Harad Road

From Tolkien Gateway

The Harad Road was the long road that connected Ithilien and Harad.

Map of part of Gondor by J.R.R. Tolkien

Course[edit | edit source]

The Harad Road ran from the Cross-roads southward through Ithilien,[1][2][note 1] crossing the river Poros at the Crossings of Poros, and then across South Gondor to the ford across the river Harnen and beyond to the far lands of Harad.[3]

History[edit | edit source]

It is possible that the Road was built or first used by the Gondorians, as Gondor extended its power to the south in the early Third Age.[4]

The southernmost part of the Road is not clear,[3] perhaps indicating that it later fell into disuse and had disappeared by the time of the War of the Ring.[4]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Harad means "south" in Sindarin,[5] so Harad Road means "South Road".

Notes

  1. The road that runs from the Morannon to the Cross-roads and then on to the river Poros is unnamed on the General Map of Middle-earth, the Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor and on the map of The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age. The road north of the Cross-roads is referred to as the Southward Road in the narrative of The Lord of the Rings. On those maps only the part of the road south of the river Poros is named Harad Road. The part of the road that runs from the Cross-roads in Ithilien south towards the river Poros is named Harad Road and South Road on the Map of a part of Gondor and on the map of Minas Morghul and the Cross-roads, respectively, which were drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien during the writing of The Lord of the Rings.

References

  1. Catherine McIlwaine, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, "Map of part of Gondor", p. 389
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, "Part Two: The Ring Goes East", "VII. Journey to the Cross-roads", Minas Morghul and the Cross-roads (map), p. 181
  3. 3.0 3.1 Christopher Tolkien, General Map of Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings (earlier editions)
  4. 4.0 4.1 Robert Foster, The Complete Guide to Middle-earth, entry "Harad Road", p. 188
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), entry S harad, p. 88