Cormallen - Literature - Geography - Regions

Regions

Ithilien

The easternmost province of Gondor, lying between the river Anduin and the Mountains of Shadow, subdivided by the stream of Morgulduin into North and South Ithilien. It was a fair and prosperous land during the first part of the Third Age, filled with many woods and gardens, but after the fall of Minas Ithil the population gradually migrated across the Anduin to escape the looming threat of the Ringwraiths' city. Ithilien was reoccupied by hardy folk during the Watchful Peace, but most of them fled with the beginning of attacks by Orcs and Haradrim several centuries later, and after the return of Sauron to Mordor the land was finally abandoned. From that time, Ithilien was kept free from Sauron's servants only by the Rangers, who maintained secret refuges such as Henneth Annûn.

In the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and Sam passed through North Ithilien on their way to Cirith Ungol. The land is described in the text as "a fair country of climbing woods and swift-falling streams", with gentle slopes, "shielded from the east by the Ephel Dúath and yet not under the mountain-shadow, protected from the north by the Emyn Muil, open to the southern airs and the moist winds from the Sea". It is also stated that "a wealth of sweet-smelling herbs and shrubs" and a vast array of tree species grew in Ithilien, some of them having been planted by men in days of peace, and that despite desolation the land "kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness".

During the Fourth Age, the region was ruled by the Princes of Ithilien, a line that started with Faramir and Éowyn. A colony was settled in Ithilien by the Elves of Mirkwood, welcomed there by Legolas, and "it became once again the fairest country in all the westlands", until after some time all Elves had departed over the Sea.

Anórien

A narrow strip of land consisting of the northern valleys of the White Mountains, bordered by the Mering Stream in the west, the Mouths of the Entwash in the north and Anduin in the east. Anórien is stated to have been well-populated, although no settlements appear in Tolkien's writings, except for the garrisons of the warning beacons, built along the line of the Great West Road. The name for the region among the Rohirrim is recorded as Sunlending, which echoes the derivation of the Sindarin original from Anor "Sun", in parallel to Ithil "Moon" in Ithilien.

Calenardhon

A vast region of plains and rolling hills north of the White Mountains and west of Anórien; the name translates from Sindarin as "green province". It never had a large population during the early Third Age due to its remote location, and the Great Plague left the province virtually deserted, with many people migrating eastward during the following centuries. Forts that were built along the line of Anduin from Emyn Muil to the inflow of Limlight to guard the passage of the river were originally manned by the people of Calenardhon, but were mostly abandoned during the Watchful Peace. In 2510 the Balchoth destroyed the forts and overran Calenardhon up to the White Mountains, and the army of Gondor was only saved by the coming of the Éothéod cavalry out of the north. In gratitude, Steward Cirion granted all Calenardhon to the Éothéod, and the region became the kingdom of Rohan.

Enedhwaith

The wide land between rivers Isen and Greyflood, stated in different Tolkien's writings either to have been held by Gondor and Arnor jointly, to have been a part of the South-kingdom, or to have belonged to neither of them. Gondor maintained garrisons in the region to maintain the road and great bridge at Tharbad, but these were withdrawn in the aftermath of the great plague. No Númenórean population was present in Enedhwaith except for the town of Tharbad at the crossings of river Gwathló.

Anfalas

The shoreline of Gondor between the rivers Lefnui and Morthond, south of the hills of Pinnath Gelin. The name means "long beach" in Sindarin, and is also translated in the texts as Langstrand. It was not densely populated, being distant from the capital and occasionally harassed by the Corsairs of Umbar; the regiments sent to Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring consisted of "men of many sorts, hunters and herdsmen and men of little villages, scantly equipped save for the household of Golasgil their lord".

Belfalas

A fairly settled shoreland between the city of Dol Amroth and the island of Tolfalas, after which the great southern Bay of Belfalas was named. It was formed by a peninsula with highlands in the centre and the large town of Dol Amroth on the western shores. The element falas in the name of the region is a Sindarin word for "shore" or "beach", while bel was stated by Tolkien to derive from a pre-Númenórean name of Elvish origin.

Dor-en-Ernil

Literally, the "Land of the Prince", located in the south of Gondor; its boundaries are not stated, but Christopher Tolkien assumed that it spanned both sides of the highlands in Belfalas. The land was ruled by the Prince of Dol Amroth, subject to the King of Gondor, and was stated by Tolkien to have been populated by Númenóreans since the Second Age.

Morthond Vale

The uplands of the river Morthond or Blackroot, rendered to Sindarin as Imlad Morthond in some of Tolkien's texts and described in The Lord of the Rings as a prosperous and densely populated region, except in the vicinity of the Hill of Erech. The regiments sent from the Vale to Minas Tirith consisted of bowmen.

Lamedon

A region formed by a series of valleys on the southern slopes of the White Mountains, separated from Belfalas by highlands; river Ciril sprang from this land. The only reinforcements from this region to Minas Tirith before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields were "a few grim hillmen without a captain", while the greater part of population under their lord Angbor defended the city of Linhir against the Corsairs. After they had been relieved by Aragorn, Angbor led some four thousand men to Pelargir and Minas Tirith. The name Lamedon was listed by Tolkien as Sindarin, but no etymology was provided.

Ringló Vale

The land around the northern course of the river Ringló, separated by outliers of the White Mountains from Lamedon in the west and Lebennin in the east. During the War of the Ring, three hundred men were led from this region to Minas Tirith by Dervorin, son of their lord. The name also appears in Sindarin form as Imlad Ringló.

Lebennin

The central and one of the most populated regions of Gondor, bordered by river Anduin in the east and south and by the White Mountains in the north. Lebennin translates from Sindarin as "five waters", which is a reference to the Five Streams that flowed through it: Erui, Sirith, Celos, Serni and Gilrain. The rivers are stated to have fallen swiftly from the mountains, but in Legolas's song Lebennin appears as a region of "green fields" and grasslands with an abundance of flowers. In parts of Lebennin around the Mouths of Anduin lived a fairly numerous fisher-folk.

Lossarnach

A densely populated region of "flowering vales" just to the south of Minas Tirith, locked between the White Mountains and Anduin. The fief was expected to have sent around two thousand warriors to Minas Tirith before the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, but because of the threat of the Corsairs of Umbar a far smaller number arrived; these are described in the text as "well-armed and bearing great battle-axes". The element arnach is stated to have been pre-Númenórean and thus of an unknown meaning, while loss was apparently intended to derive from an Elvish stem for "snow", since in early Tolkien's drafts the name appears as Glossarnach.

South Gondor

The territory between rivers Harnen and Poros, which belonged to Gondor from the time of King Falastur, but became "a debatable and desert land" by the end of the Third Age. An early Tolkien's working map gives a Sindarin rendering of its name as Harondor.