Ethir Anduin
| Ethir Anduin | |
|---|---|
| River delta | |
_-_Ethir_Anduin.jpg) | |
| A map showing Ethir Anduin from The Return of the King (1980 film) | |
| General Information | |
| Other names | Mouths of Anduin |
| Location | South of Lebennin in Gondor, leading into the Bay of Belfalas |
| Type | River delta |
| People and History | |
| Inhabitants | Nandor, later Men |
| Events | War of the Ring |
The Ethir Anduin, also known as the Mouths of Anduin and Anduin's Mouths[1], was the delta of the river Anduin, south of Pelargir in Gondor.
History[edit | edit source]
The delta's first settlers were probably Nandor. Some of the Nandor who had lived upstream, in the Vales of Anduin under the Misty Mountains, passed to its Mouths southward.[2] After they were gone, the "lesser men" settled there,[3] though they were likely in conflict with Haradrim. After the coming of the Númenóreans, the confluence of cultures in the Ethir and Pelargir formed one of the earliest forms of Westron.[4] The Númenoreans made a passage taken by the ships going to and from Pelargir.[5]
During the Drowning of Númenor, the shores of the Bay of Belfalas had retreated a great distance, putting Pelargir much farther inland than it had been in its beginning. Afterwards, the Anduin carved a new path by many mouths to the Bay.[6]
The delta was populated mostly by fishermen and other sea-crafty folk,[7] and became an important part of Gondor in the days of Tarannon, the first Ship-king.[3]
During the War of the Ring, some hundred fishermen that could be spared from the boats were sent to the defence of Minas Tirith.[8] This left the Mouths themselves open to Umbarian conquest,[9] but the occupation did not last very long; Aragorn and the Grey Company liberated it several days later.[7]
Etymology[edit | edit source]
The Ethir Anduin was also known as the "Mouths of Anduin". Ethir is a Sindarin word meaning "Mouth of a river".[10] Anduin simply means "Long river".[11]
Portrayal in adaptations[edit | edit source]
1980: The Return of the King (1980 film):
- Gandalf mentions the Ethir (wrongly pronounced Ee-thur) as he explains the coming of the Black ships to the audience.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VII. The Heirs of Elendil"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The History of Galadriel and Celeborn", "Appendix A: The Silvan Elves and their Speech"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix A, "The Númenorean Kings", "Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age", "Of Men"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, p. 11
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Peoples of Middle-earth, "VI. The Tale of Years of the Second Age"
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Last Debate"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "Minas Tirith"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", entry ET
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Silmarillion, "Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names", entries and and duin
