South Gondor

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Revision as of 10:08, 25 May 2022 by Akhorahil (talk | contribs) (Used South Gondor in the text of the page instead of Harondor, because Harondor is not used in the text and the appendices of The Lord of the Rings and is only used in older maps that were publised in The Lord of the Rings)
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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

The borders of South Gondor were probably the Ethir Anduin and the river Poros in the north,[2], possibly the river Harnen in the south,[3] the Ephel Dúath and the river Harnen in the east 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 South Gondor had a climate that was fluctuating between mild winters and very hot and dry summers.[4][note 2]

History

South Gondor 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]

South Gondor remained a 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 South Gondor and there was much fighting along the Poros. When they started invading Ithilien, many Rohirrim came to the support of Gondor so that Túrin won against the Haradrim at the Crossings of Poros[8] in (T.A. 2885).[9]

Etymology

The Sindarin name Harondor means "South Gondor",[10][11][12] being a compound of the prefixal form har- of harn ("south") and the lenited form of Gondor.[13]

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.

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 South Gondor.

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, p. 1044
  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, p. 1047
  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, p. 1054
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix B, "The Third Age", entry for the year 2885, p. 1088
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "XV. The First Map of The Lord of the Rings", pp. 309-310
  11. J.R.R. Tolkien, General Map of Middle-earth, with the label South Gondor followed by (Harondor)
  12. Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, lxiii
  13. Paul Strack, "S. Harondor", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 19 July 2021)