Eagle's Eyrie

From Tolkien Gateway
Eagles' Eyrie
Eyrie
Darrell Sweet - The Lord of the Eagles.jpg
"The Lord of the Eagles" by Darrell Sweet
General Information
Other namesGreat Shelf
LocationMisty Mountains
TypeEyrie
DescriptionA wide shelf of rock on a mountainside reachable only by flying
InhabitantsEagles, Great Eagle
"The Lord of the Eagles bids you to bring your prisoners to the Great Shelf"
― An Eagle[1]

The Eagle's Eyrie, known to the eagles as the Great Shelf, was a home of the Eagles located on the eastern side of the Misty Mountains.[1] Its exact location was unknown, but it was presumably close to the High Pass and Goblin-town. It was from this location that the Eagles helped the Elves of Rivendell kept watch over the lands east of the Misty Mountains, gathering information about the Orcs in the region.[2]

As shown in Tolkien's own illustration, it was not within the main range of the Misty Mountains themselves, but on a peak that stood a little way out into the plain, eastward of the main mountain-chain.

History[edit | edit source]

In T.A. 2941[3] the eagles of the eyrie rescued Thorin and Company from the tops of the trees at the Warg's clearing and took them to the Eagle's Eyrie. Here they met the Great Eagle, ate their first food since escaping the Goblins, and spent the night.[1] The next morning the eagles took the company from the Eyrie to the Carrock.[4]

References

Route of Thorin and Company
Bag End · Green Dragon · The Shire · Lone-lands · Last Bridge · Trollshaws · Trolls' cave · Rivendell · High Pass · Front Porch · Goblin-town · Goblin-gate · Eagle's Eyrie · Carrock · Beorn's Hall · Wilderland · Forest Gate · Elf-path · Mirkwood · Elvenking's Halls · Forest River · Lake-town · Long Lake · River Running · Desolation of the Dragon · Ravenhill · Back Door · Lonely Mountain · Great Hall of Thráin