Sindarin is one of the constructed languages devised by J. R. R. Tolkien for use in his fantasy stories set in Arda , primarily in Middle-earth . Sindarin is one of the many languages spoken by the Elves .
101-772: (Redirected from Galadorian ) Galador may refer to: Galador, the first prince of Dol Amroth , a city in Gondor in Tolkien's Middle-earth the homeworld of the Galadorians, an alien race in the DC Comics universe the homeworld of the Galadorians, a humanoid race in the Marvel Comics universe Rom the Space Knight ' s homeworld See also [ edit ] Galidor: Defenders of
202-619: A secondary world where these could evolve. One of these languages was created in around 1915, inspired by the Celtic languages , particularly Literary Welsh . Tolkien called it Goldogrin or "Gnomish" in English. He wrote a substantial dictionary of Gnomish and a grammar. This is the first conceptual stage of the Sindarin language. At the same time Tolkien conceived a History of the Elves and wrote it in
303-625: A "great fief". Prince Imrahil's castle is by the sea; Tolkien described him as "of high blood, and his folk also, tall men and proud with sea-grey eyes". Local tradition claimed that the line's forefather, Imrazôr the Númenórean had married an Elf, though the line remained mortal. The first people in the region were the Drúedain , a hunter-gatherer group of Men who arrive in the First Age . They were pushed aside by later settlers and came to live in
404-453: A North-Eastern dialect (the highlands of Dorthonion, and the wide plains of Ard-galen to the north of the highlands). This language was at first adopted by the exiled Noldor after their return to Middle-earth at Losgar. Later Noldorin Sindarin changed, much owing to the adoption of Quenya features, and partially because of the love of the Noldor for making linguistic changes. Beren 's heritage
505-408: A Welsh-type language. In Tolkien's words, "The changes worked on Sindarin [from Common Eldarin] very closely (and deliberately) resemble those which produced the modern and medieval Welsh from ancient Celtic, so that in the result Sindarin has a marked Welsh style, and the relations between it and Quenya closely resemble those between Welsh and Latin." Tolkien did not provide a detailed description of
606-577: A futile attempt to reach the shore to search for her, and drowned in the bay. Mithrellas, a Silvan Elf and one of the companions of Nimrodel, is said to have become the foremother of the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth. According to an alternate account about the line of the Princes of Dol Amroth cited in Unfinished Tales , they were descendants of a family of the Faithful from Númenor who had ruled over
707-562: A large river-lake, Nen Hithoel. Its entrance was once the northern border of Gondor, and is marked by the Gates of Argonath, an enormous pair of kingly statues, as a warning to trespassers. At the southern end of the lake are the hills of Amon Hen (the Hill of Seeing) and Amon Lhaw (the Hill of Hearing) on the west and east shores; below Amon Hen is the lawn of Parth Galen, where the Fellowship disembarked and
808-461: A line of foothills running back west from Minas Tirith towards Rohan. Dol Amroth (Sindarin: "the Hill of Amroth" ) was a fortress-city on a peninsula jutting westward into the Bay of Belfalas, on Gondor's southern shore. It is also the name of the port city, one of the five great cities of Gondor, and the seat of the principality of the same name, founded by prince Galador. The whimsical poem " The Man in
909-489: A major part in the defence of Minas Tirith ; the soldiers whom Imrahil led to Minas Tirith formed the largest contingent from the hinterland to the defence of the city. They marched under a banner "silver upon blue", bearing "a white ship like a swan upon blue water". Some like Finduilas are of Númenórean descent, and still speak the Elvish language. Tolkien wrote about the city's protective sea-walls and described Belfalas as
1010-725: A race-group: Nogothrim "the race of the Dwarves", from pl. Nogoth (sg. Nogon , "Dwarf"). There exist another such ending -lir , as in Nogothlir . The endings -rim , -hoth , and -waith , Sindarin words meaning 'multitude', 'host', and 'people' respectively, are added to a singular noun to form a 2nd plural, e.g. Gaurhoth "the Werewolf-horde" and Gaurwaith "wolvish folk", from Gaur "werewolf". Most Sindarin plurals are formed by vowel change and are characterised by i-mutation . The Noldorin term for this
1111-448: A script invented by the elf Fëanor . Tolkien based the phonology and some of the grammar of Sindarin on Literary Welsh , and Sindarin displays some of the consonant mutations that characterize the Celtic languages . The Dwarves rarely taught their language to others, so they learned both Quenya and Sindarin in order to communicate with the Elves, especially the Noldor and Sindar. By
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#17328632487221212-630: A war against the Númenórean kingdoms. He captured Minas Ithil, but Isildur escaped 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 continued to exist. Both Elendil and Anárion were killed in
1313-712: Is Quenya for Grey-elven, since it was the language of the Grey Elves of Beleriand . These were Elves of the Third Clan who remained behind in Beleriand after the Great Journey . Their language became estranged from that of their kin who sailed over sea. Sindarin derives from an earlier language called Common Telerin , which evolved from Common Eldarin , the tongue of the Eldar before their divisions, e.g., those Elves who decided to follow
1414-483: Is prestanneth "affection of vowels". In an earlier stage of the language, plurals were marked by the suffix -ī , to which the root vowel(s) assimilated , becoming fronted (and raised if low ); later the final -ī was lost, leaving the changed root vowel(s) as the sole marker of the plural. (This process is very similar to the Germanic umlaut that produced the English forms man/men , goose/geese , and closer still to
1515-455: Is "compulsively truculent", Faramir is courteous, urbane, civilised: the people of Gondor are self-assured, and their culture is higher than that of Rohan. The same is seen, Shippey argues, in the comparison between the mead hall of Meduseld in Rohan, and the great hall of Minas Tirith in Gondor. Meduseld is simple, but brought to life by tapestries, a colourful stone floor, and the vivid picture of
1616-564: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Dol Amroth 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 at the end of the Third Age . The third volume of The Lord of the Rings , The Return of the King , is largely concerned with the events in Gondor during
1717-577: Is part of Gondor, in others not. The hot and dry region of South Gondor, or Harondor was by the time of the War of the Ring "a debatable and desert land", contested by the men of Harad. The region of Lamedon and the uplands of the prosperous Morthond, with the desolate Hill of Erech, lay to the south of the White Mountains, while the populous valleys of Lossarnach were just south of Minas Tirith. The city's port
1818-566: Is phonetically the voiceless uvular fricative /χ/ . An acute signifies a long vowel (á, é, etc.). In a monosyllabic word, a circumflex is used (â, ê, etc.). In Old Sindarin, there was a vowel similar to German ö (IPA: [ œ ] ), which Tolkien mostly transcribed as œ . Although this was meant to be distinct from the diphthong oe , it was often simply printed oe in publications like The Silmarillion , e.g. Nírnaeth Arnoediad (read: Nírnaeth Arnœdiad ), Goelydh (read: Gœlydh ). This vowel later came to be pronounced [ɛ] and
1919-403: Is supported by the Drúedain terms for Gondorians and Minas Tirith —Stonehouse-folk and Stone-city. Tolkien denied that the name Gondor had been inspired by the ancient Ethiopian citadel of Gondar , stating 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 also called
2020-652: Is the second conceptual stage of Sindarin. Tolkien composed then a grammar of this new Noldorin, the Lam na Ngoluith . In the early 1930s Tolkien wrote a new grammar of Noldorin . This is the "late conceptual Noldorin". At the same time, Tolkien was developing the Ilkorin tongues of the Elves of the Third Clan who remained in Beleriand (those same Elves whom Tolkien would much later name Sindar in Quenya). Noldorin (the Welsh-style language)
2121-736: Is therefore transcribed as such (e.g. Gelydh ). Diphthongs are ai (pronounced like ai sle [aɪ]), ei (d ay [ɛɪ]), ui (r ui n [ʊɪ]), and au (c ow [aʊ]). If the last diphthong finishes a word, it is spelt aw . There are also diphthongs ae and oe with no English counterparts, similar to pronouncing a or o respectively in the same syllable as one pronounces an e (as in p e t); IPA [aɛ, ɔɛ] . Tolkien had described dialects (such as Doriathrin) and variations in pronunciations (such as that of Gondor), and other pronunciations of ae and oe undoubtedly existed. Tolkien wrote that he gave Sindarin "a linguistic character very like (though not identical with) British-Welsh ... because it seems to fit
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#17328632487222222-412: Is triggered in various ways: The following table outlines how different consonants are affected by the three mutations. The apostrophe ’ indicates elision , and is not necessarily written. Those forms of lenited p that are pronounced f are written ph as mentioned above. Noldorin words beginning in b- , d- , or g- , which descend from older mb- , nd- , or ng- are affected differently by
2323-491: Is written ⟨ph⟩ when final ( alph , "swan") or when used to spell a lenited /p/ ( i-pheriannath , "the halflings") which becomes [f] . Old Sindarin, like Common Brittonic and Old Irish , also had a spirant m or nasal v (IPA: /ṽ/ ), which was transcribed as mh . This merged with /v/ in later Sindarin. Phonemically, Sindarin ⟨ch⟩ aligns with the other velar consonants like ⟨c⟩ , ⟨g⟩ , ⟨w⟩ , etc. but
2424-744: The Book of Lost Tales . Gnomish was spoken by the Gnomes or Noldoli , the Second Clan of Elves , and Elfin was the other tongue spoken by the great majority of the Elves of the Lonely Isle. The beginning of the "Name-list of the Fall of Gondolin ", one of the Lost Tales , gives a good example of both languages (Gnomish and Elfin): "Here is set forth by Eriol at the teaching of Bronweg's son Elfrith or 'Littleheart' (and he
2525-664: The Prose Edda . She notes that Boromir is given a boat-funeral in The Two Towers . Fimi further compares the helmet and crown of Gondor with the romanticised "headgear of the Valkyries ", despite Tolkien's denial of a connection with Wagner's Ring cycle , noting the "likeness of the wings of a sea-bird" in his description of Aragorn's coronation, and his drawing of the crown in an unused dust jacket design. The classical scholar Miryam Librán-Moreno writes that Tolkien drew heavily on
2626-577: The First Age by seafaring Sindar from the west havens of Beleriand who fled in three small ships when the power of Morgoth overwhelmed the Eldar ; the Sindar were joined later by Silvan Elves who came down Anduin seeking the sea. Another account states that the haven was established in the Second Age by Sindarin Elves from Lindon, who learned the craft of shipbuilding at the Grey Havens and then settled at
2727-936: The Malvern Hills with C. S. Lewis , and recorded excerpts from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in Malvern in 1952, at George Sayer's home. Sayer wrote that Tolkien relived the book as they walked, comparing the Malvern Hills to the White Mountains of Gondor. Gondor, as it appeared in Peter Jackson 's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings , has been compared to the Byzantine Empire. The production team noted this in DVD commentary, explaining their decision to include Byzantine domes into Minas Tirith's architecture and to have civilians wear Byzantine-styled clothing. However,
2828-552: The Númenóreans from the middle of the Second Age , especially by Elf-friends loyal to Elendil . His sons Isildur and Anárion landed in Gondor after the drowning of Númenor, and co-founded the Kingdom of Gondor. Isildur brought with him a seedling of Nimloth (Sindarin: nim , "white" and loth , "blossom" ) the Fair, the white tree from Númenor. This tree and its descendants came to be called
2929-672: The Vikings , the Goths , the Langobards , and the Byzantine Empire . Tolkien intended the name Gondor to be Sindarin for "Stone-land". This is echoed in the text of The Lord of the Rings by the name for Gondor among the Rohirrim , Stoningland. Tolkien's early writings suggest that this was a reference to the highly developed masonry of Gondorians in contrast to their rustic neighbours. This view
3030-617: The Wainriders . The critic Tom Shippey compares Tolkien's characterisation of Gondor with that of Rohan. He notes that men from the two countries meet or behave in contrasting ways several times in The Lord of the Rings : when Éomer and his Riders of Rohan twice meet Aragorn's party in the Mark, and when Faramir and his men imprison Frodo and Sam at Henneth Annun in Ithilien. Shippey notes that while Éomer
3131-623: The War of the Ring and with the restoration of the realm afterward. The history of the kingdom is outlined in the appendices of the book. Gondor was founded by the brothers Isildur and Anárion, exiles from the downfallen island kingdom of Númenor . Along with Arnor in the north, Gondor, the South-kingdom, served as a last stronghold of the Men of the West . After an early period of growth, Gondor gradually declined as
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3232-552: The battering ram named Grond attacked the Great Gate; it burst asunder as if "stricken by some blasting spell", with "a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground". The Witch-king rode through the Gate where Gandalf awaited him, but left shortly afterwards to meet the Riders of Rohan in battle. Gondor, with the support of Rohirrim as cavalry, repelled
3333-626: The Blue Mountains. Quenya was the language of the Exiled High-Elves returning to Middle-earth. The Exiles , being relatively few in number, eventually adopted a form of Sindarin: a southern dialect (of which the purest and most archaic variety was used in Doriath ruled by Thingol). This they used in daily speech, and even adapted their own personal names to its form. But the Sindarin of the High-elves
3434-958: The Byzantines by the Persians and the Muslim armies of the Arabs and the Turks , as well as the Langobards and Goths; Gondor by the Easterlings, the Haradrim, and the hordes of Sauron. Both realms were in decline at the time of a final, all-out siege from the East; however, Minas Tirith survived the siege whereas Constantinople did not . In a 1951 letter, Tolkien himself wrote about "the Byzantine City of Minas Tirith." Tolkien visited
3535-542: The Dry Tree had been dry since the crucifixion of Christ , but that it would flower afresh when "a prince of the west side of the world should sing a mass beneath it". Tolkien's map-notes for the illustrator Pauline Baynes indicate that the city had the latitude of Ravenna , an Italian city on the Adriatic Sea , though it lay "900 miles east of Hobbiton more near Belgrade ". The Warning beacons of Gondor were atop
3636-520: The Elves name him (but the Gnomes Ilador or Ilathon ) ere the world grew, and some of these dwelt after in the world and ere the Gods or Ainur as say the Elves. A few years later, c. 1925, Tolkien began anew the grammar and lexicon of the tongue of his Gnomes. He abandoned the words Goldogrin and lam Goldrin in favour of Noldorin (a Quenya word already sparingly used for his Gnomish tongue). This
3737-423: The Moon Came Down Too Soon " in The Adventures of Tom Bombadil tells how the Man in the Moon fell one night into "the windy Bay of Bel"; his fall is marked by the tolling of a bell in the Seaward Tower ( Tirith Aear ) of Dol Amroth, and he recovers at an inn in the city. Its ruler, the Prince of Dol Amroth, is subject to the sovereignty of Gondor. The principality's boundaries are not explicitly defined, though
3838-457: The Outer Dimension Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Galador . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Galador&oldid=1023827873 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3939-443: The Prince ruled Belfalas as a fief, as well as an area to the east on the map labelled Dor-en-Ernil ("The Land of the Prince"). Imrahil, Prince of Dol Amroth in The Return of the King , was linked by marriage both to the Stewards of Gondor and to the Kings of Rohan. He was the brother of Lady Finduilas and uncle to her sons Boromir and Faramir ; a kinsman of Théoden ; and the father of Éomer 's wife Lothíriel. Imrahil played
4040-414: The Ring, the forces of Gondor, led by Aragorn under the alias Thorongil, attacked Umbar and destroyed the Corsair fleet, allowing Denethor II to devote his attention to Mordor. Denethor sent his son Boromir to Rivendell for advice as war loomed. There, Boromir attended the Council of Elrond , saw the One Ring , and suggested it be used as a weapon to save Gondor. Elrond rebuked him, explaining
4141-431: The Rings . When the Quenya -speaking Noldor returned to Middle-earth, they adopted the Sindarin language. Quenya and Sindarin were related, with many cognate words but differing greatly in grammar and structure. Sindarin is said to be more changeful than Quenya, and there were during the First Age a number of regional dialects . The tongue used in Doriath (home of Thingol , King of the Sindar), known as Doriathrin ,
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4242-441: The South-kingdom or Southern Realm, and together with Arnor as the Númenórean Realms in Exile. Researchers Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have proposed a Quenya translation of Gondor : Ondonórë . The Men of Gondor are nicknamed "Tarks" (from Quenya tarkil "High Man", Númenórean) by the orcs of Mordor. Gondor's geography is illustrated in the maps for The Lord of the Rings made by Christopher Tolkien on
4343-464: The Third Age progressed, being continually weakened by internal strife and conflict with the allies of the Dark Lord Sauron . By the time of the War of the Ring, the throne of Gondor is empty, though its principalities and fiefdoms still pay deference to the absent king by showing their loyalty to the Stewards of Gondor. The kingdom's ascendancy is restored only with Sauron's final defeat and the crowning of Aragorn as king. Based upon early conceptions,
4444-464: The Third Age, however, the Dwarves were estranged from the Elves and no longer routinely learned their language, preferring to use Westron . For Tolkien's constructed languages one must distinguish two timelines of development: Tolkien was interested in languages from an early age, and developed several constructed languages while still a teenager. Eventually, as a young adult, he created an entire family of constructed languages spoken by Elves and
4545-420: The Vala Oromë and undertook the Great March to Valinor . Even before that the Eldar Elves spoke the original speech of all Elves, or Primitive Quendian . In the Third Age (the setting of The Lord of the Rings ), Sindarin was the language most commonly spoken by most Elves in the Western part of Middle-earth. Sindarin is the language usually referred to as the Elf-Tongue or Elven-Tongue in The Lord of
4646-505: The Welsh i-affection plurals in forms like gair/geiriau and car/ceir .) The resulting plural patterns are: Vowels not listed do not undergo any change, such as /y/ remains as /y/ , meaning that it is possible for some words to have the same form in the singular and plural. Sindarin has a series of consonant mutations , varying between dialects as follows. The mutations of "early conceptual Noldorin" are defined in Tolkien's Lam na Ngoluith, Early Noldorin Grammar . Mutation
4747-461: The White Tree of Gondor, and appears on the kingdom's coat of arms . Elendil, who founded the Kingdom of Arnor to the north, was held to be the High King of all the lands of the Dúnedain . Isildur established the city of Minas Ithil (Sindarin: "Tower of the Moon") while Anárion established the city of Minas Anor (Sindarin: "Tower of the Sun"). Sauron survived the destruction of Númenor and secretly returned to his realm of Mordor, soon launching
4848-585: The allegiance of a hobbit, but very differently: Denethor, Steward of Gondor, undervalues Pippin because he is small, and binds him with a formal oath, whereas Théoden, King of Rohan, treats Merry with love, which the hobbit responds to. In his analysis of the historical lore of Númenor, Michael N. Stanton said close affinities are demonstrated between Elves and the descendants of Men of the West, not only in terms of blood heritage but also in "moral probity and nobility of demeanor", which gradually weakened over time due to "time, forgetfulness, and, in no small part,
4949-419: The appearance and structure of the city was based upon the inhabited tidal island and abbey of Mont Saint-Michel , France. In the films, the towers of the city, designed by the artist Alan Lee , are equipped with trebuchets . The film critic Roger Ebert called the films' interpretation of Minas Tirith a "spectacular achievement", and compared it to the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz . He praised
5050-470: The basis of his father's sketches, and geographical accounts in The Rivers and Beacon-Hills of Gondor , Cirion and Eorl , and The Lord of the Rings . Gondor lies in the west of Middle-earth , on the northern shores of Anfalas and the Bay of Belfalas with the great port of Pelargir near the river Anduin's delta in the fertile and populous region of Lebennin, stretching up to the White Mountains (Sindarin: Ered Nimrais , "Mountains of White Horns"). Near
5151-407: The beginning of the Third Age, left his realm behind in search of his beloved Nimrodel, a Nandorin who had fled from the horror unleashed by the Dwarves in Moria . He waited for her at Edhellond, for their final voyage together into the West. But Nimrodel, who loved Middle-earth as much as she did Amroth, failed to join him. When the ship was blown prematurely out to sea, he jumped overboard in
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#17328632487225252-538: The danger of such use, and instead, the hobbit Frodo was made ring-bearer, and a Fellowship , including Boromir, was sent on a quest to destroy the Ring. Growing in strength, Sauron attacked Osgiliath, forcing the defenders to leave, destroying the last bridge across the Anduin behind them. Minas Tirith then faced direct land attack from Mordor , combined with naval attack by the Corsairs of Umbar. The hobbits Frodo and Sam travelled through Ithilien, and were captured by Faramir , Boromir's brother, who held them at
5353-532: The destruction of their home countries; the brothers Romulus and Remus found Rome, while the brothers Isildur and Anárion found the Númenórean kingdoms in Middle-earth; and both Gondor and Rome experienced centuries of " decadence and decline ". Dimitra Fimi , a scholar of fantasy and children's literature, draws a parallel between the seafaring Númenóreans and the Vikings of the Norse world, noting that in The Lost Road and Other Writings , Tolkien describes their ship-burials , matching those in Beowulf and
5454-439: The dissolution of the "Hidden Realm". ... The changes of mp, nt, ñk , also proceeded earlier and further than in the other dialects." The language of the followers of the Elf Círdan, called Falathrin ( Falassian in English), is the other dialect of the Southern Sindarin group. It remained close to the tongue of Doriath because there was great trade between the two groups up to the time of the Wars of Beleriand. North Sindarin
5555-455: The dual of nouns, pronouns, and verbal personal inflexions, as well as a clear distinction between 'general' or 'collective' plurals (as elenath ), and 'particular' plurals (as elin ). ... But it was none-the-less in a few but important points of phonology marked by changes not universal in Sindarin. Most notable among these was the spirantalizing of m > nasal ṽ , the nasality of which was, however, never lost in Doriathrin proper until after
5656-457: The early years of the Third Age , Gondor was victorious and wealthy, and kept a careful watch on Mordor, but the peace ended with Easterling invasions. Gondor established a powerful navy and captured the southern port of Umbar from the Black Númenóreans , becoming rich. As time went by, Gondor neglected the watch on Mordor . A civil war gave Umbar the opportunity to declare independence. The kings of Harad grew stronger, leading to fighting in
5757-412: The eastern end of the White Mountains, built around a shoulder of Mount Mindolluin. The city had seven walls: each held a gate, and each gate faced a different direction from the next. The city was surrounded by the Pelennor , an area of farmlands ringed by a wall. Inside the seventh wall was the Citadel, topped by the White Tower. Behind the tower, reached from the sixth level, was a saddle leading to
5858-428: The feel and taste of natural languages . He wanted to infuse in them a kind of life, while fitting them to a very personal aesthetic taste. He wanted to build languages primarily to satisfy his personal urge and not because he had some universal design in mind. In Tolkien's words: "Sindarin (Grey-elven) is properly the name of the languages of the Elvish inhabitants of Beleriand, the later almost drowned land west of
5959-465: The filmmakers' ability to blend digital and real sets. The setting of Minas Tirith has appeared in video game adaptations of The Lord of the Rings , such as the 2003 video game The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where it is directly modelled on Jackson's film adaptation. Several locations in Gondor were featured in the 1982 role-playing game Middle-earth Role Playing game and its expansions. Sindarin The word Sindarin
6060-605: The general history of the Goths , Langobards and the Byzantine Empire , and their mutual struggle. Historical names from these peoples were used in drafts or the final concept of the internal history of Gondor, such as Vidumavi, wife of king Valacar (in Gothic ). The Byzantine Empire and Gondor were both, in Librán-Moreno's view, only echoes of older states (the Roman Empire and the unified kingdom of Elendil), yet each proved to be stronger than their sister-kingdoms (the Western Roman Empire and Arnor, respectively). Both realms were threatened by powerful eastern and southern enemies:
6161-417: The hidden cave of Henneth Annûn, but aided them to continue their quest. Aragorn summoned the Dead of Dunharrow to destroy the forces from Umbar , freeing men from the southern provinces of Gondor such as Dol Amroth to come to the aid of Minas Tirith. During the Battle of the Pelennor Fields , the Great Gate was breached by Sauron 's forces led by the Witch-king of Angmar . He spoke "words of power" as
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#17328632487226262-499: The hill of the Elves in Valinor." Tolkien created Sindarin in around 1944. He used much of Noldorin and blended it with "Ilkorin Doriathrin" and added in some new features. On that matter, he wrote a side note on his "Comparative Tables": "Doriath[rin], etc. = Noldorin ((?)viz. as it used to be)". The Ilkorin tongues of 1930–50 spoken in Beleriand, e.g. Doriathrin and the other dialects, were not as much based on Welsh as Noldorin was, and Tolkien wanted his new "tongue of Beleriand" to be
6363-413: The history and geography of Gondor were developed in stages as Tolkien extended his legendarium while writing The Lord of the Rings . Critics have noted the contrast between the cultured but lifeless Stewards of Gondor, and the simple but vigorous leaders of the Kingdom of Rohan , modelled on Tolkien's favoured Anglo-Saxons . Scholars have noted parallels between Gondor and the Normans , Ancient Rome ,
6464-432: The invasion by Mordor. Following the death of Denethor and the incapacity of Faramir, Prince Imrahil became the effective lord of Gondor. When Imrahil declined to send the entirety of Gondor's army against Mordor, Aragorn led a smaller army to the Black Gate of Mordor to distract Sauron from Frodo's quest. Sauron encircled the army at the Battle of the Morannon , but the hobbits succeeded, defeating Sauron and bringing
6565-418: The land of Belfalas since the Second Age , before Númenor was destroyed . This family of Númenóreans were akin to the Lords of Andúnië , and thus related to Elendil and descended from the House of Elros. After the Downfall of Númenor , they were created the "Prince of Belfalas" by Elendil . Unfinished Tales provides an account of "Adrahil of Dol Amroth" who fought under King Ondoher of Gondor against
6666-444: The language in published works such as The Lord of the Rings , but he did say that "A precise account, with drawings and other aids, of Dwarvish smith-practices, Hobbit -pottery, Numerorean medicine and philosophy, and so on would interfere with the narrative [of the Lord of the Rings ], or swell the Appendices. So too, would complete grammars and lexical collection of the languages. Any attempt at bogus 'completeness' would reduce
6767-419: The language of the Noldor in exile, was based on Western Sindarin but was strongly influenced by Doriathrin. During the Second Age Sindarin was a lingua franca for all Elves and their friends (thus it was used to inscribe the West-gate of Moria ), until it was displaced for Men by Westron , which arose in the Third Age as a language heavily influenced by Sindarin. In Gondor at the end of the Third Age, Sindarin
6868-424: 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 ). Tolkien describes an early population of elves in the Dol Amroth region, writing many accounts of its early history. In one version, a haven and a small settlement were founded in
6969-433: The legend of Númenor ; these already contain a semblance of Gondor. 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 Gondor's civil war, introducing the regency of Rómendacil II. The final development of the history and geography of Gondor took place around 1970, in
7070-503: The machinations of Sauron". The cultural ties between the Men of Gondor and Elves are reflected in the names of certain characters: for instance, Finduilas of Dol Amroth (the wife of Denethor and the sister of Prince Imrahil) shares her name with an Elf princess of the First Age . Leslie A. Donovan, in A Companion to J. R. R. Tolkien , compares the siege of Gondor with the alliance of Elves and Men in their fight against Morgoth and other co-operative ventures in The Silmarillion , making
7171-427: The mouth of the Morthond . Other accounts say that Silvan Elves accompanied Galadriel from Lothlórien to this region after the defeat of Sauron at Eriador in the middle of the Second Age, or that Amroth ruled among the Nandorin Elves here in the Second Age. Elves continued to live there well into the Third Age, until the last ship departed from Edhellond for the Undying Lands . Amroth, King of Lothlórien from
7272-488: The mouths of Anduin was the island of Tolfalas. To the north-west of Gondor lies Arnor; to the north, Gondor is bordered by Wilderland and Rohan ; to the north-east, by Rhûn; to the east, across the great river Anduin and the province of Ithilien, by Mordor ; to the south, by the deserts of northern Harad . To the west lies the Great Sea. The wide land to the west of Rohan was Enedwaith; in some of Tolkien's writings it
7373-821: The necropolis of the Kings and Stewards, with a street of tombs, Rath Dínen. Within the Court of the Fountain stood the White Tree , the symbol of Gondor. It was dry throughout the centuries that Gondor was ruled by the Stewards; Aragorn brought a sapling of the White Tree into the city on his return as King. John Garth writes that the White Tree has been likened to the Dry Tree of the 14th century Travels of Sir John Mandeville . The tale runs that
7474-588: The old Northern group and except in so far as adopted by the Fëanorians , who had moved east. So that in the days of the Wars, Sindarin was really divided into 'West Sindarin' (including all the Noldor of Finrod and Fingon), 'East Sindarin' (of the North dialect) was only preserved by the house of Feanor; and 'Central' or Doriath ." In the hidden city of Gondolin, an isolated land, a peculiar dialect developed: "This differed from
7575-908: The pine-woods of the Druadan Forest by the north-eastern White Mountains . The next people settled in the White Mountains , and became known as the Men of the Mountains. They built a subterranean complex at Dunharrow, later known as the Paths of the Dead, which extended through the mountain-range from north to south. They became subject to Sauron in the Dark Years. Fragments of pre-Númenórean languages survive in later ages in place-names such as Erech , Arnach , and Umbar . The shorelands of Gondor were widely colonized by
7676-418: The plural with an ending (usually -in ), e.g. Drû , pl. Drúin "wild men, Woses , Púkel-Men". Others form the plural through vowel change, e.g. golodh and gelydh , "lore master, sage" (obsolete as a tribal name before the Noldor came back to Beleriand); Moredhel , pl. Moredhil , "Dark-Elves". Still others form their plurals through some combination of the two, and a few do not change in
7777-517: The plural: Belair , "Beleriandic-Elf/Elves" is singular and plural. The other system of number was called by Tolkien 2nd plural or collective number. The nouns in this system form it usually by adding a suffix to the plural (as in Welsh); for example -ath , as in elenath , "all the stars (in the sky)", but not always, as in Drúath . Another ending of the 2nd pl. is -rim , used especially to indicate
7878-577: The point that none of these would have succeeded without collaboration; further that one such success comes from another shared effort, as when the Rohirrim were only able to come to the aid of Gondor because of the joint efforts of Legolas, Gimli, and Aragorn; and that they in turn collaborated with the oathbreakers from the Paths of the Dead. Sandra Ballif Straubhaar , a scholar of Germanic studies, notes in The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia that readers have debated
7979-535: The preceding vowels (as in Welsh and Old English ): S. Adan , pl. Edain , S. Orch , pl. Yrch . Sindarin forms plurals in multiple ways. While Sindarin does not have a grammatical gender , it has like Welsh two systems of grammatical number . Singular/plural nouns correspond to the singular/plural number system just as of English. Sindarin noun plurals are unpredictable and formed in several ways. Some Sindarin (and Noldorin) nouns of one syllable form
8080-490: The rather 'Celtic' type of legends and stories told of its speakers". Unlike the largely agglutinative Quenya, Sindarin is mainly a fusional language with some analytic tendencies. It can be distinguished from Quenya by the rarity of vowel endings, and the use of voiced plosives b d g , rare in Quenya found only after nasals and liquids . Early Sindarin formed plurals by the addition of -ī , which vanished but affected
8181-668: The real-world prototypes of Gondor. She writes that like the Normans , their founders the Númenóreans arrived "from across the sea", and that Prince Imrahil's armour with a "burnished vambrace " recalls late-medieval plate armour . Against this theory, she notes Tolkien's direction of readers to Egypt and Byzantium. Recalling that Tolkien located Minas Tirith at the latitude of Florence, she states that "the most striking similarities" are with ancient Rome . She identifies several parallels: Aeneas , from Troy , and Elendil, from Númenor, both survive
8282-442: The rest of the Sindar. They retained the old name Teleri (in later Sindarin form Telir , or Telerrim ) and remained in many ways a separate folk, speaking even in later days a more archaic language." So during the First Age , before the return of the Noldor, there were four dialects of Sindarin: Doriathrin preserved many archaic features. Unlike the other dialects, it remained free from Quenya influences. The "accent" of Doriath
8383-401: The return of the Noldor, as well as unique sound changes devised by the Noldor (who loved changing languages): "It was the Noldor who in fact stabilized and made improvements to the 'Common Sindarin' of the days of the Wars, and it was based on West Sindarin. The old North dialect practically died out except in place names as Dorlomin, Hithlum , etc. but for a few scattered and hidden clans of
8484-491: The rider, his bright hair streaming in the wind, blowing his horn. The Steward Denethor's hall is large and solemn, but dead, colourless, in cold stone. Rohan is, Shippey suggests, the "bit that Tolkien knew best", Anglo-Saxon, full of vigour; Gondor is "a kind of Rome", over-subtle, selfish, calculating. The critic Jane Chance Nitzsche contrasts the "good and bad Germanic lords Théoden and Denethor", noting that their names are almost anagrams. She writes that both men receive
8585-554: The south. With a Great Plague the population began a steep decline. The capital was moved from Osgiliath to the less affected Minas Anor, and evil creatures returned to the mountains bordering Mordor. There was war with the Wainriders, a confederation of Easterling tribes, and Gondor lost its line of kings. The Ringwraiths captured and occupied Minas Ithil which became Minas Morgul , "the Tower of Black Sorcery". At this time Minas Anor
8686-427: The standard (of Doriath) (a) in having Western and some Northern elements, and (b) in incorporating a good many Noldorin-Quenya words in more a less Sindarized forms. Thus the city was usually called Gondolin (from Q. Ondolin(dë) ) with simple replacement of g- , not Goenlin or Goenglin [as it would have been in standard Sindarin]". 'Beleriandic' Sindarin as a lingua franca of all Elves and many Men, and as
8787-448: The thing to a 'model', a kind of imaginary dolls house of pseudo-history. Much hidden and unexhibited work is needed to give the nomenclature a 'feel' of verisimilitude. But this story [ The Lord of the Rings ] is not the place for technical phonology and grammatical history. I hope to leave these things firmly sketched and recorded. " [emphasis added] Tolkien wrote many pieces in Sindarin. He made an effort to give to his Elvish languages
8888-564: The war and the Third Age to an end. The Great Gate was rebuilt with mithril and steel by Gimli and Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain . Aragorn's coronation was held on the Gateway, where he was pronounced King Elessar of both Gondor and Arnor, the sister kingdom in the north. Tolkien's original thoughts about the later ages of Middle-earth are outlined in his first, mid-1930s, sketches for
8989-536: The war, so Isildur conferred rule of Gondor upon Anárion's son Meneldil, retaining suzerainty over Gondor as High King of the Dúnedain. Isildur and his three elder sons were ambushed and killed by Orcs in the Gladden Fields. Isildur's remaining son Valandil did not attempt to claim his father's place as Gondor's monarch; the kingdom was ruled solely by Meneldil and his descendants until their line died out. During
9090-523: Was (naturally) somewhat affected by Quenya, and contained some Quenya elements. Sindarin is also loosely applied to the related languages of the Elves of the same origin as the Grey Elves of Beleriand, who lived in Eriador and further East." The divergence of Sindarin (Old Sindarin) begun first into a Northern or Mithrimin group and a Southern group. The Southern group had a much larger territory, and included Doriathrin or "Central Sindarin". " Círdan
9191-620: Was a Telerin Elf, one of the highest of those who were not transported to Valinor but became known as the Sindar, the Grey-elves; he was akin to Olwë , one of the two kings of the Teleri, and lord of those who departed over the Great Sea. He was thus also akin to Elwë , Olwë's elder brother, acknowledged as high-king of all the Teleri in Beleriand, even after he withdrew to the guarded realm of Doriath. But Círdan and his people remained in many ways distinct from
9292-511: Was also a few miles south at Harlond, where the great river Anduin made its closest approach to Minas Tirith. Ringló Vale lay between Lamedon and Lebennin. The region of Calenardhon lay to the north of the White Mountains; it was granted independence as the kingdom of Rohan . To the northeast, the river Anduin enters the hills of the Emyn Muil and passes the Sarn Gebir, dangerous straits, above
9393-478: Was also quite recognisable, so that after Túrin had left Doriath he kept a Doriathrin accent until his death, which immediately pinpointed his origin to speakers of other dialects of Sindarin. "The post-war 'Beleriandic' as lingua franca and as a language of Noldor was strongly influenced by Doriath." Tolkien set out much about Doriathrin morphology, and how it contrasts with the other Sindarin dialects, in his linguistic writings: "Doriathrin preserved in common use
9494-605: Was at that time conceived as having evolved from the Old Noldorin spoken in Valinor to the many (not Welsh-like) dialects, later called Lemberin , that were spoken in Beleriand. The Noldorin Elves wanted to speak a distinct tongue from the First Clan Elves who also lived with them and spoke Quenya, and so they developed Old Noldorin from what Tolkien called Koreldarin : "the tongue of those who left Middle-earth, and came to Kór ,
9595-512: Was clear to Thingol of Doriath as he spoke the North Sindarin of his homeland. "Chief characteristics (of North Sindarin was the) preservation of p, t, k after nasals and l . Intervocalic m remained. No u and o and i/e remained distinct – no a mutation of i . S was unlenited initially. H was preserved medially. tt, pp, kk > t, p, k medially." With the exception of Doriathrin, Sindarin adopted some Quenya features after
9696-400: Was renamed to Minas Tirith, in constant watch of its now defiled twin city. Without kings, Gondor was ruled by stewards for many generations, father to son; despite their exercise of power and hereditary status, they were never accepted as kings, nor did they sit on the high throne. After attacks by evil forces, the province of Ithilien and the city of Osgiliath were abandoned. In the War of
9797-547: Was said by many Grey-elves to be the highest and most noble form of the language. In the Second Age , many Men of Númenor spoke Sindarin fluently. Their descendants, the Dúnedain of Gondor and Arnor, continued to speak Sindarin in the Third Age. Sindarin was first written using the Cirth , an Elvish runic alphabet. Later, it was usually written in the Tengwar (Quenya for 'letters') –
9898-683: Was so named for the youth and wonder of his heart) those names and words that are used in these tales from either the tongue of the Elves of Kor as at the time spoken in the Lonely Isle, or from that related one of the Noldoli their kin whom they wrested from Melko. Here first are they which appear in the Tale of Tuor and the Exiles of Gondolin , first among these those ones in the Gnome-speech ( lam Goldrin ). Ainon now these were great beings who dwelt with Ilúvatar as
9999-574: Was spoken by the Mithrim , the northernmost group of the Grey-elves. It differed from the Central Sindarin of Beleriand in many aspects. Originally spoken in Dorthonion and Hithlum , it contained many unique words and was not fully intelligible to the other Elves. The Northern dialect was in many ways more conservative, and later divided itself into a North-Western dialect (Hithlum, Mithrim, Dor-lómin) and
10100-542: Was still spoken daily by a few noble Men in the city Minas Tirith . Aragorn , raised in the safety of the Elvish stronghold of Rivendell , spoke it fluently. Sindarin was designed with a Welsh-like phonology . Stress is as in Latin: on the penult if that is heavy (a closed syllable, long vowel or diphthong) and on the antepenult if the penult is light. The phoneme /f/ is voiced to [v] when final or before /n/ , but remains written as ⟨f⟩ . The sound [f]
10201-477: Was then broken, with the capture of Merry and Pippin, and the death of Boromir. Between the two hills is a rocky islet, Tol Brandir, which partly dams the river; just below it is an enormous waterfall, the Falls of Rauros, over which Boromir's funeral-boat is sent. Further down the river are the hills of Emyn Arnen. The capital of Gondor at the end of the Third Age, Minas Tirith (Sindarin: "Tower of Guard" ), lay at
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