House of the King

From Tolkien Gateway
House of the King
Noble House
Rondador - House of the King.png
General Information
Other namesFolk of the King
FounderTurgon
LeaderKing of Gondolin
LocationsGondolin
Physical Description
RaceNoldoli
ClothingWhite, gold, and red
"Mighty was the array of the house of the king."
The Book of Lost Tales Part Two, "The Fall of Gondolin"

The house of the King was one of the twelve houses of the Gondothlim, the kindreds of the elven city of Gondolin. Their story is recounted in an early version of the legendarium in The Book of Lost Tales.

History[edit | edit source]

The folk of this house were under the personal command of King Turgon of Gondolin. They dressed in white, gold and red, and their emblem combined the moon, the sun and the scarlet heart.[1]:172

During the Fall of Gondolin, Turgon watched most of the battle from his tower,[1]:180 while his folk were held in reserve in the Square of the Palace, remaining fresh in order to defend the king.[1]:183 There they remained untouched until the remnants of all the other kindreds gathered at the Square, but after Gothmog, Lord of Balrogs was slain by Ecthelion of the Fountain, the King came down and joined his folk against the Orcs. Their attack was so strong that they retook much of the Square and even slew two score Balrogs. They forced one of the terrible Fire-drakes into the Fountain of the King, and there it perished, though the water did also. Yet many of them were killed by the heat, the serpents, the enemy, and one another, for the steam that rose from the fountain obscured their view. A body of them saved the king, and there was a rally beneath Glingol and Bansil.[1]:184 Under those trees, Turgon proclaimed the fall of Gondolin and ordered the Gondothlim to follow his son-by-marriage, Tuor, and evacuate the city. Tuor obeyed, but the men of the royal house said: "Here we will stay if Turgon goes not forth". They did not budge a foot, gathering around the base of the king's tower.[1]:185 No more is said of this house, but they probably perished with Turgon when the tower was beset and knocked down.[1]:187

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

In the later version of the Quenta Noldorinwa, there is only a glimpse of Turgon's folk: here is mentioned "the defence of the tower of Turgon by the men of his household, until the tower was overthrown".[2] Notice that this was the text used by Christopher Tolkien for the twenty-third chapter of his edition of The Silmarillion.

See also[edit | edit source]

References

Twelve houses of the Gondothlim
King (leader: Turgon) · Wing (Tuor) · Mole (Meglin) · Swallow (Duilin) · Heavenly Arch (Egalmoth) · Pillar (Penlod) · Tower of Snow (Penlod) · Tree (Galdor) · Golden Flower (Glorfindel) · Fountain (Ecthelion) · Harp (Salgant) · Hammer of Wrath (Rog)