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Rivendell

2012-01-08T08:57:30Z

131.191.88.47: /* Third Age */

{{location
| image=[[Image:J.R.R. Tolkien - Rivendell.jpg|250px]]
| name=Rivendell
| othernames=Imladris, the [[Last Homely House]]
| etymology=
| type=Valley/City
| location=West of [[Misty Mountains|Hithaeglir]]
| inhabitants=[[Elves]]
| realms=[[Elrond]]'s dominion
| description=Hidden valley with permanent elven settlement
| events=[[First Siege of Imladris|First]] and [[Second Siege of Imladris|Second]] Siege of Imladris, [[Quest of Erebor]], [[Council of Elrond]]
| references=''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Hobbit]]'', ''[[Unfinished Tales]]''
}}
'''Rivendell''', or '''[[Rivendell#Etymology|Imladris]]''', was an [[Elves|Elven]] dwelling in the [[Misty Mountains]] on the eastern edge of [[Eriador]]. It was also called "'''The Last Homely House East of the Sea'''", a reference to [[Valinor]], west of [[Belegaer|the sea]]. It was established by [[Elrond]] in the [[Second Age]] as a refuge from [[Sauron]] after the fall of [[Eregion]]. Besides Elrond himself, notable Elves who lived there included [[Arwen]] and [[Glorfindel]].

==Location==
Rivendell was located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the [[Bruinen|Bruinen River]], but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the [[Misty Mountains]].{{fact}}

==History==
===Establishment===
Elrond established Imladris in {{SA|1697}} during the [[War of the Elves and Sauron]].<ref>{{App|SA}}</ref> In Elrond's following at that time were both Elves from [[Lindon]] whom he had led in [[Sack of Eregion|battle to defend Eregion]] and those Elves who had fled [[Eregion]] when it was destroyed. Many more refugees joined Elrond's host as Sauron ravaged Eriador during the course of the war. By {{SA|1700}}, Imladris, despite being [[First Siege of Imladris|besieged]], was the only part of [[Eriador]] not under Sauron's control. It was was liberated after [[Gil-galad]]'s forces, strengthened by the armament sent by [[Tar-Minastir]], routed Sauron's armies and drove him out of Eriador. A Council was held at that time, establishing Elrond as Gil-galad's vice-regent in Eriador and that Imladris should be maintained as an Elvish stronghold.<ref>{{UT|6}}</ref>

At the end of the Second Age, [[Elendil]] and Gil-galad formed the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] to challenge Sauron, and their host halted for a while at Imladris before crossing the Misty Mountains.<ref name="SV"/> [[Isildur]]'s wife and his youngest son, [[Valandil (King of Arnor)|Valandil]], were in Imladris at that time, and Isildur was journeying back to them after Sauron's defeat when he was ambushed at the [[Gladden Fields]].<ref>{{UT|7}}</ref> After receiving the shards of [[Narsil]], Valandil took up his role as King of [[Arnor]] and left Imladris for [[Annúminas]].<ref name="SV">{{S|V}}</ref>

===Third Age===
After the fall of Gil-galad, Elrond remained in Imladris. During the Third Age it was a refuge and sanctuary; many Elves gathered there, and it was the chief dwelling of the [[High Elves]] in Eriador. The heirs of Isildur were also harbored there due to their kinship with Elrond, as descendants of his brother [[Elros]].<ref name="SV"/> Rivendell maintained this special relationship with the North Kingdom throughout the Third Age, and Elrond and his people remained steadfast allies to the heirs of Isildur.

Situated on the western slopes of the Misty Mountains, Rivendell was on the eastern edge of [[Arnor]], close to the province of [[Rhudaur]] which became independent during the disintegration of the North Kingdom in {{TA|861}}. Danger came to Eriador around {{TA|1300}} when the witch-kingdom of [[Angmar]] was established in the north-east beyond the [[Ettenmoors]]. It was during the late reign of [[Arveleg I]] that [[Second Siege of Imladris |Rivendell was besieged by Angmar]]. After an incursion by Angmar into Eriador in {{TA|1409}}, the Elvenfolk of Rivendell joined those of Lindon in subduing the power of the [[Witch-king]] for many years.<ref name="North">{{App|North}}</ref>

After the end of the North-kingdom in {{TA|1975}} [[Aranarth]], the first [[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Chieftain of the Dúnedain]], had [[Arahael|his son]] fostered in Rivendell, as were all subsequent sons of the chieftains. The heirlooms and treasures of the house of Isildur were also kept in Rivendell, including the shards of [[Narsil]], were also kept there after [[Arvedui]]'s death.<ref name="North"/> Among these were also some of the few remaining documents containing the history of Númenor.<ref>{{UT|3}}</ref>

There was traffic across the Misty Mountains in the Third Age between Imladris and [[Lothlórien|Lórien]], for Elrond's wife was [[Celebrían]], daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn.

===The One Ring===
In the [[Quest of Erebor]], [[Bilbo Baggins]] stopped off at Rivendell with the Dwarves on the way to the [[Lonely Mountain]] and also on the way back to [[the Shire]] with [[Gandalf]].<ref>{{HM|H}}</ref>

Years later, [[Frodo Baggins]] and his [[Travellers|companions]] journeyed to Rivendell, where they met with Bilbo, who had retired there after his 111th birthday, spending his time on his memoir, ''[[There and Back Again]]''. Several other Elves, [[Dwarves]] and [[Men]] had also arrived at Rivendell on separate errands;<ref>{{FR|II1}}</ref> at the [[Council of Elrond]] they learned that all of their errands were related to the fate of [[the One Ring]], and they had to decide what to do about it. In the end, the Hobbits influenced the decision.<ref>{{FR|II2}}</ref>

==Etymology==

''Rivendell'' ("[[Wiktionary:cloven|cloven]]-[[Wiktionary:dell|dell]]") is the [[Westron|Common Speech]] translation of the Sindarin name '''''Imladris''''' ("deep dale of the cleft").<ref>{{HM|N}}, p. 774</ref> An alternative (or complementary) etymology, gives ''Rivendell'' as the Englished version of the [[Westron]] name '''''Karningul''''' (itself a translation of ''Imladris'').<ref>{{App|F2}}</ref>

The name ''Imladris'' is also glossed as "Canyon of the Cleft"<ref>{{VT|47a}}, p. 14 (note 18)</ref> and "flat-floared valley of the Cleft".<ref name="letter">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], "[[Anthony D. Howlett 28 May 1969]]" ([[Letters not published in "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien"|letter]])</ref>

==Inspiration==
A possible inspiration (so suggested by [[David Salo]]<ref>Aaron Fuegi, "[http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Rivimages/realriv.html Rivendell in Switzerland]" at [http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/home.html the Last Homely House] (accessed 15 November 2011)</ref>) could have been [[wikipedia:Lauterbrunnen|Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland]], which Tolkien visited in [[1911]]:

{{quote|I am... delighted that you have made the acquaintance of Switzerland, and of the very part that I once knew best and which had the deepest effect on me. The hobbit’s journey from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains, including the glissade down the slithering stones into the pine woods, is based on my adventures in 1911 (he was 19 and traveled to Lauterbrunnen)... Our wanderings mainly on foot in a party of 12 are not now clear in sequence, but leave many vivid pictures as clear as yesterday." (He talks of similar conditions of the travel of Bilbo camping out, walking mountain paths, carrying packs).|Tolkien<ref>{{l|306}}</ref>}}

==Portrayal in Adaptations ==
'''2002: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'':'''
:Rivendell is the fifth level, and the first where no fighting is required. After Frodo is taken to Rivendell by [[Glorfindel]], he is first woken by [[Gandalf]]; after that, the [[Council of Elrond]] starts. After the council, there is an opportunity to speak to the NPCs - [[Aragorn]], [[Arwen]], [[Boromir]], [[Elrond]], [[Gandalf]], [[Gimli]], [[Legolas]], [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]], [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]]. The gameplay continues by entering a door. A short cutscene follows in which Bilbo gives [[Sting]] and the [[mithril]] shirt.<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'', "Rivendell"</ref>

'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Rivendell is one of the major cities in the game, located between Trollshaws and the Misty Mountains. Elves are able to quick travel to the city if they have earned the trait, have it equiped and have one travel ration. Rivendell is also one of the places that players can choose as Elven character's homeland.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Images of Rivendell|Images of Rivendell]]

[[Category:Cities, Towns and Villages]]
[[Category:Elven Realms]]
[[Category:Eriador]]
{{references}}
[[de:Bruchtal]]
[[fi:Rivendell]]

Rivendell

2012-01-08T08:56:44Z

131.191.88.47: /* Third Age */

{{location
| image=[[Image:J.R.R. Tolkien - Rivendell.jpg|250px]]
| name=Rivendell
| othernames=Imladris, the [[Last Homely House]]
| etymology=
| type=Valley/City
| location=West of [[Misty Mountains|Hithaeglir]]
| inhabitants=[[Elves]]
| realms=[[Elrond]]'s dominion
| description=Hidden valley with permanent elven settlement
| events=[[First Siege of Imladris|First]] and [[Second Siege of Imladris|Second]] Siege of Imladris, [[Quest of Erebor]], [[Council of Elrond]]
| references=''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Hobbit]]'', ''[[Unfinished Tales]]''
}}
'''Rivendell''', or '''[[Rivendell#Etymology|Imladris]]''', was an [[Elves|Elven]] dwelling in the [[Misty Mountains]] on the eastern edge of [[Eriador]]. It was also called "'''The Last Homely House East of the Sea'''", a reference to [[Valinor]], west of [[Belegaer|the sea]]. It was established by [[Elrond]] in the [[Second Age]] as a refuge from [[Sauron]] after the fall of [[Eregion]]. Besides Elrond himself, notable Elves who lived there included [[Arwen]] and [[Glorfindel]].

==Location==
Rivendell was located at the edge of a narrow gorge of the [[Bruinen|Bruinen River]], but well hidden in the moorlands and foothills of the [[Misty Mountains]].{{fact}}

==History==
===Establishment===
Elrond established Imladris in {{SA|1697}} during the [[War of the Elves and Sauron]].<ref>{{App|SA}}</ref> In Elrond's following at that time were both Elves from [[Lindon]] whom he had led in [[Sack of Eregion|battle to defend Eregion]] and those Elves who had fled [[Eregion]] when it was destroyed. Many more refugees joined Elrond's host as Sauron ravaged Eriador during the course of the war. By {{SA|1700}}, Imladris, despite being [[First Siege of Imladris|besieged]], was the only part of [[Eriador]] not under Sauron's control. It was was liberated after [[Gil-galad]]'s forces, strengthened by the armament sent by [[Tar-Minastir]], routed Sauron's armies and drove him out of Eriador. A Council was held at that time, establishing Elrond as Gil-galad's vice-regent in Eriador and that Imladris should be maintained as an Elvish stronghold.<ref>{{UT|6}}</ref>

At the end of the Second Age, [[Elendil]] and Gil-galad formed the [[Last Alliance of Elves and Men]] to challenge Sauron, and their host halted for a while at Imladris before crossing the Misty Mountains.<ref name="SV"/> [[Isildur]]'s wife and his youngest son, [[Valandil (King of Arnor)|Valandil]], were in Imladris at that time, and Isildur was journeying back to them after Sauron's defeat when he was ambushed at the [[Gladden Fields]].<ref>{{UT|7}}</ref> After receiving the shards of [[Narsil]], Valandil took up his role as King of [[Arnor]] and left Imladris for [[Annúminas]].<ref name="SV">{{S|V}}</ref>

===Third Age===
After the fall of Gil-galad, Elrond remained in Imladris. During the Third Age it was a refuge and sanctuary; many Elves gathered there, and it was the chief dwelling of the [[High Elves]] in Eriador. The heirs of Isildur were also harbored there due to their kinship with Elrond, as descendants of his brother [[Elros]].<ref name="SV"/> Rivendell maintained this special relationship with the North Kingdom throughout the Third Age, and Elrond and his people remained steadfast allies to the heirs of Isildur.

Situated on the western slopes of the Misty Mountains, Rivendell was on the eastern edge of [[Arnor]], close to the province of [[Rhudaur]] which became independent during the disintegration of the North Kingdom in {{TA|861}}. Danger came to Eriador around {{TA|1300}} when the witch-kingdom of [[Angmar]] was established in the north-east beyond the [[Ettenmoors]]. It was during the late reign of [[Arveleg I]] that [[Second Siege of Imladris |Rivendell was besieged by Angmar]]. After an incursion by Angmar into Eriador in {{TA|1409}}, the Elvenfolk of Rivendell joined those of Lindon in subduing the power of the [[Witch-king]] for many years.<ref name="North">{{App|North}}</ref>

After the end of the North-kingdom in {{TA|1975}} [[Aranarth]], the first [[Chieftains of the Dúnedain|Chieftain of the Dúnedain]], had [[his son|Arahael]] fostered in Rivendell, as were all subsequent sons of the chieftains. The heirlooms and treasures of the house of Isildur were also kept in Rivendell, including the shards of [[Narsil]], were also kept there after [[Arvedui]]'s death.<ref name="North"/> Among these were also some of the few remaining documents containing the history of Númenor.<ref>{{UT|3}}</ref>

There was traffic across the Misty Mountains in the Third Age between Imladris and [[Lothlórien|Lórien]], for Elrond's wife was [[Celebrían]], daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn.

===The One Ring===
In the [[Quest of Erebor]], [[Bilbo Baggins]] stopped off at Rivendell with the Dwarves on the way to the [[Lonely Mountain]] and also on the way back to [[the Shire]] with [[Gandalf]].<ref>{{HM|H}}</ref>

Years later, [[Frodo Baggins]] and his [[Travellers|companions]] journeyed to Rivendell, where they met with Bilbo, who had retired there after his 111th birthday, spending his time on his memoir, ''[[There and Back Again]]''. Several other Elves, [[Dwarves]] and [[Men]] had also arrived at Rivendell on separate errands;<ref>{{FR|II1}}</ref> at the [[Council of Elrond]] they learned that all of their errands were related to the fate of [[the One Ring]], and they had to decide what to do about it. In the end, the Hobbits influenced the decision.<ref>{{FR|II2}}</ref>

==Etymology==

''Rivendell'' ("[[Wiktionary:cloven|cloven]]-[[Wiktionary:dell|dell]]") is the [[Westron|Common Speech]] translation of the Sindarin name '''''Imladris''''' ("deep dale of the cleft").<ref>{{HM|N}}, p. 774</ref> An alternative (or complementary) etymology, gives ''Rivendell'' as the Englished version of the [[Westron]] name '''''Karningul''''' (itself a translation of ''Imladris'').<ref>{{App|F2}}</ref>

The name ''Imladris'' is also glossed as "Canyon of the Cleft"<ref>{{VT|47a}}, p. 14 (note 18)</ref> and "flat-floared valley of the Cleft".<ref name="letter">[[J.R.R. Tolkien]], "[[Anthony D. Howlett 28 May 1969]]" ([[Letters not published in "The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien"|letter]])</ref>

==Inspiration==
A possible inspiration (so suggested by [[David Salo]]<ref>Aaron Fuegi, "[http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/Rivimages/realriv.html Rivendell in Switzerland]" at [http://scv.bu.edu/~aarondf/home.html the Last Homely House] (accessed 15 November 2011)</ref>) could have been [[wikipedia:Lauterbrunnen|Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland]], which Tolkien visited in [[1911]]:

{{quote|I am... delighted that you have made the acquaintance of Switzerland, and of the very part that I once knew best and which had the deepest effect on me. The hobbit’s journey from Rivendell to the other side of the Misty Mountains, including the glissade down the slithering stones into the pine woods, is based on my adventures in 1911 (he was 19 and traveled to Lauterbrunnen)... Our wanderings mainly on foot in a party of 12 are not now clear in sequence, but leave many vivid pictures as clear as yesterday." (He talks of similar conditions of the travel of Bilbo camping out, walking mountain paths, carrying packs).|Tolkien<ref>{{l|306}}</ref>}}

==Portrayal in Adaptations ==
'''2002: ''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'':'''
:Rivendell is the fifth level, and the first where no fighting is required. After Frodo is taken to Rivendell by [[Glorfindel]], he is first woken by [[Gandalf]]; after that, the [[Council of Elrond]] starts. After the council, there is an opportunity to speak to the NPCs - [[Aragorn]], [[Arwen]], [[Boromir]], [[Elrond]], [[Gandalf]], [[Gimli]], [[Legolas]], [[Meriadoc Brandybuck|Merry]], [[Peregrin Took|Pippin]] and [[Samwise Gamgee|Sam]]. The gameplay continues by entering a door. A short cutscene follows in which Bilbo gives [[Sting]] and the [[mithril]] shirt.<ref>''[[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game)]]'', "Rivendell"</ref>

'''2007: ''[[The Lord of the Rings Online]]'':'''
:Rivendell is one of the major cities in the game, located between Trollshaws and the Misty Mountains. Elves are able to quick travel to the city if they have earned the trait, have it equiped and have one travel ration. Rivendell is also one of the places that players can choose as Elven character's homeland.

==See also==
* [[:Category:Images of Rivendell|Images of Rivendell]]

[[Category:Cities, Towns and Villages]]
[[Category:Elven Realms]]
[[Category:Eriador]]
{{references}}
[[de:Bruchtal]]
[[fi:Rivendell]]