Cabed-en-Aras

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Cabed-en-Aras
Gorge
Ted Nasmith - Nienor's Despair.jpg
General Information
Other namesCabed Naeramarth
LocationBrethil
TypeGorge
DescriptionDeep gorge, with Teiglin flowing below
History
EventsLeap of Nienor
GalleryImages of Cabed-en-Aras

Cabed-en-Aras (translated as Leap of the Deer) was a deep, narrow gorge near Brethil through which the river Taeglin ran. Its name was given when once a deer leaped across to escape from some huntsmen. It was just upriver or north of the inflow of the Celebros into Taeglin. On its eastern side was a sheer cliff some forty feet tall with a crown of trees. The western side was less sheer and lower, with hanging trees and bushes. The waters of the Taeglin rushed through the narrow defile, which was filled with rocks that a person might ford, at great peril.[1]

Túrin led Dorlas and Hunthor to the gorge with the intent of attacking the dragon Glaurung as he straddled the gap. Dorlas led the party down to the water on the east side, but could not find the courage to cross the fearsome waters. Túrin and Hunthor pressed on, ascending the western side to make their attack. The heat and stench of Glaurung nearly overcame Túrin, who would have fallen into the river had Hunthor not steadied him. However, a stone dislodged by the passing of the dragon smote Hunthor's head and he was lost in the waters. Túrin came up under Glaurung and plunged his sword Gurthang into the pale belly of the beast.

Later Túrin and Glaurung, both seemingly dead, were found by Nienor. Nienor dressed Túrin's wound (his hand had been blackened by Glaurung's blood) and cried out for him to come back to her. Her cry aroused the dragon one last time, who revealed that Túrin, her husband, was also her brother. In horror Nienor ran to the brink of the Cabed-en-Aras and cast herself into the ravine, which was later named Cabed Naeramarth, the Leap of Dreadful Doom. The spot was later considered haunted, and even animals did not come there.[2]

References