Edhellond

From Tolkien Gateway
The name Amroth refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Amroth (disambiguation).
Edhellond
Harbour
John Howe - Edhellond.jpg
"Edhellond" by John Howe
General Information
Other namesAmroth's Haven[1]
LocationSouthern Gondor, confluence of the Ringló and Morthond rivers
TypeHarbour
DescriptionA far southern haven of the Elves
People and History
InhabitantsFounded by Sindar, later joined by many Silvan Elves
CreatedLate First Age[2]
EventsLoss of Amroth
GalleryImages of Edhellond

Edhellond was an ancient harbour in southern Gondor. It had been established south-west of where the Ringló entered the Morthond,[3] near where the combined waters flowed into Cobas Haven.[4]

History[edit | edit source]

Edhellond was founded in the late First Age by seafaring Sindar[note 1] from the west havens of Beleriand who fled in three small ships when the power of Morgoth overwhelmed the Eldar and the Edain; but it was later increased by adventurers of the Silvan Elves seeking for the sea who came down Anduin.[2]

The lands including and surrounding Edhellond came to be considered the "country of Amroth" at circa S.A. 730.[5]

From Edhellond, Elves began sailing westward from the time of the fall of Eregion in S.A. 1697.[6][7]

Around T.A. 1980, with the freeing of the Balrog in Moria, many of the Galadhrim fled south to Edhellond and sailed over the Sea to Valinor. Amroth, King of Lórien, was lost at sea near Edhellond in 1981 when he attempted to swim to shore to seek his beloved Nimrodel. The ship from which he jumped overboard was the last ship of Elves to leave from Edhellond. The haven was deserted from then on,[2] although it was remembered, as did other ancient Elvish dwellings, in the traditions of the Gondorians in Anfalas and Dol Amroth.[7]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Edhellond means "Elf Haven" in Sindarin, from edhel ("Elf") + lond ("harbour, haven").[8]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

Another account, in an unfinished note on the origin of the name Belfalas, states that the haven was established in the early Second Age by Elves from Lindon. They were a remnant of the people of Doriath who still harboured a grudge against the Noldor.[2] They learned the craft of shipbuilding at the Grey Havens and then settled at the mouth of the Morthond; the fisherfolk of the primitive harbour fled in fear to the White Mountains upon the arrival of the Sindar.[2]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

2014: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Although Edhellond itself is abandoned, a small group of Elves, the "Avorrim" still live in nearby caves in secret, known only to the ruling line of Dol Amroth. They maintain a watch over Edhellond as, should the unthinkable happen and the access to the Grey Havens be lost, it would remain the only place in Middle-Earth from which the Elves could sail into the West. During the War of the Ring the Corsairs of Umbar who blockade Dol Amroth dock many of their ships in Edhellond, which becomes one of their staging areas.

Notes[edit source]

  1. They escaped from Brithombar or Eglarest (the Havens of the Falas on the west coast of Beleriand) when they were destroyed in the years after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, but that whereas Círdan and Gil-galad made a refuge on the Isle of Balar, these three ships' companies sailed far further south down the coasts, to Belfalas.

References