Erech

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Erech
Hill
Rob Alexander - Vale of Erech.jpg
General Information
LocationNorthern Lamedon, south of the White Mountains and Edoras
TypeHill
DescriptionHill capped by a great black stone
RegionsGondor
Reunited Kingdom
InhabitantsOriginally Men, later abandoned
GalleryImages of Erech

Erech was a hill in Gondor situated in the far north of the province of Lamedon at the mouth of the Blackroot Vale, far to the west of Minas Tirith.[1] It lay near to the southern entrance to the Paths of the Dead. Upon the summit stood a smooth black globe, the Stone of Erech.

History

In the Second Age, Isildur brought with him the stone as a symbol of his lineage and Gondor. He set it upon the hill of Erech and made the local hill tribes swear an oath of loyalty on the stone. The hill tribes later broke their oath and were doomed to haunt the place as the Dead Men.

The area was completely abandoned by the end of the Third Age. On 8 March T.A. 3019,[2] at midnight, the heir of Isildur, Aragorn, came to Erech to hold the Dead to their oath again, promising that upon its fulfillment they would have peace.[3] On 13 March[2] they held true to their oath and formed the Host of the Dead to help Aragorn defeat the Corsairs of Umbar at Pelargir. After the battle at Pelargir, Aragorn released them from their oath and they were allowed to rest.[4]

Etymology

The name Erech, like so many names in Gondor, was of unknown Mannish pre-Númenórean origin.[5]

See Also

References