Hithlum

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Hithlum
Peter Xavier Price - Hithlum.jpeg
General information
PronunciationS, [ˈhiθlum]
Other namesQ. Hísilómë
LocationNorth-western Beleriand, within the Ered Wethrin
CapitalBarad Eithel
RegionsDor-lómin, Mithrim
People
PopulationPrimarily Elves (Sindar and Noldor), but Dor-lómin was latterly occupied by Men
LanguageQuenya, Sindarin
GovernanceFingolfin
Later Fingon
History
Noldor arriveY.T. 1497
Fingolfin becomes High KingF.A. 5
Defeat of the NoldorF.A. 472
GalleryImages of Hithlum
"It was a fair land while the Siege of Angband lasted, although its air was cool and winter there was cold."
Quenta Silmarillion, "Of Beleriand and Its Realms"

Hithlum was a region north of Beleriand near the Helcaraxë.

Description[edit | edit source]

Hithlum was separated from Beleriand proper by the Ered Wethrin mountain chain, and was named after the sea mists which formed there at times.[1] The Ered Wethrin ("Mountains of Shadow") formed the southern and eastern wall, and had only a few passes; as such they formed a natural defensive line. The western wall was formed by the Ered Lómin or "Echoing Mountains", which curved north-westward to Helcaraxë. The land of Lammoth lay west of the Ered Wethrin and was not part of Beleriand or Hithlum, and the land of Nevrast was separated from Hithlum by the southern part of the Ered Lómin.[2] Hithlum was cold and rainy, but quite fertile.[1]

Hithlum was subdivided in Mithrim, where the High Kings of the Noldor had their halls,[1] and Dor-lómin, which later became a fief of the House of Hador.[3]

History[edit | edit source]

The northern highlands, such as the mountains about Hithlum, were raised during the battles of the Ainur during the Battle of the Powers.[4]

Hithlum was populated by the Elves of Mithrim, who were the Sindar, since the First Age. The Noldor entered Hithlum via the Firth of Drengist and first camped at the shores of Lake Mithrim. The land was covered by mists and vapours from the Thangorodrim, and thus they named it Hísilómë or Land of Mist.[1] Thingol gave leave to the Noldor to settle it and was ruled by Fingolfin and Fingon from its northern lands.[5]

Later in the First Age, Hithlum was continually under attack by Morgoth, but its natural defenses, fortified by fortresses such as Barad Eithel, proved impassable.[2] Almost a century after the Dagor Aglareb, a small number of Orcs came from the Firth of Drengist from the west, but once they were spotted, Fingon pushed them back into the sea.[5]

In F.A. 416 Fingolfin granted Hador a hereditary fiefdom in Dor-lómin,[6] where he gathered most of the people of his kin, thus forming the noble House of Hador.[7] The mountains protected Hithlum during the Dagor Bragollach, after which Edain of the First House came from Dorthonion as refugees and joined those of Hador.[8]

Seven years after the Dagor Bragollach, Morgoth sent a great force against Hithlum, attacking the passes of the Ered Wethrin. Galdor died defending the Eithel Sirion; in a second attempt the Falathrim sailed up the Firth of Drengist, then assisted Fingon by striking the unsuspecting orcs from the west.[8]

Hithlum eventually was lost after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. The Hadorians were scattered, killed, or enslaved, the Noldor who could not flee in time were enslaved in Morgoth's mines. Morgoth feigned to gave the Swarthy Men the lands of Hithlum as a reward, but in truth they were actually trapped there.[9]

Hithlum was completely destroyed during the War of Wrath.[10]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Hithlum is a North Sindarin word,[11] meaning "Mist-shadow" (hith + lum), a translation from Quenya Hísilómë (pron. [ˌhisiˈloːme], stem Hisilómi-).[12] Its classical Sindarin name is said to be Hithlũ.[11]

Tolkien initially marked the word as Noldorin; its second element was cognate to Quenya lumbe.[13]

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

In an early poem and in the Lost Tale of Turambar, the region was called Aryador in the language of Men, although according to the Gnomish Lexicon, it was an Ilkorin word. Qenya cognates are given: Areandor, Areanóre, Areanor.[14]

Hithlum
Helcaraxë Angband
Lammoth WindRose3.pngAnfauglith, Dorthonion
Nevrast Nargothrond Doriath

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Beleriand and its Realms"
  2. 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Map of Beleriand and the Lands to the North"
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of Men into the West"
  4. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor"
  5. 5.0 5.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Return of the Noldor"
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of Men"
  7. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The War of the Jewels, "The Grey Annals": §136
  8. 8.0 8.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin"
  9. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad"
  10. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Quenta Silmarillion: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath"
  11. 11.0 11.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 133
  12. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Index of Names", Hísilómë
  13. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", p. 370, entry "LUM-"
  14. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "Appendix: Names in the Lost Tales – Part II", p. 249