Dol Amroth: Difference between revisions

From Tolkien Gateway
(Added image)
Line 35: Line 35:


==Population==
==Population==
[[File:Ted Nasmith - Princess of Dol Amroth.jpg|left|250px|thumb|"Princess of Dol Amroth" by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
[[File:Ted Nasmith - Princess of Dol Amroth.jpg|left|250px|thumb|''Princess of Dol Amroth'' by [[Ted Nasmith]]]]
The first settlers of the area were [[Sindar]] from Beleriand (later joined by many [[Silvan Elves|Silvan Elves of Lothlórien]])<ref name="Amroth" /> until the [[Faithful]] from [[Númenor]] came to the promontory in the late [[Second Age]].<ref name="Cirion"/> The last Elves left in {{TA|1981}}.
The first settlers of the area were [[Sindar]] from Beleriand (later joined by many [[Silvan Elves|Silvan Elves of Lothlórien]])<ref name="Amroth" /> until the [[Faithful]] from [[Númenor]] came to the promontory in the late [[Second Age]].<ref name="Cirion"/> The last Elves left in {{TA|1981}}.



Revision as of 11:28, 22 May 2020

The name Amroth refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Amroth (disambiguation).
Dol Amroth
City
Jan Pospisil - Dol Amroth.jpg
"Dol Amroth" by Jan Pospíšil
General Information
LocationA headland on the western coasts of Belfalas in Gondor
TypeCity
DescriptionSeat of the Prince of Dol Amroth
People and History
InhabitantsGondorians[1]
CreatedSettled by the late Second Age[2]
EventsLoss of Amroth
GalleryImages of Dol Amroth

Dol Amroth was a promontory, ruled as a hereditary princedom, situated on a peninsula in Gondor facing the Bay of Belfalas.

The emblem of the Prince of Dol Amroth was a silver-upon-blue banner, bearing a ship with a swan-prow upon the sea.[3]

Description

Its northern shore defined part of Cobas Haven, the small bay into which the Morthond River flowed.[4] Upon the headland the Princes of Dol Amroth established a castle and thus Dol Amroth referred to this stronghold and to the neighbouring port-city, the chief city of the fief of Belfalas.[1] Within the walls of the city was the Sea-ward Tower or Tirith Aear,[5] which had a bell that was rung for the benefit of mariners.[6]

History

In the late First Age, Sindar refugees from Beleriand[7] settled the area and established an Elven settlement about 50 miles north of the promontory, at Edhellond[8]

During the Second Age, a Númenórean family of the Faithful settled near the Elves.[2] Elendil, who was of their kin, gave them title to rule the fief of Belfalas. They built their stronghold upon the promontory.

Amroth, King of Lórien from the beginning of the Third Age,[8] left his realm behind in T.A. 1981 in search of his beloved Nimrodel, who had fled from the horror unleashed by the Dwarves in Moria, along with numerous Galadhrim. He waited for her at Edhellond, for their final voyage together into the West. But Nimrodel, who loved Middle-earth as much as she did Amroth, failed to join him. When the ship was blown prematurely out to sea, he jumped overboard in a futile attempt to reach the shore to search for her, and drowned in the bay.[8] When Amroth was lost at sea in T.A. 1981 the last of these Elves left the region.[9] It was from the name of this king that Dol Amroth (the "Hill of Amroth") took its name. The first Prince of Dol Amroth was Galador, the son of Imrazôr. According to legend, Imrazôr had married the Elven-lady Mithrellas, a companion of Nimrodel.[2]

Being a coastal city, Dol Amroth was subject to occasional attacks by the Corsairs of Umbar. The fifteenth prince was slain in battle against these sea raiders in T.A. 2746.[10]

In all there were twenty-one Princes of Dol Amroth before the twenty-second, Imrahil, led a company of knights and a contingent of 700 men from the city to Minas Tirith during the War of the Ring.[1]

Population

Princess of Dol Amroth by Ted Nasmith

The first settlers of the area were Sindar from Beleriand (later joined by many Silvan Elves of Lothlórien)[7] until the Faithful from Númenor came to the promontory in the late Second Age.[2] The last Elves left in T.A. 1981.

The Faithful and later the Gondorians that settled in Dol Amroth never married with Middle Men so the citizens were of Númenórean blood[11] and, according to the legend of Mithrellas, their Princes had an Elvish strain.[8][12] In addition to their apparent Elven blood, the family of Númenóreans, in which the House of Dol Amroth originates from, were akin to the Lords of Andúnië, and thus related to Elendil and descended from the legendary House of Elros.[2]

The people of Dol Amroth were tall, grey-eyed, and dark-haired.[1] They were famous as the most skilful harp players in all of Gondor, who played at the coronation of Aragorn.[13] The inhabitants of Dol Amroth and in the lands nearby were some of the few people of Gondor who spoke Sindarin on a daily basis.[11]

Etymology

Dol Amroth is Sindarin from dol ("hill") and the name of the King Amroth ("Upclimber"),[14] hence "Hill of Amroth".

Portrayal in adaptations

2014: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Dol Amroth was the largest city in the region of Western Gondor. It was ruled by Lothíriel in her father's absence. There were two gates to the city, one in the east leading to the waterfront and one in the west leading up to the city proper. The city was threatened by the Corsairs of Umbar, who blockaded the port and briefly managed to capture the city.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "Cirion and Eorl and the Friendship of Gondor and Rohan"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Field of Cormallen"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "Preface"
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, "The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon"
  7. 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Amroth and Nimrodel"
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn"
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age"
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VII. The Heirs of Elendil", The House of Dol Amroth, p. 222
  11. 11.0 11.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Men"
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Last Debate"
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King"
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Amroth and Nimrodel", p. 245