Tarlang's Neck
Tarlang's Neck was the pass between the main range of the White Mountains and a long, mountainous spur between the sources of the Blackroot and Ciril rivers. The pass had a road in it that connected the Blackroot Vale to the west and the land of Lamedon to the east.[1]
History
Tarlang was the original name of this pass, but it was later taken as a personal name.[2]
A local legend among the indigenous people of Gondor told of giants and one of them called Stiff-neck who tripped and broke his neck. The other giants did not clean up his body, which became incorporated in the land instead. The giant's neck became Tarlang's Neck, his head Dol Tarlang, and the stones he was carrying Cûl Veleg and Cûl Bîn.[3]
Tarlang's Neck formed part of the route by which Aragorn and the Grey Company led the Army of the Dead on their journey to the relief of Minas Tirith in the War of the Ring.[4]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Map of Rohan, Gondor, and Mordor"
- ↑ 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, pp. 776-7
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Nomenclature of The Lord of the Rings, omitted entry quoted in Wayne G. Hammond, Christina Scull, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, page 536-7
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Passing of the Grey Company"