Slag Hills, downfall and passing of Sauron.

Battles In Which Narsil/Anduril Was Used:
The Last Alliance
The Warg Attack On The Fellowship
Battle At Amon Hen
Helm's Deep
Capture Of The Corsair Fleet
Pelennor Fields
Slag Hills

EDIT: I also included Anduril, I am not sure if there is much to be said about Narsil before the Last Alliance.

[Arvedui]

Anglachel, meaning 'Iron of the Flaming Star'.
Anglachel was a sword of great worth, being made from Iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star.
The sword was made by Eöl the Dark Elf, and was given as fee for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth, allthough begrudgingly.
Given to Beleg Cúthalion as a gift after Beleg had found Túrin in the wooded land south of Teiglin. When Beleg choose Anglachel as his reward, Melian gave the following prophecy:
" There is malice in this sword. The dark heart of the smith still dwells in it. It will not love the hand it serves, neither will it abide with you long."
Beleg used this sword when the orcs were driven out of Dimbar, and Anglachel rejoiced to be unsheathed.
After having freed Túrin from the orcs in Taur-nu-fuin, Beleg used Anglachel to cut the fetters that bound Túrin, but the blade slipped and cut Túrin in the foot. Túrin awoke from the pain and in rage and fear he seized Anglachel and slew Beleg with it, believing him to be a foe.
After having buried Beleg, Gwindor brought Anglachel with him.
Gwindor gave Anglachel to Túrin at Eithel Ivrin.
Túrin brought the sword with him as they went to Gwindor's folk in Nargothrond.
The cunning smiths of Nargothrond forged Anglachel anew, and it was named Gurthang.

[Beleg]

Here is an Overview of some of the most famous Swords that are mentioned by Tolkien in his books. Swords were an essential part of the armour of a Standard Tolkien chieftain or Warrior and were often given names induced upon them by the qualities of the weilder or due to their own special personal attributes. (Later as in the Case of Gurthang.)

Anglachel:

The appendix in Published Silmarillion has the following to say about Anglachel,


The sword made from meteoric iron that Thingol received from Eöl and which he gave to Beleg, after its reforging for Turin named Gurthang

The name Anglachel is formed of the following constituents of elvish language(s).

anga 'iron', Sindarin ang,

lhach 'leaping flame”

Which gives it the literal meaning of Iron of the Leaping Flame.

This is one of the pair of swords which Eol formed and gave to Thingol as a gift.
Then Beleg chose Anglachel; and that was a sword of great worth, and it was so named because it was made of iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star; it would cleave all earth-delved iron. One other sword only in Middle-earth was like to it. That sword does not enter into this tale, though it was made of the same ore by the same smith; and that smith was Eöl the Dark Elf, who took Aredhel Turgon's sister to wife. He gave Anglachel to Thingol as fee, which he begrudged, for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth; but its mate Anguirel he kept, until it was stolen from him by Maeglin, his son.

Quenta Silmarillion)


The sword played a major rule in the future events of Middle Earth. It was wielded by many great warriors and hunters including Beleg Cúthalion, Túrin Tumabar. Túrin accidently killed Beleg by this sword and this was the Sword that Mim the Petty Dwarf treid to use in order to kill Beleg. However once Túrin reached the safeness of Nargothrond he ordered it to be reforged.
The sword Anglachel was forged anew for him by cunning smiths of Nargothrond, and though ever black its edges shone with pale fire; and he named it Gurthang, Iron of Death (Quenta Silmarillion)

Since then its history is recorded by a seprate name and more of its history will be discussed under the fell name of Gurthang; Iron of Death.

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Angruiel: Anga means Iron, while the meaning of Rueil is unknown.
The mate of the sword Anglachel, made by the same metal yet less reknowned then its mate. This one was kept by Eol and was stolen by his son Magelin when he went away to Gondolin with his mother. Later Magelin probably used it to fight against Tuor in the fall of Gondolin.

That sword does not enter into this tale, though it was made of the same ore by the same smith; and that smith was Eöl the Dark Elf, whotook Aredhel Turgon's sister to wife. He gave Anglachel to Thingol as fee, which he begrudged, for leave to dwell in Nan Elmoth; but its mate Anguirel he kept, until it was stolen from him by Maeglin, his son. Quenta Silmarillion.)

*********************************************


Aranrúth: The personal sword of Thingol. Aranrúth 'King's Ire', the name of Thingol's sword. Aranrúth survived the ruin of Doriath andwas possessed by the Kings of Númenor. Appendix of Quenta Silmarillion.)
Choose from all that I have,' said Thingol, 'save only Aranrúth, my own.'

An interesting footnote can be found in Unfinished Tales, Of the Line of Elros which tells us more about the fate of the sword.

from Unfinished Tales
The King's sword was indeed Aranrúth, the sword of Elu Thingol of Doriath in Beleriand, that had descended to Elros from Elwing his mother

What happened to it afterwards is not known. But since the mention of its wielding by Numeneor Kings is done in Plural, we may assume that all the Kings till Erendis (The first Ruling Queen) wielded it. What happened afterwards is not known.


*************************************************

Ringil: Ringil The sword of Fingolfin. The illsutarious sword that was so sharp that it was able to deliver several stinging cuts onto even Morgoth.
“Ring” means “cold, Chill” which clarifies the meaning since it is known to glitter like Ice, which probably means that the blade was white and shiny

But Fingolfin gleamed beneath it as a star; for his mail was overlaid with silver, and his blue shield was set with crystals; and he drew his sword Ringil, that glittered like ice.

************************************************

Gurthang:

The appendixes in Published Silmarillion has something to say about this sword,

Gurthang 'Iron of Death', name of Beleg's sword Anglachel after it was reforged for Túrin in Nargothrond, and from which he was named Mormegil.

Gurthang was made of the same Meoteric Iron that once in Sword form was Named Anglachel. So it possessed the same qualities as that of its predecessor. It was also the sword that was the cause of death of Glaurung father of Dragon, Brandir Slain Unjustly and many other Orcs, creatures of the Dark Side and finally its weilder Túrin. It was the Sword to whom Túrin delivered his infamous allegorical address just before his death. The sword was greatly feared by the Orcs and due to its black color Túrin was names Mormegil: The weilder of the Black Sword or more publically Black Sword.

Gurth mean “Death” while Anga means Iron. The anga is the same in Anglachel, Angband, Agenor etc,
The sword Anglachel was forged anew for him by cunning smiths of Nargothrond, and though ever black its edges shone with pale fire; and he named it Gurthang, Iron of Death. (Quenta Silmarillion)



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Herugrim: The sword of Theoden, King of Rohan. One of the many artefacts stolen by Wormtongue from the house of King. Upon his revival from the charms of Wormtongue Theoden called for it and wielded it in the battle of Hornborg and would have used it to great effect on the field of Pelenor if not for his death by the Witch King.
'Here, lord, is Herugrim, your ancient blade (TTT)

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Gúthwinë: The sword of Eómer.
The sword of Éomer, borne by him at Aragorn's side in the Battle of the Hornburg, and presumably also at the later Battle of the Pelennor Fields. Its name means 'battle-friend'.
(Encyclopedia of Arda Website)

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Orcrist: The famous sword of Thorin Oakenshield, mate of Glamdring sword of Turgon and later Gandalf. It was also called the biter and was forged in the first age in the smitheries of Gondolin. Somehow it survived the War of Warth (Dagor Dagorath) and was found In the Troll hoard of three trolls in the hobbit.
Orcrist was also called Goblin-Cleaver, although the goblin name of it was Biter.
They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it. (The Hobbit)

Orcrist gleamed ever in Dark if foes approached, (A quality possessed by its mate Glamdring and Sting). After the death of Thorin Okaenshield, it was laid aside him and it gleamed whenever any foes approached it so Erebor could never be taken with surprise.
It is said in songs that it gleamed ever in the dark if foes Approached, and the fortress of the dwarves could not be taken by surprise. (The Hobbit)


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[Lhunithiliel]

Hobbits! ?
All right, then...

here (http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Hobbits) is sth. to start the project of the Study Team.
It is a joint research done by Walter and me some time ago. I did some research on Hobbits and added it to what Walter had already found and arranged in a page.

And Eol and Samjor, boys, THANK YOU for being around so actively supporting the activities in the Guild! :)
Now this Hobbit-thing seems to be a large double-sided project! Marvellous! :D

[Eöl]

An Overview of Hobbits

Hobbits are a very old race, and they love peace and quiet. They do not like machines or humans, and can easily escape one of us if we are near. Hobbits tend to be fat, and are usually between two and four feet tall. Hobbits dress in bright colors and rarely wear shoes because of the thick skin on the bottoms of their feet. Their feet are covered in a furlike hair, usually brown. They are a merry people, often found eating and drinking (up to 6 meals a day) or giving away presents. They live in the Shire, which occupies 40 leagues between the Far Downs and the Brandywine Bridge and 50 leagues from the northern moors to the south marshes. Hobbits were never warlike, and few battles were ever fought by their kind. However, most Hobbits, even in the late 3rd Age could still handle a bow. Hobbits lived in holes on the ground, called smials, which could be very decadent, or very primitive. Hobbits possessed a very curious weed known as pipeweed. It is smoked in a pipe, and was also used by the Dunedain. However, it was the Hobbits who first thought to put it in pipes, probably around 1070 S.R. The best weeds are agreed to be Old Toby, Longbottom Leaf and Southern Star. Hobbits entered very infrequently into the great tales, in this Frodo and Bilbo are remarkable. Certain families, like the Tooks, had an adventurous side to them, this is what is believed to have started the Quest to Erebor.

[Lhunithiliel]

I would like to add sth. more to this wonderful overview - sth. that has always amused me very much - the mathom.

********
Anything that Hobbits had no immediate use for, but were unwilling to throw away, they called a mathom.

Hobbits were obviously not fond of having too many things piled in their houses...or holes, if you wish, and preferred to get rid of the useless in the most appropriate way, especially when their dwellings were "apt to become rather crowded with mathoms". However, a Hobbit seems to be not willing to just easily throw away something, simply for the reason that he needed it not. This is why they "invented" the gifts giving - on a certain occasion they gave presents to other Hobbits, picking them up from their mathoms. The problem, however, was that in the rather closed community of he Hobbits of the Shire those "presents" simply passed from hand to hand. So, imagine you being a Hobbit - you give away a present=mathom but receive soon enough another one in return and the pile of them in your dwelling never vanishes. Besides, the opportunity of getting back the "present" you once gave to someone else is 100% sure!

I therefore think that this could be the reason why the Hobbits, practical as they were, established the Mathom-house - a "museum" they used to call it for storing there mostly trophies, such as weapons from old and forgotten days and lots of other stuff too. In fact, that seems to be the right place to store mathoms!
*********

Another small addition, though I will not quote - about the Hobbits' dwellings.
Normally the Hobbits preferred to live in holes in the ground.
But in the already established and developed community of the Shire, only the poorest and the most well-to-do Hobbits preserved this tradition. The poor lived in modest holes often with only one small window, while the "rich" Hobbits (like the Baggins) had large underhill halls (corridors in fact) with lots of rooms and quite "de-luxe" setting. But on the other hand, there were a lot of Hobbit-families, who have followed the example of the "big folk" and have constructed houses of brick above the ground.
********
I'd love to see some research too about the economy and the community arrangement in the Shire and Bree.
Who'll be in charge?

[Lhunithiliel]

In continuation to the "Hobbits"-subjects, please view this:

http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Hobbits-Races/Fallohides

http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Hobbits-Races/Harfoots

and

http://www.thetolkienwiki.org/wiki.cgi?Hobbits-Races/Stoors

concerning the races of the Hobbits.
*******

I would very much wish to read about some new and fresh ideas for research of the StudyTeam :)

[Finduilas]

Yeah and I'd like to add some more familytrees I found:

For the Hobbits' different races, just click on the left on the different races:
http://www.annalsofarda.dk/annals-of-arda/Hobbit-index-tables/Hobbit.htm

I'm now working on my part of the study.
-----------------------
As for suggestions, Lhun, here's one:
Why don't we make a research called: 'Source of Inspiration' ?
Now, the idea will be to trace and compare Tolkien's personal life with the views, characters and ...things he creates in his works. For example, we can compare the ents and the big 'alive' trees in the forest of Tom Bambadil to one of his favourite trees Pinus Nigra in the Botanic Gardens in Oxford.
And that's it:
-Plants and flowers:
...........Ents
-Animals:
...........Balrogs
-Races:
...........Elves
-Realms:
...........Lotlorien
-Spots:
...........Rivers, valleys,etc.

This is a kind of shcedule and some examples to make things clear. We can devide the work in 5 parts( as written above) and give this work to 5 different members to make the research.
Just an idea.:rolleyes:

[Arvedui]

Menegroth was delwed by the Dwarves of Belegost for King Thingol and Melian the Maia, early in the third age of the captivity of Melkor. It was situated in the Forest of Region in northern Beleriand, on the southern banks of the River Esgalduin.
It is uncertain whether the caves were hewn from the solid rock of the hill on the south bank, or whethet there already existed passages that were simply widened. It is assumed that these were not large natural caverns but were primarily hand-cut. There are two main reasons for this assumption:
a): It would take the correct type of bedrock to develop an already preexisting cavern system as ws the case with Nargothrond, but Menegroth was far north of Andram.
b): The Dwarves had the skill to accomplish this, as can be seen in Khazad-dûm.

The gates to Menegroth could only be reached by crossing the Esgalduin by a stone-bridge. This implies that the stone-hill must have run to the edge of the Esgalduin..
Near the gates stood a great beech tree whose roots roofed the thronehall: Hírilorn. In this tree a house was buildt to prevent Lúthien from escaping to help Beren with the Quest for the Silmaril.
Little specific is given on the exact organization of rooms and halls. It may however be assumed that they were delwed at several levels. Only three specific locations are ever mentioned:
1): The Great Hall of Thingol, where Beren came before the throne.
2): The deep smithies where Thingol was slain by the Naugrim.
3): The guarded treasury, where Mablung fell when the Dwarves returned to take the Nauglamír.

There were two battles within the caves of Menegroth, and both battles were attempts to take the Nauglamír with its Silmaril.
The first battle took place around 505 (F.A.), when the Dwarves returned to avenge the deaths of their kin who fell when Thingol was slain. They succeeded in stealing the necklace, but Beren later regained it.
The second battle took place some four years later (509 F.A.) when the Seven Sons of Fëanor, still holding to the accursed oath, initiated the Second Kinslaying when they fought and killed Dior. But Elwing fled from Menegroth with the remaining Elves, and with her went the Silmaril.


Sources:
Karen Wynn-Fonstad: The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-earth.
Encyclopedia of Arda
The TolkienWiki
JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion

[Arvedui]

In a dream Ulmo came to Turgon and Finrod, and he spoke to them and advised that each should build a hidden fortress.
Shortly after, Finrod visited Thingol and got inspired by the design of Menegroth. He learned of the caverns of Narog and initiated the construction of his stronghold there beneath Taur-en-Faroth in west Beleriand on the western borders of Doriath. This was south and west of the confluence of the Ringwil and Narog where those rivers cut through the Andram.
The Long Wall was made from what was evidently soluble rock, possibly limestone. the cavernswere found and widened by the Petty-Dwarves before the return of the Noldor, and was shaped to fit Finrod's search for a stronghold where he and his followers could lay hidden in secrecy, hidden from Morgoth.
Finrod employed Dwarves from the Blue Mountains to continue the work. So great was the task that the dwarves named Finrod "Felagund" which means Hewer of Caves. It was founded c. F.A. 100.

Nargothrond concisted of a complex system of caves that were sufficiently extensive to completely hide a large population, and several of the hallways were large enough to allow the passaga of a Dragon.
Of the organization of Nargothrond, we know that its halls included the following:
- Several rooms used as armouries.
- A series of great halls where Finrod, celegorm, and Curufin adressed the inhabitants.
- A small deep chamber in which Lúthien was placed.
- A secret exit through which she escaped (with Huan the Hound).
- A great inner hall where Glaurung made his golden bed.

Originally the only access to Nargothrond meant fording the river some twenty-five miles to the north, and then continue along a narrow path alongside the river south to Nargothrond's three-door entrance. this suited well Finrod's policy of staying hidden.
When Túrin came to Nargothrond (c. F.A. )487, he persuaded Orodreth, brother of Finrod and his successor after he fell in the Quest for the Silmaril, to abandon their policy of secrecy and from Nargothrond was sent raiding-parties to openly attack the servants of Morgoth. A bridge was then buildt across the Narog so that the Elves could venture to and forth from Nargothrond more easily.
Through the attacks on his servants, Morgoth at last discovered the location of Nargothrond and in F.A. 495, an army led by Glaurung sacked and destroyed it, killing or imprisoning all of its inhabitants. The bridge then proved to be a great help for Morgoth, as it could not be lifted to prevent the passage of Glaurung, who than came unhindered to the Three Doors of Nargothrond.


Sources:
Karen Wynn-Fonstad: The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-earth
JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion
Encyclopedia of Arda.

[Helcaraxë]

Alright, here's the stuff for Fornost:

Fornost means "northern fortress." Its full name, "Fornost Ethrain," means "Norbury of Kings." (Norbury would apparently mean "Northern fortress” as well). It was the seat of the kings of Arthedain, and its capital, after Annuminas was abandoned. Arnor did not have a crown, but the King at Fornost wore the "Elendilmir," a gem that was apparently set on the head. After the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur took the Elendilmir and proclaimed himself king of Arnor. Oddly, this would have to have happened before he actually reached Fornost, as he was ambushed and killed on the way.

The first king of Arthedain at Fornost was Amlaith. Under his heir Beleg, the halflings crossed into Eriador from over the Hithaeglir, though this was not thought particularly important at the time. Much later, Sauron had sent the Witchking north to assault Arnor (this was during the reign of Arvedui). Sweeping west, he overran all of Arnor (which was divided into three parts then), and captured Fornost in III 1975. Eärnur, then the king of Gondor, sailed North to Mithlond. Receiving aid from the elves there and an army of Dunedain under Arvedui’s son Aranarth (Chieftain of the Dunedain), he marched west. After meeting up with a force from Rivendell lead by Glorfindel, he assaulted the Witch King. The Battle did not actually take place in Fornost, but rather westward on the plains of Lake Evendim. Angmar was sent into a rout, and he fled westward, then back south to Mordor.

Though it is unclear exactly when Fornost was abandoned, after the city was taken under King Arvedui by Angmar, neither Fornost nor the Kingdom of Arthedain was rebuilt, even after the defeat of the Witch-King.

More later.

~Helcaraxë

[Arvedui]

In a dream Ulmo came to Turgon and Finrod, and he spoke to them and advised that each should build a hidden fortress.
Turgon sought long for a place to build his fortress, but with the aid of Ulmo, he came by secret ways to the Hidden Vale of Tumladen. It was a round valley within the Encircling Mountains, the Crissaegrim. It had originally been a lake, and in its centre stood a mountain that had originally been an island, Amon Gwareth, reaching 400 feet above the Vale.
When Turgon saw it, he knew that he had found the place of his desire, and he resolved to build there a fair city, a memorial of Tirion upon Túna.
After the Dagor Aglareb, Turgon started the work that would take fifty-two years to finish: the building of Gondolin. Turgon appointed its name to be Ondolindë in the speech of the Elves of Valinor: The Rock of the Music of Water, for there were fountains upon the hill. The name was changed in Sindarin to Gondolin: The Hidden Rock. Turgon's people moved there from Nevrast in c F.A. 126.

In the vale of Tumladen, behind the circle of the mountains the people of Turgon lived concealed from friend and foe alike. The power of Ulmo that ran in Sirion protected the entrance, and in the mountains the Eagles of Thorondor maintained a steady vigilance.
The Gondolindrim grew and throve, and they put forth their skill in labour unceasing, so that Gondolin upon Amon Gwareth became indeed fair and fit to compare even with Tirion beyond the Sea. High and white were its walls, and smooth its stairs, and tall and strong was the Tower of the King, the centre of the City, reaching another 400 feet into the air, surrounded by the King's Square. There stood images of the Trees of old, wrought by Turgon himself. Glingal he made of gold, and the flowers of Belthil was made from silver. Shining fountains surrounded the Trees.
The city could only be entered from two points: the Main Gate in the west, and the North Gate. From the Main Gate, the King's Way went straight east, passing the King's Square after some 1500 feet and continuing on to the Great Market in the East.
The King's Square was approximately 450 x 450 feet large. In the eastern part was the Palace.
On the north side of the hill of Gondolin was the Caragdûr, a precipice of black rock. This is where Eöl was cast down after murdering Aredhel, Turgon's sister, and his own wife, mother of their son Maeglin.


The city was inviolate for almost four hundred years; Turgon did not break his secret leaguer until the time of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad in FA 471, and even after that disastrous battle he was able to return in secret to the city with the aid of Húrin and Huor. He then decided that the Gondolindrim should never come forth to war again, at least not alongside the Sons of Fëanor.



Even when Tuor brought a warning from Ulmo, telling that the Curse of Mandos hastened to its fulfillment, when all the works of the Noldor should perish, and that Turgon and his folk should depart the fair city and abandon it and go down Sirion to the Sea, Turgon did not heed the warning, but trusted still in the secret and impregnetable strength of his own design.



But Idril, Turgon's daughter, was wise and far-seeing, and foreboding crept upon her spirit as a cloud. She let prepare a secret way, that should let down from the city and passing out beneath the surface of the plain issue far beyond the walls, northward of Amon Gwareth; and she contrived it that the work was known but to few.


Morgoth's servants finally discovered Gondolin through the treachery of Maeglin, and in FA 510, Morgoth loosed upon Gondolin his Balrogs, and his Orcs, and hos wolves; and with them came dragons of the brood of Glaurung, and they were become now many and terrible. The host of Morgoth came over the northern hills where the height was greatest and the watch least vigilant, and it came at night upon a time of festival, when all the people of Gondolin were upon the walls to await the raising sun.


Turgon was lost in the Fall of the city, but some few (including Tuor and Idril, with their child Eärendil) escaped the destruction and came at last to the Mouths of Sirion.





Sources: Karen Wynn-Fonstad: The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-earth
JRR Tolkien: The Silmarillion
JRR Tolkien: Unfinished Tales
Encyclopedia of Arda.

[Finduilas]

Khazad-dum

We never get to see Khazad-dum in its heyday. By the time Tolkien brings the reader to the great mansions of the ancient Dwarves, the halls are empty, except for Orcs. Gimli's deep voice must have echoed through the empty tunnels and chambers as he sang for his companions an old Dwarven folk-song:

The world was young, the mountains green,
No stain yet on the Moon was seen,
No words were laid on stream or stone,
When Durin woke and walked alone.
He named the nameless hills and dells;
He drank from yet untasted wells;
He stooped and looked in Mirrormere,
And saw a crown of stars appear,
As gems upon a silver thread,
Above the shadow of his head.

How long ago was this episode? How old was Durin before he found a wife (as he plainly must have, since he originally walked alone)? How long was it before he found the Mirrormere and the entrance to the mighty caverns that he made his home?

We can infer a few points about ancient Dwarven history from what is told of their dealings with the Elves. For instance, we know that the Dwarves first entered Beleriand during the second age of Melkor's captivity in Valinor. According to THE WAR OF THE JEWELS, this was Year of the Trees 1250, which was 200 years after the awakening of the Elves (a period equal in length to about 1900 Years of the Sun).

The Dwarven cities of Nogrod and Belegost, the two cities in the Ered Luin, were not founded by Dwarves of Durin's Line, but instead were the homes of other Dwarves. They were most likely the ancestral homes of the Firebeards and the Broadbeams, the two kindreds of the Dwarves who awoke in the northern Ered Luin.

Khazad-dum engaged in trade with Nogrod and Belegost. Tales of Khazad-dum reached Beleriand, though it is only briefly mentioned in THE SILMARILLION as being the greatest of Dwarven cities. The ancient Dwarf-road that passed through the forest of Greenwood (later
Mirkwood) and through Eriador apparently carried traffic from Khazad-dum to other Dwarven cities in the east.

And yet Khazad-dum was far to the south of the High Pass where the ancient road crossed the mountains. This seems a little strange. One can only imagine the Dwarves had built a road north along the foot-hills of the Misty Mountains to reach the high pass. Or perhaps they followed the
Silverlode down to Anduin and crossed the river by raft or boat. And wondering this, one cannot fail to ask whether Durin's folk were friendly with the Nandorin Elves who lived in the Vales of Anduin.

We know something of the life the Dwarves led in the First Age. They were, of course, miners and stone-masons of exquisite and almost unrivaled skill. They smelted metals such as gold, silver, iron, and probably copper and tin. They worked with crystal, unearthed gems of many types, and even learned to make instruments such as trumpets and harps.

The city itself conducted trade mostly with the east. There was no West-gate until around the year 750 of the Second Age. Dwarven merchants must also have trekked into the distant north. The road passing through the forest ran to the Celduin and probably crossed the river by a bridge just as it crossed Anduin by a bridge. From the crossing point on Celduin the road turned northeast and ran toward the Emyn Engrin, and from there ran eastwards to the other Dwarven realms of the Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks, and Stonefoots.

THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH tells us that Dwarves did indeed live well to the east of Celduin, and that there was a city or gathering place for all the Dwarves at Mount Gundabad, where they held enclaves. The lands of Durin's folk were selected for this honor because he was the eldest of the Dwarves and Gundabad was the place where he awoke.

How numerous could Durin's folk have been in the First Age? We can only guess. But the time from the awakening of the Elves in Cuiviënen to the end of the First Age of the Sun was equivalent to approximately 4900 Years of the Sun. Yet there was no mention of the Elves encountering the Dwarves during the Great Journey. On the other hand, the Noegyth Nibin (the Petty-Dwarves) claimed to have settled in Beleriand before the Elves arrived.

The Dwarves must have awoken soon after the Elves did, but their numbers were few and increased only slowly. When they made contact with Durin some members of each tribe joined him in Khazad-dum. As the years passed a few outcasts wandered west into Beleriand. The Vanyar and Noldor entered Beleriand in Year of the Trees 1115, about 622 Years of the Sun after the awakening of the Elves. The Teleri arrived in Year of the Trees 1128, or about 124 Years of the Sun after the Vanyar and Noldor.

The Noegyth Nibin could have entered Beleriand before the Vanyar and Noldor. But they could also have entered after them and before the Sindar. Nonetheless, it is clear there had to be Dwarves in Beleriand by Year of the Trees 1128, about 747 Years of the Sun after the awakening of the Elves. If the Dwarves awoke within 10 Years of the Trees after the Elves, they would have had the equivalent of a few centuries in Years of the Sun in which to find each other and to cast out the Noegyth Nibin.

Since Nogrod and Belegost were not founded until Year of the Trees 1250 (almost 2,000 Years of the Sun after the awakening of the Elves), it seems evident the Firebeards and Broadbeams must all have wandered east soon after they awoke. Perhaps all the Dwarves came together in
Khazad-dum with Durin first, and there built the first Dwarven city. When their numbers became large enough, the six "younger" kings (descendants of the original fathers) could have led their peoples away from Khazad-dum to establish new ancestral homes for their peoples. This could explain why the Eldar encountered no Dwarves on their journey. The only Dwarves who would have left Khazad-dum by this time would have been the Noegyth Nibin.

So, what does this get us? Room to estimate a maximum probable population for Khazad-dum at the end of the First Age of the Sun (some 3900 Years of the Sun after Durin might have awoken). This would allow 45 - 48 generations for the Dwarves of Durin's Line to increase their numbers. By the time the Second Age started, there could have been upwards of 100,000
Dwarves living in Khazad-dum and more than 120,000 in most of each of the other Dwarven cities (not including Nogrod and Belegost, which had by then suffered grievous losses in the wars with Morgoth and the Elves).

Early in the Second Age Durin's folk were joined by most if not all of the Dwarves of Belegost, and many of the Dwarves of Nogrod. The population of Khazad-dum could have swelled to 500,000 or more by the end of the Second Age (but this estimate presupposes some changes in Dwarven birth rates -- signaling the onset of the decline of the Dwarven race).

Population estimates aside, we know that Khazad-dum grew slowly through the long centuries. The Dwarves added hall after hall and gradually extended their mines northward, especially after the discovery of Mithril sometime in the 7th or 8th centuries of the Second Age. The west-gate was built during this time, after the Noldor of Eregion established their great friendship with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum (who undoubtedly were influenced by tales of the friendship between the Noldor and the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost).

Tolkien wrote that Durin was reborn in his descendants six times. We know that Durin III was King of Khazad-dum when the Rings of Power were made, and he led an army against Sauron in the War of the Elves and Sauron. So it must have been Durin II who was king when Narvi and Celebrimbor built the west-gate. The king at the end of the Second Age may have been Durin IV.
He marched with the Host of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.

Khazad-dum continued to flourish in the Third Age even though the Eldar were in decline. The west-gate may have been re-opened to allow trade with Arnor and, later, the peoples of Dunland. When the realm of Angmar arose in the distant north and Amroth of Lorien sent armies over the mountains to help the Dunedain, it may be the Dwarves gave aid to the Elves, or even permitted Amroth's warriors to pass through Khazad-dum.

[Finduilas]

But in time the Dwarves awoke a Balrog with their tunneling. It must have tried to drive them away at first, for they spent a year fighting it. Two Dwarven kings of Durin's Line perished before the city was abandoned in Third Age 1981. How many battles did the Dwarves fight with the Balrog and, perhaps, other creatures they found in the subterranean depths? Durin VI was slain in 1980 and his son Nain I was killed the next year, the Year of Flight. The Dwarves were destroyed or driven off and their ancient mansions were left deserted but for the Balrog and other creatures which Gandalf described as "nameless things" which even Sauron didn't know, for "they are older than he."

The Balrog assumed control of Khazad-dum, but some 500 or 600 years later Sauron sent Orcs and Trolls to inhabit the city, possibly with the Balrog's consent. From that time forward Khazad-dum was a stronghold and haven for the Orcs and it was known only by its ancient Elvish name, Moria, "Black Pit". The Orcish army of Moria was destroyed at the Battle of Nanduhirion in 2799, but the Dwarves lacked the numbers after their 7-year war with the Orcs to
retake the city (and probably could not have done so had their entire army attacked Moria in the first place).

The breeding Orcs were left behind and Moria's evil creatures recovered their numbers slowly, but they may not have ever again equaled the great numbers that the Dwarves encountered in 2799. Many of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains perished 142 years later at the Battle of Five Armies, and when Balin's colony was established in 2989 (a mere 47 years later) there were few Orcs left to guard the citadel. They must have retreated to deeper caverns until the Balrog drove them to attack the Dwarves, perhaps with reinforcements from other Orcish strongholds.

From 2994 to 3018 Khazad-dum was undisturbed until Gollum entered the fortress to escape Sauron's spies and the Elves of Mirkwood and Lorien. The Orcs either let him be or did not know he was there. But they were soon after roused by the Company of the Ring. The Balrog must have sensed the One Ring when it came into the eastern halls, if not sooner. The Orcs pursued the Company into Lorien but were destroyed or driven off, and Gandalf was able to defeat the Balrog in a single combat that lasted 11 days. In the course of the battle part of the mountain and Khazad-dum were destroyed.

Sometime in the Fourth Age (probably by the year 200) the Dwarves of Durin's Line returned to Khazad-dum, most likely to spend the last of their generations there. Durin VII was the last king to bear that name and perhaps the last of his proud and ancient Line. Or perhaps not. In THE PEOPLES OF MIDDLE-EARTH Christopher Tolkien points out that the life of Durin VII is poorly documented, but that he apparently had descendants.

Source : Parma Endorion by Michael Martinez

[Gil-Galad]

Well,finally I decided to post a small part from my thoughts about The Dwellings of the Valar.I chose to begin with Makar and Measse,because they are really interesting to me,and what is more I have some questions about them.

Makar and Measse didn't survive in later Tolkien's world.That has always questioned me.From the description of Makar and Measse we can conclude that they were typical barberian gods.Very close to those in the Scandinavian mythology.But we can say the same thing about the other gods like Yavanna,Tulkas,Manwe.I have always asked myself,why Makar and Measse were "dropped'?What made Tolkien do it?His wish to be closer to the Bible?

Makar and Measse were really fierce gods.They lived not far from Mandos-"Upon the confines of the Outer lands..." and "a grim hall it was".It was a place built by Measse and his brother.So fierce it was that none of the Gods visited them.Their halls were populated by their vassals,dressed in armour,and Measse often fared among them and egged them to more blows.Only Tulkas visited them from time to time and wrestled there with Makar "or dealed sledge-blows among the fighters."

Their
"house was full of weapons of baattle in great array,and shields of great size and brightness of polish were on the walls.It was lit with torches,and fierce songs of victory,of sack and harrying,were there sung and the torches' red light was reflected in the blades of naked swords.There sit often Makar and his sister listening to the songs,and Makar has a huge bill across his knees and Measse holds a spear."


The description is not much,but enough to show us how fierce were Makar and Measse.It is interestig to me how such characters were invented by Tolkien.Such characters would have been placed together with Melkor if I had had the chance to write these books.For me Makar and Measse were part of Tolkien's earlier plan to create English mythology,a plan closer to the Scandinavian and Celtic myths.But later they were just forgotten,I can explain this only with the similarities with the Bible which were included.Such characters didn't have place in a myth so close to the Bible's ideas.

to be continued.....with some of the other Valar

[Gil-Galad]

I just finished my exams and I decided to post some thoughts about The Halls of Manwe,just a short description from BOLT 1 and some thoughts(pretty simple) about the passage.


THE HALLS OF MANWE


As everyone could expect the Halls of Manwe were probably the biggest and the most impressive ones.

First upon Taniqeutil was a great abode raised up for Manwe and a watchover set.Thence did he speed his darting hawks and receive them on his return,and thither fared often in later days Sorontir King of Eagles....

Tolkien "gave" Manwe the highest place by purpose.As the Lord of the Gods Manwe was supposed to sit higher than all of them.This element can be found in most mythologies.The most powerflul,the strongerst God/Goddess was always at higher place than the others.

Manwe´s halls were in accordance with his function as Lord of Winds and Air.

That house was builded of marbles white and blue and stood amid the fields of snow,and its roofs were made of a web that blue air called ilwe that is above the white and grey.

The other gods helped Manwe and participated in the building of his Halls.Maybe that was their way to show their respect and they did they´re best for their Lord.

This web did Aule and his wife contrive,but Varda spangled it with stars,and Manwe dwelt thereunder;but in a the plain in the full radiance of trees was a cluster of dwelligs built like a fair and smiling town,anf that town was named Valmar.

If Valinor had a capital Valmar was that place.I suppose that once again everything was done on purpose.As the Lord of the Valar Manwe was supposed to hold his councils at his place,in his halls.That is why they had to be enourmous enough to for the gathering of all Valar.In the early story(in BOLT 1)Tolkien mentions several times The Valar´s folk.The story was changed but maybe Valmar stayed.I believe that we could say that Valmar was supposed to be a place for all those servants and vassals of the Valar who acompanied their masters.Later Valmar become a place for the Firstborn.

No metal and no stone,nor any wood of mighty trees was spared to their raising.Their roofs were of gold and their floors silver and their doors of polished bronze;they were lifted with spells and their stones were bound with magic.

Well,everything had to be different than the other Valar´s halls,to be from better quality.That is why no 'ordinary' materials were used.Everything was made to put a stress on the might of Manwe,on his privillige status as the Lord of The Valar.
Some would say that this description is close in some parts to the Eastearn mythologies and conception about the possesion of power.In the eastearn cultures the one who was the leader had to be totally different from the others.According to the believes he had to be a GOD.That is why it was done everything possible by him and his servants for the keeping of his GOD status.Enormous buildings like no others were built and etc.(Pharaons,Sultans even Khans are just fine example for such persons,who were thought to have the status of Gods,of person who tried to keep,their reign depended on keeping their status of Gods.)

In a few words I would say that the Halls of Manwe were built in such a way that they showed only one thing-the might and the strenght of the Lord of The Valar.


hmhmhm I definitely have to turn in,I am too tired to do or write anything else.

:o

[Lhunithiliel]

Originally posted by Rog and moved here from the project - thread!

THE GREAT HALLS OF THE KHAZÂD

Gabilgathol

Other names:
-Gabilgathol (Khuzdûl)
-Belegost (Sindarin)
-Mickleburg (Westron)

Gabilgathol was founded by the Broadbeam Dwarves shortly after the birth of the Elves during the Years of the Trees. Named 'Great Fortress' by the Elves, it was situated in the Ered Luin, north-east of Mount Dolmed, and stood until the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age.
As the Broadbeams assited in the construction of the great halls of Nargothrond and Menegroth, it can be presumed that they were fashioned on the design of the great halls of Gabilgathol.


Tumunzahar

Other names:
-Tumumzahar (Khuzdûl)
-Nogrod (Sindarin)
-Hollowbold (Westron)

Tumunzahar (or 'Hollow Building') was situated to the south-east of Mount Dolmed, dug into the slopes of Ered Luin. It was populated by the Firebeard clan of Dwarves, having being founded at a similar time as Gabilgathol.
Like Gabilgathol, very little is told of the design of Tumunzahar, but it is known that great feasts were held within it's great walls (Eöl the Dark Elf attended one in the year 345 of the First Age).
Tumunzahar was crushed in the turbulance of the War of Wrath, but it's peoples mananged to escape, and travel to the halls of Dwarrowdelf.

References
-Tolkien, JRR. (1999). The Published Silmarillion, Harper Collins Publishers, London (pp. 99-101, 130, 155).
-Tolkien, JRR., Tolkien, C. (2002). History of Middle Earth Part Three: Volume XII - The Peoples of Middle Earth, Harper Collins Publishers, London (pp. 322).
-The Encyclopedia of Arda [http://www.glyphweb.com/arda/default.htm], Feburary 4th, 2004.

[Alcuin]

Narsil was originally forged for Elendil, by Telchar the Dwarf.The piece on Narsil is quite thorough, and very well done.

I have one quibble. It isn't possible that Telchar of Nogrod forged Narsil for Elendil the Tall. Telchar forged the knife Angrist that Beren used to cut the Silmaril from Morgoth's crown. He must have lived (and likely died) during the First Age, and could not have known Elendil, who was born toward the end of the Second Age.

Anamatar IV posted a very fine note in this thread that Thingol had acquired weapons and armor forged by Telchar. Thingol did a lot of trading with the dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, who helped him construct Menegroth. Narsil could have been part of Thingol’s armory. (That might be implied in the passage Anamatar IV cites.) Beren and Lúthien, however, took Angrist from Curufin son of Fëanor.

I don’t believe how Elendil obtained Narsil has been published in Tolkien’s works, but perhaps Narsil was part of a dowry for Silmariën from her father Tar-Elendil, fourth King of Númenor. The Kings of Númenor wore Thingol’s sword Aranrúth, and Narsil would have been a fitting inheritance for Silmariën’s son Valandil, the first Lord of Andúnië. Elendil the Tall’s father Amandil was the last Lord of Andúnië, and that might well be how he obtained the sword.