South Gondor: Difference between revisions

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'''[[2019]]: ''[[Other Minds 20]]'':'''
'''[[2019]]: ''[[Other Minds 20]]'':'''
:The roleplaying fan magazine Other Minds Issue 20 contains a map of Harondor that is based on the description of Harondor in the MERP module ''[[Southern Gondor: The Land]]'' and on the map of northwestern Middle-earth in the MERP Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer on page 146.
:The roleplaying fan magazine Other Minds Issue 20 contains a map of Harondor that is based on the description of Harondor in the MERP module ''[[Southern Gondor: The Land]]'' and on the map of northwestern Middle-earth in the MERP [[Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer]] on page 146.


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Revision as of 20:23, 27 October 2020

"Who told you, and who sent you?" — Gandalf
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Map of Harondor and neighbouring regions

South Gondor, known in Sindarin as Harondor, was a region south of Ithilien.[1]

Geography

Harondor's borders were probably the river Poros in the north,[2] possibly the river Harnen in the south,[3] the Ephel Dúath in the east and the river Anduin and the Bay of Belfalas in the west. It was described as a "desert land" at the time of the War of the Ring.[1] However, it is possible that this meant that it was a land that was deserted by its inhabitants because of the wars between Gondor and the Corsairs of Umbar and the Haradrim.[note 1] It is possible that Harondor had a climate that was fluctuating between mild winters and very hot and dry summers.[4][note 2]

History

Harondor was absorbed by Gondor during the height of its power, probably the expansions of Tarannon Falastur, who extended the sway of Gondor along the coasts west and south of the Mouths of Anduin.[5][6]

Harondor was part of Gondor until the Kin-strife when it became a debatable land between the Corsairs of Umbar and the Kings of Gondor.[7]

During the days of Steward Túrin II, the Haradrim occupied Harondor and there was much fighting along the Poros. When they started invading Ithilien, many Rohirrim came to the support of Gondor and won (T.A. 2885).[8]

Etymology

The Sindarin word Harondor seems[who?] to contain har- (as in Harad, meaning "south")[9] and Gondor.[source?]

Portrayal in adaptations

1996: Middle-earth Role Playing:

Several settlements and sites in Harondor, its history, geography, flora and fauna, inhabitants, politics and power and warcraft are mentioned in the MERP module Southern Gondor: The Land.

2019: Other Minds 20:

The roleplaying fan magazine Other Minds Issue 20 contains a map of Harondor that is based on the description of Harondor in the MERP module Southern Gondor: The Land and on the map of northwestern Middle-earth in the MERP Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer on page 146.

Notes

  1. South Gondor is labelled as a "verlassenes Land" (i.e. a deserted land or abandoned land) on the map of the West of Middle-earth in the German translation of The Lord of the Rings.
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien wrote on his son's map of Middle-earth for Pauline Baynes that Umbar is approximately at the latitude of Cyprus and that Minas Tirith is approximately at the latitude of Ravenna, but more to the east near Belgrade. He wrote that these references are so that Pauline Baynes can roughly judge the climate and the fauna and flora for her map of Middle-earth. In addition, he wrote in a letter to Charlotte and Denis Plimmer that the city of Pelargir is approximately at the latitude of ancient Troy. J.R.R. Tolkiens mentions that Ithilien was open to the moist winds from the sea and sheltered from the east by the Ephel Dúath in the context of the vegetation in Ithilien in The Lord of the Rings. Those two factors probably also apply to Harondor.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
  2. J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, pp. 17 paragraph about the element arn-
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit", "in those days our bounds were away south beyond the mouths of Anduin"
  4. Karen Wynn Fonstad (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth, pp. 183, 185
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entry for king Tarannon
  6. Karen Wynn Fonstad (1991), The Atlas of Middle-earth, "The Third Age - Kingdoms of the Dunedain", p. 55
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", entry for king Eldacar
  8. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion", "The Stewards", entry for steward Túrin II
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix E, "Pronunciation of Words and Names", "Consonants"