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The '''Grey Mountains''' (or '''Ered Mithrin''' in [[Sindarin]]) was a large mountain range to the north of [[Rhovanion]]. They were the last remnants of the wall of the [[Iron Mountains]], which once stretched all over the north of [[Middle-earth]], but were broken at the end of the [[First Age]].
{{disambig-two|a mountain chain|[[Middle-earth Role Playing|MERP]] supplement|[[The Grey Mountains]]}}
{{location infobox
| name=Grey Mountains
| image=[[File:Matěj Čadil - Ered Mithrin.jpg|250px]]
| caption="Ered Mithrin" by Matěj Čadil
| pronun=
| othernames=''Ered Mithrin''
| location=North-west of [[Lonely Mountain|Erebor]], north of [[Mirkwood]]
| type=Mountain range
| description=A rich mountain range of many ores
| regions=
| towns=[[Dáin's halls|Dáin's Halls]]
| inhabitants=[[Durin's Folk]]<br>[[Dragons]]<br>[[Orcs]]
| created=
| destroyed=
| events=[[War of the Dwarves and Dragons]], slaying of [[Scatha]] the Worm
| gallery=the Grey Mountains
}}
The '''Grey Mountains''' (or '''Ered Mithrin''' in [[Sindarin]]) was a large mountain range to the north of [[Rhovanion]]. Their western end connected to the [[Misty Mountains]] at the site of [[Gundabad|Mount Gundabad]].


North of the Grey Mountains lay the [[Northern Waste]]. This land was known as [[Dor Daedelos]] during the First Age, but most of it was destroyed in the breaking of [[Arda]].
==Geography==
North of the Grey Mountains lay the [[Northern Waste]].<ref name="UTmap">{{UT|Map}}</ref> In the west, where the Grey Mountains met with the [[Misty Mountains]] rose [[Gundabad|Mount Gundabad]], an ancient [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] holy site and later the capital for the [[Orcs]] of the north. The eastern end of the Grey Mountains was split into two chains, and in between lay the [[Withered Heath]], where [[Dragons]] bred. After that was a wide hilly plain, beyond which lay the [[Iron Hills]]. [[Lonely Mountain|Erebor]], the Lonely Mountain, lay south of the Grey Mountains.<ref name="UTmap"/>


Where the Grey Mountains met with the [[Misty Mountains]] lay [[Mount Gundabad]], an ancient [[Dwarves|Dwarven]] holy site and later the capitol for the [[Orcs]] of the north. During the [[Third Age]], the branch of the Grey Mountains west of the Misty Mountains were also known as the '''[[Mountains of Angmar]]''', as they were within the [[Angmar|Kingdom of Angmar]].
From east to west the mountains stretched some 350 Númenórean Miles, and the sources of the Great River [[Anduin]], the river [[Greylin]], and the [[Forest River]] of [[Mirkwood]] arose in this range.<ref name="UTmap"/>


The eastern end of the Grey Mountains was split in two branches, and in between lay the [[Withered Heath]], where [[Dragons]] still bred. After that was a long gap, until the [[Iron Hills]] continued the old line of the Iron Mountains again. [[Erebor]], the Lonely Mountain, was not part of either range.
==History==
===Early history===
In the [[First Age]], the Longbeards established mansions in [[Moria]] and the [[Iron Hills]], and they considered the Grey Mountains, which lay between these mansions, to be within their territory. Some [[Men]]—mostly related to the [[House of Hador]] of [[Beleriand]]—settled between the Grey Mountains and [[Greenwood]], and they allied with the Longbeards against Morgoth's [[Orcs]].<ref name=relations>{{PM|Relations}}</ref>{{rp|302-303}}  This alliance ended in the Second Age after [[Sauron]] destroyed [[Eregion]], which prompted the Longbeards to seal Moria. During this time, Orcs took control of the Grey Mountains.<ref name=relations/>{{rp|305}}


From east to west the mountains stretched some 350 Númenórean Miles, and the sources of the Great River [[Anduin]], the river [[Greylin]], and the [[Forest River]] of [[Mirkwood]] arose in this range.
===Third Age===
In {{TA|1980}} a [[Durin's Bane|Balrog]] appeared in [[Moria]] and by the next year the Dwarves fled.<ref name="TA">{{App|TA}}</ref>  Durin's folk were scattered.  [[Thráin I]] reestablished the [[Kingdom under the Mountain]] but [[Thorin I]] went to the Grey Mountains where most of the Dwarves gathered.<ref name="Durin">{{App|Durin}}</ref>  Nearly six hundred years later, [[Dragons]] began afflicting the Dwarves.  In {{TA|2589|n}} [[Dáin I]] was slain by a Dragon and the Grey Mountain strongholds were abandoned after the [[Wars of the Dwarves and Dragons]].  About {{TA|2480|n}} [[Orcs]] had begun to infest the [[Misty Mountains]]<ref name="TA"/> and spread to the Grey Mountains, such that by {{TA|2941|n}} [[Gandalf]] the Wizard could say that the range was "simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description".<ref>{{H|Queer}}</ref>  However, after the [[Battle of Five Armies]] the number of Goblins in the Grey Mountains were greatly reduced (some three parts of them had perished).<ref>{{H|Return}}</ref>


After fleeing Khazad-dum Durin's folk scattered, and later gathered again in the '''Grey Mountains''', but after six hundred years all the Dwarven strongholds had been abandoned or raided during the [[Wars of the Dwarves and Dragons]]. Its sole purpose now seemed to be to divide Forodwaith from [[Wilderland]].  Although it seems that the Orcs started moving into the mountains after the Dwarves fled, and were a large threat until after the [[Battle of Five Armies]].
There still was a remnant of the Dwarves in the Ered Mithrin after the core of the population left<ref name="Durin">{{App|Durin}}</ref>, but were probably few; working whatever mines they could hold from the Orcs and Dragons.


It seems according to some hints in Appendix A of the Return of the King, that some Dwarves still dwelt in the Ered Mithrin during the late Third Age. So it is likely after the War of the Ring, the Dwarves drove whatever Drakes and Orcs were left totally from the mountains, and reclaimed the rest of their halls and mines in the Grey Mountains.
== Other versions of the legendarium ==
Another line of "[[Grey Mountains (ancient)|Grey Mountains]]" in Middle-earth are seen on the [[Ambarkanta]] map.<ref>{{SM|Ambar}}</ref>


== Other Versions of the Legendarium ==
== Portrayal in adaptations ==
Another line of "Grey Mountains" in Middle-earth are seen on the [[Ambarkanta]] map: these are a series of mountains which continue the line of the [[Blue Mountains]] as the western edge of [[Endor]], but on the southern half of the continent. Since no maps of the entire world exist after the [[First Age]], it is unknown if this mountain line still existed in the Third Age. In any case they do not appear in any narrative.
'''2018: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Ered Mithrin is an area in "The Dwarf-holds" region, also known as "Ered Mithrin & Withered Heath" in addition to the [[Iron Hills]]. The playable area consists of the southern slopes of the mountains and the land north of [[Mirkwood|Eryn Lasgalen]], and is accessed by a road going through the [[Dale]]-lands west of Erebor. There are three major peaks east of Gundabad: "Wrathhorn", on which is built "Thikil-gundu, the Steel Keep", capital of the former dwarven kingdom of "Grárik"; "Thrumfall", site of the keeps of "Skárhald", "Stormwall", and the mine "Glimmerdeep"; and "Winterstith" bordering the Withered Heath, which can be accessed by the pass of "Wyrmgap". The upper course of the [[Forest River]] is crossed by "Óinsbridge", while at the Greylin are the ruins of "Rushgate" at the western border of the region.
 
:The Grey Mountains have been settled both by the Longbeards and by a house of Easterling dwarves known as the "Zhélruka". They are now inhabited by many lesser [[Dragons|Dragon-kind]] as well as the true Dragons "Etterfang Foulmaw", Smaug's sister, and "Hrímil Frost-heart". Orcs and Trolls from Gundabad can also be found there.
 
{{references}}


[[Category:Mountains]]
[[Category:Rhovanion]]
[[Category:Rhovanion]]
[[Category:Dwarven Realms]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges]]
[[Category:Orc-Dwellings]]
[[Category:Dwarven realms]]
[[Category:Evil realms]]
 
[[de:Ered Mithrin]]
[[de:Graues Gebirge (Hinnenlande)]]
[[fi:Harmaavuoret]]
[[fi:Harmaavuoret (Esiajat)]]
[[fr:encyclo/geographie/reliefs/rhovanion/montagnes_grises]]

Revision as of 04:15, 17 January 2019

This article is about a mountain chain. For the MERP supplement, see The Grey Mountains.
Grey Mountains
Mountain range
Matěj Čadil - Ered Mithrin.jpg
"Ered Mithrin" by Matěj Čadil
General Information
Other namesEred Mithrin
LocationNorth-west of Erebor, north of Mirkwood
TypeMountain range
DescriptionA rich mountain range of many ores
People and History
InhabitantsDurin's Folk
Dragons
Orcs
EventsWar of the Dwarves and Dragons, slaying of Scatha the Worm
GalleryImages of the Grey Mountains

The Grey Mountains (or Ered Mithrin in Sindarin) was a large mountain range to the north of Rhovanion. Their western end connected to the Misty Mountains at the site of Mount Gundabad.

Geography

North of the Grey Mountains lay the Northern Waste.[1] In the west, where the Grey Mountains met with the Misty Mountains rose Mount Gundabad, an ancient Dwarven holy site and later the capital for the Orcs of the north. The eastern end of the Grey Mountains was split into two chains, and in between lay the Withered Heath, where Dragons bred. After that was a wide hilly plain, beyond which lay the Iron Hills. Erebor, the Lonely Mountain, lay south of the Grey Mountains.[1]

From east to west the mountains stretched some 350 Númenórean Miles, and the sources of the Great River Anduin, the river Greylin, and the Forest River of Mirkwood arose in this range.[1]

History

Early history

In the First Age, the Longbeards established mansions in Moria and the Iron Hills, and they considered the Grey Mountains, which lay between these mansions, to be within their territory. Some Men—mostly related to the House of Hador of Beleriand—settled between the Grey Mountains and Greenwood, and they allied with the Longbeards against Morgoth's Orcs.[2]:302-303 This alliance ended in the Second Age after Sauron destroyed Eregion, which prompted the Longbeards to seal Moria. During this time, Orcs took control of the Grey Mountains.[2]:305

Third Age

In T.A. 1980 a Balrog appeared in Moria and by the next year the Dwarves fled.[3] Durin's folk were scattered. Thráin I reestablished the Kingdom under the Mountain but Thorin I went to the Grey Mountains where most of the Dwarves gathered.[4] Nearly six hundred years later, Dragons began afflicting the Dwarves. In 2589 Dáin I was slain by a Dragon and the Grey Mountain strongholds were abandoned after the Wars of the Dwarves and Dragons. About 2480 Orcs had begun to infest the Misty Mountains[3] and spread to the Grey Mountains, such that by 2941 Gandalf the Wizard could say that the range was "simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description".[5] However, after the Battle of Five Armies the number of Goblins in the Grey Mountains were greatly reduced (some three parts of them had perished).[6]

There still was a remnant of the Dwarves in the Ered Mithrin after the core of the population left[4], but were probably few; working whatever mines they could hold from the Orcs and Dragons.

Other versions of the legendarium

Another line of "Grey Mountains" in Middle-earth are seen on the Ambarkanta map.[7]

Portrayal in adaptations

2018: The Lord of the Rings Online:

Ered Mithrin is an area in "The Dwarf-holds" region, also known as "Ered Mithrin & Withered Heath" in addition to the Iron Hills. The playable area consists of the southern slopes of the mountains and the land north of Eryn Lasgalen, and is accessed by a road going through the Dale-lands west of Erebor. There are three major peaks east of Gundabad: "Wrathhorn", on which is built "Thikil-gundu, the Steel Keep", capital of the former dwarven kingdom of "Grárik"; "Thrumfall", site of the keeps of "Skárhald", "Stormwall", and the mine "Glimmerdeep"; and "Winterstith" bordering the Withered Heath, which can be accessed by the pass of "Wyrmgap". The upper course of the Forest River is crossed by "Óinsbridge", while at the Greylin are the ruins of "Rushgate" at the western border of the region.
The Grey Mountains have been settled both by the Longbeards and by a house of Easterling dwarves known as the "Zhélruka". They are now inhabited by many lesser Dragon-kind as well as the true Dragons "Etterfang Foulmaw", Smaug's sister, and "Hrímil Frost-heart". Orcs and Trolls from Gundabad can also be found there.

References