The Gurthrant is the river in Nurn in Mordor that flows from the southwestern corner of the Ephel Dúath mountains northeastwards into the Sea of Nurnen on its western shore. The river is unnamed in the maps that were drayn by Christopher Tolkien based on the maps drawn by J.R.R. Tolkien for publication with The Lord of the Rings.
Chronology and Creation
It first appeared on a merchandise map of Mordor for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King that was drawn by Daniel Reeve[1] in 2003[2].
Fan works
The fansite Thelandofshadow.com took on several of the names introduced by Reeve, and expanded on them. The Gurthrant was described as follows:[3]
Tributary to the Sea of Nurnen - One of four rivers that fed the Sea of Nurnen. Its origin was said to be in the Dark Valley of Nan Ungol at the base of the Mountains of Shadow. It flowed across the plain of Nurn until it fell down across a great rift and then into the Sea of Nurnen. Its waters were dark and cold and bitter to the taste.
The information from The Land of Shadow was incorporated in a slightly modified form into the fan made Mordor Gazetteer of the Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) fan modules group.
Etymology
Gurthrant seems to be a Sindarin name, which means "Deathlode". It seems to contain the elements gurth ("death")[4] and rant ("lode", "water-channel", "course")[5].
Gallery
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2003 merchandise map
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References
- ↑ . "The Lord of the Rings: Maps". Daniel Reeve, artist
- ↑ Daniel Reeve, personal correspondence (June 2026):
the Decipher maps pre-dated the ROTK merchandising map (Mordor). I created [...] the ROTK merchandising map in 2003. So the Decipher Mordor map served as a kind of template when I later made the merchandising map of Mordor – at which time I expanded upon it, adding a lot more invented detail and names. […] I created the places and names myself.
- ↑ "Gurthrant", archived from the original. Thelandofshadow.com
- ↑ . "S. gurth n.". Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon. Retrieved 25 June 2026
- ↑ . "S. rant n.". Eldamo - An Elvish Lexicon. Retrieved 25 June 2026