Mindolluin: Difference between revisions

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(Corrected an edit; Christopher Tolkien did not write that Mindolluin is a shortened form of minas, he merely wrote that the same stem (as in minas) occurs in other words, such as Mindolluin; it would have been helpful to have included on which entry for the Elements/Appendix the claim was based and it would have been helpful to include the footnote on page 80 in WR)
 
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'''Mindolluin''' or '''Mount Mindolluin''' was the easternmost peak of the Ered Nimrais ([[White Mountains]]), below and to the east of which stood the city of [[Minas Tirith]].<ref>{{RK|Map}}</ref>
__NOTOC__
{{mountain
| image=[[File:Alan Lee - Mindolluin.jpg|275px]]
| name=Mindolluin
| location=above [[Minas Tirith]]
| belongs=[[White Mountains]]
| description=
| othernames=
| events=finding of a sapling of the [[White Tree]]
| references=
}}
'''Mindolluin'''<ref>{{TT|Pool}}, p. 684</ref> or '''Mount Mindolluin'''<ref>{{TT|Palantir}}, p. 600</ref> was the easternmost mountain of the [[White Mountains]] ([[Sindarin]] ''Ered Nimrais'').<ref>{{RK|Map}}</ref>
 
Mindolluin was a high mountain with a snow-capped peak and high glens, which cast deep purple shadows in the morning light.<ref>{{RK|MT}}, p. 751</ref> On the eastern side of the mountain a narrow shoulder joined it with the [[Hill of Guard]]<ref name=MT752>{{RK|MT}}, p. 752</ref> on which the city of [[Minas Tirith]] was built<ref name=N>{{HM|N}}, entry '''Hill of Guard''', p. 772</ref> at the level of the fifth wall of the city<ref name=MT752/>.
 
At the southern feet of Mount Mindolluin was an ancient steep path , which went up the mountain to a high hallow far above the city where only the [[Kings of Gondor]] were accustomed to go. Standing in this spot one could look over a precipice to the towers of the city of Minas Tirith far below.<ref>{{RK|Steward}}, p. 970</ref>
 
==History==
Shortly after [[Aragorn]]'s coronation as Elessar, on [[25 June]] {{TA|3019}},<ref>{{App|Chief}}, entry for the year 3019, June 25, p. 1095</ref><ref>{{HM|RC}}, p. 638</ref><ref group=note>[[Wayne Hammond]] and [[Christina Scull]] comment that this is an impossibly short period of time for the tree to blossom "when the month of June entered in" and that either the date of the finding of the sapling of the tree or the date of the blossoming of the tree is incorrect.</ref> [[Gandalf]] took him by the forgotten path to the high hallow where the newly-crowned king could view the vastness of his realm. When he remarked that the [[White Tree of Gondor]] in the [[Court of the Fountain (Minas Tirith)|Court of the Fountain]] was still [[Dead Tree|withered]], Gandalf bade him turn around. Opposite the precipice, on an otherwise barren stony slope, one growing thing could be seen: a sapling of the line of [[Nimloth of Númenor|Nimloth]]. Aragorn removed the tree, brought it to the Citadel and planted it by the fountain in the Court of the Fountain as a sign of rebirth, and for [[Arwen]] to come to [[Gondor]] and be his queen.<ref>{{RK|Steward}}, pp. 970-2</ref>


Shortly after [[Aragorn]]'s coronation as King Aragorn II, [[Gandalf]] took him by an ancient path into the foothills of Mindolluin, far above the city. There he discovered, upon an otherwise barren slope, a sapling of Nimloth, the [[White Tree of Gondor]], which he planted in the [[Court of the Fountain (Minas Tirith)|Court of the Fountain]] as a sign of rebirth.<ref>{{HM|RK}}</ref>
==Etymology==
==Etymology==
''Mindolluin'' is [[Sindarin]] for "towering blue head"; the double "l", as with all double letters in Sindarin, is pronounced as two separate letters rather than one.
''Mindolluin'' is a Sindarin name,<ref name=Eldamo>{{webcite|author=Paul Strack|articleurl=https://www.eldamo.org/content/words/word-1563497385.html|articlename=S. ''Mindolluin'' loc.|website=Eldamo|accessed=30 April 2023}}</ref> which means "Towering blue-head"<ref>{{HM|UI}}, entry ''Mindolluin'', p. 439</ref>. [[Paul Strack]] suggests that it is a combination of a shortened form or a root form of ''[[minas]]'' ("tower"), with ''[[dol]]'' ("head") and ''[[luin]]'' ("blue").<ref name=Eldamo/> [[Christopher Tolkien]] mentions that the same stem as in ''minas'' occurs in 'Mindolluin''.<ref>{{S|Appendix}}, entry ''minas''</ref>
 
==Other versions of the legendarium==
In a draft of ''The Lord of the Rings'', the hill was called ''Tor-dilluin''<ref>{{HM|WR}}, p. 77</ref> in [[Noldorin]]<ref name=Eldamo/> before it was changed to ''Mindolluin''.<ref>{{HM|WR}}, note 18, p. 80</ref>
 
==Portrayal in adaptations==
==Portrayal in adaptations==
'''1982-97: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
'''1982-97: ''[[Middle-earth Role Playing]]'':'''
: Mindolluin stands 10,459 feet tall, towering above the snowline. The High Hallow of Mindolluin is one of the holiest sites in Gondor.<ref>{{ICE|4002}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2007}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2021}}</ref>
:Mindolluin stands 10,459 feet tall, towering above the snowline. The High Hallow of Mindolluin is one of the holiest sites in Gondor.<ref>{{ICE|4002}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2007}}</ref><ref>{{ICE|2021}}</ref>


{{references}}
{{references|group}}
[[Category:Gondor]]
[[Category:Gondor]]
[[Category:Mountains]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[Category:White Mountains]]
[[Category:White Mountains]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[de:Mindolluin]]
[[de:Mindolluin]]
[[fi:Mindolluin]]
[[fi:Mindolluin]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/reliefs/montagnes_blanches/mindolluin]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/reliefs/montagnes_blanches/mindolluin]]

Latest revision as of 11:11, 20 September 2023

Alan Lee - Mindolluin.jpg
Mindolluin
Physical Description
Locationabove Minas Tirith
Belongs toWhite Mountains
General Information
Eventsfinding of a sapling of the White Tree

Mindolluin[1] or Mount Mindolluin[2] was the easternmost mountain of the White Mountains (Sindarin Ered Nimrais).[3]

Mindolluin was a high mountain with a snow-capped peak and high glens, which cast deep purple shadows in the morning light.[4] On the eastern side of the mountain a narrow shoulder joined it with the Hill of Guard[5] on which the city of Minas Tirith was built[6] at the level of the fifth wall of the city[5].

At the southern feet of Mount Mindolluin was an ancient steep path , which went up the mountain to a high hallow far above the city where only the Kings of Gondor were accustomed to go. Standing in this spot one could look over a precipice to the towers of the city of Minas Tirith far below.[7]

History[edit | edit source]

Shortly after Aragorn's coronation as Elessar, on 25 June T.A. 3019,[8][9][note 1] Gandalf took him by the forgotten path to the high hallow where the newly-crowned king could view the vastness of his realm. When he remarked that the White Tree of Gondor in the Court of the Fountain was still withered, Gandalf bade him turn around. Opposite the precipice, on an otherwise barren stony slope, one growing thing could be seen: a sapling of the line of Nimloth. Aragorn removed the tree, brought it to the Citadel and planted it by the fountain in the Court of the Fountain as a sign of rebirth, and for Arwen to come to Gondor and be his queen.[10]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Mindolluin is a Sindarin name,[11] which means "Towering blue-head"[12]. Paul Strack suggests that it is a combination of a shortened form or a root form of minas ("tower"), with dol ("head") and luin ("blue").[11] Christopher Tolkien mentions that the same stem as in minas occurs in 'Mindolluin.[13]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

In a draft of The Lord of the Rings, the hill was called Tor-dilluin[14] in Noldorin[11] before it was changed to Mindolluin.[15]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

1982-97: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Mindolluin stands 10,459 feet tall, towering above the snowline. The High Hallow of Mindolluin is one of the holiest sites in Gondor.[16][17][18]

Notes

  1. Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull comment that this is an impossibly short period of time for the tree to blossom "when the month of June entered in" and that either the date of the finding of the sapling of the tree or the date of the blossoming of the tree is incorrect.

References

  1. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Forbidden Pool", p. 684
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "The Palantír", p. 600
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith", p. 751
  5. 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith", p. 752
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings" in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Hill of Guard, p. 772
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King", p. 970
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Chief Days from the Fall of Barad-dûr to the End of the Third Age", entry for the year 3019, June 25, p. 1095
  9. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 638
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Steward and the King", pp. 970-2
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 Paul Strack, "S. Mindolluin loc.", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 30 April 2023)
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Mindolluin, p. 439
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entry minas
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, p. 77
  15. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Ring, note 18, p. 80
  16. Mark Rabuck (1992), Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer (#4002)
  17. Graham Staplehurst (1994), Minas Tirith (2nd edition) (#2007)
  18. Jason Beresford, Anders Blixt, Mats Blomqvist, Gunnar Brolin, Jeff Hatch, Tim Innes, Åke Rosenius, Martin Rundkvist, Erik, Rågvik, Chris Seeman, Magnus Seter (1996), Southern Gondor: The Land (#2021)