Tol Brandir

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The name Brandir refers to more than one character, item or concept. For a list of other meanings, see Brandir (disambiguation).
Tol Brandir
Island
Ted Nasmith - At the Falls.jpg
"At the Falls" by Ted Nasmith
General Information
Other namesTindrock
LocationNen Hithoel
TypeIsland
InhabitantsNo man or beast
GalleryImages of Tol Brandir
"Frodo halted and looked out over the River, far below him, to Tol Brandir and the birds wheeling in the great gulf of air between him and the untrodden isle. The voice of Rauros was a mighty roaring mingled with a deep throbbing boom."
The Fellowship of the Ring, "The Breaking of the Fellowship"

Tol Brandir, also called the Tindrock[1] was one of the three peaks at the southern end of Nen Hithoel. Unlike Amon Hen to the west or Amon Lhaw to the east, Tol Brandir was a mountain-island; the Anduin split into two arms and flowed on both sides of the peak before rejoining and plunging over the falls of Rauros. It was situated a little to the north of its companions[2] and it was possible to paddle a boat across the river to its southern side above the waterfall.[3]

It was said that no foot of man or beast had ever been set upon Tol Brandir,[2] which is understandable because its sides rose sheer out of the water. High above the initial tall cliffs there were steep slopes with trees, but then more grey faces of inaccessible rock shot up with a final great spire of stone at the top. Being inaccessible to other creatures, many birds nested on the island.[4]

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Tol Brandir is a Sindarin name meaning "Isle of the Great Steeples". Elements in the name are tol and brand.[5]

Tindrock, the Mannish word for the island, represents archaic Westron and contains the archaic English word tind ("spike"). Tolkien noted that if tind had survived into modern speech, it would have rhymed with find (/faɪnd/), since it now appears as tine ("prong").[6] The name therefore would be pronounced as /taɪndɹɒk/.

Other versions of the legendarium[edit | edit source]

In the First Map of The Lord of the Rings the island was named Tolondren and the Fellowship of the Ring landed upon it before crossing to the east bank of Nen Hithoel.[7] As Tolkien refined the geography the island was renamed the Isle of Emris[8] and then Tolbrandir.[9] In the text, Celeborn first spoke of Toll-ondren. In pencil Tolkien altered the name to Eregon, then to Brandor, and then to the Tindrock that we call Tol Brandor.[10]

Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

When Frodo and Sam cross to Amon Lhaw, they paddle across Nen Hithoel to the north of the island rather than to the south. This is necessary because, unlike in the book, the river does not reach beyond Tol Brandir, instead the falls of Rauros are split by the pinnacle.

References