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Twelve houses of the Gondothlim

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[[File:Shyangell - The Twelve Gondolin Houses.jpg|300px|thumb|''The Twelve Gondolin Houses'' by [[:Category:Images by Shyangell|Shyangell]]]]

{{quote|This was the fashion and the array of the eleven houses of the Gondothlim with their signs and emblems, and the bodyguard of Tuor, the folk of the Wing, was accounted the twelve...|''[[The Book of Lost Tales Part Two]]'', "[[The Fall of Gondolin (chapter)|The Fall of Gondolin]]"}}
The '''twelve houses of the Gondothlim''' were the kindreds of [[Gondolin]], according to the early version of the [[legendarium]] in ''[[The Book of Lost Tales]]''. Their lords and deeds are described in the "[[The Fall of Gondolin (chapter)|The Fall of Gondolin]]" in great detail.

==History==
When the [[Gondothlim]] knew that [[Melko]]'s armies were approaching Gondolin, all the folks and lords were reunited coming from all parts of the city. Here are named in the order they came when King Turgon called them to council:<ref name=Fall>{{LT2|III}}</ref>{{rp|172-4}}
{| class="TGtable sortable"
|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC"
! Emblem !! House !! Leader !! Symbols and attributes
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the King.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the King]] || [[Turgon#Other versions of the legendarium|Turgon]] || [[Moon]], [[Sun]], [[Scarlet Heart]]
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Wing.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Wing]] || [[Tuor#Other versions of the legendarium|Tuor]] || White wing
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Mole.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Mole]] || [[Meglin]] || (No emblem), moleskin
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Swallow.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Swallow]] || [[Duilin (elf of Gondolin)|Duilin]] || Arrowhead, fan of feathers
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Heavenly Arch.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Heavenly Arch]] || [[Egalmoth]] || Rainbow, opal, jewelled boss
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Pillar.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Pillar]] || [[Penlod]] || A pillar
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Tower of Snow.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Tower of Snow]] || [[Penlod]] || A tower
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Tree.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Tree]] || [[Galdor (elf of Gondolin)|Galdor]] || Tree, iron-studded club, slings
|-
| <center>[[File:House of the Golden Flower.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Golden Flower]] || [[Glorfindel#Other versions of the legendarium|Glorfindel]] || Rayed sun, golden flower (celandine)
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Fountain.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Fountain]] || [[Ecthelion]]|| Fountain, silver, diamonds, flute
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Harp.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Harp]] || [[Salgant]] || Silver harp, tassels of silver and gold
|-
| <center>[[File:Rondador - House of the Hammer of Wrath.png|25px]]</center> || [[House of the Hammer of Wrath]] || [[Rog]] || Stricken anvil, red gold and black iron, maces
|}
During the council, nearly all the lords agreed with Tuor that the Gondothlim should leave the city before the siege began, but Turgon was convinced by Meglin and Salgant to stay and fight in the city that they loved. Thus, all the houses prepared to battle.<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|175-6}}
[[File:Mysilvergreen - The Fall of Gondolin.jpg|200px|thumb|right|''The Fall of Gondolin'' by [[:Category:Images by Mysilvergreen|Mysilvergreen]]]]
When the [[Fall of Gondolin]] began, all of them suffered great losses or were completely destroyed, except the House of the King, who remained in the palace to protect the King.<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|183}} First, the folk of the Mole were scattered after they attacked the folk of the Wing and Meglin was killed by Tuor. Later, after the northern gate was lost, Duilin was killed, but the house of the Swallow kept fighting without their lord. Soon the folk of the Hammer and their lord Rog were butchered outside the walls; Penlod suffered the next attack, so he was killed and both of his houses lost many men.<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|178-9}} Meanwhile, the host of the Harp abandoned their treacherous lord Salgant and went to save the folk of the Golden Flower, being mostly destroyed in the [[Great Market]].<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|182-3}}

Thereafter the survivors of all kindreds were reunited in the [[Square of the Palace]], save those of the Hammer of Wrath alone. In that square, Ecthelion and [[Gothmog (balrog)|Gothmog]] slew each other. There also King Turgon proclaimed the fall of Gondolin and ordered the survivors to follow Tuor, but his royal folk stayed with him.<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|183-4}} Later he and his house were killed when the [[Tower of the King]] fell.<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|187}} After the [[exiles of Gondolin]] escaped, Glorfindel died saving them from a [[Balrog]].<ref name=Fall></ref>{{rp|194}}

Thus, apart from Tuor, the only lords who survived the Fall of Gondolin were Egalmoth and Galdor. Egalmoth was later killed in a battle at the [[Mouths of Sirion]], but Galdor would reach [[Tol Eressëa]] and even keep some followers.<ref>{{LT2|IIIn}}, ''Entries in the Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin'', p. 215</ref>

==Other versions of the legendarium==
Tolkien never wrote again about the houses of Gondolin in later texts, because his writings never include details about the city. The only exception is in the ''[[Quenta Noldorinwa]]'', where there is a simple mention of "the chieftains of the noble houses and their warriors"<ref name=Quenta>{{SM|Q16II}}, p. 144</ref> (notice that this is the text used in the [[Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin|twenty-third chapter]] of the published ''[[Silmarillion]]'').

[[Christopher Tolkien]] explains that the idea would have re-emerged if his father had finished ''[[Of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin]]'': in the description of the [[Seven Gates]], there are seven groups of guards, each one with rich 'heraldic' descriptions.<ref>{{UT|1}}, pp. 46-50</ref> But Tolkien did not finish the tale, so beyond the Lost Tales the only vestiges are the titles Ecthelion 'of the Fountain' and Glorfindel 'chief of the House of the Golden Flower of Gondolin'.<ref>{{LT2|IIIn}}, p. 211</ref> They are the only captains of Turgon mentioned in the published ''Silmarillion'', but there are also later texts of the [[legendarium]] that include individual mentions to Rog<ref name=Quenta/> and Egalmoth.<ref>{{WJ|Maeglin}}, p. 318</ref>

The [[Gnomish]] name ''Gondothlim'' for the people of Gondolin was later changed by the [[Sindarin]] '''''[[Gondolindrim]]'''''.

{{references}}
{{gondolin}}
{{HousesofGondolin}}

[[Category:Elvish noble houses]]
[[Category:Twelve houses of the Gondothlim| ]]
[[de:Zwölf Häuser von Gondolin]]
[[fi:Gondolindrimin kaksitoista huonetta]]

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Twelve houses of the Gondothlim