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The '''Cirith Ninniach''' was a thin, rocky pass through the ''[[Ered Lómin]]'' ("Echoing Mountains") in the far northwest of Beleriand. It connected the land of [[Hithlum]] with the [[Firth of Drengist]] which led to the [[Great Sea]]. The [[Noldor]] used the pass to re-enter [[Beleriand]] during the [[Flight of the Noldor]]. In the following decades King [[Turgon of Gondolin|Turgon]] built the [[Gate of the Noldor]] at the end of the pass to allow easier travel.
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The '''Cirith Ninniach''', the "Rainbow Cleft", was a thin, rocky pass through the ''[[Ered Lómin]]'' ("Echoing Mountains") in the far northwest of Beleriand.<ref name="Map">{{S|Map}}</ref>
==History==
The Cirith Ninniach connected the land of [[Hithlum]] with the [[Firth of Drengist]] which led to the [[Belegaer|Great Sea]].<ref name="Map"/>  Although not explicitly stated, when [[Fëanor]] led his followers up the Firth and into Hithlum they must have found and used Cirith Ninniach to achieve their passage.<ref>{{S|Return}}</ref>


Centuries later, after Turgon and his people had abandoned the region for [[Gondolin]] and the [[Gate of the Noldor]] had been forgotten, [[Tuor]] escaped this way on his fateful mission to the [[Gondolin|Hidden City]].
During King [[Turgon]]'s stay in [[Nevrast]] the [[Gate of the Noldor]], a dark tunnel under the mountains, was built which opened into the pass.  Centuries later, after Turgon and his people had abandoned the region for [[Gondolin]], Tuor found and used both the [[Gate of the Noldor]] and Cirith Ninniach to escape from Hithlum.<ref>{{S|Gondolin}}</ref>


Cirith Ninniach means "Pass of the Slender Crossing" in [[Sindarin]] (from ''[[cirith]]'' = "cleft, pass", ''[[ninn]]'' = "slender", and ''[[iach]]'' = "ford, crossing").
Tuor found the Cirith Ninniach by following a stream that flowed from [[Dor-Lómin]] to the [[Ered Lómin]] and then disappeared into a great arch in a wall of rock.  At first he though that there was no passage but then he saw two [[Elves]] issue from the archway.  [[Gelmir]] and [[Arminas]] they were, and they told him that he had found the [[Gate of the Noldor]].  The two Elves led Tuor into the tunnel beside the stream and down long flights of steps.  They left Tuor beside a waterfall and he continued until he emerged into a narrow ravine that ran straight into the West.  In the pass the stream rushed over falls and wove rainbows; thus he named the ravine Cirith Ninniach.
 
Tuor traveled in the pass for four days, watching the stream turn into a river fed by shimmering falls that descended the walls of Cirith Ninniach.  The pass ended when the river met the sea in the narrow Firth of Drengist.<ref>{{UT|Tuor}}</ref>
==Etymology==
''Cirith Ninniach'' means "Pass of the Slender Crossing" in [[Sindarin]] (from ''[[cirith]]'' = "cleft, pass", ''[[ninn]]'' = "slender", and ''[[iach]]'' = "ford, crossing").
 
An early ([[Gnomish]]) name for the pass was ''Glorfalc'', the "Golden Cleft".<ref>{{HM|IX}}, p. 187</ref><ref>{{LT2|Appendix}}, p. 341</ref>


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[[Category:Northwest Beleriand]]
[[Category:Passes]]
[[Category:Passes]]
[[Category:Gondolin and Turgon]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[Category:Sindarin locations]]
[[de:Cirith Ninniach]]
[[de:Cirith Ninniach]]
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[[fr:encyclo:geographie:reliefs:beleriand:cirith_ninniach]]
[[fr:encyclo:geographie:reliefs:beleriand:cirith_ninniach]]
[[fi:Cirith Ninniach]]

Revision as of 00:27, 13 July 2012

The Cirith Ninniach, the "Rainbow Cleft", was a thin, rocky pass through the Ered Lómin ("Echoing Mountains") in the far northwest of Beleriand.[1]

History

The Cirith Ninniach connected the land of Hithlum with the Firth of Drengist which led to the Great Sea.[1] Although not explicitly stated, when Fëanor led his followers up the Firth and into Hithlum they must have found and used Cirith Ninniach to achieve their passage.[2]

During King Turgon's stay in Nevrast the Gate of the Noldor, a dark tunnel under the mountains, was built which opened into the pass. Centuries later, after Turgon and his people had abandoned the region for Gondolin, Tuor found and used both the Gate of the Noldor and Cirith Ninniach to escape from Hithlum.[3]

Tuor found the Cirith Ninniach by following a stream that flowed from Dor-Lómin to the Ered Lómin and then disappeared into a great arch in a wall of rock. At first he though that there was no passage but then he saw two Elves issue from the archway. Gelmir and Arminas they were, and they told him that he had found the Gate of the Noldor. The two Elves led Tuor into the tunnel beside the stream and down long flights of steps. They left Tuor beside a waterfall and he continued until he emerged into a narrow ravine that ran straight into the West. In the pass the stream rushed over falls and wove rainbows; thus he named the ravine Cirith Ninniach.

Tuor traveled in the pass for four days, watching the stream turn into a river fed by shimmering falls that descended the walls of Cirith Ninniach. The pass ended when the river met the sea in the narrow Firth of Drengist.[4]

Etymology

Cirith Ninniach means "Pass of the Slender Crossing" in Sindarin (from cirith = "cleft, pass", ninn = "slender", and iach = "ford, crossing").

An early (Gnomish) name for the pass was Glorfalc, the "Golden Cleft".[5][6]

References