Blackroot Vale
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Blackroot Vale | |
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Valley | |
General Information | |
Other names | Mornan |
Location | Southern Gondor, at the feet of the White Mountains. |
Type | Valley |
Regions | Gondor Reunited Kingdom |
Inhabitants | Gondorians. |
The Blackroot Vale, known as Mornan in Sindarin,[1] was a valley of rich grassland through which the River Blackroot flowed. The river rose beneath the sheer mountainsides of the White Mountains' southern extent, and in the shadowed rocks above its spring was the hidden gateway leading out from the Paths of the Dead.
The people of the vale were known in Gondor for their archery skills, and their lord Duinhir took a small company of his bowmen to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. With them went Duinhir's sons, Derufin and Duilin, both of whom were lost in the defence of Minas Tirith.
Etymology
Carl F. Hostetter has suggested that the name Mornan consists of mor- ("dark") + nan (valley).[2]
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, p. 14
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor" (edited by Carl F. Hostetter), in Vinyar Tengwar, Number 42, July 2001, p. 29 (note 31)