South Gondor

From Tolkien Gateway
South Gondor
Region
Stephen Raw - Middle-earth map (4 of 4).png
"Map of Harondor and neighbouring regions"
General Information
Other namesHarondor (S)
TypeRegion

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

Geography[edit | edit source]

The borders of South Gondor were the Ethir Anduin[1] and the river Poros[2][3] in the north, the river Harnen in the south,[2] the Ephel Dúath[1] and the river Harnen[2] in the east and the Bay of Belfalas[1] 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[edit | edit source]

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 after which 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[edit | edit source]

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

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in notes for the Dutch translator of The Lord of the Rings that the label "South Gondor (Harondor)" on the General Map of Middle-earth was an error and that the label should have been "Harondor (South Gondor)".[11]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

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 1.2 1.3 1.4 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, "The West of Middle-earth at the End of the Third Age" [map]
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Unfinished index for The Lord of the Rings", in Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, entry Gondor, p. 17
  3. 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-
  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. 10.0 10.1 Paul Strack, "S. Harondor", Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon (accessed 19 July 2021)
  11. 11.0 11.1 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, "Harondor (South Gondor)", p. lxiii
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, "XV. The First Map of The Lord of the Rings", with the label "Harondor (S. Gondor)", pp. 309-310
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, General Map of Middle-earth, with the label "South Gondor (Harondor)