Tower of Ecthelion

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'"How came you by it?" — Thorin
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The name Ecthelion refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Ecthelion (disambiguation).
Tower of Ecthelion
Tower
File:John Howe-Ecthelion.jpg
General Information
LocationMinas Tirith
TypeTower
DescriptionWhite Tower
RegionsGondor
InhabitantsGondorians

Though a White Tower had graced the highest point of Minas Tirith since ancient times, it was rebuilt by Steward Ecthelion I some three centuries before the War of the Ring, and so gained his name. The Tower of Ecthelion was used to bear the standard of the City, and—at least during the last years of the Third Age—held the palantír known as the Anor-stone.

Overview

The Tower of Ecthelion was 50 fathoms (300 feet) tall. The plain white standard of the Stewards of Gondor flew from its pinnacle. The Tower stood in the center of the Citadel on the seventh level of the city. In front of the Tower was the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree of Gondor grew. In the Tower Hall was the throne of the King of Gondor upon a dais, and at the foot the dais on the lowest step was a black chair where the Steward of Gondor sat. There was a chamber high in the Tower and above it in the summit there was a secret room where the palantir of Minas Anor.

History

The White Tower was first built by King Calimehtar in 1900 in order to house the palantir. In 2698, the Tower was repaired and rebuilt by the Steward Ecthelion I, for whom the Tower came to be named.

On March 9, 3019, Peregrin Took got his first glimpse of the Tower of Ecthelion as he rode with Gandalf to Minas Tirith:

Then Pippin cried aloud, for the Tower of Ecthelion, standing high within the topmost wall, shone out against the sky, glimmering like a spike of pearl and silver, tall and fair and shapely, and its pinnacle glittered as if it were wrought of crystals; and white banners broke and fluttered from the battlements in the morning breeze, and high and far he heard a clear ringing as of silver trumpets.

After the War of the Ring on May 1, the standard of the Stewards of Gondor was raised for the last time. That day Aragorn was crowned King and when he entered the Citadel, the standard of the Kings of Gondor bearing the Tree and the Stars was unfurled on the pinnacle of the Tower of Ecthelion.

Etymology

Also called the White Tower. It was renamed the Tower of Ecthelion after the Steward Ecthelion I who rebuilt it. Also called the Tower of Denethor during the reign of Denethor II.

Sources