Gondor
Encyclopedia
Gondor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien
's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men
in the west of Middle-earth
by the end of the Third Age
. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings
, The Return of the King
, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring
and with the following restoration of the realm. Further history of the kingdom can be glimpsed from the appendices to the book, which also cast light on its origins.
According to the narrative, Gondor was founded by brothers Isildur
and Anárion
, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor
, and along with Arnor
in the north served as a last stronghold of the Men of the West
. After an early period of growth, Gondor gradually declined as the Third Age progressed, being continually weakened by the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron
, and was only restored in dominance after his final defeat and the crowning of Aragorn
.
Based upon long-foreseen conceptions, the history and geography of Gondor was developed in stages, as a part of the major extension of his legendarium
that Tolkien undertook during the writing of The Lord of the Rings. The role of the kingdom emerged gradually, from a side "adventure" in the plot becoming the focal figure of later writings. Textual history was traced by Christopher Tolkien
in the volumes of The History of Middle-earth
, and the overall subject has gained attention among later researchers
and fans
.
and Third Ages. The events of the latter are elaborated in the appendices to the book, and those of the former—in the last parts of The Silmarillion
. Retellings at an ample scale of some particular episodes are included in Unfinished Tales
.
. When his sons Isildur and Anárion landed in Middle-earth after the drowning of Númenor, they were welcomed by the colonists and their claim of lordship was accepted, while Elendil was held to be the High King
of all lands of the Dúnedain
. Within the South-kingdom, the hometowns of Isildur and Anárion were Minas Ithil
and Minas Anor
respectively, and the capital city Osgiliath was situated between them.
Sauron, however, had survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor
just to the east of Gondor. Soon he launched a war against the Númenórean kingdoms, hoping to destroy them before their power was established. He captured Minas Ithil, but Isildur escaped and fled by ship to Arnor; meanwhile, Anárion was able to defend Osgiliath. Elendil and the Elven
-king Gil-galad
formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and together with Isildur and Anárion they besieged and defeated Mordor. Sauron was overthrown, but the One Ring
that Isildur took from him was not destroyed, and thus Sauron was able to regain power in the next age.
Both Elendil and Anárion had been slain in the war, so Isildur conferred rule of Gondor upon Anárion's son Meneldil and went north to ascend to the kingship of Arnor, retaining suzerainty
over Gondor as High King of the Dúnedain. However, Isildur and his three elder sons were ambushed and killed by Orcs
.
Isildur's remaining son Valandil did not attempt to reclaim his father's place in Gondor monarchy, and therefore the kingdom was ruled solely by Meneldil and his descendants until their line died out with Eärnur.
invasions. That war lasted into the following century, and from it Gondor conquered much territory in Rhûn
north of Mordor.
Under the rule of the four "Ship-Kings", Gondor established a powerful navy and extended along the coast from the Mouths of Anduin. In 933, Gondor captured the southern port city Umbar
, formerly held by the hostile Black Númenóreans
. Later, the Harad
rim defeated Gondor on land and besieged Umbar; but King Hyarmendacil I strengthened his army and navy, and forced the kings of the Harad to submit after victory in T.A. 1050.
Gondor reached its peak, controlling a vast territory and holding suzerainty over neighbouring nations such as the Haradrim and the northern Men of the Vales of Anduin. Mordor was desolate and guarded by fortresses. Under Hyarmendacil I's successor, Atanatar
the Glorious, The kingdom enjoyed such wealth and splendour that, according to The Lord of the Rings, "men said precious stones are pebbles in Gondor for children to play with".
. His son Valacar was sent to their lands as an ambassador; while there, he married the daughter of one of their lords and returned to Gondor only after some years.
This marriage proved disastrous to Gondor: when it was affirmed that the heir to the throne would be Valacar's son Eldacar, who was of mixed blood, southern provinces of the realm began to rebel. After Valacar died, several members of the House of Anárion claimed the crown and a full-scale civil war, called the Kin-strife, broke out in 1432. The rebel with the largest following was Castamir, who besieged and captured Osgiliath. Eldacar managed to escape to his homeland in Rhovanion
, but his elder son was captured and executed. Castamir proved a very poor ruler and earned hatred of the inner provinces; consequently, Eldacar acquired a great following when he returned after several years with the Northmen allies, slew Castamir and defeated his army. Castamir's sons, however, retreated to Umbar and declared independence.
A century later the kings of Harad, freed by the Kin-strife and the subsequent loss of Umbar, invaded southern Gondor but were defeated by Hyarmendacil II after a decade of warfare. In 1631 descendants of Castamir organised a devastating raid on the haven of Pelargir, even killing King Minardil. The losses from the Kin-strife and southern wars had been somewhat replenished by the intermingling with the Northmen, but the population of Gondor seriously decreased again with the coming of the Great Plague in T.A. 1636 and during the kin strife large numbers of Numenoreans with the purest blood would perish. The capital was moved from Osgiliath to the less affected Minas Anor, and the watch on Mordor was abandoned, enabling evil creatures to begin to return. The Plague left Gondor's enemies in no better condition than the realm itself, and Gondor was therefore allowed over a century of respite from attack.
In 1810 the king strengthened Gondor's navy which defeated the Corsairs of Umbar
and retook the haven, but it was lost to the Haradrim following the next invasion of Gondor. A new threat appeared four decades later, when one of the Easterling peoples, called the Wainriders, defeated the Northmen and began to raid eastern Gondor. Although the first battles were lost to the invaders, the enemy was stemmed after half a century. The war broke out anew when the Wainriders joined together with the Haradrim in 1944, attacking respectively from the east and from the south. The Northern Army of Gondor, led by King Ondoher and joined by cavalry of the Éothéod
, descendants of the Northmen, was defeated. Its survivors linked up with the victorious Southern Army commanded by a talented general Eärnil
, and they destroyed the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp once and for all.
Because of the deaths of Ondoher and both his sons in war, Gondor faced a constitutional crisis
. Arvedui
, heir of the King of Arthedain in the north, claimed the throne of Gondor as a descendant of Isildur and as the husband of Ondoher's daughter, but was denied by the Council of Gondor. For a year the realm was ruled by Pelendur
, Steward
to King Ondoher, and then the crown was given to the victorious general Eärnil, who came from the House of Anárion and had gained popularity during the war. His son Eärnur, however, became the last King: still during his father's reign, he led the forces of Gondor to the aid of Arthedain in the north and was offended there by the Witch-king of Angmar
. Shortly afterwards, the Ringwraiths captured Minas Ithil and took it as their abode; the city was renamed to Minas Morgul, and Minas Anor was changed to Minas Tirith. After Eärnur became King, the Witch-king twice sent messengers tempting him to single combat. At the second challenge in 2050, Eärnur was overcome by wrath and rode with a small company of knights to Minas Morgul, from which he never returned.
, due to fears of a new civil war and the absence of a more or less legitimate Heir of Anárion with enough authority and support. By this time Arnor had been destroyed and the Line of Isildur had gone into hiding, so no more claims were expected. The early Stewards enjoyed four centuries of uneasy quiet, known as the Watchful Peace, during which Gondor slowly declined and Sauron's strength grew. In 2475 the Peace was broken with a large attack of Uruk-hai
on eastern borders, which, though beaten off, led to the inhabitants' migration from Ithilien and final desolation of Osgiliath. According to The Lord of the Rings, from this time onwards "there was never full peace again" in Gondor, and "its borders were under constant threat".
In T.A. 2510 the Kingdom faced a new serious peril: an Easterling tribe, named the Balchoth, invaded northern parts of the realm with mass force. Gondor's army marched to fight them, but was cut off from Minas Tirith and pushed back in the direction of the Limlight river. Messengers had already been sent to get help from the allied Éothéod in the north, and in the nick of time their cavalry arrived, turning the tide of the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. In gratitude for their aid, Steward Cirion
ceded to them the province of Calenardhon, where the Éothéod established the realm of Rohan
with Eorl the Young as their first king. A permanent alliance between Gondor and Rohan was established by the oaths of Eorl and Cirion.
The later Stewards had to contend with Orcs in Ithilien and with Corsairs of Umbar raiding the coasts. In 2758 Gondor faced another great invasion when five great fleets from Umbar and Harad ravaged the southern shores, and no help was expected from Rohan as the latter was assailed by the Dunlendings and Easterlings, further weakened by the Long Winter. The invasions were beaten off only in the following year, and help was then sent to Rohan.
Gondor recovered quickly from this war, although its fortunes continued to decline. In 2885 Ithilien was invaded from the south by a large force of Haradrim, which was only repelled with help from Rohan. Several decades later the region was evacuated due to increased Orc attacks and hidden refuges were built for the Rangers of Ithilien
to continue to strike at the enemy. In 2954 Sauron officially declared himself in Mordor and Mount Doom
burst into flame again. Before the end of the millennium the forces of Gondor, led by Aragorn
under alias, attacked Umbar and destroyed the Corsair fleet, allowing Denethor II to devote all of his attention to the threat posed by Mordor.
to destroy the forces from Umbar, freeing forces in the south of Gondor to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. Gondor then defeated the army of Mordor with the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
, though with heavy losses. The combined army of the West then carried the battle to Sauron at the Battle of the Morannon
, a feint to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo Baggins
's quest to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom, thus causing Sauron's fall and the allies' ultimate victory.
After the second and final defeat of Sauron, the Kingship was restored, with Aragorn crowned as King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor
. Faramir
, heir of the Ruling Stewards, retained his office as Steward to the King and was named Prince of Ithilien. The oaths between Gondor and Rohan were renewed, and several joint campaigns were fought in the east and south; all former territories of the South-kingdom were won back during the following centuries, and its power and wealth were restored. It was foretold that Eldarion
son of Elessar would rule a great realm, and that his line would endure for a hundred generations and rule many realms long after.
Tolkien's perception of further history of the kingdom is illustrated by The New Shadow, an experimental story that he abandoned, set during the reign of Eldarion. The author imagined that because of the "quick satiety with good" of Men, "the people of Gondor in times of peace, justice and prosperity, would become discontented and restless ... even so early there was an outcrop of revolutionary plots, about a centre of secret Satanistic religion; while Gondorian boys were playing at being Orcs and going round doing damage".
, an Elven language devised by him, and within the books used by the Dúnedain for nomenclature. The word means "land of stone", and is echoed in the text of The Lord of the Rings by the name for Gondor among the Rohirrim, Stoningland. The implications of these names were not explained by the author, although his early writings suggest that this was a reference to the highly developed masonry of Gondorians in contrast to their rustic neighbours'. This view is supported by the Drúedain
terms for Gondorians and Minas Tirith—Stonehouse-folk and Stone-city.
A reader once asked Tolkien whether the name Gondor had been inspired by the ancient Ethiopian citadel of Gondar
. Tolkien replied that he was unaware of having heard the word before, and that the root Ond went back to an account he had read as a child mentioning ond ("stone") as one of only two words known of the pre-Celtic languages of Britain.
Gondor is often referred to in the books as the South-kingdom or Southern Realm, and together with Arnor as the Númenórean Realms in Exile. Researchers Wayne Hammond
and Christina Scull
have also proposed a Quenya
translation of Gondor, Ondonórë.
on the basis of his father's sketches, and can be supplemented by several geographical accounts such as The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor
and Cirion and Eorl. In addition, the narrative and appendices of The Lord of the Rings describe the history and nature of particular regions and settlements in the kingdom.
Gondor was located in the west of the continent of Middle-earth
, and the main part of its territory lay on the northern shores of the Bay of Belfalas
and around the White Mountains. Tolkien noted that the capital Minas Tirith was situated on a latitude comparable to that of Venice
, and the total area of Gondor as represented on Tolkien's maps was estimated by Karen Wynn Fonstad
at 716426 square miles (1,855,534.8 km²). To the north-west of the kingdom originally lay the realm of Arnor; to the north, Gondor was neighboured by the Wilderland
and, after its settlement, by Rohan
; to the north-east, by the land of Rhûn
; to the east, by Sauron's realm of Mordor
; to the south, by the deserts of Harad
.
The original borders of Gondor were: rivers Gwathló
and Glanduin up to the Misty Mountains
; eaves of the Fangorn forest and river Entwash; marshes of Nindalf and the Mountains of Shadow; and river Poros. At the time of its noontide, the realm extended to river Limlight and south-eaves of Mirkwood
; to the western shores of the inland Sea of Rhûn, north of Ered Lithui; and to river Harnen, also including the coastland around Umbar. By the beginning of the War of the Ring, the confines of land fully controlled by Gondor had retreated to the line of the White Mountains and the Mering Stream in the west; and the line of the river Anduin
in the east.
.
Minas Anor (Minas Tirith
): Originally a fortress built by Anárion at the eastern end of the White Mountains as a precaution from the hostile natives, later having become the summer residence of the Kings and finally the capital in 1640.
Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul
): A fortress founded by Isildur in a valley of the Mountains of Shadow to watch the pass into Mordor. It was captured by the Nazgûl
in 2002 and remained the chief threat to Minas Tirith, until it was destroyed shortly after the final defeat of Sauron.
Isengard
: A fortress at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, built by the Gondorians in the Second Age and maintained throughout the Third by a separate garrison, until it was overrun by Dunlendings in 2710 and after half a century officially granted to Saruman
.
Aglarond (Hornburg
): A stronghold built in the Second Age near the Glittering Caves in the west of the White Mountains, which was later ceded to the Rohirrim together with Calenardhon in 2510, its garrison merging with that of Isengard.
Umbar
: Originally a haven on the southern shores of the Bay of Belfalas
, ruled the Black Númenóreans
. Later it was continuously passing between Gondor and the allies of Haradrim, and was finally recaptured only after the fall of Sauron.
Edhellond: An ancient haven of the Woodland Elves, located at the confluence of Morthond and Ringló. It persisted into the Third Age and was considered a part of Gondor, but by T.A. 1981 all Elves had departed over the Sea.
Dol Amroth
: A castle and city on the western shores of Belfalas, named after Amroth of Lothlórien. The citizens of Dol Amroth were of high Númenórean blood and their Princes had an Elvish strain, although Tolkien's writings are contradictory on their descent and actual date of establishment of their line.
, who lived in the vales of the White Mountains and lands adjacent. Later they were harried and mostly ousted by new people coming from the east; these were allied to Sauron and unrelated to the Edain
. The coastlands remained unsettled until the beginning of colonisation by the Númenóreans, who either mixed blood with the natives or dispersed them if hostile. The original language of the settlers, Adûnaic
, was heavily influenced by local speech and ultimately resulted in Westron
, becoming used, at least for intercourse, by the majority of peoples in the west of Middle-earth.
The exiles of Númenor that arrived in Middle-earth were far fewer in number than the local folk of mixed descent, and this remained the case throughout the history of Gondor. The greatest cities were populated by men of more or less "high blood", by the end of the Third Age remaining in the townlands of Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth, while the inhabitants of southern provinces are stated to have been shorter and swarthier. The nobles at first spoke solely the Grey-elven Sindarin
, following a custom of the Faithful of Númenor, but with the passing of years they gradually switched to the rustic Westron, so that "at the time of the War of the Ring the Elven-tongue was known to only a small part of the peoples of Gondor, and spoken daily by fewer".
Except in the matter of language, Tolkien described few characteristic features of Gondor culture. His writings only present highly developed masonry, sea- and smith-craft, and mention the customs of looking "west in a moment of silence" before meal and of saluting "with bowed head and hands upon the breast". An essay that was prepared as one of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings but became compressed contains a reference to currency of the South-kingdom: "In Gondor [Westron word] tharni was used for a silver coin, the fourth part of the castar (in [Sindarin] the canath or fourth part of the mirian)."
, who apparently exercised the powers of an absolute monarch
. The post passed solely by the male line from the time of Meneldil, to the eldest surviving son of the late king if there was any, and the heir usually "took part in the councils of the realm and the command of the armies". A King was accustomed to command the forces of Gondor in major battles, in which case one of his legitimate heirs would remain behind for preservation of the line and act as a regent.
The office of the Stewards
, in Quenya Arandur "king's servant", was established by Rómendacil I as a precaution against loss of royal traditions and knowledge. A Steward was chosen by the King "as a man of high trust and wisdom, usually advanced in years since he was not permitted to go to war or to leave the realm". Over time the post rose in importance, "providing as it were a permanent 'under-study' to the King, and an immediate viceroy at need", and since the days of Tarondor the choice was always made from the family of his Steward Húrin. Another highly authoritative position appeared when King Narmacil I granted to his nephew Minalcar "the new office and title of Carma-cundo "Helm-guardian", that is in terms of Gondor Crown-lieutenant or Regent. Thereafter he was virtually king, though he acted in the names of Narmacil and Calmacil, save in the matters of war and defence over which he had complete authority".
After the loss of King Eärnur, his steward Mardil continued to rule Gondor in his name, since Eärnur's death was not affirmed, and Mardil's descendants held to this practice. The Ruling Stewards wielded the authority of the Kings, but never presumed to take the title for themselves: each succeeding Steward swore an oath to yield the rule of the realm back to the King, if he should ever return, although with the passing of centuries the oath became more a formality. The office had become hereditary already with Mardil's grandfather, and thereafter passed to the eldest son if there was any; otherwise, the heir was selected among the near kin by the Council of Gondor. The latter body consisted, at least at the time of the War of the Ring, of the captains of armed forces, was headed by the Steward, and is recorded to have debated whether to risk retaking Osgiliath or not. The Council's duties and powers are not elaborated further, but it is also credited with rejecting Arvedui's claim after the death of Ondoher and should possibly be equated with "the elders" that sent Boromir
to Rivendell.
Local government in Gondor is depicted as being similar to feudalism
. Minas Tirith and its immediate hinterland were governed directly by the Steward, who was also styled Lord of the City. Many of Gondor's regions had their own lords, who owed allegiance to the Steward, including Lossarnach, Lamedon, the Anfalas, Pinnath Gelin, and the Ringló and Morthond valleys. A special position within the South-kingdom belonged to the Prince of Dol Amroth
, who ruled over a land in Belfalas but was subject to the king; according to one of Tolkien's statements, the title was granted to the first Prince by Elendil because of their kinship. Later, the Prince would become an acting Steward, if the Steward was absent or incapacitated. An equal authority was later given by Aragorn to Faramir, who became the Prince of Ithilien. Of other Gondor posts, in Tolkien's writings appear "ministers of the Crown concerned with 'intelligence'" who surveyed the palantíri (see below); Captain of the Hosts, borne by future King Falastur during the reign of his father; and Captain of Gondor and Captain-General of Gondor applied to Faramir and Boromir respectively, with the former title also given to Eärnur when he commanded the Gondor army in Arthedain prior to his crowning.
i were "seeing-stones" of Elendil, four of which were placed in strongholds of Gondor: Osgiliath, Minas Anor, Minas Ithil and Isengard—and were used by Kings or their servants for surveillance of the lands and communication both within the realm and with Arnor.
The Ruling Stewards revered the royal ceremonials and withheld from using most of them, retaining the Kings' throne empty and using "a white rod with a golden knob" as the only token of their lordship. An heirloom of their line was the Horn of Gondor, made by Vorondil the Hunter and borne by the elder son of an acting Steward. During the epoch of the Ruling Stewards, the banner at the top of Minas Tirith was replaced by a plain white flag, although the armour of the Tower Guard of Gondor
still bore devices of tree, crown and stars. The Stewards however did maintain the tradition of taking their heirs to the hallowed tomb of Elendil at Halifirien, and just like Kings they were embalmed after death and laid in the Houses of the Dead at the Silent Street behind Minas Tirith.
", and the southern people appeared when Tolkien pondered in 1939 over the course of the narrative following the Council of Elrond. As he later recalled, Tolkien thought about "adventures" that the Company would meet on their way to Mordor and considered employing "Stone-Men" as one of them; other preserved notes mention a "city of stone and civilized men", its siege and a "Land of Ond". The name was based upon an already existing stem of Elvish languages, (g)ond with the meaning 'stone'.
A new character was immediately introduced: Boromir, a messenger at the Council of Elrond and son of the "King of Ond", whose realm is "besieged by wild men out of the East". Contemporary outlines propose that the main characters would participate in the final battle for the kingdom, already seen as a major climax of story. Another connection between the narrative and the background was achieved with the final solution of the identity of "Trotter": he became Aragorn, "a real ranger" and a descendant of Elendil.
By the time Tolkien began rewriting "The Council of Elrond" a year later, he had developed a story that Aragorn's ancestors were in past Kings in Boromir's hometown. The citizens were already then conceived as inferior to the Númenóreans, and although at war with Sauron, they were stated to have driven out the heirs of Elendil in a rebellion raised by the Witch-king; these settled in the north and nearly dwindled. At the same time a conception emerged that Elendil had several sons—Ilmandur, Isildur and Anárion—and that the descendants of only one of them survived the war with Sauron.
Ilmandur was discarded at once, but the fate of others remained fluid for some time; Christopher Tolkien assumed that at first it was the son of Isildur that should have inherited the kingship, but was refused the entry into his city due to Sauron's machinations and went to the north. This was replaced by the story that the Land of Ond was ruled by the descendants of Anárion until their failing, while Isildur's son remained at Rivendell
and after the death of his father established another realm in the north. Later Tolkien decided that the northern kingdom was founded at the same time with "Ondor", as the southern realm was now renamed, and proposed Elendil and his brother Valandil as respective founders, before settling on the final conception of the co-reigning of Isildur and Anárion.
from The Hobbit
, which now was stated to pass through Osgiliath, by Mordor just to the east of Minas Ithil, by the "land of the Horse-lords" conceived of some time before and now neighbouring Ond, and by the "Black Mountains", precursors of the White.
Next element to be introduced was the "Land of Seven Streams"; Tolkien was hesitant for some time about its relation to other places, writing at different times that it was located north or south of Black Mountains, within the Land of Ond or separate from it. First to be conceived of were the rivers Greyflood or the "seventh river", Isen, and Silverlode, the last one soon changed to Blackroot—but without any reference to the sources of such a name. The three of them appear roughly at their final places on the original Tolkien's working map of the southern lands, as well as all locations mentioned above, the approximate line of coast, including Tolfalas, and the forerunner of Dol Amroth, apparently brought about with the development of the legend of Nimrodel while writing the "Lothlórien" chapter.
The need for a clearer image of the southern lands arose when Tolkien came to plan the narrative after the halt at Lothlórien. Further development of geography was compared by Christopher Tolkien to his father's notes on the creation process: "I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit". A new redrawing of the map of "Ondor" advances on the layout of the mountains and rivers and introduces new locations: Ithilien; Anarion [sic], which combines later Anórien and Lossarnach; "Belfalas (Langstrand)", in place of later Anfalas; rivers Ringló and Harnen; and controversial "Lebennin (Land of Seven Streams)", extending in the west to the later Morthond and covering either seven or five rivers, depending on its eastern border. Umbar and "Harondor (S. Gondor)" also first appeared on this map, while the land to the north of the Black Mountains was developed in the context of Rohan and of Emyn Muil.
A change in the perception of the eastern confines of Gondor was brought about with the development in 1944 of Frodo's journey to Mordor. At first Tolkien decided to move Minas Morgul northward, in order to combine its functions with the two towers that guarded the only passage into the Land of Shadow, but almost immediately he restored the older conception and introduced a secret pass above Minas Morgul. A new turn in the narrative—extension of Frodo's journey southwards—led to elaboration of Ithilien, which was "proving a lovely land" to Tolkien's surprise. At the same time he decided to rename the Black Mountains into White, possibly to contrast them from the Mountains of Shadow, and introduced the refuge of Henneth Annûn, at first trying out several experimental names such as Henneth, Henlo or Henuil for "window" combined with Nargalad "fiery light", Carandûn "red west" or Malthen "golden".
Later that year Tolkien began the chapters dealing with central Gondor, and in his sketches first appear the beacons of Anórien, "immense concentric walls" of Minas Tirith, the idea that Aragorn would come to Minas Tirith passing south of the White Mountains, and the towns of Erech and Pelargir. This led in 1946 to meticulous development of the geography of southern Gondor. While working upon the "Homer
ic catalogue", as he called it, of the reinforcements coming to Minas Tirith, Tolkien devised the names Lossarnach, Anfalas, Lamedon and Pinnath Gelin, all of which appear on a new version of the map in final locations with the exception of Lamedon, first placed in northern Lebennin and later moved westward. The rivers acquired final courses and names, except Gilrain, then called Lamedui; Celos, which flowed into Lamedui instead of Sirith; and Calenhir, a tributary of Morthond discarded later. The gulf into which flowed Ringló and Morthond was designated as "Cobas Haven", a name afterwards lost.
Final changes in the geography were caused by the intensification of the scene of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields: the distance between Osgiliath and Minas Tirith was reduced by four times; the northern regions became guarded by "Tol Varad (the Defended Isle)", later renamed Men Falros "place of foam-spray" and then Cair Andros; the inhabitants of the newly introduced Drúadan Forest enabled the Rohirrim to pass freely to Minas Tirith; and the hills of Emyn Arnen (originally Haramon "southern hill") justified creating a bend in Anduin so that the revelation of Aragorn and his reinforcements occurred closer to the battlefield, at the quays of Harlond (at first Lonnath-ernin "Arnen-havens").
Geography of southern Gondor was developed concurrently, in outlines for the story of Aragorn's march to Pelargir, and the distances between the cities and their exact locations were calculated with high precision to accord with the narrative chronology. Erech became temporarily viewed as the landing-place of Isildur and was consequently moved from the sources of Morthond, first in between the mouths of Anduin and Lamedui, then to north-west of the Cobas Haven, and finally returned to its original site with the abandonment of this idea. Other places were introduced one by one: Linhir (first placed at the confluence of Ringló and Morthond), Tarnost, Tarlang's Neck, and Calembel (originally Caerost).
When the narrative passed into Ithilien, Tolkien introduced the Rangers of that land, with Faramir, brother of Boromir, as their captain. In speeches of this new character many of the author's conceptions about the history of Gondor either emerged for the first time or were only now set to paper: Boromir's horn was perceived to have been unique, "reasons of decline of Gondor" and its ethnic diversity textually elaborated, the Stewards first referred to, and the surrender of the "fields of Elenarda" to the Rohirrim was postponed to the epoch of the Stewardship and temporarily became regarded not as a gift from Gondor but as an enforcement by the Horse-lords. Most elements of the South-kingdom culture were introduced during the writing of Book V, such as ceremonials of retaining Kings' throne empty by the Stewards and burying the rulers behind Minas Tirith, as well as the royal banner of the Kings, originally described as "crown and stars of Sun and Moon".
The notion that the Third Age lasted "about 3000 years" was first written down when Tolkien began to sketch out the history of Númenor and Westlands. Further on, he departed from the date of the foundation of the Realms in Exile, calculated at 3320 of the Second Age on the basis of average reigns of the Kings in Númenor; from the duration of the time of peace before the war of the Last Alliance, approximated at 100 years; and from the date of the failing of the Kings in Gondor, proposed as T.A. "c.2000". Original drafts for the account of the rulers of South-kingdom are not preserved, and in the earliest extant manuscript, ascribed by Christopher Tolkien to 1949–50, many events of the final history are already present. The rest entered in early revisions, namely the constant conflicts with Umbar; the attacks of the Wainriders, which replaced original wars with the Ringwraiths; the Battle of the Field of Celebrant and the gift of Cirion; and the Long Winter. The depopulation of Osgiliath was first placed some 200 years later, the fall of Minas Ithil was moved back and forth in time, and the last king Eärnur was originally stated to have never returned from a war against Mordor, with the Witch-king challenging him "to fight for the palantir of Ithil" when this element first entered.
The appendices to The Lord of the Rings were brought to a finished state in 1953–54, but a decade later, during preparations for the release of the Second Edition, Tolkien elaborated the events that had led to the Kin-strife and introduced the regency of Rómendacil II. The final development of the history and geographical nature of Gondor took place around 1970, in the last years of Tolkien's life, when he invented justifications for the place-names and wrote full narratives for the stories of Isildur's death and of the battles with the Wainriders and the Balchoth (published in Unfinished Tales).
's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
has been compared to the Byzantine Empire
, for numerous reasons. The production team noted this in DVD commentary, explaining their decision to include some Byzantine domes into Minas Tirith architecture and to have civilians wear Byzantine-styled clothing. The soldiers garrisoned in Minas Tirith are based heavily on the Byzantine infantry used up until the end of the First Crusade
. The Byzantine Empire and Gondor were both only echoes of older states (the Roman Empire and the unified kingdom of Elendil), yet each was still strong in its own right. Both realms were threatened by powerful eastern and southern enemies: the Byzantines by the Persians
and the Muslim armies of the Arabs and the Turks, Gondor by the Easterlings, the Haradrim, and the hordes of Sauron.
One main difference from the books can be seen in the heraldry of Gondor. In the books, the flag of Gondor under the Stewards was a plain white banner without device. In the movies, the flag of Gondor is the royal standard with the colors reversed (black tree, seven black stars, and a black crown on a white field). The banners carried by Gondorian cavalry and infantry are black pennants, with the White Tree and three white stars.
The geography of Jackson's Gondor differs significantly from the books. In the movie, Aragorn could see Pelargir from the exit to the Paths of the Dead
, and Minas Tirith is much closer to Osgiliath. The land seems largely brown and uncultivated, while the books describe Gondor as fertile farming land with many houses and towns across the Pelennor and the area south of the White Mountains.
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's writings, described as the greatest realm of Men
Man (Middle-earth)
The race of Men in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth books, such as The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, refers to humanity and does not denote gender...
in the west of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
by the end of the Third Age
Third Age
The Third Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. The history of Middle-earth is to be taken fictionally as a history of the real Earth....
. The third volume of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
, The Return of the King
The Return of the King
The Return of the King is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, following The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers.-Title:...
, is concerned with the events in Gondor during the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
and with the following restoration of the realm. Further history of the kingdom can be glimpsed from the appendices to the book, which also cast light on its origins.
According to the narrative, Gondor was founded by brothers Isildur
Isildur
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the author's books The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion, and Unfinished Tales....
and Anárion
Anárion
Anárion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. His name is derived from Anar, which means "Sun" in Tolkien's invented language of Quenya...
, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor
Númenor
Númenor is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. It was a huge island located in the Sundering Seas to the west of Middle-earth, the main setting of Tolkien's writings, and was known to be the greatest realm of Men...
, and along with Arnor
Arnor
Arnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
in the north served as a last stronghold of the Men of the West
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
. After an early period of growth, Gondor gradually declined as the Third Age progressed, being continually weakened by the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
, and was only restored in dominance after his final defeat and the crowning of Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
.
Based upon long-foreseen conceptions, the history and geography of Gondor was developed in stages, as a part of the major extension of his legendarium
Tolkien's legendarium
The phrase Tolkien's legendarium is used in the literary discipline of Tolkien studiesto refer to the part of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy fiction being concerned with his Elven legends; that is, historic events that have become legendary from the perspective of the characters of The Lord of the...
that Tolkien undertook during the writing of The Lord of the Rings. The role of the kingdom emerged gradually, from a side "adventure" in the plot becoming the focal figure of later writings. Textual history was traced by Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
in the volumes of The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth
The History of Middle-earth is a 12-volume series of books published from 1983 through to 1996 that collect and analyse material relating to the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, compiled and edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. Some of the content consists of earlier versions of already published...
, and the overall subject has gained attention among later researchers
Tolkien research
The works of J. R. R. Tolkien have generated a body of academic research, studying different facets such as* Tolkien as a writer of fantasy literature* Tolkien's invented languages-As a writer:...
and fans
Tolkien fandom
Tolkien fandom is an international, informal community of fans of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, especially of the Middle-earth legendarium which includes The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion...
.
History
The history of Gondor is described in several of Tolkien's works, with different levels of detail. Within the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, the kingdom is first introduced at the Council of Elrond, with a brief summary of the SecondSecond Age
The Second Age is a time period from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. Tolkien intended for the history of Middle-earth to be considered fictionally as a precursor to the history of the real Earth....
and Third Ages. The events of the latter are elaborated in the appendices to the book, and those of the former—in the last parts of The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
. Retellings at an ample scale of some particular episodes are included in Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales
Unfinished Tales is a collection of stories and essays by J. R. R. Tolkien that were never completed during his lifetime, but were edited by his son Christopher Tolkien and published in 1980.Unlike The Silmarillion, for which the narrative fragments were modified to connect into a consistent and...
.
Foundation and the Last Alliance
The territory that would become Gondor had been widely colonised by the Númenóreans from around the middle of the Second Age, especially by the Elf-friends loyal to the house of ElendilElendil
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. When his sons Isildur and Anárion landed in Middle-earth after the drowning of Númenor, they were welcomed by the colonists and their claim of lordship was accepted, while Elendil was held to be the High King
High king
A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...
of all lands of the Dúnedain
Dúnedain
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Dúnedain were a race of Men descended from the Númenóreans who survived the sinking of their island kingdom and came to Eriador in Middle-earth, led by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion...
. Within the South-kingdom, the hometowns of Isildur and Anárion were Minas Ithil
Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul , also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil , is a fictional fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth...
and Minas Anor
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
respectively, and the capital city Osgiliath was situated between them.
Sauron, however, had survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
just to the east of Gondor. Soon he launched a war against the Númenórean kingdoms, hoping to destroy them before their power was established. He captured Minas Ithil, but Isildur escaped and fled by ship to Arnor; meanwhile, Anárion was able to defend Osgiliath. Elendil and the Elven
Elf (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Elves are one of the races that inhabit a fictional Earth, often called Middle-earth, and set in the remote past. They appear in The Hobbit and in The Lord of the Rings, but their complex history is described more fully in The Silmarillion...
-king Gil-galad
Gil-galad
Ereinion Gil-galad is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, and featured in The Silmarillion.- Character overview :...
formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, and together with Isildur and Anárion they besieged and defeated Mordor. Sauron was overthrown, but the One Ring
One Ring
The One Ring is a fictional artifact that appears as the central plot element in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy novels. It is described in an earlier story, The Hobbit , as a magic ring of invisibility. The sequel The Lord of the Rings describes its powers as being more encompassing than...
that Isildur took from him was not destroyed, and thus Sauron was able to regain power in the next age.
Both Elendil and Anárion had been slain in the war, so Isildur conferred rule of Gondor upon Anárion's son Meneldil and went north to ascend to the kingship of Arnor, retaining suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
over Gondor as High King of the Dúnedain. However, Isildur and his three elder sons were ambushed and killed by Orcs
Orc (Middle-earth)
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings, Orcs or Orks are a race of creatures who are used as soldiers and henchmen by both the greater and lesser villains of The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings — Morgoth, Sauron and Saruman...
.
Isildur's remaining son Valandil did not attempt to reclaim his father's place in Gondor monarchy, and therefore the kingdom was ruled solely by Meneldil and his descendants until their line died out with Eärnur.
Golden Age
During the first millennium of the Third Age, Gondor was victorious in war and its wealth and power grew. After Sauron's defeat, Gondor watched over Mordor. In T.A. 490, Gondor's centuries-old peace was ended by the first of many EasterlingEasterlings
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, "Easterling" and "Easterlings" were generic terms for Men who lived in the east of Middle-earth, who mostly fought under Morgoth and Sauron, not directly but rather on behalf of their own High Lord....
invasions. That war lasted into the following century, and from it Gondor conquered much territory in Rhûn
Rhûn
In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhûn was a large region of eastern Middle-earth. Rhûn was the name used for all lands lying east of Rhovanion, around and beyond the inland Sea of Rhûn, whence came many attacks on Gondor and its allies during the Third Age of...
north of Mordor.
Under the rule of the four "Ship-Kings", Gondor established a powerful navy and extended along the coast from the Mouths of Anduin. In 933, Gondor captured the southern port city Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
, formerly held by the hostile Black Númenóreans
Black Númenóreans
In author J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Arda, the Black Númenóreans are mentioned briefly at several points in both his published and unpublished writings, as one of many peoples and races inhabiting his Middle-Earth setting....
. Later, the Harad
Harad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium, Harad was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. Called Haradwaith from the people who lived there, it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people"...
rim defeated Gondor on land and besieged Umbar; but King Hyarmendacil I strengthened his army and navy, and forced the kings of the Harad to submit after victory in T.A. 1050.
Gondor reached its peak, controlling a vast territory and holding suzerainty over neighbouring nations such as the Haradrim and the northern Men of the Vales of Anduin. Mordor was desolate and guarded by fortresses. Under Hyarmendacil I's successor, Atanatar
Atanatar
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Atanatar is the title of two Kings of Gondor:*Atanatar I, and his descendant*Atanatar II AlcarinSee also: Atanatári, the Fathers of Men...
the Glorious, The kingdom enjoyed such wealth and splendour that, according to The Lord of the Rings, "men said precious stones are pebbles in Gondor for children to play with".
Decline
Gondor began to decline during the reigns of Atanatar and his two sons, who lived in ease and luxury, doing little to maintain Gondor's strength. The first casualty of this period was the watch on Mordor, which was largely neglected. King Rómendacil II, who in his youth had been appointed as his uncle's regent, defeated a new invasion of the Easterlings in 1248 and strengthened friendly relations with the NorthmenNorthmen (Middle-earth)
J. R. R. Tolkien adopted the term Northmen in his fiction; his "Northmen" were Men that lived in the north of Rhovanion in Middle-earth, and were friendly to Gondor....
. His son Valacar was sent to their lands as an ambassador; while there, he married the daughter of one of their lords and returned to Gondor only after some years.
This marriage proved disastrous to Gondor: when it was affirmed that the heir to the throne would be Valacar's son Eldacar, who was of mixed blood, southern provinces of the realm began to rebel. After Valacar died, several members of the House of Anárion claimed the crown and a full-scale civil war, called the Kin-strife, broke out in 1432. The rebel with the largest following was Castamir, who besieged and captured Osgiliath. Eldacar managed to escape to his homeland in Rhovanion
Rhovanion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. It extended to the east as far as the inland Sea of Rhûn; north to the Grey Mountains and Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves; west to the range of the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains; and south to...
, but his elder son was captured and executed. Castamir proved a very poor ruler and earned hatred of the inner provinces; consequently, Eldacar acquired a great following when he returned after several years with the Northmen allies, slew Castamir and defeated his army. Castamir's sons, however, retreated to Umbar and declared independence.
A century later the kings of Harad, freed by the Kin-strife and the subsequent loss of Umbar, invaded southern Gondor but were defeated by Hyarmendacil II after a decade of warfare. In 1631 descendants of Castamir organised a devastating raid on the haven of Pelargir, even killing King Minardil. The losses from the Kin-strife and southern wars had been somewhat replenished by the intermingling with the Northmen, but the population of Gondor seriously decreased again with the coming of the Great Plague in T.A. 1636 and during the kin strife large numbers of Numenoreans with the purest blood would perish. The capital was moved from Osgiliath to the less affected Minas Anor, and the watch on Mordor was abandoned, enabling evil creatures to begin to return. The Plague left Gondor's enemies in no better condition than the realm itself, and Gondor was therefore allowed over a century of respite from attack.
In 1810 the king strengthened Gondor's navy which defeated the Corsairs of Umbar
Corsairs of Umbar
The Corsairs of Umbar were a fleet of Men of Umbar in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, allied to Sauron in his war against Gondor.-Literature:...
and retook the haven, but it was lost to the Haradrim following the next invasion of Gondor. A new threat appeared four decades later, when one of the Easterling peoples, called the Wainriders, defeated the Northmen and began to raid eastern Gondor. Although the first battles were lost to the invaders, the enemy was stemmed after half a century. The war broke out anew when the Wainriders joined together with the Haradrim in 1944, attacking respectively from the east and from the south. The Northern Army of Gondor, led by King Ondoher and joined by cavalry of the Éothéod
Éothéod
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Éothéod were a group of Northmen who became the ancestors of the Rohirrim. The word, meaning "horse people", is a compound of the Old English words éoh and théod ; it is cognate with Old Norse jóþjóð...
, descendants of the Northmen, was defeated. Its survivors linked up with the victorious Southern Army commanded by a talented general Eärnil
Eärnil II
Eärnil II is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. He was born in T.A. 1883. In 1945 Third Age he was elected as the thirty-second King of Gondor after his predecessor, King Ondoher, was slain in battle. In the previous year a two-pronged attack had been launched...
, and they destroyed the Wainriders in the Battle of the Camp once and for all.
Because of the deaths of Ondoher and both his sons in war, Gondor faced a constitutional crisis
Constitutional crisis
A constitutional crisis is a situation that the legal system's constitution or other basic principles of operation appear unable to resolve; it often results in a breakdown in the orderly operation of government...
. Arvedui
Arvedui
Arvedui is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium.Arvedui was the son of King Araphant of Arthedain. He was born in T.A. 1864 and came to the throne in 1964 at the death of his father...
, heir of the King of Arthedain in the north, claimed the throne of Gondor as a descendant of Isildur and as the husband of Ondoher's daughter, but was denied by the Council of Gondor. For a year the realm was ruled by Pelendur
Pelendur
Pelendur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, appearing The Return of the King.He was Steward of Gondor in the year 1944 Third Age. He was born in T.A...
, Steward
Stewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
to King Ondoher, and then the crown was given to the victorious general Eärnil, who came from the House of Anárion and had gained popularity during the war. His son Eärnur, however, became the last King: still during his father's reign, he led the forces of Gondor to the aid of Arthedain in the north and was offended there by the Witch-king of Angmar
Witch-king of Angmar
The Witch-king of Angmar, also known as the Lord of the Nazgûl and the Black Captain among other names, is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth fantasy writings. In Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings, he is the chief of the Nazgûl , the chief servants...
. Shortly afterwards, the Ringwraiths captured Minas Ithil and took it as their abode; the city was renamed to Minas Morgul, and Minas Anor was changed to Minas Tirith. After Eärnur became King, the Witch-king twice sent messengers tempting him to single combat. At the second challenge in 2050, Eärnur was overcome by wrath and rode with a small company of knights to Minas Morgul, from which he never returned.
Stewardship
At the loss of childless Eärnur, the rule of Gondor was left to the StewardsStewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
, due to fears of a new civil war and the absence of a more or less legitimate Heir of Anárion with enough authority and support. By this time Arnor had been destroyed and the Line of Isildur had gone into hiding, so no more claims were expected. The early Stewards enjoyed four centuries of uneasy quiet, known as the Watchful Peace, during which Gondor slowly declined and Sauron's strength grew. In 2475 the Peace was broken with a large attack of Uruk-hai
Uruk-hai
The Uruk-hai are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth. They are introduced in The Lord of the Rings as an advanced breed or breeds of Orcs that serve Sauron and Saruman...
on eastern borders, which, though beaten off, led to the inhabitants' migration from Ithilien and final desolation of Osgiliath. According to The Lord of the Rings, from this time onwards "there was never full peace again" in Gondor, and "its borders were under constant threat".
In T.A. 2510 the Kingdom faced a new serious peril: an Easterling tribe, named the Balchoth, invaded northern parts of the realm with mass force. Gondor's army marched to fight them, but was cut off from Minas Tirith and pushed back in the direction of the Limlight river. Messengers had already been sent to get help from the allied Éothéod in the north, and in the nick of time their cavalry arrived, turning the tide of the Battle of the Field of Celebrant. In gratitude for their aid, Steward Cirion
Cirion
Cirion is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's universe of Middle-earth. He is first mentioned in the Appendices of Return of the King as the twelfth ruling Steward of Gondor. His role is later expanded in Unfinished Tales....
ceded to them the province of Calenardhon, where the Éothéod established the realm of Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
with Eorl the Young as their first king. A permanent alliance between Gondor and Rohan was established by the oaths of Eorl and Cirion.
The later Stewards had to contend with Orcs in Ithilien and with Corsairs of Umbar raiding the coasts. In 2758 Gondor faced another great invasion when five great fleets from Umbar and Harad ravaged the southern shores, and no help was expected from Rohan as the latter was assailed by the Dunlendings and Easterlings, further weakened by the Long Winter. The invasions were beaten off only in the following year, and help was then sent to Rohan.
Gondor recovered quickly from this war, although its fortunes continued to decline. In 2885 Ithilien was invaded from the south by a large force of Haradrim, which was only repelled with help from Rohan. Several decades later the region was evacuated due to increased Orc attacks and hidden refuges were built for the Rangers of Ithilien
Rangers of Ithilien
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of Ithilien, also known as the Rangers of the South and Rangers of Gondor, were an elite group of the Southern Dúnedain warriors who scouted in and guarded Ithilien...
to continue to strike at the enemy. In 2954 Sauron officially declared himself in Mordor and Mount Doom
Mount Doom
Mount Doom is a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. It is located in the heart of the black land of Mordor and close to Barad-dûr, it is approximately high. Alternative names, in Tolkien's invented language of Sindarin, include Orodruin and Amon Amarth...
burst into flame again. Before the end of the millennium the forces of Gondor, led by Aragorn
Aragorn
Aragorn II is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, one of the main protagonists of The Lord of the Rings. He is first introduced by the name Strider, which the hobbits continue to call him...
under alias, attacked Umbar and destroyed the Corsair fleet, allowing Denethor II to devote all of his attention to the threat posed by Mordor.
War of the Ring and restoration
Several decades later, Sauron had prepared for the final conquest, and in T.A. 3018 his forces overran Ithilien. The attack was stopped at Osgiliath with the destruction of the bridge across the Anduin. The following year Minas Tirith faced a larger attack from Mordor, with additional threat from the Corsairs of Umbar. Aragorn summoned the Dead Men of DunharrowDead Men of Dunharrow
The Dead Men of Dunharrow are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
to destroy the forces from Umbar, freeing forces in the south of Gondor to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. Gondor then defeated the army of Mordor with the aid of the Rohirrim in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields
Battle of the Pelennor Fields
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy fiction, the Battle of Pelennor Fields is the battle for the city of Minas Tirith between the forces of Gondor and its allies, and the forces of the Dark Lord Sauron...
, though with heavy losses. The combined army of the West then carried the battle to Sauron at the Battle of the Morannon
Battle of the Morannon
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Battle of the Morannon or Battle of the Black Gate is a fictional event that took place at the end of the War of the Ring...
, a feint to distract Sauron's attention from Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins
Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.He is the main protagonist of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. He was a hobbit of the Shire who inherited Sauron's Ring from Bilbo Baggins and undertook the quest to destroy it in the fires of Mount Doom...
's quest to destroy the One Ring in Mount Doom, thus causing Sauron's fall and the allies' ultimate victory.
After the second and final defeat of Sauron, the Kingship was restored, with Aragorn crowned as King Elessar of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor
Reunited Kingdom
The Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor is a fictional realm from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth.When Aragorn became King of Gondor at the end of the War of the Ring, he was also the descendant of the Kings of Arnor, and by right he was crowned High King of both Arnor and Gondor and Reunited the...
. Faramir
Faramir
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, Faramir is a fictional character appearing in The Lord of the Rings. He is introduced as the younger brother of Boromir of the Fellowship of the Ring and second son of Denethor II, the Steward of the realm of Gondor...
, heir of the Ruling Stewards, retained his office as Steward to the King and was named Prince of Ithilien. The oaths between Gondor and Rohan were renewed, and several joint campaigns were fought in the east and south; all former territories of the South-kingdom were won back during the following centuries, and its power and wealth were restored. It was foretold that Eldarion
Eldarion
Eldarion Telcontar is a fictional character from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. He was the only recorded son of Arwen and Aragorn, born in the Fourth Age. He became the Second High King of the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor after his father died."Eldarion" means "Son of the...
son of Elessar would rule a great realm, and that his line would endure for a hundred generations and rule many realms long after.
Tolkien's perception of further history of the kingdom is illustrated by The New Shadow, an experimental story that he abandoned, set during the reign of Eldarion. The author imagined that because of the "quick satiety with good" of Men, "the people of Gondor in times of peace, justice and prosperity, would become discontented and restless ... even so early there was an outcrop of revolutionary plots, about a centre of secret Satanistic religion; while Gondorian boys were playing at being Orcs and going round doing damage".
Names and etymology
Tolkien intended the name Gondor to represent a sample of SindarinSindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, an Elven language devised by him, and within the books used by the Dúnedain for nomenclature. The word means "land of stone", and is echoed in the text of The Lord of the Rings by the name for Gondor among the Rohirrim, Stoningland. The implications of these names were not explained by the author, although his early writings suggest that this was a reference to the highly developed masonry of Gondorians in contrast to their rustic neighbours'. This view is supported by the Drúedain
Drúedain
The Drúedain are a fictional race of Men which were counted amongst the Edain, who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves. They are part of the Middle-earth legendarium, created by J. R. R. Tolkien....
terms for Gondorians and Minas Tirith—Stonehouse-folk and Stone-city.
A reader once asked Tolkien whether the name Gondor had been inspired by the ancient Ethiopian citadel of Gondar
Gondar
Gondar or Gonder is a city in Ethiopia, which was once the old imperial capital and capital of the historic Begemder Province. As a result, the old province of Begemder is sometimes referred to as Gondar...
. Tolkien replied that he was unaware of having heard the word before, and that the root Ond went back to an account he had read as a child mentioning ond ("stone") as one of only two words known of the pre-Celtic languages of Britain.
Gondor is often referred to in the books as the South-kingdom or Southern Realm, and together with Arnor as the Númenórean Realms in Exile. Researchers Wayne Hammond
Wayne Hammond
Wayne G. Hammond is a scholar known for his research and writings on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree with Honors as an English major at Baldwin-Wallace College in 1975 and Master of Arts in Library Science from the University of Michigan in 1976...
and Christina Scull
Christina Scull
Christina Scull is a researcher and writer best known for her books about the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. She worked for the London Board of Trade from 1961 to 1971 while completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in art history and medieval history at Birkbeck College. From 1971 to 1995 she served as...
have also proposed a Quenya
Quenya
Quenya is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his Secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Quenya is one of the many Elvish languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called Quendi in Quenya. The tongue actually called Quenya was in origin the speech of two clans of Elves...
translation of Gondor, Ondonórë.
Geography
The physical nature of Gondor is most prominently illustrated by the maps for The Lord of the Rings and Unfinished Tales made by Christopher TolkienChristopher Tolkien
Christopher Reuel Tolkien is the third and youngest son of the author J. R. R. Tolkien , and is best known as the editor of much of his father's posthumously published work. He drew the original maps for his father's The Lord of the Rings, which he signed C. J. R. T. The J...
on the basis of his father's sketches, and can be supplemented by several geographical accounts such as The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor
The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor
The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor is a historical-etymological essay written by J. R. R. Tolkien sometime after June 1969.This essay has never been published in its entirety, although parts of it were published in Unfinished Tales, and the remaining parts were published in the periodical Vinyar...
and Cirion and Eorl. In addition, the narrative and appendices of The Lord of the Rings describe the history and nature of particular regions and settlements in the kingdom.
Gondor was located in the west of the continent of Middle-earth
Middle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
, and the main part of its territory lay on the northern shores of the Bay of Belfalas
Bay of Belfalas
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Bay of Belfalas was a large southern bay in the Great Sea.The Bay of Belfalas was the remainder of the eastern edge of the Great Gulf that had divided Beleriand from the Lands to the South in the First Age...
and around the White Mountains. Tolkien noted that the capital Minas Tirith was situated on a latitude comparable to that of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, and the total area of Gondor as represented on Tolkien's maps was estimated by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Wynn Fonstad
Karen Wynn Fonstad, née Wynn was the author of several atlases of fictional worlds.Born Karen Lea Wynn in Oklahoma City to parents James and Estis Wynn, she graduated from Norman High School in Norman, Oklahoma, and then earned a B.S. degree in Physical Therapy and an M.A...
at 716426 square miles (1,855,534.8 km²). To the north-west of the kingdom originally lay the realm of Arnor; to the north, Gondor was neighboured by the Wilderland
Rhovanion
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhovanion or Wilderland was a large region of northern Middle-earth. It extended to the east as far as the inland Sea of Rhûn; north to the Grey Mountains and Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves; west to the range of the Hithaeglir, or Misty Mountains; and south to...
and, after its settlement, by Rohan
Rohan
Rohan is a realm in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy era of Middle-earth. It is a grassland which lies north of its ally Gondor and north-west of Mordor, the realm of Sauron, their enemy . It is inhabited by the Rohirrim, a people of herdsmen and farmers who are well-known for their horses and cavalry....
; to the north-east, by the land of Rhûn
Rhûn
In the fictional world of Middle-earth created by J. R. R. Tolkien, Rhûn was a large region of eastern Middle-earth. Rhûn was the name used for all lands lying east of Rhovanion, around and beyond the inland Sea of Rhûn, whence came many attacks on Gondor and its allies during the Third Age of...
; to the east, by Sauron's realm of Mordor
Mordor
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Mordor or Morhdorh was the dwelling place of Sauron, in the southeast of northwestern Middle-earth to the East of Anduin, the great river. Orodruin, a volcano in Mordor, was the destination of the Fellowship of the Ring in the quest to...
; to the south, by the deserts of Harad
Harad
In J. R. R. Tolkien's epic fantasy legendarium, Harad was the name for the immense lands south of Gondor and Mordor. Called Haradwaith from the people who lived there, it literally means "South-folk", from the Sindarin harad, "South" and gwaith, "people"...
.
The original borders of Gondor were: rivers Gwathló
Gwathló
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the river Gwathló or Greyflood is a river in middle Eriador.The Sindarin name Gwathló was adapted from the name Gwathir, given to the river by the Númenóreans in the Second Age...
and Glanduin up to the Misty Mountains
Misty Mountains
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world of Middle-earth, the Misty Mountains is a mountain range, running for 795 miles from north to south, between Eriador and the valley of the Great River, Anduin, and...
; eaves of the Fangorn forest and river Entwash; marshes of Nindalf and the Mountains of Shadow; and river Poros. At the time of its noontide, the realm extended to river Limlight and south-eaves of Mirkwood
Mirkwood
Mirkwood is a name used for two distinct fictional forests in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. In the First Age, the highlands of Dorthonion north of Beleriand were known as Mirkwood after falling under Morgoth's control. During the Third Age, the large forest in Rhovanion, east of the Anduin in ...
; to the western shores of the inland Sea of Rhûn, north of Ered Lithui; and to river Harnen, also including the coastland around Umbar. By the beginning of the War of the Ring, the confines of land fully controlled by Gondor had retreated to the line of the White Mountains and the Mering Stream in the west; and the line of the river Anduin
Anduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
in the east.
Regions
Enedhwaith: The wide land between rivers Isen and Greyflood, stated in different Tolkien's writings either to have been held by Gondor and Arnor jointly, to have been a part of the South-kingdom, or to have belonged to neither of them. No Númenórean population was present in Enedhwaith except for the town of Tharbad at the crossings of river GwathlóGwathló
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the river Gwathló or Greyflood is a river in middle Eriador.The Sindarin name Gwathló was adapted from the name Gwathir, given to the river by the Númenóreans in the Second Age...
.
Natural features
Emyn Muil: Hills on the course of Anduin, equally distant from Mirkwood and the White Mountains. They were fortified by Gondorians to serve as their north-eastern defence, with the watchtowers built on the hills of Amon Hen and Amon Lhaw on opposite banks of the river, and the Gates of Argonath constructed at the northern entrance into the straits of Anduin as a warning to trespassers.Settlements
Osgiliath: The first capital of the kingdom, situated on the river Anduin. The city was heavily depopulated with the coming of the Great Plague and was finally abandoned after an attack of Uruks in T.A. 2475, remaining as an eastern outpost of Minas Tirith.Minas Anor (Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith , originally named Minas Anor, is a fictional city and castle in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings. It became the heavily fortified capital of Gondor in the second half of the Third Age...
): Originally a fortress built by Anárion at the eastern end of the White Mountains as a precaution from the hostile natives, later having become the summer residence of the Kings and finally the capital in 1640.
Minas Ithil (Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul
Minas Morgul , also known by its earlier name of Minas Ithil , is a fictional fortified city in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth...
): A fortress founded by Isildur in a valley of the Mountains of Shadow to watch the pass into Mordor. It was captured by the Nazgûl
Nazgûl
The Nazgûl are fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium...
in 2002 and remained the chief threat to Minas Tirith, until it was destroyed shortly after the final defeat of Sauron.
Isengard
Isengard
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress. Both names mean "Iron fortress" In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, Isengard , a translation of the Sindarin Angrenost, was a large fortress....
: A fortress at the southern end of the Misty Mountains, built by the Gondorians in the Second Age and maintained throughout the Third by a separate garrison, until it was overrun by Dunlendings in 2710 and after half a century officially granted to Saruman
Saruman
Saruman the White is a fictional character and a major antagonist in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings. He is leader of the Istari, wizards sent to Middle-earth in human form by the godlike Valar to challenge Sauron, the main antagonist of the tale, but later on aims at gaining...
.
Aglarond (Hornburg
Helm's Deep
In J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth writings, Helm's Deep was a large valley in the north-western Ered Nimrais .The valley was described as being blocked over its entire width by the natural series of hills called Helm's Dike and behind that lay the fortress of Aglarond or the Hornburg, at the...
): A stronghold built in the Second Age near the Glittering Caves in the west of the White Mountains, which was later ceded to the Rohirrim together with Calenardhon in 2510, its garrison merging with that of Isengard.
Umbar
Umbar
Umbar is a fictional place in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. It was a great haven and seaport to the far south of Gondor in Middle-earth.'Umbar' was a name—of unknown meaning—given to the area by its original inhabitants...
: Originally a haven on the southern shores of the Bay of Belfalas
Bay of Belfalas
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, the Bay of Belfalas was a large southern bay in the Great Sea.The Bay of Belfalas was the remainder of the eastern edge of the Great Gulf that had divided Beleriand from the Lands to the South in the First Age...
, ruled the Black Númenóreans
Black Númenóreans
In author J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Arda, the Black Númenóreans are mentioned briefly at several points in both his published and unpublished writings, as one of many peoples and races inhabiting his Middle-Earth setting....
. Later it was continuously passing between Gondor and the allies of Haradrim, and was finally recaptured only after the fall of Sauron.
Edhellond: An ancient haven of the Woodland Elves, located at the confluence of Morthond and Ringló. It persisted into the Third Age and was considered a part of Gondor, but by T.A. 1981 all Elves had departed over the Sea.
Dol Amroth
Dol Amroth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Dol Amroth was a hill along the coast of Gondor, on a peninsula on the Bay of Belfalas; and also the city that grew up there, mainly in the Third Age as the seat of the principality of the same name. The Prince of Dol Amroth was one of the principal subjects of...
: A castle and city on the western shores of Belfalas, named after Amroth of Lothlórien. The citizens of Dol Amroth were of high Númenórean blood and their Princes had an Elvish strain, although Tolkien's writings are contradictory on their descent and actual date of establishment of their line.
Culture
The earliest inhabitants of the future Gondor territory were the DrúedainDrúedain
The Drúedain are a fictional race of Men which were counted amongst the Edain, who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves. They are part of the Middle-earth legendarium, created by J. R. R. Tolkien....
, who lived in the vales of the White Mountains and lands adjacent. Later they were harried and mostly ousted by new people coming from the east; these were allied to Sauron and unrelated to the Edain
Edain
In the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, the Edain were men who made their way into Beleriand in the First Age, and were friendly to the Elves....
. The coastlands remained unsettled until the beginning of colonisation by the Númenóreans, who either mixed blood with the natives or dispersed them if hostile. The original language of the settlers, Adûnaic
Adûnaic
Adûnaic is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.One of the languages of Arda in Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, it was spoken by the Men of Númenor during the Second Age.-Fictional history:...
, was heavily influenced by local speech and ultimately resulted in Westron
Westron
Westron, or the Common Speech, is a fictional language in the fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien.Westron is the closest thing to a lingua franca in Middle-earth, at least at the time during which The Lord of the Rings is set. "Westron" is an invented English word, derived from West...
, becoming used, at least for intercourse, by the majority of peoples in the west of Middle-earth.
The exiles of Númenor that arrived in Middle-earth were far fewer in number than the local folk of mixed descent, and this remained the case throughout the history of Gondor. The greatest cities were populated by men of more or less "high blood", by the end of the Third Age remaining in the townlands of Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth, while the inhabitants of southern provinces are stated to have been shorter and swarthier. The nobles at first spoke solely the Grey-elven Sindarin
Sindarin
Sindarin is a fictional language devised by J. R. R. Tolkien, and used in his secondary world, often called Middle-earth.Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the immortal Elves, called the Eledhrim or Edhellim in Sindarin....
, following a custom of the Faithful of Númenor, but with the passing of years they gradually switched to the rustic Westron, so that "at the time of the War of the Ring the Elven-tongue was known to only a small part of the peoples of Gondor, and spoken daily by fewer".
Except in the matter of language, Tolkien described few characteristic features of Gondor culture. His writings only present highly developed masonry, sea- and smith-craft, and mention the customs of looking "west in a moment of silence" before meal and of saluting "with bowed head and hands upon the breast". An essay that was prepared as one of the appendices to The Lord of the Rings but became compressed contains a reference to currency of the South-kingdom: "In Gondor [Westron word] tharni was used for a silver coin, the fourth part of the castar (in [Sindarin] the canath or fourth part of the mirian)."
Government
The Appendices to The Lord of the Rings describe that the head of the state of Gondor was the KingKings of Gondor
This is a list of kings of Gondor from the fictional universe of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien.The kings of Gondor through Amandil claimed descent from the Lords of Andúnië, and from there to Silmariën and the Kings of Númenor....
, who apparently exercised the powers of an absolute monarch
Absolute monarchy
Absolute monarchy is a monarchical form of government in which the monarch exercises ultimate governing authority as head of state and head of government, his or her power not being limited by a constitution or by the law. An absolute monarch thus wields unrestricted political power over the...
. The post passed solely by the male line from the time of Meneldil, to the eldest surviving son of the late king if there was any, and the heir usually "took part in the councils of the realm and the command of the armies". A King was accustomed to command the forces of Gondor in major battles, in which case one of his legitimate heirs would remain behind for preservation of the line and act as a regent.
The office of the Stewards
Stewards of Gondor
The Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
, in Quenya Arandur "king's servant", was established by Rómendacil I as a precaution against loss of royal traditions and knowledge. A Steward was chosen by the King "as a man of high trust and wisdom, usually advanced in years since he was not permitted to go to war or to leave the realm". Over time the post rose in importance, "providing as it were a permanent 'under-study' to the King, and an immediate viceroy at need", and since the days of Tarondor the choice was always made from the family of his Steward Húrin. Another highly authoritative position appeared when King Narmacil I granted to his nephew Minalcar "the new office and title of Carma-cundo "Helm-guardian", that is in terms of Gondor Crown-lieutenant or Regent. Thereafter he was virtually king, though he acted in the names of Narmacil and Calmacil, save in the matters of war and defence over which he had complete authority".
After the loss of King Eärnur, his steward Mardil continued to rule Gondor in his name, since Eärnur's death was not affirmed, and Mardil's descendants held to this practice. The Ruling Stewards wielded the authority of the Kings, but never presumed to take the title for themselves: each succeeding Steward swore an oath to yield the rule of the realm back to the King, if he should ever return, although with the passing of centuries the oath became more a formality. The office had become hereditary already with Mardil's grandfather, and thereafter passed to the eldest son if there was any; otherwise, the heir was selected among the near kin by the Council of Gondor. The latter body consisted, at least at the time of the War of the Ring, of the captains of armed forces, was headed by the Steward, and is recorded to have debated whether to risk retaking Osgiliath or not. The Council's duties and powers are not elaborated further, but it is also credited with rejecting Arvedui's claim after the death of Ondoher and should possibly be equated with "the elders" that sent Boromir
Boromir
Boromir is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He appears in the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings , and is mentioned in the last volume, The Return of the King....
to Rivendell.
Local government in Gondor is depicted as being similar to feudalism
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
. Minas Tirith and its immediate hinterland were governed directly by the Steward, who was also styled Lord of the City. Many of Gondor's regions had their own lords, who owed allegiance to the Steward, including Lossarnach, Lamedon, the Anfalas, Pinnath Gelin, and the Ringló and Morthond valleys. A special position within the South-kingdom belonged to the Prince of Dol Amroth
Dol Amroth
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Dol Amroth was a hill along the coast of Gondor, on a peninsula on the Bay of Belfalas; and also the city that grew up there, mainly in the Third Age as the seat of the principality of the same name. The Prince of Dol Amroth was one of the principal subjects of...
, who ruled over a land in Belfalas but was subject to the king; according to one of Tolkien's statements, the title was granted to the first Prince by Elendil because of their kinship. Later, the Prince would become an acting Steward, if the Steward was absent or incapacitated. An equal authority was later given by Aragorn to Faramir, who became the Prince of Ithilien. Of other Gondor posts, in Tolkien's writings appear "ministers of the Crown concerned with 'intelligence'" who surveyed the palantíri (see below); Captain of the Hosts, borne by future King Falastur during the reign of his father; and Captain of Gondor and Captain-General of Gondor applied to Faramir and Boromir respectively, with the former title also given to Eärnur when he commanded the Gondor army in Arthedain prior to his crowning.
Heraldry and heirlooms
The royal standard of Gondor was an image of a white tree in blossom upon sable field, surrounded by seven five-rayed stars and surmounted by a winged crown. This combined references to several symbols of the realm: the White Tree was a unique plant brought by Isildur from Númenor, first planted in Minas Ithil and later three times replanted from seed at Minas Anor; the Crown of Gondor was in the beginning Isildur's war-helmet and later the main symbol of monarchy in the South-kingdom, with wings of a sea-bird being an emblem of the exiled Númenóreans; and the stars "originally represented the single stars on the banners of each of seven ships [out of nine in which Elendil and his sons sailed to Middle-earth] that bore a palantír". The palantírPalantír
A palantír is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír A palantír (pl. palantíri) is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír A palantír (pl. palantíri) is a magical artifact from J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy legendarium. A palantír...
i were "seeing-stones" of Elendil, four of which were placed in strongholds of Gondor: Osgiliath, Minas Anor, Minas Ithil and Isengard—and were used by Kings or their servants for surveillance of the lands and communication both within the realm and with Arnor.
The Ruling Stewards revered the royal ceremonials and withheld from using most of them, retaining the Kings' throne empty and using "a white rod with a golden knob" as the only token of their lordship. An heirloom of their line was the Horn of Gondor, made by Vorondil the Hunter and borne by the elder son of an acting Steward. During the epoch of the Ruling Stewards, the banner at the top of Minas Tirith was replaced by a plain white flag, although the armour of the Tower Guard of Gondor
Tower Guard of Gondor
The Tower Guard are a military unit in Gondor in J. R. R. Tolkien's Legendarium. They are part of the permanent garrison of Minas Tirith; members include Beregond and Peregrin Took. They famously saw action in the Siege of Gondor defending the city alongside Gandalf...
still bore devices of tree, crown and stars. The Stewards however did maintain the tradition of taking their heirs to the hallowed tomb of Elendil at Halifirien, and just like Kings they were embalmed after death and laid in the Houses of the Dead at the Silent Street behind Minas Tirith.
Concept and creation
Tolkien's original thoughts about the later ages of Middle-earth are outlined in his first sketches for the legend of Númenor made in mid-1930s, and already contain conceptions resembling that of Gondor. It is described that the fugitives from the island "became lords and kings of Men" in the west of Middle-earth and soon under the leadership of one Elendil "of Númenórean race" finally overthrew Sauron; a special attention is paid to the exiles' "great tombs" for the dead and to the diminishing of their lifespan.Development of early history
The ideas were concretized at an early stage during the writing of The Lord of the Rings, beginning with a clearer image of the defeat of Sauron and of the acquisition of the One Ring by "Isildor" son of Elendil, and followed by the slow development of the Númenórean heritage. First to be introduced were their northern descendants—the "RangersRangers of the North
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Rangers of the North, also known as the Dúnedain of the North, were the descendants of the Dúnedain from the lost kingdom of Arnor...
", and the southern people appeared when Tolkien pondered in 1939 over the course of the narrative following the Council of Elrond. As he later recalled, Tolkien thought about "adventures" that the Company would meet on their way to Mordor and considered employing "Stone-Men" as one of them; other preserved notes mention a "city of stone and civilized men", its siege and a "Land of Ond". The name was based upon an already existing stem of Elvish languages, (g)ond with the meaning 'stone'.
A new character was immediately introduced: Boromir, a messenger at the Council of Elrond and son of the "King of Ond", whose realm is "besieged by wild men out of the East". Contemporary outlines propose that the main characters would participate in the final battle for the kingdom, already seen as a major climax of story. Another connection between the narrative and the background was achieved with the final solution of the identity of "Trotter": he became Aragorn, "a real ranger" and a descendant of Elendil.
By the time Tolkien began rewriting "The Council of Elrond" a year later, he had developed a story that Aragorn's ancestors were in past Kings in Boromir's hometown. The citizens were already then conceived as inferior to the Númenóreans, and although at war with Sauron, they were stated to have driven out the heirs of Elendil in a rebellion raised by the Witch-king; these settled in the north and nearly dwindled. At the same time a conception emerged that Elendil had several sons—Ilmandur, Isildur and Anárion—and that the descendants of only one of them survived the war with Sauron.
Ilmandur was discarded at once, but the fate of others remained fluid for some time; Christopher Tolkien assumed that at first it was the son of Isildur that should have inherited the kingship, but was refused the entry into his city due to Sauron's machinations and went to the north. This was replaced by the story that the Land of Ond was ruled by the descendants of Anárion until their failing, while Isildur's son remained at Rivendell
Rivendell
Rivendell is an Elven outpost in Middle-earth, a fictional realm created by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was established and ruled by Elrond in the Second Age of Middle-earth...
and after the death of his father established another realm in the north. Later Tolkien decided that the northern kingdom was founded at the same time with "Ondor", as the southern realm was now renamed, and proposed Elendil and his brother Valandil as respective founders, before settling on the final conception of the co-reigning of Isildur and Anárion.
Development of geography
The three greatest cities of the Land of Ond were introduced together with the sons of Elendil during the rewriting of "The Council of Elrond" chapter, and originally corresponded to each of them: Osgiliath to Ilmandur, Minas Anor to Anárion, Minas Ithil to Isildur; after the rejection of Ilmandur, Osgiliath temporarily became Elendil's hometown, until the emergence of the final story. The ultimate fate of the cities—loss of Minas Ithil and abandonment of Osgiliath—was present from the start, as well as the later names Minas Tirith and Minas Morgol [sic]. Around the same time Tolkien's ideas about the location of the Land of Ond first received written form. The role of anchors was played by the Great River of the WilderlandAnduin
In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth, Anduin is the Sindarin name for the Great River of Wilderland, the longest river in the Third Age . The ancestors of the Rohirrim called it Langflood. It flowed from its source in the Grey and Misty Mountains to the Mouths of Anduin in the Great Sea...
from The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, which now was stated to pass through Osgiliath, by Mordor just to the east of Minas Ithil, by the "land of the Horse-lords" conceived of some time before and now neighbouring Ond, and by the "Black Mountains", precursors of the White.
Next element to be introduced was the "Land of Seven Streams"; Tolkien was hesitant for some time about its relation to other places, writing at different times that it was located north or south of Black Mountains, within the Land of Ond or separate from it. First to be conceived of were the rivers Greyflood or the "seventh river", Isen, and Silverlode, the last one soon changed to Blackroot—but without any reference to the sources of such a name. The three of them appear roughly at their final places on the original Tolkien's working map of the southern lands, as well as all locations mentioned above, the approximate line of coast, including Tolfalas, and the forerunner of Dol Amroth, apparently brought about with the development of the legend of Nimrodel while writing the "Lothlórien" chapter.
The need for a clearer image of the southern lands arose when Tolkien came to plan the narrative after the halt at Lothlórien. Further development of geography was compared by Christopher Tolkien to his father's notes on the creation process: "I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit". A new redrawing of the map of "Ondor" advances on the layout of the mountains and rivers and introduces new locations: Ithilien; Anarion [sic], which combines later Anórien and Lossarnach; "Belfalas (Langstrand)", in place of later Anfalas; rivers Ringló and Harnen; and controversial "Lebennin (Land of Seven Streams)", extending in the west to the later Morthond and covering either seven or five rivers, depending on its eastern border. Umbar and "Harondor (S. Gondor)" also first appeared on this map, while the land to the north of the Black Mountains was developed in the context of Rohan and of Emyn Muil.
A change in the perception of the eastern confines of Gondor was brought about with the development in 1944 of Frodo's journey to Mordor. At first Tolkien decided to move Minas Morgul northward, in order to combine its functions with the two towers that guarded the only passage into the Land of Shadow, but almost immediately he restored the older conception and introduced a secret pass above Minas Morgul. A new turn in the narrative—extension of Frodo's journey southwards—led to elaboration of Ithilien, which was "proving a lovely land" to Tolkien's surprise. At the same time he decided to rename the Black Mountains into White, possibly to contrast them from the Mountains of Shadow, and introduced the refuge of Henneth Annûn, at first trying out several experimental names such as Henneth, Henlo or Henuil for "window" combined with Nargalad "fiery light", Carandûn "red west" or Malthen "golden".
Later that year Tolkien began the chapters dealing with central Gondor, and in his sketches first appear the beacons of Anórien, "immense concentric walls" of Minas Tirith, the idea that Aragorn would come to Minas Tirith passing south of the White Mountains, and the towns of Erech and Pelargir. This led in 1946 to meticulous development of the geography of southern Gondor. While working upon the "Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
ic catalogue", as he called it, of the reinforcements coming to Minas Tirith, Tolkien devised the names Lossarnach, Anfalas, Lamedon and Pinnath Gelin, all of which appear on a new version of the map in final locations with the exception of Lamedon, first placed in northern Lebennin and later moved westward. The rivers acquired final courses and names, except Gilrain, then called Lamedui; Celos, which flowed into Lamedui instead of Sirith; and Calenhir, a tributary of Morthond discarded later. The gulf into which flowed Ringló and Morthond was designated as "Cobas Haven", a name afterwards lost.
Final changes in the geography were caused by the intensification of the scene of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields: the distance between Osgiliath and Minas Tirith was reduced by four times; the northern regions became guarded by "Tol Varad (the Defended Isle)", later renamed Men Falros "place of foam-spray" and then Cair Andros; the inhabitants of the newly introduced Drúadan Forest enabled the Rohirrim to pass freely to Minas Tirith; and the hills of Emyn Arnen (originally Haramon "southern hill") justified creating a bend in Anduin so that the revelation of Aragorn and his reinforcements occurred closer to the battlefield, at the quays of Harlond (at first Lonnath-ernin "Arnen-havens").
Geography of southern Gondor was developed concurrently, in outlines for the story of Aragorn's march to Pelargir, and the distances between the cities and their exact locations were calculated with high precision to accord with the narrative chronology. Erech became temporarily viewed as the landing-place of Isildur and was consequently moved from the sources of Morthond, first in between the mouths of Anduin and Lamedui, then to north-west of the Cobas Haven, and finally returned to its original site with the abandonment of this idea. Other places were introduced one by one: Linhir (first placed at the confluence of Ringló and Morthond), Tarnost, Tarlang's Neck, and Calembel (originally Caerost).
Extension of the Third Age
Christopher Tolkien gathered that originally his father imagined only two or three centuries between the first fall of Sauron and the War of the Ring, foreseeing no complicated events to have happened during this time. With the progress of the narrative during 1941–2 to the breaking of the Fellowship and the war in Rohan, particular aspects in the history and culture of the South-kingdom were introduced one by one: alliance with the Rohirrim and ceding a province to them, in gratitude for their help in the first war with Sauron; the White Tree and the winged crown, at first just as vague images in Aragorn's song; the spelling Gondor; and the palantíri, with Hornburg and Isengard made into former Gondor fortresses and sites of two out of five Stones in the South-kingdom. At a later point, the fifth palantír was imagined to have been at Erech, before being discarded overall.When the narrative passed into Ithilien, Tolkien introduced the Rangers of that land, with Faramir, brother of Boromir, as their captain. In speeches of this new character many of the author's conceptions about the history of Gondor either emerged for the first time or were only now set to paper: Boromir's horn was perceived to have been unique, "reasons of decline of Gondor" and its ethnic diversity textually elaborated, the Stewards first referred to, and the surrender of the "fields of Elenarda" to the Rohirrim was postponed to the epoch of the Stewardship and temporarily became regarded not as a gift from Gondor but as an enforcement by the Horse-lords. Most elements of the South-kingdom culture were introduced during the writing of Book V, such as ceremonials of retaining Kings' throne empty by the Stewards and burying the rulers behind Minas Tirith, as well as the royal banner of the Kings, originally described as "crown and stars of Sun and Moon".
The notion that the Third Age lasted "about 3000 years" was first written down when Tolkien began to sketch out the history of Númenor and Westlands. Further on, he departed from the date of the foundation of the Realms in Exile, calculated at 3320 of the Second Age on the basis of average reigns of the Kings in Númenor; from the duration of the time of peace before the war of the Last Alliance, approximated at 100 years; and from the date of the failing of the Kings in Gondor, proposed as T.A. "c.2000". Original drafts for the account of the rulers of South-kingdom are not preserved, and in the earliest extant manuscript, ascribed by Christopher Tolkien to 1949–50, many events of the final history are already present. The rest entered in early revisions, namely the constant conflicts with Umbar; the attacks of the Wainriders, which replaced original wars with the Ringwraiths; the Battle of the Field of Celebrant and the gift of Cirion; and the Long Winter. The depopulation of Osgiliath was first placed some 200 years later, the fall of Minas Ithil was moved back and forth in time, and the last king Eärnur was originally stated to have never returned from a war against Mordor, with the Witch-king challenging him "to fight for the palantir of Ithil" when this element first entered.
The appendices to The Lord of the Rings were brought to a finished state in 1953–54, but a decade later, during preparations for the release of the Second Edition, Tolkien elaborated the events that had led to the Kin-strife and introduced the regency of Rómendacil II. The final development of the history and geographical nature of Gondor took place around 1970, in the last years of Tolkien's life, when he invented justifications for the place-names and wrote full narratives for the stories of Isildur's death and of the battles with the Wainriders and the Balchoth (published in Unfinished Tales).
Adaptations
Gondor as it appeared during in Peter JacksonPeter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
has been compared to the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, for numerous reasons. The production team noted this in DVD commentary, explaining their decision to include some Byzantine domes into Minas Tirith architecture and to have civilians wear Byzantine-styled clothing. The soldiers garrisoned in Minas Tirith are based heavily on the Byzantine infantry used up until the end of the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
. The Byzantine Empire and Gondor were both only echoes of older states (the Roman Empire and the unified kingdom of Elendil), yet each was still strong in its own right. Both realms were threatened by powerful eastern and southern enemies: the Byzantines by the Persians
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
and the Muslim armies of the Arabs and the Turks, Gondor by the Easterlings, the Haradrim, and the hordes of Sauron.
One main difference from the books can be seen in the heraldry of Gondor. In the books, the flag of Gondor under the Stewards was a plain white banner without device. In the movies, the flag of Gondor is the royal standard with the colors reversed (black tree, seven black stars, and a black crown on a white field). The banners carried by Gondorian cavalry and infantry are black pennants, with the White Tree and three white stars.
The geography of Jackson's Gondor differs significantly from the books. In the movie, Aragorn could see Pelargir from the exit to the Paths of the Dead
Paths of the Dead
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, the Paths of the Dead were a haunted passage under the White Mountains.The Paths of the Dead started at the Dark Door at the end of the long valley of Harrowdale, beyond the Firienfeld and the forest of Dimholt, wedged in between the mountains Irensaga ,...
, and Minas Tirith is much closer to Osgiliath. The land seems largely brown and uncultivated, while the books describe Gondor as fertile farming land with many houses and towns across the Pelennor and the area south of the White Mountains.
See also
- Kings of GondorKings of GondorThis is a list of kings of Gondor from the fictional universe of Middle-earth by J. R. R. Tolkien.The kings of Gondor through Amandil claimed descent from the Lords of Andúnië, and from there to Silmariën and the Kings of Númenor....
- Stewards of GondorStewards of GondorThe Stewards of Gondor were rulers from J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium of Middle-earth.-Overview:Steward was the traditional title of a chief counsellor to one of the Kings of Gondor. The office of Arandur first came into existence during the reign of King Rómendacil I...
- ArnorArnorArnor is a fictional kingdom in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings. Arnor, or the Northern Kingdom, was a kingdom of the Dúnedain in the land of Eriador in Middle-earth. The name probably means "Land of the King", from Sindarin Ara- + dor...
- Timeline of ArdaTimeline of ArdaThis article includes several chronologies relating to J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium.-Events outside of time:*Eru Ilúvatar makes the Timeless Halls and the race of the Ainur....
: Second and Third Ages - Dominion of MenDominion of MenThe Dominion of Men is a period in J.R.R. Tolkien's legendarium that follows the events of The Lord of the Rings and the Third Age.-The End of the Third Age:...
Further reading
- Ford, Judy Ann. "The White City: The Lord of the Rings as an Early Medieval Myth of the Restoration of the Roman Empire". Tolkien StudiesTolkien StudiesTolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review is an academic journal publishing papers on the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, edited by Douglas A. Anderson, Michael D. C. Drout, and Verlyn Flieger. It states that it is the first scholarly journal published by an academic press in the area of Tolkien...
2 (2005): 53–73. - Straubhaar, Sandra Ballif. "Myth, Late Roman History and Multiculturalism in Tolkien's Middle-earth". In Tolkien and the Invention of Myth: A Reader (2004): 101–18.
External links
- Gondor at Thain's Book
- A History and Complete Chronology of Númenor—A detailed chronology of Númenor, its successor states and their rulers.